So here's the story. I have been going into my local Petsmart for the past 6 months or so. From day one they had this cute tiny little Pacman frog. Every week I went into that store they still had the same one housed in a tiny plastic cricket keeper that was placed in the same enclosure that also housed a couple of tree frogs and several Anoles or similar lizard (depending on what was new that month). Yesterday I went in again to grab some crickets and there he was still! And this time they had no less than 15 lizards and one lonely tree frog in the enclosure with him...

Well I got sick of seeing him in those conditions so I talked to the manager and brought him home.
Now, I know a bit about these guys, but I'd like to hear more suggestions and explanations on how to keep this guy happy.

I currently have him set up in a 5.5 gallon terrarium with 2-3 inches of Eco Earth substrate moistened, but not dripping wet. There's a water dish filled very slightly in case he needs it. I also have three of those Mondo Grass Plants in there that I took out of my Fire-Bellied Toads enclosure to provide him with some temporary cover for now. I have a simple black light that is providing just enough heat to get by for today. I did feed him some crickets last night and he actually hopped around to catch them.

What I need to know specifically is:
1) What sort of heating/lighting is best? I prefer an overhead heating method so I can set him up next to my Jungle Carpet Python and hook him up with the Herpstat to regulate the amount of heat he gets.
2) What sort of substrate can I use (other than Eco Earth)? I know how great Eco Earth is for him, but I'd like to keep some live plants in with him until he is big enough to destroy them. I understand uprooting issues as well, but he hasn't uprooted anything as of yet & he's dug himself completely under the substrate right now. If that became an issue, I wouldn't mind potting the plants so he could still have natural plants - I'm not a big fan of the artificial plants.
3) This one concerns me. With him being somewhere between 6-8 months old, I believe his growth has been stunted. He is roughly only 1.5-2" long and not very wide...from reading around on the forum, he/she should be much larger than that by now. Is there anyway to "catch up" on his growth healthily? Will he/she still grow larger or will he/she permanently stay small?

I am aware pictures would help, but until he comes out of the ground the pictures will have to wait. :-)


Thanks for any help, suggestions or input you guys have for me!