Pacman Frogs

[ally]

After doing research for the last week, i've decided to purchase my first reptile! (of my own). Ive always had a thing for frogs and a pacman frog seems perfect. So, i'm basically asking if i know everything i need to know in order to get one of these little guys. I plan to order him and everything else at one time, next week, from bigapple.com. So, it is important i know everything by then...

Also, i work at a fish store. So i was wondering how often these guys can be fed feeder fish? And whats best? Goldfish, guppies, or rosy reds? I could get the "pretty" guppies, just so they would be healthier.

Another thing, i plan on NEVER feeding my guy mice. Ever. Is this ok?

I plan on ordering..:
a medium reptile container for the little guy to live in until i can put him in the 10 gal
Feeding dish (water bowl)
Humidity/ Temp Gauge
Intellliheat mat (10 watts)
Eco earth coconut fiber
Cricket Cage

I need to purchase at pet store:
Humidity mister
Fake stand up plants/ Driftwood
Shovel (to pick him/her up)
Gloves (to hold him/her)
Crickets

Does this sound good? What am i missing?

Last thing: has anyone here ever been bitten? Can you tell me anything about that? Lol i'm terrified of being bitten.

[Bombina Bob]

Sounds good! the only thing you are missing is a heat mat on the side or use an incandecent light, they dont make light but produce heat. Feeder fish can be used as a treat but not very often, pacmans dont need mice either, its very rare for them to eat forest mice in the wild, if you need to give him a good staple, crickets and superworms work well. and ive been bitten by the pacmans at the pet store i work at x) it dosent hurt bad but i got really frightened at forst, if you are bitten, dont try and force him off, try and soaking him in some cold dechlorinated water (make sure its not ice clold) and make sure to wear gloves if feeding from tongs. and last thing. they are AMPHIBIANS not reptiles!

[DeeDub]

Welcome to the forums!

Someone link the care sheet. Its a one stop shop for basic husbandry and its good info. I can't do it right this minute.

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Thanks
DW

[ally]

Thank you for replying! and Yes, you're right. Amphibians they are. Will an intelliheat mat 10 watts be hot enough to heat (eventually) a 10 gal tank? or should i go with a higher wattage. and what/ where is a good pair of tongs to use? i would rather not use metal tongs since it can potentially hurt the frog.. and gloves. can i get any kind of gloves or do some of them have chemicals.. etc on them ?

[GrifTheGreat]

Thank you for replying! and Yes, you're right. Amphibians they are. Will an intelliheat mat 10 watts be hot enough to heat (eventually) a 10 gal tank? or should i go with a higher wattage. and what/ where is a good pair of tongs to use? i would rather not use metal tongs since it can potentially hurt the frog.. and gloves. can i get any kind of gloves or do some of them have chemicals.. etc on them ?

Read this Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding it will get you started.

Avoid Superworms. Their chitin is difficult for the frog to digest and it can cause an impaction.

You don't have to use gloves. All you need to do is wash your hands really well before handling the frog with a mild cleanser and rinse very well. Dry your hands completely and then re-rinse your hands with dechlorinated water and leave them wet while touching the frog.

After handling always wash your hands again.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Colleen/Jerrod Is 100% correct.

I highly recommend that you get the enclosure set up and up to the proper temperature and humidity before you get your frog.
And have a source of feeders.
you can get a cricket keeper that can hold 20 crickets or so or you can get a 10g tank with a good screen lid.
Crickets will need as much care as your frog will.
you will need to keep them hydrated, the best way is to use water crystals or flukers cricket quench.
in a small dish and you will need to feed them.
I use a mixture of fresh veg like carrots, zucchini , cucumber and flukers cricket feed that has extra calcium.
You will need to clean out the cricket area once a week.
when you buy crickets they will give you some paper egg crate. Keep that in the keeper if it dosn't have the little black tubes
for the crickets to hide in.
as for Dubia roaches they are much easier and cleaner to keep but it will take time to build up a colony.
I would buy two batches of Dubia nymphs. One batch to make the colony. and the other to feed to the frog
while the colony is getting established this will take some time.
Visit Here for more info.

If you are getting your new pacman as a baby you don't need much of an enclosure.
In fact you only need a small keeper that is plastic until it gets larger and a 10 gallon is plenty big enough.
But keeping it at the proper temperature and humidity is very important.

I recommend getting a Zoo med hygrotherm HT-10 controller with a Repti therm mini heat pad (placed on the side not the bottom)
Only the mini is rated for use with plastic enclosures. and I use a repti fogger in my set up but it hardly ever comes on since if you keep the
substrate moist. Not wet or soupy just moist to the point that it clumps when you compress it in your hand.
And I recommend only using coconut fiber or eco earth. for substrate.
Have it deep enough so the frog and burrow into it up to its eyes 2 to 3 inches max. when it is a baby.
And cover at least one of the sides with some kind of cling background. This will help to make the frog feel less stressed.
Do that after applying the heat mat.

Also location of the enclosure is important too.
You need an area where there isn't a lot of traffic or too close to a air conditioning vent.
Or a fan blowing on it.
So the temps and humidity can be as stable as possible.
I keep my pack man at 83F during the day and drop the temp to 78F at night and keep at least 75-80% humidity but try to no go higher than 90%
The Hygrotherm has a light sensor that can sense night time light levels and drop the temp.
It can also set alarms if the temp is too high or too low same with the humidity.
You can get all this stuff off of amazon fairly inexpensively. I found the Hogrotherms for $40.00
Do not get this stuff from a store like pet smart $$$$

I feed a staple of Crickets and dubia roach nymphs dusted with vitamin supplements every other feeding and gut load both
the crickets and roaches.

Keeping the enclosure clean is also very important,
I spot clean at least every other week. and total replace the substrate once a month or when it starts to smell funky.
You will also need a source of clean water and change it every day with de-chloranted water only.
and only use de-chloranted water to wet the substrate. Do not use bottled water , distilled , plain untreated tap even if you are using a well.
Trust me.
Another staple food is earth worms or cut pieces of night crawlers.

Foods to stay away from.
Meal worms, supper worms. Their exoskeleton can cause impaction. Not a good thing.
Foods to feed sparingly
Wax worms are ok but on a treat basis only once a week or so.
Pinky mice (when your frog gets much larger) and only once a month or so.
Do not feed live full grown mice they can cause your frog harm when the mice fight for their life.

This is more than enough to get you started.
If I have forgotten something I sure some one will help out.

Remember a happy healthy frog begins and ends with the keeper.

[Mentat]

... Also, i work at a fish store. So i was wondering how often these guys can be fed feeder fish? And whats best? Goldfish, guppies, or rosy reds? I could get the "pretty" guppies, just so they would be healthier.

Pacman frogs will try and eat anything... even if not normal diet for them. Fish are parasite vectors and of those goldfish are the worst.

Another thing, i plan on NEVER feeding my guy mice. Ever. Is this ok?

Yes. They do not need mice to survive. Night Crawlers and crickets are fine.

I plan on ordering..:
a medium reptile container for the little guy to live in until i can put him in the 10 gal
Feeding dish (water bowl)
Humidity/ Temp Gauge
Intellliheat mat (10 watts)
Eco earth coconut fiber
Cricket Cage

Recommend ExoTerra Medium Breeding Box for enclosure. EcoEarth loose is fine. If buying the bricks get Plantation Soil; the Eco Earth bricks have junk inside and are harder to re-hidrate. Use dechlorinated water in substrate and adjust so that it clumps in fist without dripping water out (slightly damp). Unless going with digital gauges would not order online. Go to Petco where you can actually compare analog gauges and stay away from ones that differ from group median. The heatmats have to be plastic safe when attached to critter box (can't use under for frogs). Not sure if that brand can; but the ZooMed "Mini" is designed for plastic.

I need to purchase at pet store:
Humidity mister
Fake stand up plants/ Driftwood
Shovel (to pick him/her up)
Gloves (to hold him/her)
Crickets

Plants and decor should not have any sharp edges. Don't need a shovel and frog could jump out and injure itself. If don't want to hold with hands, use a small plastic container and guide frog into it gently by pushing his little behind with fingers toward it. Once in, then cover with hand, and take to new location. Finally put container on side and let frog get out. When it comes to handling frogs (or any animals) an assertive approach is better than an unsure one. Crickets length should be the distance between frog's eyes. Night crawlers can be cut to that length from pointy end. They will heal and not die.

Does this sound good? What am i missing?

Background paper (or any you like) to cover 3 sides of enclosure and minimize frog stress. Saran Wrap (maybe already in your kitchen) and tape to seal 1/2-3/4 the top vents to keep humidity in. (adjust as necessary). Plastic feeding tweezers (Zoo Med has nice yellow ones). Calcium and vitamins supplements (recommend Repashy or ReptoCal). Night Crawlers (from Walmarts sport section).

Last thing: has anyone here ever been bitten? Can you tell me anything about that? Lol i'm terrified of being bitten.

No ! Keep your fingers away from frogs head front area and all will be fine. They can launch forward incredibly fast; but have to reposition sideways to re-align much slower. When feeding approach frog mouth with tweezers from the side.

First thing to do is read the article Colleen/Jerrod linked and ensure all frog's enclosure needs are met. Hope above info helps .

[Lija]

lol you are asking if anyone here was being bitten??? hahahaha by babies or big ones?
don't have pic of big ones with my finger, but here is a little one


it is actually not that bad in comparison to pixies, just element of surprise really, so you just don't wiggle your fingers in front of his face and kinda keep your distance, it might be scary at first, but then you'll get to know your frog and will know what to expect in terms of safe distance lol
babies would go for everything, in that case ( pic) poor guy had just nasty attitude when he was little, now he is the laziest dude.

[GrifTheGreat]

lol you are asking if anyone here was being bitten??? hahahaha by babies or big ones?
don't have pic of big ones with my finger, but here is a little one


it is actually not that bad in comparison to pixies, just element of surprise really, so you just don't wiggle your fingers in front of his face and kinda keep your distance, it might be scary at first, but then you'll get to know your frog and will know what to expect in terms of safe distance lol
babies would go for everything, in that case ( pic) poor guy had just nasty attitude when he was little, now he is the laziest dude.

Lija tbis pic cracks me up every time I see it Lol!

[djmosier]

Wacca not only bit my finger, but tried to swallow it! LOL It's not that bad, really. I have learned to keep my fingers away from the front of his mouth.

[GrifTheGreat]

Wacca not only bit my finger, but tried to swallow it! LOL It's not that bad, really. I have learned to keep my fingers away from the front of his mouth.

Imagine a 5" to 6" frog grabbing your finger Lol!! Or like Lija said a Pyxi which can reach 7" to a possible 10" if male.