New Pacman Frog, ID, sexing? please and a few q's

[AquaticPsychotic]

Hey folks, we just picked up our first frog, Kirby. He is a "pacman" frog, and our first land amphibian (i got an axolotl in march). I would like to try and figure out what species he is. I pretty much know the basic husbandry, 80-84 *F during the day, no less than 75* F at night, 60%-80% humidity, etc.

He is in a planted tank (either pothos or bromeliad not sure which) that is a 20 long. Substrate is eco-earth, and there is a half log in there, and a small flat water dish (i added that).

How much and how often do i feed him? He was a Craigslist pickup, and they said he was either 6 months to a year, and he is 1.5 inches wide, and about that long. I tried to feed him a dubia nymph today (we got him yesterday), but he wasnt interested. I'm not that worried yet, because he still has to settle in, but how long should i wait to try again? How many prey items of what size should i be feeding? I looked at the care sheet, and used the search function but it just said WHAT to feed, not how many.

How long should QT period be? What symptoms should I be looking for? Can he/she ever be put in my reptile room, or are frogs dangerous to other reptiles? Silly question, but I like to be as careful as possible.

Here are some pics, and I've got no clue on how to sex. It doesnt matter as i wont breed it, but it would be helpful to put on my Iherp. Let me know if i need another view.
Thanks!!

[GrifTheGreat]

welcome to Frog Forum.

You have a Ceratophrys Cranwelli. Very nice looking one too. He doesn't have to be quarentined because he is go be housed alone. 1.5" long is too small to be a year old. Less than 6 months old is a good estimate. You cannot house your Pacman with any other frogs or reptiles. Not even its own kind. They are cannibalistic and will also try and eat other frogs and reptiles. Plus all frogs produce some sort of toxin that can harm other animals.

If he will not eat dubias try crickets. Medium sized crickets should be the correct size for him. About 5 to 7 per night until he reaches adulthood. Try and provide a diverse diet. Exclude mealworms and superworms as they can cause impaction. Earthworms and nightcrawlers are an excellent food for frogs and are very nutritious. Dubias are as well.

I hope this helps. Also a 20 Gallon is much to large for a young Pacman. They become stressed very easily and large open spaces will stress them. One that size should be kept in a 5 or 10 gallon tank.

[Eel Noob]

If I was to guess the sex, I'll probably go with male. As for what species, cranwellis are the most common but in the first two pictures it doesn't really look like one. Though if they got from chain petshop like petco, petsmart, etc than it's a cranwelli.

Can try again next day with crickets. Most people feed crickets to their frogs so it'll most likely take to that first.


***looks like Grif beat me to it

[GrifTheGreat]

If I was to guess the sex, I'll probably go with male. As for what species, cranwellis are the most common but in the first two pictures it doesn't really look like one. Though if they got from chain petshop like petco, petsmart, etc than it's a cranwelli.

Can try again next day with crickets. Most people feed crickets to their frogs so it'll most likely take to that first.


***looks like Grif beat me to it

Oopse sorry Noob . I agree with Noob, it looks to be male.

[AquaticPsychotic]

He doesn't have to be quarentined because he is go be housed alone

No offense, but I dont really understand how that could be true about the no QT period because unless there are NO airborne diseases he could possibly transfer to my other reptiles, he would have to be QT'd. I QT every other reptile I get to prevent new animals from transferring diseases via air transfer until I know they are 100% healthy. I already know he has to be housed alone, I have NO plans to house him with anything else, other than some springtails/worms/pillbugs in the future as I want to make his tank bioactive. I've done lots of research, there were just a few things that needed to be clarified.

Are there any tests I should have run by a vet to verify he's healthy?

Are there any particular diseases/illnesses/etc I should be watching out for? Do they tend to be pretty healthy animals overall?

I'm not comfortable feeding crickets (to ANY animal), as I personally feel that they are awful feeders, usually full of parasites, and just all around disgusting. Kirby's options are pretty much Dubias, horned (tomato) worms, other soft "worms" and earthworms. Thank you for telling me how many to feed, as I couldnt find that info ANYWHERE! Some animals are smart enough to stop eating, but they told me that my axolotl would eat until full, but she will eat until she pukes if I dont stop feeding her (found that out the second day of having her) so I wasnt sure. The LPS couldnt tell me either.

Will the frog be smart enough to eat the Dubias/worms when it gets hungry, or will it starve itself unless it gets crickets?

The girl I got him from had him from a tadpole apparently (not sure why she didnt know exact age??!) so I dont think she got him from a chain store, but there is no way to know for sure. People are varying degrees of honest, I'm just happy he appears to be healthy and came with a nice tank.

Would you guys recommend any smaller but still colorful species of Bromeliads for a tank this size? I dont really have the option to put him in a smaller cage at this time. He spends most of his time buried. My hope is that if I can make his tank have lots of hiding spaces and plants etc that he will feel less stressed, as I know this works for most snakes in a tank not quite small enough for them.

Thanks for the sexing guesses! I always find it fun to know what they are

Thanks for all the help, and I'd love to hear other opinions, or if you have links you guys think I should read, I'm totally open to reading them too! I know that only time will give me the experience I need, but I try and eliminate as many Noob mistakes I can BEFORE they happen

[GrifTheGreat]

This will give you some of the symptoms to look for in illnesses they contract.

Frog Forum - Basic Frog First Aid

As well as some items to keep on hand to treat some minor diseases and parasites.

[AquaticPsychotic]

wonderful, thanks so much! I can tell I'm going to like this forum

[IvoryReptiles]

Nice frog, and it seems that Grif has you covered.
We use Nightcrawlers as the staple diet here with other insects for variety. We have found our frogs don't much like the red wigglers......my theory is that it's the flavor of the slime they produce. Good luck with your new friend!!

[GrifTheGreat]

Nice frog, and it seems that Grif has you covered.
We use Nightcrawlers as the staple diet here with other insects for variety. We have found our frogs don't much like the red wigglers......my theory is that it's the flavor of the slime they produce. Good luck with your new friend!!

I've noticed this too Jess. They also release a strange odor when they feel threatened. It smells like some sort of fowl deterrent to keep them from being eaten kind if like shield bugs and pumpkin bugs release.

[AquaticPsychotic]

I've been lucky with my axie, as she WILL eat them, but she doesnt like them as much as regular earthworms. I personally hate the red wigglers because they reek when you chop them up and secrete that nasty yellow liquid. X_x

[Savannah]

awww he's adorable n very nice colors.

[arielgasca420]

you wont find many tropical plants that will do well in a 20 gallon tank. its possible to have more plants with a bigger tank, but for now i have been successful with bromeliads and drosera. the drosera is cool and has little purple flowers. i keep both plants in pots because my pacman likes to burrow under roots thus resulting in killing my plants if not potted. if you do go with a drosera than make sure you keep it above the soil. i say this only because the enzymes in the drops may harm your frogs skin. i prefer drosera because it takes care of those nasty little gnat flies that flock to my frog cage.

[xJennie]

aw (: he looks like mineee