I just bought a Zoo Med 18X18X18" terrarium yesterday. I currently own a 10-20gallon zoo-med UTH which I had planned on sticking to the side of the new terrarium. My home temp doesn't go below 70F. Is this UTH big enough? If not, what do you use? When using eco-earth in a tank this large, do you do a complete change out of the substrate or just spot clean? If you do a complete substrate change, how often do you do it?
1. Size of enclosure: Zoo Med 18X18X18" front opening
2. # of inhabitants: 1 female c.ornata
3. Humidity: going to cover top screen to keep at about 80%
4. Temperature: striving for 82F
5. Water: de-chlorinated tap water
6. Materials used for substrate: Eco-Earth over bottom layer of Sphagnum moss (the moss reduces mold chances).
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants: have a few live Pathos plants, going to hang a few fake plants, going to get a large soak dish
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv: She is currently in a 5.5gallon tank with a small soak dish and Pathos plants and all the above temps, humidity, and substrate
8. Main food source: 4 large nightcrawlers a night.
9. Vitamins and calcium? calcium 3 days a week, vitamins 1 day a week
10. Lighting: ambient
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure: Hydrofarm thermostat
12. When is the last time he/she ate: today
13. Have you found poop lately: she poops about twice a week
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure: will take one once all set up
15. How old is the frog: 3-4 months
16. How long have you owned him/her: 2.5 months
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred: CB
18. Frog food: Fed 6 days a week on night crawlers. occasionally gets Zoo Med Pacman Food as a treat. Will not eat roaches or crickets. Am considering occasionally offering prekilled fuzzies.
19. How often the frog is handled: only when necessary for cleaning
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area: medium
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc): Currently every 2 weeks. See question above
I spot clean and full clean once a month, how many watt is your UTH? I think it won't be enough. I'm working on my tank and plan to heat it with a UTH and a infrared bulb, the UTH working 24/7 and the IR bulb plugged into my thermostat. You should not be worried about mold, I've owned my oldest pacman for 2 years, kept her too moist for quite a while and never even seen mold. The only terrarium I see mold in if I keep it too moist is the one of my crested gecko and that's only on the jungle vines.
Also, don't be worried about locusts or dubias if your pacman loves nightcrawlers, most of us envy you. Offering the pacman food and occasional fuzzie might be fun as a mix for your frog. But remember with fuzzies, don't offer them more then once a month, even less I would advise.
Your doing fine. It would be helpful to see a picture of setup as well but other than that it should be ok.
That should work. Just be prepared to add another light if you don't get the temps you want.
Thanks. I am ordering the light bar for this terrarium. I don't want to take chances. Last year I had a pacman frog that I accidentally killed by not having a heat source for him as winter approched. I don't want to make the same mistake this winter by not having sufficient heating. The highest wattage the light bar can take is 100W. Should I get this wattage? I would be using it with a thermostat set at 82F. Also, I'm leaning towards a ceramic heat emitter since it will be INSIDE the terrarium and light bulbs tend to rust and break with the humidity. What do you think? I probably could use a bulb made for turtle tanks if you think that would be better.
UTH will probably need help from heat lamp. You can spot clean substrate as required and do full change once a month. Also, would wait until Ornate measures 3 to 3.5 in. snout to vent (SVL) before releasing in the Zoo Med enclosure.
Issue with having light fixture inside tank is humidity. Recommend get the ceramic heat emitter. Would unplug fixture during monthly clean-up, unscrew emitter, and revise there is no corrosion in socket, etc. If you need a light to observe, a regular daylight or LED outside enclosure should do. Good luck!
Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog!
Thanks. Zuma is almost 3.5" in length now that's why she is being moved the bigger tank as soon as I get everything all set up (probably on Thursday). She is growing very fast. I was also leaning towards the ceramic heat emitter and regular day light. I'll attach pictures once everything is set up. I'm waiting for the light fixture to arrive from Amazon. It should be here Wednesday. In the mean time, I'm going to pick up the ceramic heater and a larger soaking bowl.
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