My 22 year old pacman

[Samalander]

Hi, I'm new around here but not new to frog ownership. Here's my Pacman frog that I've had for over 22 years now!

[purpleturtle89]

22 YEARS WOW .. sure when you have been on holiday the minder has forgot to feed him? died and got you a new one from the pet shop :3

[Samalander]

haha, maybe!

[Hidr]

Didn't know they could live that long. Very cool.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lija]

beautiful frog!

and welcome to the frog forum!

[Herpguy]

I'm waiting for somebody to tell him that gravel and mice are bad for him.

[Lija]

I'm waiting for somebody to tell him that gravel and mice are bad for him.

lol i wanted to very badly in fact lol but when it is 22 y old frog you are shutting up about those things

[Samalander]

I'm waiting for somebody to tell him that gravel and mice are bad for him.

In my defense, those are old pictures. He lives in a nice deep tank with worm castings and coco-coir now :-)

He has had quite a varied diet over the years: mice, worms, crickets, goldfish, beef heart, ex-girlfriends, etc... and I probably shouldn't mention this, but whenever one of my cats brought in a 'present' (aka dead bird), the frog got first dibs on it... I like to call it recycling.


Does anyone think it would still be possible to breed him/her?

[Heatheranne]

I'm waiting for somebody to tell him that gravel and mice are bad for him.

I am guessing he's a tong feeder? Would I guess right?

Welcome to the forum . Your frog looks great. It's nice to hear...22 years!

[Samalander]

I am guessing he's a tong feeder? Would I guess right?

Welcome to the forum . Your frog looks great. It's nice to hear...22 years!

Thanks! He definitely uses his tongue for feeding, he missed once and it stuck to the glass. haha

[GrifTheGreat]

Impressive Sam. Looks in perfect health in those pics even if they are old.

I would like to say that some new pics are in order here. He is most likely still breedable and if I were you I would. Long lifespan is something you may want to pass along. They can live over 30 years if cared for well. Good varied diet is a key part of a healthy frog

Very nice cranwelli!!!

[Samalander]

I would like to say that some new pics are in order here. He is most likely still breedable and if I were you I would. Long lifespan is something you may want to pass along. They can live over 30 years if cared for well. Good varied diet is a key part of a healthy frog

Very nice cranwelli!!!

My thoughts exactly. I'll definitely take some new pics within the next couple weeks, I want to give him a chance to properly wake up from hibernation and get a few meals in him (he just got up the other day).


Sam

[Ivan M]

WOW, extremely impressed with him being 22, good to know they can live that long. Congrats and cant wait for recent pics.

[DeeDub]

Very cool frog and great job! Could you give us a detailed husbandry in a new thread....or this one. I would really like to know how you've done it. Not many people have kept them this long I don't think. Again great frog, and welcome!

-----------------
Thanks
DW

[Samalander]

Very cool frog and great job! Could you give us a detailed husbandry in a new thread....or this one. I would really like to know how you've done it. Not many people have kept them this long I don't think. Again great frog, and welcome!

-----------------
Thanks
DW

Sure thing! I've always considered this frog to be the most low maintenance pet ever, as he stays buried most of the time. For the last 10 years or so, he has been buried in total for ~6-8 months per year, with a solid 4 month hibernation over winter (he has progressively been hibernating/burying himself for longer and longer periods over the years). Typically he eats voraciously for a few weeks, then buries himself until he gets hungry again. Over winter I let the water level drop and turn off the heater, to simulate a cool/dry period.

When I first got him (I was 11!) he came in a small plastic flip top tank (1-2 gallons?). He soon outgrew that and I moved him into a 10 gallon, then a 20-gallon, and now finally a 33 gallon. The vivarium setup has typically been 50/50 land/water, with substrate depth of ~12" on the land side tapering down into a water depth of about 6". There is a small submersible heater and an undergravel filter/small pump to keep things fresh. For about 15 years the substrate was strictly small-sized gravel (oops), but I have since started using a coco-coir/worm casting mix on top of a gravel drainage layer. He has *always* had lots of substrate depth to completely bury himself in.

As for feeding, he's had just about anything that moves, including lots of wild caught things :-p When I was younger I would often take him to school with me (the little tank fit perfectly in my locker), and make lunchtime trips to find all sorts of things to feed him... worms, grasshoppers, grubs - it was actually a bit of a game to see what he WOULDN'T eat. He has also outlived 6 pet cats, who provided him with a constant supply of high quality, organic, free-range sparrows and chick-a-dees ;-) When I do yard work I usually collect earthworms and he'll get a nice plate of worm spaghetti that night. The rest of the time he's had store bought stuff, such as mice, crickets, goldfish and beef heart.

I'm looking forward to our next photo shoot (definitely need to clean his vivarium up first though!)

[DVirginiana]

Haha... I have a snake like that. Got him when I was 10, could probably write a book called "Things that will kill Snakes" with all the stupid things I did when I was a kid, and he's outlived his species' average lifespan by almost half.

You should totally breed him! I'd buy a frog from a line with a 22 year old animal a heck of a lot faster than I'd buy a 'designer' frog; not that I have anything against those, just a personal preference for WT frogs

[Lija]

Haha... I have a snake like that. Got him when I was 10, could probably write a book called "Things that will kill Snakes" with all the stupid things I did when I was a kid, and he's outlived his species' average lifespan by almost half.

You should totally breed him! I'd buy a frog from a line with a 22 year old animal a heck of a lot faster than I'd buy a 'designer' frog; not that I have anything against those, just a personal preference for WT frogs

talking about snakes, just remembered one story that a breeder of my new snakes told me, the guy got a snake from him, put a tank on his very powerful speaker that was on for almost all day, so in a few years the bottom of a tank got detached because of all vibration and slid down trapping a snake between the bottom and screen top. the snake survived

oh and put me on a list for his babies, we are in Vancouver quite often

[Zlitni]

I've heard that they can live 10 years... lol

[Leaper]

Thank you and I am glad you found this place.
+1 on the buying a frog from his line of old-timers lol.
Yes please I would love to see your pics of his setup now.

I am new and am hear to learn to be a better caretaker.
But cool just cool!