Hey , I have a problem with my pacman frog

[Jason123]

Hello guys
I bought a pacman frog 2 days before.In the pet store he ate in front of me one cricket but since I have him in home , he has only ate 1 cricket.His terrarium dimensions are 25cmx40cmx12cm.
I use forest moss and plantation soil.I keep the humidity at 80 % .The temperature is between 18 and 20 celcius,(I think its a little bit low but I cant go to the pet store until tuesday)
I tried to move the food with a tweezers in front him for some time but he attacked the tweezers!
Now I have him in a little place 20cmx10cmx5cm with 4 gut loaded crickets but he havent eat any of them yet!
please help me!
thank you

[DVirginiana]

Those temps are WAY too low. I'm kind of in a hurry, so I won't bother with conversions (you can just convert it using Google) but he needs to be between 80-82 Farenheit during the day and 75-80 at night. Right now, you have him at about 64 Farenheit. Is there any way you can get him a heat pad or heat lamp before Tuesday? Those temperatures are very low.

Answer the questions in the Trouble in the Enclosure sticky at the top of the forum.

When you say 'tweezers' do you mean tweezers (like what you would use to pluck eyebrows and remove splinters) or tongs? You should switch to reptile feeding tongs if you aren't already using those. Most tweezers have sharp points or edges that could harm him if he lunged or bit at them.

Do not leave crickets in the tank unsupervised for more than an hour or two. If he hasn't eaten them by then, take them out and try again later. They can bite the frog if they stay in there very long.

[Jason123]

thank you for your advice , and unfortunately there is no way I can get the heat pad before tueasday.I found one set of plastic tweezers not these to pluck eyebrows.I am trynig to heat up the terrarium by placing it on the radiators and on a heating blanket .Is there an other way to heat it up ?
Thank you.

[DVirginiana]

Don't place it on top of any heat source. Pacs burrow to stay cool in the wild, and if the heat source is below them, they don't realize that burrowing won't cool them off. They can overheat/dehydrate and die if this goes on for very long. I would recommend sitting him near the radiator and maybe wrapping the heat blanket around two sides of the enclosure. Even when you get a heat pad from the pet shop, be sure to put it on the side and not the bottom.

If you can go by a walmart or hardware store before then, you can pick up a 40 watt red bulb and one of those outdoor light fixtures with a clamp on it and sit that on top of his tank for a heat source. Since you don't need UVB, the red bulbs in hardware stores aren't really very different than the expensive ones they sell for reptiles. :P Just be careful and make sure it's not a fire risk when you set it up.

Here is the link to the Trouble in the Enclosure thread
http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html

This is mainly just to make sure everything else is good (because even the smallest problems can cause pacs to stress out and stop eating).

[Lija]

hi Jason, welcome to the forum! please answer to those questions here so we can help you.
meanwhile if there is now way you can go to the pet store until tuesday, try to heat up tank as much as you can, not from a bottom but from sides.
you need temps of 25C for night and 27-28C for day.
that is ok if he doesn't eat for a day or two, even when conditions are good, they might need a up to a week to get settled in.
you need to make sure the conditions are right and then offer food. most would eat better in their enclosures as the stress from picking him up and placing in different enclosure is eliminated.
- moss - you better take it out and replace the whole thing with fine coconut fiber ( plantation soil, exo earth), it has to be moist but not mud like.

[Jason123]

Thank you for your advices guys
Here are some pictures of the terrarium



is the thermometer and the hygrometer in the right position?
is the layer of plantation soil too thick?
Thank you

[Lija]

that is all messed up. that amount of moss is a disaster waiting to happen, take all moss out for one. Then the tank itself, you will have a hard time keeping conditions proper in that thing, both humidity and heat, you need higher walls. for a baby medium sized critter keeper is good. Get some plant to make a hide of some sorts too. did you manage to keep your temps up?

[Jason123]

he likes to hide under the moss so I dont think thats a big problem.And about the temperatures ... unfortunately no . Hopefully I am buying the heating pad tommorow.Should I buy an other terrarium ? If yes , pease recommend one of these , cuz only one of these I can get
Exo Terra : Natural Terrarium Small / Advanced Reptile Habitat
Exo Terra : Natural Terrarium Mini / Advanced Reptile Habitat
Exo Terra : Natural Terrarium Nano / Advanced Reptile Habitat

I had him in a room near a radiator alone for a long time with 2 crickets.So the temperature was ok for that time and he didnt eat a thing!
How often should I feed my little buddy?

[Lija]

you can get that one Exo Terra : Faunarium / All-Purpose Terrarium you have the largest one, is it right? for a baby the best would be PT2260 and s/he is bigger get a bigger one.
you can get 12"x12"x18" ( mini tall) for now too, put about 3cm of plantation soil, no moss! put some plant or log or something to minimize space and create a hide. and if you have a girl and she is big then you can upgrade her when she is older and if that is a male he will be perfectly happy in small tank.

moss - of course baby hides under it as there are no other options for him, it posses a very high impaction risk, that i don't think you want him to experience.

you need to feed him every day using 15 min rule - give as many as he can eat in 15 min every day while he is a little. but he may not eat for you until conditions are right and he is settled down and feels safe.

[Jason123]

When its time to feed him I put him in a little closed enclosure cuz I am afraid the crickets will escape ( there are some ''holes'' in the terrarium)?Is there a possibility to escape??I have the faunarium the big one.Should I put the 3cm of plantation soil now in this one?Can I keep him in that terrarium but I have to minimize the space?

[Lija]

that might be a part of a reason he is not eating that you are taking him out with temps being probably the major one.

honestly i don't know who might be housed comfortable in that tank, i have one of those, but hasn't figured it out yet I'm using it for temporary enclosure for baby/juvie snakes.
it provides too big floor space for a baby frog, yet it would feel too squished from a top for adult, if you minimize space crickets will find tons of space to hide instead of being eaten.

another issue i have with that particular model is that it offers close to zero visibility for the owner, every time you want to see a frog you need to do something, like open the lid or open the door and/or move the tank, and that is stressful for a frog.

I suggest you start from scratch and get a good tank+ all the rest of a stuff, it will save you quite a lot of headache

[Jason123]

Thank you again!
I just ordered the exo terra (30cmx30cmx30cm)that was the smallest I was able to order and the exo terra Pet Supermarket heating pad 26.5 x 28cm
I couldn't get any decorations.
I am gonna set it up in an hour so please help me with these questions:
Where to place the heating pad?(I mean under the half of the terrarium, under the terrarium or next to it?)
After I set it up , should I let the crickets for 15' and let him alone to eat them?
Where to place the thermometer and the hygrometer?
Should I let some moss?
How thick must the layer of the plantation soil be?
Thank you,you really saved me , and my frog

[Lija]

you're welcome!

UTH on a side, but not behind the background, the lower edge at about substrate level.

-place gauges in a dead centre of a back wall about 2 cm above the substrate.
-no moss
-about 3cm of substrate.

you really, really need something in a tank, decorations, plants, anything, so the frog would feel more safe, do you have something laying around that you can use for now until you get something else? he is not going to eat if he scared of being eaten himself lol
and also make sure you have 3 sides of a tank covered with something, you have UTH on one side, foam background on the back wall, then cover with something the third wall too.
so when you set everything up, put the frog in and give him a day to settle in and then offer food, some take longer to settle in provided the conditions are proper.
do you have ca/vit3 and multivitamins, you will need to use those ca/vit3 every other feeding and multivitamins once a week.

[Jason123]

Unfortunately the heating pad didnt come.I got only the new terrarium (30cmx30cmx30cm) due to some problems.I am getting it tomorrow.About the hiding place I only have a small pot which I was using for my aquarium but it has some glue in it , so I think it may harm the frog's skin .
But when they had him in the pet store , he was in a little box with some moss and he was eating like crazy.I am not sure if I understood how to place the heating pad cuz I dont know what UTH means (sorry for my english). I have covered the 2 walls (one with a backround , and the other one is touching the aquarium , so it looks like a backround and about the third I will try to find the foam backround)



I am dusting his crickets in a reptivite they gave me at the pet store(the cricket he ate in front of me was not dusted).
And when I put water to his bowl after a half an hours it evaporates so I am going to refill the bowl every time.Is that right?
Thank you

[Lija]

your english is excellent, don't worry about it
what do you mean the water evaporates in half an hour?

so far it is looking good, substrate is too wet though, can you add some dry fiber to dry the thing out a little?

do you have any wood sticks anywhere, rocks or anything wood or plant looking. there gotta be something just wash it well with hot water. just put it it, he'll feel more secure with stuff around. the pot - yeah depending what kind of glue, may be not a good idea.

sorry, UTH means under tank heater or heating pad, we use UTH because we're lazy to print the whole thing down

if one side is touching fish tank, then you just need to place heating pad on a third one and you're good.

[Jason123]

Thank you
I mean I fill the water bowl and in 30' its gone!
About the substrate recommend one please Pet Supermarket (I use plantation soil)(And I have the forest moss too , but I removed it)
And from decorations the only ones I have are some fake plants from the aquarium(VERY sharp)and one cave (very sharp too)
Please recommend one decoration too:
Pet Supermarket
Pet Supermarket
Pet Supermarket
http://www.petsupermarket.gr/86/%CE%...%B5%CF%82.html

http://www.petsupermarket.gr/312/%CE...%84%CE%AC.html
I know there is not a big variety but these are the only ones I can have
(And when u mean to place the heating pad , u mean under the terrarium , cuz there is some space ,or to tape it on the third wall?)
Thank you!

[Lija]

honestly i haven't seen any sharp fish tank things are you sure?
for stuff, it is personal preference, so I'll tell you what i would get for a empty tank, doesn't mean you have to do exactly that

Pet Supermarket
or Pet Supermarket

and one of those Pet Supermarket

heating pad only on a glass on side, NOT under tank and NOT on a back wall as it is has foam background.

you need as well that Pet Supermarket
and that Pet Supermarket
and that for feeding Pet Supermarket
and that ( you should have something like that for your fish tank) Pet Supermarket

[Jason123]

Thank you for your advices !
I think I am gonna get this Pet Supermarket
and this Pet Supermarket
But I am afraid that the crickets will hide and he will never find them
( I have him now in his cage for 2,5 hours with 2 halfdead crickets and one big,very healthy and he hasnt eat any of them :/)
Any other substrate?
And about your aquarium recomendation, thank you but I am full and fine with aquarium stuff,thats why I decided to satrt a new pet
Thank you!

[Lija]

you need prime to treat your water for your frog and supplements to dust his food.

[Locascio]

lija is right on the money. this new frog owner is in good hands! thank you lija!
PS. i use prime and it is the only water treament i trust for my frogs