Do I Give My Pacman Frog A UVB Exo Terra 2.0 or 5.0 Compact Bulb and what vitamin supplemet?

[Dave jonez]

iv got a 45x45x45 exo terrarium which is kept in my bedroom on the computer desk, for the substrate i have eco earth ( coconut husk fiber) few artificial plants and a shallow water dish and sandstone rock in the corner, i also have a 45cm exo terra canopy ( two bulb holder) on the top and its puzzling me on the bulb i know the frog needs UVB to help with the bones to grow ect and do i need a exo terra 2.0 or 5.0 compact bulb? if it is one of them which watt will i need 13w or 26w i know higher watt means more heat but do i need more heat? my room is around 20C-23C also with regards to be getting a UVB bulb will i need to still have a vitamin supplement and which type? as some have D+3 on it and also do i need a UTH as the side of the tank? thanks all information will be great

[Lija]

translation for us north american people, 45x45x45 cm is 18x18x18 in inches

how big is your frog? that is a very big tank, it would suit only big females or bigger males.

substrate - eco earth is very fine coco fiber, is it what you have or you have coco husk? you need fine coco fiber.

lights - pacman frogs don't need UVB, they live on bottom of the forest in nature, in shade and are adjusted to Ca metabolism without UVB, if you have albino, UVB is very dangerous to him. just get some low voltage energy saving lamp to provide day/night cycle.

supplements - you need to dust food with Ca/vitD3 supplement every second feeding and once a week multivitamins ( any type suitable for frogs)

heat - you need to maintain night temps at 24-26C and day temps 27-28C, it is well above your room temp, so either UTH on a side or heat lamp ( infrared or ceramic) plugged into dimmer.
humidity - 75-80%.
the best to achieve both temps with night drop and humidity and to maintain it all constant is to get zoomed hydrotherm plug in it your heating and misting systems and never worry about temps or humidity again

[Dave jonez]

i do not currently have a pacman frog but when i do it will be a baby green pacman frog, the substrate i have is zoo med eco earth ( compressed coconut fiber) what size UTH will i need and how long will that need to be put on for? and could you give me a link to what vitamins i need? then il find a UK site to get them off and same for the day light bulbs, but wont the exo terra 2.0 compact bulb act as a daylight bulb due to low UVB? also cant i just misted the tank with a hand sprayer? and how many times a day do i feed it? thanks

[Lija]

for a baby you need smaller tank, baby will get scared in such a big tank = a lot of problems.
get a medium sized critter keeper one of those plastic ones, you attach small UTH ( or hermit crabs) on a side. Sure you can use 2.0 bulb ( 13W) if you are getting not albino one, just they are so much more expensive then regular bulbs or you can get small exo terra 30x30x30 ( or 45) - in cm then you can get bigger UTH and heat lamp.

multivitamins - any really for reptiles/amphibians currently I'm using exo terra ones Exo Terra : Multi Vitamin / Multi Vitamin Powder Supplement

sure you can spray, just make sure humidity is in right range.

[Dave jonez]

well seems its a duel bulb holder i will have to order two 13w 2.0 bulbs, what problems like? just hope i haven't wasted £55, thanks for the link

[Lija]

or you can just use one bulb like I do, regular cheap energy saving one exo terra canopy looks very nice on a tank, but as i said it is way too big for a baby.

[Dave jonez]

thanks for you're help, iv sent you a personal message just about some other info not worth putting up on this

[Lija]

got it

[amort90]

hi Dave, just for some uk based help

i get all of my equipment and some supplements from swell reptiles online and my supplements i got from ebay as it was cheaper.
im using the a 13W energy saving bulb in the canopy on my 30x30 exo terra and that does him perfectly, its on from 8am - 8pm. and it is after 8pm where he wakes up and becomes active, which is the time that i feed him

as for my supplements these are what im using
Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin | eBay
Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 High Quality Reptile Calci dust Nutrobol | eBay

hope this helps a bit

[Dave jonez]

thanks is your pacman baby or adult and what do you do with vitamins and feeding one day using the rep-cal herptivite multivitamin then the next day rep-cal calcium with vitamin D3?

[amort90]

tbh mate im not overly sure as the petshop i got him from was a waste of space, personally from what the petshop told me he is about 10 months old but i think hes actually younger than that.
i give him the cal +D3 every 2 days and once a week i give him the multi vit on a day that hes not having the calcium ... its some advice i was given on here and he is certainly improving from what he was thanks to it

[Dave jonez]

pic of my terrarium 45cm3 (needs more plants and a light and a heatmat and frog i know )
(click for bigger pic)

[unkempt1]

I can personally attest to the importance of keeping a smaller cage for a younger pacman. I noticed my pacman would flip out when I so much as moved a plant an inch or two... he wouldn't eat for a few days! I moved him from a ten to a five gallon. He eats much more often now and doesn't look as tense as he used to (he's a lot more "laid out"). One thing I did notice is he doesn't move around as much, he pretty much likes to stay in the same spot but during the night he finds a nice spot to poop and then moves back to "his spot."

[amort90]

Yeah my frog loves to stay in the back corner to the right hand side of his water bowl. Once i turn his light off he comes out an maybe explores but he generally expores to poo at the fron of his terrarium to then go back into his corner

I dont know what it is in gallons but iv got a 12x12x12in terrarium.

[aGreenCup]

I have been using exo terras 2.0 bulbs for a while, there awesome. I only run them for about 6- 7 hours a day though. I am using the Zilla slimline light fixture(T8), but I replaced the bulbs. As for dusting I use Rep-Cal and usually do three to four earthworms a month. Pinkies at the beginning of each month and earthworms as my stable.



The standard bulb has to much UVB, it MUST be changed.
Amazon.com: Zilla Slimline Tropical 25 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture: Pet Supplies

[Lija]

Dave the tank looks beautiful but for a big ornate, I said to you many times - it is way too big for a baby frog or even for adult male cranwelli unless he is very big. You don't want to listen, fine, but when you get your baby and he won't be eating and be stressed out - that is going to be a reason.

[Dave jonez]

i am listening just like i said i would pack it out with more plants and a background on 3sides few people said it should be fine if i do that

[fox403]

Eh!!! Dave your tank will be fine... guys if you're going to give advice let people know what's worked for u, not " this is how it should be done" Dave I have kept a lot of ceratophrys over the years all sizes a small frog in a big tank is great and has always worked out fine for me

[Dave jonez]

ahh thanks fox i hope so, i have thought of a few solutions tho if i need to like partitioning the tank till it gets older if it doesnt eat like Lija saids

[Lija]

fox - that is exactly how it should be done! it is better to think of everything before getting a frog then get a frog and only then when something go off ask for help. although it is better late then never

Dave i kinda getting where you're coming from, you got the tank already and don't want to spend more $. The plastic thing is like 8-9$ in CAN, it shouldn't be too expensive in UK too and when he is older and don't need it, you can keep it as a spare for hospital tank situation or transportation if ever needed, I'm using it for baths for my big ones mostly, because you can put lid on and they can't jump out of there. that thing is useful to have. As alternative you think of how you can minimize space, more wood, plants like hanging exo terra or just big rock thing like they use for fish tanks, I'm sure you can think of something
by minimizing big tank you will need to tong feed only, crickets will run away and hide, you will need to watch very closely.