My 16 year old Pacman.

[Chase Thorn]

Here is my old man Pacman. I was asked to post a picture of him and failed to do so until now!... i was cleaning his tank and this is his temporary tank for when i clean it.

[4mb3r]

Wow what a old Pacman! Beautiful too!! I hope to keep all of mine that long, I just got a baby norman, and 2 albinos. in the next few weeks I hope to get some ornates too!

[Ahtu]

Thanks for sharing, we usually see pics of baby frogs but great to see an old one. How often do you feed him?

[Chase Thorn]

he is a big guy, size compared to an upside down cereal bowl. we feed him a good sized mouse every 10 days or once a week if small. slowing down with ages is not a problem, still acts like a young pacman.

[tikonides]

wow, that's incredible ! Do you have any tips for us as to what you did to make him live that long ? what types of food how frequently ? etc Thanks for sharing !

[Chase Thorn]

we got him when he was the size of a coin. we never had a care sheet so we just feed him the amount that looked right for his size. usually a couple crickets a day. then moved to pinkies every other day when he got to the size to where it seemed he would have no struggle eating them. then at adult size we feed him small mice every week. never used a heat source. always had a hot house through out the seasons. kept him moist and wet and warm 24/7 and just let him be. i think handling them puts stress on them. we never handled him besides moving him to clean his tank and change his substrate. we did not do anything different.

[Ahtu]

Awesome. So you used a water dish for him to soak in and didn't remove him to soak then?

[Chase Thorn]

just kept a dish in his enclosure. he would sit in it for a while every day

[Ahtu]

Ok well I will add a dish tomorrow for mine then.

[GrifTheGreat]

Congrats on this beautiful old man Pac Lol! Not to bash your feeding methods as it seems to have been working great for you. Mice are really high in fat and are usually bad to feed to you frog that frequently. Fat build up causein obesity and blindness as well as kidney and liver failure. So far it seems yor fine and all is well. Not to mention he looks healty. I would start to keep and eye out for odd behavior or if the frog seems ill.

[coffeebaron]

That's fantastic to hear of such a mature amphibian.It's also some of the most realistic advice i've read in a long time. I've got a similar aged California Kingsnake, and I've had the same kinds of success in keeping him with similar care. I think far too many people are caught up in the exact ranges and data sheets when trying to care for their animals, that they inadvertantly fuss over them to the point of stress. I've only recently started to keep amphibians, however i'll be applying this logic to my new charges to hopefully similar good effects.

[Chase Thorn]

yes, i have just recently read about this, but after 13+ years of feeding mice and gutloaded crickets, there has never been signs of unhealthiness. not to fat but a healthy size, he is very big and round for a male. and at 16 years, i cant imagine having very good eye sight.

[GrifTheGreat]

yes, i have just recently read about this, but after 13+ years of feeding mice and gutloaded crickets, there has never been signs of unhealthiness. not to fat but a healthy size, he is very big and round for a male. and at 16 years, i cant imagine having very good eye sight.

I agree that he looks in perfect health from the photo. Perhaps his environment is perfect and has never fluctuated too much to stress him. You should post more pics to show this fella off. As long as he has nothing wrong with him and is healthy I guess there may not be a need to change his diet a whole lot. Maybe lessen the mice to 1 every 2 weeks. Give him a different food item like hornworms and night crawlers. He just might love those and they have great nutritional value. Again congrats. You are obviously taking good care of him since he is 16 years old and has had the same diet.

[Heatheranne]

Wow! That is amazing!!! I hope Tank lives that long

[Chase Thorn]

i will differently get better pictures of his set up and everything. i should have been more detailed with his diet. variety is key!

[Ahtu]

i will differently get better pictures of his set up and everything. i should have been more detailed with his diet. variety is key!

Yes, please do. Also, have you ever aestivated him before?

[Chase Thorn]

no i have not.

[GrifTheGreat]

Very impressive. Usually they live much longer if they go through hibernation. Very impressive.

[IvoryReptiles]

Beautiful frog! Glad your husbandry works for him. Can't wait to see more pics of him!

[Heatheranne]

Me too! 16 years! Very impressive