Pac Man Setup Beginner

[aGreenCup]

Hello everyone, it's aGreenCup here with my first post to this forum. I have been researching the web for about three weeks now, and i have decided that i want invest and dedicate time into a pacman frog. i have many questions that i need answered, and i feel that this community could help with my setup to make my new pet a stress free and safe home. First i bought a 20 gallon long aquarium from petco, because of the $1/gallon sale. I want to get a glass or acrylic top instead of a screen top, but that kind of lighting should i use? I also i have a idea for a false bottom setup with a shallow lazy river in the middle of the tank. I know that these frogs are not good swimmers, so i would like some options on my idea. I would like the tank 80% land and 20% water, but would this be okay? now I don't know yet if i want to do some kind of background, but also open to ideas, but i would like to have live plants. Any information will help, lam here to learn and absorb as much information I can for this new hobby. Thanks

[GrifTheGreat]

Welcome to Frog Forum.

They are not good swimmers so a deep water source is out of the question. You would be better off if you just had a shallow water dish because its much easier to clean and maintain. Coconut Fiber for substrate(not husk) Live plants are ok as long as you choose safe plants like Pathos and Bromeliads. Of course they can be harmful if accidentally eaten so try not to feed the frog close to the plants. Basically not directly in the frogs bite path . A 20. gallon is too large even for an adult. It can be done.but they become stressed very easily by large spaces. n adult male can live his entire life in a 5 gallon tank where as a female gets larger she will need a 10 gallon. Babies and juveniles should be kept in medium or large critter keepers until they are large enough to be moved into larger enclosures. These stages in their life require a lot of food above. nutrition so a smaller home means that there is less room for the prey to escape the frog. Tong feeding is best though.

Place a UGH(Under Tank Heater) on one side of the tank on the actual side just above the top level of the substrate. The water dish should be on the opposite end of the tank creating a warmer side and a cooler side.

Climate needs to be maintained consistantly. 80° to 82° for babies and juveniles during the day and 80° to 85° for adults. night Time temp should be 75° to 79°, but you'll want to hover around 78°. Humidity should be maintained at 80% and can go as low as 75% and even 70% at times, but you'll want to stay at the ideal level.

Combine a UTH with incandescent lighting to produce extra heat to warm the ambient air within the enclosure. Use either a Fluker's 5.5" Clamp lamp with dimmer switch or the 8.5" Clamp lamp with dimmer switch. The dimmer switch allows you to dial in how much heat and light is produced by the bulb. Use a spot light style heat bulb for day time with a concentrated beam because you don't have to dial them up high to produce the necessary heat, but since you want to go with live plants you'll need Full Spectrum Daylight bulbs. Night Time bulbs should be either infrared or moonlight blue. These don't affect their day night cycle.

As for the day/night cycle it needs to be 12 hours of day and 12 of night. You can buy a timer and set the day lights to turn on at 8:00 am and go off and turn the night lights on at 8:00 pm.

please note that you cannot use daylight spotlight bulbs or any type of basil g bulb with Albino Pacman Frogs because their eyes and skin are extra sensitive so you won't be able to use live plants possibly do to not being able to provide the needed lighting. You can still use an infrared bulb or moonlight blue bulb with them though.

Hope this gets you started.

[aGreenCup]

Grif, thanks for the information it really helps, but a male pacman can live in 5 gallon tank its whole life? Initially i wanted to get a 12x12x12 exo terra which is 7.4 gallons, but people around this community recommend not putting any kind of frog in this enclosure. A 10 gallon would work well with both makes and females, i do understand why i need to get a critter keeper if the frog is a baby and that albinos need special lighting, which concerns me because i kinda wanted a lime green albino. So it looks like its back to the drawing board with some of my plans.

[GrifTheGreat]

Grif, thanks for the information it really helps, but a male pacman can live in 5 gallon tank its whole life? Initially i wanted to get a 12x12x12 exo terra which is 7.4 gallons, but people around this community recommend not putting any kind of frog in this enclosure. A 10 gallon would work well with both makes and females, i do understand why i need to get a critter keeper if the frog is a baby and that albinos need special lighting, which concerns me because i kinda wanted a lime green albino. So it looks like its back to the drawing board with some of my plans.

I don't use 12"x12"x12" because they don't have enough height to keep the lights away from your frog. I use 12"x12"x18" tree frog tanks for adult males and they work great. Of course you can place adult males in 10 gallon tanks like the females and them be just fine. You can always work on making a nice 20 gallon build and fill it in well so it appears to have less open space and go more natural. You could use plant lighting with an Albino IF and only IF there is substantial shade and cover for the frog and if the lights are not extremely bright. Most live plants only thrive under Fluorescent lighting which is very bright and requires a special dimmer switch to dim them down where as incandescents have lamps with dimmer switches readily available.

Another note to consider is that with these incandescent bulbs you do not want to go higher than 50 watts and no lower than 25 watts. any higher than 50 watts can possibly harm the frog and dry out the enclosure and any lower than 25 watts can be ineffective at heating. You can also use CHE(Ceramic Heat Emitters) to heat the enclosure with a lamp that has a dimmer switch. CHE get extremely hot though and cannot touch anything that could melt or burn so a dimmer switch should be used with them so they don't get too hot and of course the Wattage range should be followed the same as with incandescent bulbs, but 60 watts with these are fine. They produce heat with no light so no worries of blinding the frog.

[aGreenCup]

Grif, thanks again. It looks like that I need to get some lighting and a critter keeper so that when I get a baby pacman it will be a stress free environment. Now it seems to me that I need more research on how I want to setup the tank when it reaches maturity.

[GrifTheGreat]

Grif, thanks again. It looks like that I need to get some lighting and a critter keeper so that when I get a baby pacman it will be a stress free environment. Now it seems to me that I need more research on how I want to setup the tank when it reaches maturity.

Good idea and you're welcome.

[aGreenCup]

now with this 20Gal long tank could i use a tank divider and house two pacmans? The demisions for both sides is 15x13x12 which is 10Gals. I also got my lighting just waiting on everything else to come in the next week.

[GrifTheGreat]

now with this 20Gal long tank could i use a tank divider and house two pacmans? The demisions for both sides is 15x13x12 which is 10Gals. I also got my lighting just waiting on everything else to come in the next week.

Yes. You can use real glass or Plexiglass for the divider. Make sure you make it so its not able to be seen through so the frogs cannot see each other and this will also add security for the frogs. Make sure it is all the way flush with the inside walls of the tank as well as the actual lid so there is no possible way either frog could get to the other. If you think they can't scale a tank wall to get to another frog or out of the tank think again. They most certainly can and will. These are very determined frogs when they want to be. I've heard funny stories about Pacman escape artists and horror stories.

[aGreenCup]

Awesome, thanks again.

[dpcsquid]

I actually just set up a 20 gallon tank to house 2 frogs. I bought: Tile Runners/Holders from Home Depot (they look a lot like the clips that you bind your school reports in, only these are much longer and easily cut), Acrylic sheeting from Home Depot, and Hot Glue. After cutting the acrylic to size (easier said than done), I bordered it with the runners, cut those to size, put it in the tank, and hot glued it in place. Some people use aquarium silicone, but with my tiny apartment, the hot glue was easier. If I need to clean I can slide the acrylic sheeting out of the runners for easier access. Because the acrylic is clear I've had to put contact paper/ aquarium contact paper on it so the frogs can't see each other, but it's worked wonderfully so far!

[aGreenCup]

Good idea, I thought about just getting a piece of glass cut to fit the part and use aquarium sealant. The only reason you dont want the barrier clear is becuase of the thought of thinking the other is food. right?

[dpcsquid]

Exactly, and also, if they see crickets or "food" on the other side of the wall they can get stressed out or upset when they can't get to it. I picked up the acrylic sheeting because it's sturdier and less likely to shatter, and I'm a klutz.

[GrifTheGreat]

Good idea, I thought about just getting a piece of glass cut to fit the part and use aquarium sealant. The only reason you dont want the barrier clear is becuase of the thought of thinking the other is food. right?

Yep. That is exactly why. It will also reduce stress.

[aGreenCup]

another question. Can I not have a water dish a if I leave the subtrate moist enough?

[GrifTheGreat]

another question. Can I not have a water dish a if I leave the subtrate moist enough?

You can do that, but it is best to have one. They do like to have access to shallow water. It helps incase humidity is not quite right and to assist with shedding if necessary. They have trouble shedding when humidity isn't right.

[aGreenCup]

A fogger will help humidity? correct

[GrifTheGreat]

A fogger will help humidity? correct

If you have it set on a timer to go on and off throughout the day or have a climate control unit like the Zoo Med Hygrotherm. but even with these it is a good idea to provide water just incase. They do like to bathe occasionally and it also helps the go to the bathroom since most use their water dish for that purpose.

[aGreenCup]

thanks Grif

[GrifTheGreat]

thanks Grif

You're welcome.

[aGreenCup]

Could I use T5 aquarium lighting with this frog? Is it too bright?