new to pacman frogs

[manbeardpigbear]

I just got my first pacman frog and he/she is burrowing well and eating plenty, but I'v noticed that he/she is (from what my research has told me) retaining water alot. I have had kicker (frog's name) for about a week now and it seams like kicker is always bloated but when I picked him/her up for a soak in a warm bath kicker instantly pees in my hand and his/her sides deflate. I was wondering if thats normal? Kicker is in a 2.5 gallon tank with eco-earth as a substrate, a water bowl and some small fake plants. as far as heating and humidity go's I have a heat mat on the side of the tank and a 40watt inferred bulb probably 4" from the top of the tank, humidity stays around 60-70 only getting to 40 a few times when i didnt get there so mist in time. any light on the situation would be much appreciated

[Lija]

they pee a lot and visibly deflate after but they don't usually pee in your hand. your humidity is very low, it gotta stay in 70 at all the time. 40 is dangerously low.

please answer to all questions below.

1. Size of enclosure
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
3. Humidity
4. Temperature
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
6. Materials used for substrate
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
10. Lighting
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
12. When is the last time he/she ate
13. Have you found poop lately
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
15. How old is the frog
16. How long have you owned him/her
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
19. How often the frog is handled
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

[GrifTheGreat]

I agree greatly with Lija. Your humidity needs to be 75% to 80%.

Also it is completely normal for a well hydrated Pacman to look like it's retaining water, but in this case it isn't in a bad way. It is also normal for them to pee in your hand. Frogs and Toads will urinate when they feel scared. Once they no longer see you as a threat they will normally no longer pee in your hand.

Answer each question Lija has posted for you.

[manbeardpigbear]

thank you very much for help.

1. 2.5 gallon tank (frog is only about 2")
2. 1 inhabitant
3. 60-70% humidity (rarely droping to 40 if i cant get to it soon enough, working on solution)
4. 85 degrees day temp 74-75 night time temp
5. polan springs bottled water treated with repti safe
6. Eco-Earth
7. a few small fake plants
8. crickets
9. crickets are all gut loaded and dusted
10. small aquarium led strip and a 40watt inferred bulb 6" from top of tank
11. zoo med uth on side of tank(second to smallest size heat matt) and 40watt bulb (cold house)
12. today
13. no in the past day or so
14.
15. only had Kicker for a week now very young
16. only had Kicker for a week now very young
17. captive bread
18. only crickets so far, going to try some wax worms soon as a treat
19. rarely only to move the frog into its warm soak
20.low traffic
21. fresh water in water dish daily, misting 2-3 times a day, bedding gets changed every 2 weeks (havent changed it yet but im planing to this week)

[GrifTheGreat]

Temps are a little high for a baby. 82° is the highest day time temp you want to go for babies and no lower than 78° at night.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think you need a little bit larger tank.
For a ideal environment you need a warm side and a cooler side so the frog can
regulate its temp a little easier than just burring into the substrate.
A 20 gal long and a screen top is not very expensive.
And your frog will grow pretty quickly.
Hopefully you have the space for the larger tank.

A repti-foger might be a good investment.
You can set how often and how much fog it puts out.
Another good investment would be a temp and humidity controller.
The one I have from Zoo-med is really nice it even has separate night settings.
The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't use a timer.
It has a light sensor so I use a simple lamp timer to control the daylight lamp and
that in turn will trigger the day temp and humidity settings.
Good luck, and I wish I could have one.

[DVirginiana]

That tank is okay for a baby, but you'll need a larger one soon. A 10 gallon is enough for an adult, and a 20 is even better but not really necessary. Sometimes very small ones get intimidated by that large of an enclosure, so it might actually be good to wait till he gets a bit larger to upgrade him.

Where are you measuring humidity at? You should be measuring it right above the substrate; get much higher and it reads like... exponentially lower than it would on the frog's level. Their ambient humidity can drop out of the recommended range by a little as long as their substrate is moist, but at 40, the substrate probably isn't moist enough to make up for it...
If the top of the tank is screen, you can cover half or 2/3 of it with clear plastic wrap. That'll help keep humidity in.

[manbeardpigbear]

Im good on tank size and Im fairly familiar with reptiles, im was mostly worried about the bloating/retaining water. ok hmm my hydrometer is all the way at the top of the tank so maybe my humidity is even better than I thought.

[DVirginiana]

Yeah, I figured that was the problem If the hygrometer was at the right place and still reading 40 it'd have to be really dry. Get it to the right place just to make sure, but I'd bet your humidity is in the right range.
They can retain water in a dangerous way, but that looks different. Like, you know how the look puffed up right before they shed? If they look like that when they aren't about to shed or puffing up because they're mad/scared then that's a problem. It's normal for them to hold enough water that they visibly shrink when they pee.

[Lija]

3. 60-70% humidity (rarely droping to 40 if i cant get to it soon enough, working on solution)

hydrotherm + fogger + heating device = never think about humidity/temp again

beautiful baby you got here! i have a feeling that there's absolutely nothing wrong with your frog, just correct temps as mentioned already. please pics of a frog when he seems to be bloated to be sure that's all right. I must say when you see the amount of pee they produce it might look scary, but it is normal.

[manbeardpigbear]

Kicker is doing great but has become very dark and brown with the execption of 3 green lines on kickers back. Is this normal? Also i was wonder what specific breed of pacman kicker is?

[GrifTheGreat]

Kicker is doing great but has become very dark and brown with the execption of 3 green lines on kickers back. Is this normal? Also i was wonder what specific breed of pacman kicker is?

Your picture didn't show up, but from your description I would say you have a Brown Ceratophrys cranwelli.

[manbeardpigbear]

sorry hopefully this pic works

[GrifTheGreat]

sorry hopefully this pic works

That is a C. cranwelli.

[manbeardpigbear]

this is kickers new 10gal setup. i just had one question on ventilation, do pacman's need a lot of ventilation or will a glass lid be ok?

[GrifTheGreat]

this is kickers new 10gal setup. i just had one question on ventilation, do pacman's need a lot of ventilation or will a glass lid be ok?

They don't need a ton of ventilation, but you do want decent air circulation otherwise you will promote bacteria and fungal growth in the enclosure. You can buy a screen top and cut some plexiglass to cover the lid, but drill holes in it for ventilation or just cover 3/4 of a screen top with plastic wrap.

Ventilation also assists with their climate so that the air doesn't become stale and too hot.