Pacman Questions (soon to be new owner)

[Bedore]

Greetings all,

I am considering getting a Pacman frog tomorrow. I have done a lot of research and reading but just have a couple questions.

I have read that a light is required, and I have also read that they are not. The general consensus is a light is not required. Just want to confirm that I do not need a light?

My next question is temperature/humidity. I will most likely use an under the tank heater, but stick it to the side of the tank since I know these guys like to burrow to regulate temps. Is there any way to control the temperature or a product that has a built in thermostat? The next part of the question is in the winter my room is quite cool. It is usually about 60-65, but sometimes gets as high as 70 or so. Will a pad heater work to keep the temperature steady? Next...in the summer I run the AC....I hate being hot and usually keep my room around 60. Will the AC affect the frog (his enclosure will be at the other end of the room but the room is usually the same temp it's a window unit) and will the pad heater keep the enclosure warm enough, or should I invest in a secondary heating source? And last is humidity...what is the easiest way to control humidity? I apologize if these questions have been asked many times before, but I want to make sure I have all my bases covered before I buy the frog/supplies. If my room temps change too much to make it impossible to house this guy I'd like to find out before hand and not later.

Thanks in advance.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Bedore! I'm glad you asked all these questions before getting your frog. If you head to the forums care articles section will find articles on choosing and caring for various frogs and one on frogs health. If thinking about a Pacman; this one is mandatory: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding !

OK, since your room is quite cold (60F... wow I would shiver and freeze, must be the frog and fish on me ) and most your questions are about habitat lets go over that. You will need to provide 80-85F for your little guy during the day and that can drop 5 degrees at night. Heat mats (if used) must be attached to sides, never the bottom. Those are pretty inefficient and are usually used in combo with lights (myself prefer using Flex Heat Tape with temp. controller but that is a bit more challenging electrically wise). Mats are available in various sizes and you will need to experiment starting with biggest unit you can affix to side. And that brings to the subject of lights!

Yep, Pacmans need no light, and if an albino, lights can actually hurt their eyes. But the heat emitted from an incandescent bulb can bring the temp. up in your set-up. There are red and black (moonlights I use) reptile/amphibian bulbs that work fine with frogs and can be kept up on 24 hours with no problems. Also, if using light dome you can get a ceramic type heat emitter the produces only heat.

Lamp fixture choice depends on your enclosure type. If going with an Exo-Terra or ZooMed type enclosure their own brand made light fixtures work fine. Think the ZooMed top handles higher wattage bulbs and would go with that. If using an aquarium with mesh top; my first choice would be a dome with a ceramic heat emitter. If want light bulbs, either a black or red of appropriate watts would work. You would need to fine tune those watts to maintain proper tank temperature. Because of your room cold temps, would start with the highest watt bulbs you can use and if too hot; trade them for smaller ones at Pet Shop until you get the right temp. That will work as long as room temp is stable or just drops 5 degrees at night. If room temps will change then I recommend using a higher wattage bulb with a controller. Those come in manual (less expensive) and auto versions. If using a higher wattage bulb you will probably not need the inefficient heat mat. And you will need an enclosure thermometer and hygrometer for measuring temps and humidity too.

OK, so now that we got heat, lets talk humidity! Lamps will dry your set-up so need to add humidity. You will use a couple inches of Plantation Soil, Eco-Earth or similar shredded coco substrate and get it damp so that it clumps when squished in hand but not drip. Then the evaporation from water dish and your sprayings will maintain that. Level should be around 80% but can drop to 70& with no problems. If having problem maintaining that, consider sealing some of the top areas to reduce ventilation. That can be done by covering top sections with saran wrap taped to top edges (start with 50% and go from there). Do keep the saran wrap away from heat sources by at least 1/2 to 1 in. Also, there are auto sprayers in market that can even be connected to humidity controllers; but I have not used them so can't discuss.

Well, this should get you started, have fun reading and good luck setting up your Pacman's habitat !

[Lija]

Carlos got you covered! hey i have a q for you Carlos for flexiwatt tape - are you using it? i use it for belly heat for my snakes, don't have extra to try, does it provide enough heat if attached to the side? what sizes do you use?

[Bedore]

Thank you kindly for the informative post. I decided to hold off for now until I can do some additional research although you answered my questions. I am thinking a heating pad applied to the side of the tank along with a light or other heating source will keep the habitat nice and warm. My only concern is the temperatures in my house. I live in an old house that uses forced hot air. Sometimes the temps in my room fall to 60 or so (in the winter) but when the furnace comes on it spikes up to around 70 pretty quickly. In the summer I run the AC but not at night and not during the day as I am not home/sleeping.

I plan to buy the Exo-Terra terrarium as I think they look the best. Should I stick with the 12x12x12, or should I buy the 18x18x12 and stick with that? I guess the best thing to do is get to the local Petco and look at all my options. I just want to make 100% sure that I have everything in order before I get one. Thanks again.

ETA: Is there a product out there that has a thermostat built in to correctly regulate temperatures? I noticed you have mentioned a controller. Could you tell me about that? I have no reptile/amphibian experience going into this. I'd hate for the guy to get too hot while I am at work during the day and being able to set something at a certain temp and have it stay there seems attractive to me.

[Lija]

it depends on what size of a frog you're getting, if a baby he'll need small enclosure, critter keeper or exo terra nano would work for now. For male adult cranwelli 12x12x12 or x18 is good size, for bigger females or ornates you want 18x18x18. so matter how you look at it, you will need 2 tanks, one for now and bigger one for later.

if I were you I'd get following:
-a zoomed hydrotherm ( check amazon)- that is temp and humidity controller, one of the best for single tank.
- heating device
- fogger either zoomed ( i hate it ) or modify regular home ultrasonic humidifier ( very easy to do)
plug heating thing and fogger into hydrotherm and live happily ever after without worrying about temps day or night or humidity.

[Bedore]

it depends on what size of a frog you're getting, if a baby he'll need small enclosure, critter keeper or exo terra nano would work for now. For male adult cranwelli 12x12x12 or x18 is good size, for bigger females or ornates you want 18x18x18. so matter how you look at it, you will need 2 tanks, one for now and bigger one for later.

if I were you I'd get following:
-a zoomed hydrotherm ( check amazon)- that is temp and humidity controller, one of the best for single tank.
- heating device
- fogger either zoomed ( i hate it ) or modify regular home ultrasonic humidifier ( very easy to do)
plug heating thing and fogger into hydrotherm and live happily ever after without worrying about temps day or night or humidity.

Interesting devices. I now have a lot more reading to do. I was looking at temperature controllers just now as well. Thank you for the input, it's much appreciated.

[GrifTheGreat]

it depends on what size of a frog you're getting, if a baby he'll need small enclosure, critter keeper or exo terra nano would work for now. For male adult cranwelli 12x12x12 or x18 is good size, for bigger females or ornates you want 18x18x18. so matter how you look at it, you will need 2 tanks, one for now and bigger one for later.

if I were you I'd get following:
-a zoomed hydrotherm ( check amazon)- that is temp and humidity controller, one of the best for single tank.
- heating device
- fogger either zoomed ( i hate it ) or modify regular home ultrasonic humidifier ( very easy to do)
plug heating thing and fogger into hydrotherm and live happily ever after without worrying about temps day or night or humibity.

Lija i think the reptifoggers just don't like to work for you Lol! I have 4 of them and have only had one die on me. Reason it died was because if the condenser getting mineral deposites on it from not using distilled water.

[GrifTheGreat]

Interesting devices. I now have a lot more reading to do. I was looking at temperature controllers just now as well. Thank you for the input, it's much appreciated.

Do as much reasearch as you possibly can. Carlos and Lija have provided a lot of much needed info and products for you to consider.

Good luck!

[Lija]

Lija i think the reptifoggers just don't like to work for you Lol! I have 4 of them and have only had one die on me. Reason it died was because if the condenser getting mineral deposites on it from not using distilled water.

:lol: when i got my first one, even using distilled water, i had to exchange it 4 times. never tried to get another the last one though that i exchanged to, working now no problem since September.

[Mentat]

Carlos got you covered! hey i have a q for you Carlos for flexiwatt tape - are you using it? i use it for belly heat for my snakes, don't have extra to try, does it provide enough heat if attached to the side? what sizes do you use?

I'm using the 11 in. version to warm my roach bins (attached to back) during winter with ZooMed ReptiTemp Rheostat (ReptiTemp® Rheostat). IMO it warms more than standard heating pads. As with all manual rheostats, this will work OK if room temperature does not fluctuate much. In case of variable room temps like OP describes; an automatic thermostat is the right answer. If not available local; Big Apple Herp has the flex tape and accessories.

For Bedore; make sure once you got all set-up you place that temperature (humidity?) controller in a place were no one can reach to touch and accidentally change settings. I keep my 1.5 in. Pacman in an Exo-Terra 12x12x12 because already had habitat on hand and I hand feed it with plastic tweezers. Problem with a larger enclosure is that it's harder for animal to get food like crickets. If starting with that size recommend you go with ZooMed unit because it's light fixture can handle a 60 watt bulb versus the ExoTerra's 25 watt limit and your room is cold. If you get a C.cranwelli (specially if male) a 12 in. cube will probably work for a while; but if you get a C.ornate (specially if female) will soon need to upgrade to 18 in. habitat.

Another option would be to get the 18x18x18 and place a critter keeper inside your enclosure. If doing so, recommend one of the ExoTerra breeding boxes (best ventilation and clear plastic compared to other critter keepers) in medium size (Amazon.com: Exo Terra Breeding Box, Small: Pet Supplies). So you would setup the large 18x18x18 enclosure for the frog (including substrate for humidity) and then place the breeding box with it's own substrate and water dish inside habitat. Once the Pacman outgrows the breeding box, just release inside the larger enclosure. That way you avoid buying 2 enclosures with their respective light heating systems. Also, don't forget to look at other enclosure types like http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/critter-cages.htm. Have fun reading !

[Lija]

I'm using the 11 in. version to warm my roach bins (attached to back) during winter with ZooMed ReptiTemp Rheostat (ReptiTemp® Rheostat). IMO it warms more than standard heating pads. As with all manual rheostats, this will work OK if room temperature does not fluctuate much. In case of variable room temps like OP describes; an automatic thermostat is the right answer. If not available local; Big Apple Herp has the flex tape and accessories.

are you saying zoomed rheostat is working for you ok? got rid of mine, it didn't work properly, what is happening????? zoomed things hate me or what?

[Cwcuz2112]

To me the difference in price between a rheostat and a thermostat is so small on the cheaper models of thermostats that i Just buy thermostats . You can get a temperature to hold so much better with a thermostat . The alife models sold by big apple , bean farm etc under many different names are decent thermostats . Do I like my johnson controls and helixs yes I do . But if you are looking to replace a rheostat with something similar in price I don't think you can go wrong with the cheaper thermostats .

[Mentat]

are you saying zoomed rheostat is working for you ok? got rid of mine, it didn't work properly, what is happening????? zoomed things hate me or what?

Sorry Lija; missed your 2nd question . Been lucky with my unit I guess. Eventually plan to try and get all heat needing animals in a rack and use heat cable with good thermostat controller. Until that happy day, it's the Zoo Med rheostat; heat tape; couple dimmer hoods; and constant monitoring .