New Pac owner, new to the forum

[Shadablade]

Heyas all, names Will, and im an new poster here, though ive been reading info for the last several days (and there is a lot of it isnt there?) to help me in taking care of my new Pacman. Wasnt much of a frog person before, mostly fish, but for some reason I get a kick out of these guys and decided to get one.

Little bit about the setup so far, Ive re-purposed a 29 gal tank to use for the enclosure. i know ive read this is a bit big even for an adult pac, but its free, i have some accessories for it and in the long run it saves me a bit of $$ for other items. Its holding temps right at about 78-80F using a zilla night black heat bulb rated @ 75watts in an overhead clamp light im planning to set up a 2nd "day" light using a zoo med 50watt basking spot lamp. Ill set these up on timers to regulate a day / night cycle. Ive also purchased some pexiglass for the purpose of better sealing the top to retain moisture / temp.

Substrate is eco earth loose coco fiber, and future plans include a reptifogger system and one of its controllers cuz im doing a lot of misting as it is right now, but I also work 12 hour swing shifts so sometimes i cant be here. Id rather have the peace of mind...


As for the lil one him / her self, havent thought of a name yet ( im hoping to see some sort of trait to give me inspiration lol) but id say its about a lil bigger round than a quarter, its still a wee one, It seems to like to not only burrow but tunnel too (ive a good amt of substrate lol it literally is hid an seek looking for em) I let it chill in the tank for a day just to try to start to get accustomed to its new surroundings, this evening I gave it a feeding session of some nightcrawler segments dusted with reptivite. It ate 3 pieces ( id say each piece was maybe 1/2 inch or so) hopped into its water dish (at which point i ran for my camera lol only to find it had got out by the time i got back >.<) and then decided to go over to its burrow corner.

All in all im enjoying myself (thats the point right?) and hope to get a chance to talk to some of the other peeps here for further advice or info. Oh yea, since everyone likes pictures, ill post a few :P Can anyone maybe give me a few ideas about him / her as to specific type? I can prob get some better pics later now that i have my good camera on standby vs my cell phone lol.

[GrifTheGreat]

Welcome to Frog Forum will.

It looks like he/she is a Ceratophrys Cranwelli. A very cute one at that.

Just to let you know. Your 75 watt night light is too strong and can possibly burn your frog. It is a good wattage for the tank size you have, but I assume that it is about 12" above the substrate sitting on a screen to yes? You don't want to go higher than 50 watts. If it were hung slightly higer from a lamp stand it may not pose as much of a threat. You also want to use a lamp that has a dimmer switch so that you can accurately control the amount of heat and light coming from the bulbs you use.

[Shadablade]

Thanks for the welcome and tips. The night bulb from screen top to substrate there is about 15-16" of distance ( Metal screen, then acrylic drilled cover then tank) . I was debating the light mostly because of my apartments ambient conditions, as i usually keep it pretty low temp (mid 60's) to offset the heat from a lot of the electronics in use (plus i like the chill lol) Ill look into finding a lower wattage nocturnal bulb and see how it does at keeping the temp held well. Ill look into a couple dimmer sliders as well to help dial them in better.

[GrifTheGreat]

Thanks for the welcome and tips. The night bulb from screen top to substrate there is about 15-16" of distance ( Metal screen, then acrylic drilled cover then tank) . I was debating the light mostly because of my apartments ambient conditions, as i usually keep it pretty low temp (mid 60's) to offset the heat from a lot of the electronics in use (plus i like the chill lol) Ill look into finding a lower wattage nocturnal bulb and see how it does at keeping the temp held well. Ill look into a couple dimmer sliders as well to help dial them in better.

You can buy the lamps with a dimmer already inline with the power cord. Flukers makes them. They are a 5.5" dome lamp. You may be ok with the distance and filters absorbing some of the heat from the 75 watt. With a lamp that has a dimmer combined with it, it should pose no threat.

[GeorgiaBulls]

Welcome to the board. Awesome Pac u have there..