New Ornate Pacman Frog owner: my concerns/ questions

[agdevils30]

okay, thanks!

[agdevils30]

so I went out and bought a day white light (50watt) bulb and it only keeps my tank around 80 now that I got a properly working thermometer so ive been keeping the red nightlight on as well with it to keep the temperature at 82 degrees. is this okay?

[Islab]

Message for Lynn: I got my first pacman frog not too long ago, and bought a book just recently on Amazon called Pacman Frogs called "Ceratophrys: Horned Frogs as Pets". It said that you shouldn't house your pacman frog with any other frogs because it may try and attack and eat them. Just my two cents that perhaps you might want to consider this - referring to your second point above.

[NialR35]

What kind of bulb is that? You need an incandescent bulb like the zoo med repti basking spot lamp not higher than 50w. A regular white house fluorescent will not really provide heat just light.

Also I strongly recommend a lamp with a dimmer so you can adjust the amount of heat coming from the bulb. It does wonders for me...you can find one at petsmart for really cheap. I use two of these lamps, one with the bulb I mentioned above and the other one with an infrared zoo med bulb for night time heat because I like to sleep with my A/C blasting cold.

[agdevils30]

It is indeed an incandescent bulb (50watt) and yes ill consider getting a dimmer, but for now temperatures are looking perfect. Soil temp is 78.5 degrees, air temperature is about 84 degrees, and humidity is at 68%. hoping the red nightlight bulb (40watt) produces enough heat at night though.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Main thing is that you use either dechlorinated tap or bottled spring water for the frog's dish (and to mix the shredded coco). Pacmans are nocturnal and do not need a daylight; so you can continue using the red light during day. Daylight type bulbs are used to observe the frog mostly; but not required otherwise. Do get the supplements and dust CA/D3 2X and vitamins 1X on different days with skip day in between. Good luck and enjoy your new frog !

[agdevils30]

okay, I understand. thank you

[Lija]

Hello and welcome to FF! Main thing is that you use either dechlorinated tap or bottled spring water for the frog's dish (and to mix the shredded coco). Pacmans are nocturnal and do not need a daylight; so you can continue using the red light during day. Daylight type bulbs are used to observe the frog mostly; but not required otherwise. Do get the supplements and dust CA/D3 2X and vitamins 1X on different days with skip day in between. Good luck and enjoy your new frog !

I'll add that if day light is too bright it might stress out the frog, so if you use anything as a day light just make sure it is dim ( low voltage)
would you please post clear pic of your frog, from top and eye level from a front, it's size worries me, 2" ornate older then 3-4 m. doesn't sound right, i just wanna make sure you don't need to deal with MBD or any other issues. how do you know it is 10m old, have you asked at the store?

[NialR35]

Carlos I don't mean to disagree with you but he is using the bulb in the day to sustain temps not just for daylight. Just because they are nocturnal doesn't really mean they cannot have a daylight, that's why he is using the infrared for night time so it doesn't disturb the frog while is awake at night.

They MUST have a day/night cycle to prevent stress, help with feeding schedules, especially with them being nocturnal.

In my case, my frog room is dark even during the day so in order to provide a day/night 12 hr cycle the daylight bulb is perfect for that AND maintain solid temps of 82-83. At night I always lower the temps and keep the infrared dimmed enough to keep it at 78F.

Please do follow Carlos' advise on the dechlorinated water. It really is mandatory.

Also, try to keep humidity around 80% for best results, 68% is a bit low.

[Lija]

Nial- they don't need light at all, room ambient is sufficient if there is such of course, I use very low voltage lamps energy saving lamps ( 13W) for my pac, but everybody is in a basement in a room with no windows.

[GrifTheGreat]

Just to clarify for everyone. Daylight basking bulbs are only necessary if the room the frog is in is too dark and thus not providing enough light for a proper day/night cycle. Infrared bulbs can be used 24/7 if the room is bright enough, BUT the UVA radiation from daylight bulbs stimulate normal behavior and body function so they do beneifit from daylight bulbs. Albinos are the exception since they are hypersensitive to bright lights and UVA/UVB radiation. They are best kept in a fairly lit room during the day so that and infrared or Ceramic Heat Emitter can be utilized and the frog will still notice the photoperiod changes.

Never exceed 50 watts UNLESS the tank is far too large for a 50 watt bulb to assist in reaching correct ambient air temps, but there are other methods of heating so you do not have to raise the wattage of the bulb.

I myself use daylight basking bulbs for my Pacman frogs and they are set of a timer so that they simulate the mourning sun. The frogs beging to settle in before the lights come on because they recognize the mourning sun. I don't use lights at night unless it is going to be cool and temps in their tanks become compromised. Night temps are maintained by UTHs.

[agdevils30]

hey fellas, yes I do use a 50 watt day white light to maintain temperatures, unfortunately my bedroom is in the back of my house and with woods around sun is rarely shined on my room making it cooler and darker then most rooms. I thought the little guys temperatures were just a little too high last night 79.5degrees(in soil) and 81degrees (within the tank). With that being said I shut off the infrared red light last night (40watt). When I woke up soil temp was 77.4degrees and within the tank was around the same (77 degrees). my house's temperature is set at 76 degrees by the way. I'll have pictures up of the little guy real soon, and yes they told me they had him for 4 or 5 months and got him when he was barely the size of a quarter. They just assumed he is around 9 or 10 months, but I think he is a little younger then that.

[agdevils30]

This is how its setup, so one side of the tank is warmer then the other. its around 84 under the bulb and 81-82 away from it. the light isn't all that bright though. and did add more substrate in his tank, however he doesn't want to move from his back corner lol

[agdevils30]

he looks healthy too me. ive been feeding him well everday

[NialR35]

he looks healthy too me. ive been feeding him well everday

Indeed, he does look very healthy and it looks just like my ornate. I do suggest that you put another color cover in the background...the green is fine on the sides but the white should be replaced for dark green/blue or if you can manage to get one of the natural photo like prints it would be a plus. These frogs like to burrow under big leaves, if you can manage to get those plastic plants with broad/wide leaves where the frog can go under to hide it would be even better.

Other than that your set up looks great, maybe a thicker layer of substrate for the frog to go under. I honestly don't think your frog is 10 months, but have you measured it SVL? Can you already tell if it's a male or female from calling at night and nuptial pads?

I'm in the same situation as you. My frog room is dark even during daytime because the sun hits the other side of my house, and I have a palm tree covering my window so I had to simulate a day/night cycle using lamps with dimmers. My room is also colder than other since the sun never hits it and it's always dark/shadowy so the lamps not only help me with the day/night cycle but also to keep the temperatures right which is as important.

Remember though that using bulbs will dry your substrate more often, so you will have to mist once or twice per day to keep humidity at 80% and spray some on the substrate so it doesn't get too dry.

Good job though!

[Lija]

he looks bigger then 2" very pretty, the substrate is little too dry though. is he closing his mouth ok?

[agdevils30]

Nialr35- I was thinking about getting one of those natural photo print background for the back and for the humidity situation I cut out tin foil and put it on the top of my tank with holes big enough for both lights and of course have holes punctured all around the foil for air to get in and out.

[agdevils30]

Lija- indeed, he is pretty close to 3 inches. and yes he seems to be

[Lija]

Nialr35- I was thinking about getting one of those natural photo print background for the back and for the humidity situation I cut out tin foil and put it on the top of my tank with holes big enough for both lights and of course have holes punctured all around the foil for air to get in and out.

that is how i do it too. if he was at the store for 4months and they got him very tiny, chances are he is just a little bit older then that, so now get to his belly as much as he can eat at once a day, everyday, but healthy, nutritious stuff, try nightcrawlers, hornworms, dubias and coat all that with ca/vitd3 every second feeding and multivitamins once a week. take lots of pics, he should be growing like a weed and actually at his size right now you can look for nuptial pads and expect calling any time now if that is a boy.

so everything seems to be all right now

[agdevils30]

He's actually been calling the past 2 days now, im almost certain it's a guy! and its normally at night