Meet Pakku, from Florida.

[MaraBird]

This is our new friend Paku. Purchased at Petco on September 2nd.

1. Size of enclosure - 30x12x12 18.7 gal terrarium.
2. # of inhabitants - one Pacman
3. Humidity - 80% Steady.
4. Temperature - 75ish Just Purchased a nice size UTH for the side of the tank and a regulator for it.
5. Water - type - Declor.
6. Materials used for substrate - Ecoeath and terrarium moss.
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv. - No live plants currently. Soaked and rinsed.
8. Main food source - Crickets, fed Flukers all in one.
9. Vitamins and calcium? I have a question about this. I have Herptivite. It has calcium, do I need a separate calcium supplement When I asked at the pet store (pet supermarket) they insisted all I needed as crickets, NO VITAMINS OR CALCIUM. cue huge eyeroll.
10. Lighting - Natural light.
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure - currently nothing, our house is a constant 75 right now. ordered his heating pads before the temps start dropping here.
12. When is the last time he/she ate - Pakku will not eat from hand or pincers. (Don't know why.) but he/she goes through 2 to 3 crickets a day or about a dozen+ in a week.
13. Have you found poop lately - Not really. Not sure what I'm looking for and it must blend into the EE pretty easily.
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
15. How old is the frog - Unknown.
16. How long have you owned him/her approximately 1 month.
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred - Captive bred.
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats - He/she goes through 2 to 3 crickets a day or about a dozen+ in a week. I would like to feed night crawlers but I'm unsure of how to do this since Pakku refuses food from hand or pincers.
19. How often the frog is handled - Rarely. I check on him/her probably about once a week, checking for signs of injury (just in case) and maintaining or gaining weight. I push the EE aside and try not to lift the frog. It is VERY feisty (not aggressive, just jumpy) and I don't want it to get hurt jumping from my hand. it does NOT come out of the tank.
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area - The tank is in the lowest traffic area of the house but it's probably still considered a medium traffic area.
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc) I mist every other day or every two days. I change the water dish every week, it gets a little dirty, but I'm not sure the frog is soaking or anything.


I took care of my biology teacher's pacman when I was in high school, about 7 years ago but that thing might as well have been a totally different creature. He was MASSIVE, large enough to swallow little Pakku whole. He ate mice and lizard on a regular basis and as far as I knew, never given any supplements. His tank was TINY, maybe 5 gal, and it wasn't heated and he was never hand fed. So that to say I'm inexperienced with a small pacman is a little bit of an understatement. Any help or advice would be appreciated.








Also, both fake logs have been removed because he/she showed no interest in them and I was worried about injuries and the crickets hiding under them (Which they were).

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Mara ! First thing to do is read this article: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding . From there will see need to do some corrections.

First and foremost is getting a smaller cage for Pakku. Juvenile Pacmans get stressed by large enclosures in captivity and your little guy is not eating but a fraction of what it can. A medium ExoTerra plastic Breeding Box should do until frog reaches 3.5 in. or so. Second is to raise the enclosure temperature to 82-84F day and no lower than 75F at night. That is very important because low temps will cause damage to it's kidneys and by the time symptoms (edema) show the internal damage will be done. Heat mats are very inefficient so a ceramic heat emitter or red lamp in a dome fixture (Fluker's with built in dimmer are nice) will probably be required.

The terrarium moss has to go because it's an impaction hazard. When replacing substrate, mix the EcoEarth with dechlorinated water until slightly damp and forms a clump in fist without dripping water out. The water dish has to be cleaned and filled to frog's chin depth with dechlorinated water daily. If frog soaks in it's urine it could lead to it being sick (Toxic Out Syndrome).

Crickets should be sized same as distance between frog's eyes to prevent impaction. Night crawlers (not dyed at Walmarts and bait shops) can be cut to frog's length from pointy end and fed by dropping in front of frog's mouth. Dust with CA/D3 2X and vitamins 1X on different days and with skip day in between. Feed frog all it will eat daily to satiation. Once frog is full grown can reduce weekly dusting schedule to monthly. Frogs will poop (big one) in it's bath or in last depression (sometimes will be buried there). Spot clean cage daily and replace all substrate once a month. Good luck !

[MaraBird]

Regarding #9. “Vitamins and calcium?” I have a question about this. I have Herptivite. It has calcium in it; do I need a separate calcium supplement?

Also, He is pretty small (about the size of an egg?). How much should he be eating? When I bought him they said he was eating 3 large crickets a day. But then again, they weren't very knowledgeable. When I asked about feeding him fish when he's larger they looked at me funny. Another pet store told me not to feed vitamins or calcium, JUST crickets, which of course I totally ignored.

Also, I CAN NOT get him to eat when I'm near the tank. I tried separating him and putting him on moist paper towels with the crickets, and I tried feeding him with Pincers and he out right refuses every single time. I worry that he's not getting the vitamins because by the time he eats the crickets they probably don’t have much vitamin left on them.

So far I have never seen him in the water dish, but he only burrows around it and I've never seen him use the other 50% of his enclosure. Would it be ok to use temporarily block off the other half to make him feel more secure? I have a nice size critter keeper (5-8gal), but it's very hard to maintain the moisture in it. It's too dry with the original lid, and too moist with the modified lid. Also, it doesn’t have a locking lid and it has proven hard to keep my daughter OUT of it.

Also, I have to avoid the use of a heat lamp of any type because of the hazards they pose for my three year old. That is why I purchased the thermostat heat regulator for the heating pad. I purchased the reptitherm 8” X 18” UTH (to be used on the side of the tank) and the Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats. The pad and regulator should arrive in the next two days.

[MaraBird]

Also, in the article you posted it said that ten gallons is sufficient for a grown pacman and I was wondering if my 20 Long with a frosted or opaque tank divider would be suffcient in the future for keeping Two pacman frogs or maybe Pakku and another type. I am interested in the posiblity of having a Ceratophrys Cornuta. or something with similar living conditions to Pakku.

[Mentat]

Regarding #9. “Vitamins and calcium?” I have a question about this. I have Herptivite. It has calcium in it; do I need a separate calcium supplement?
I would consider Herpivite a vitamin supplement and still get and use the RepCal CA/3D supplement too.

Also, He is pretty small (about the size of an egg?). How much should he be eating? When I bought him they said he was eating 3 large crickets a day. But then again, they weren't very knowledgeable. When I asked about feeding him fish when he's larger they looked at me funny. Another pet store told me not to feed vitamins or calcium, JUST crickets, which of course I totally ignored.
Go with the size guide of previous post and feed as many as frog will eat. If feeding at evening (Pacmans are nocturnal) give frog 6 gut loaded crickets and remove all uneaten ones in the morning. Then use the number frog actually eat +1 the next feedings and see how that goes. Would also feed crickets carrots, lettuce and oats.
For the worms just drop a piece in front; the movement should attract frog and can check in few minutes if it ate it.

Also, I CAN NOT get him to eat when I'm near the tank. I tried separating him and putting him on moist paper towels with the crickets, and I tried feeding him with Pincers and he out right refuses every single time. I worry that he's not getting the vitamins because by the time he eats the crickets they probably don’t have much vitamin left on them.
That is problem caused by stress, probably due to large enclosure.

So far I have never seen him in the water dish, but he only burrows around it and I've never seen him use the other 50% of his enclosure. Would it be ok to use temporarily block off the other half to make him feel more secure? I have a nice size critter keeper (5-8gal), but it's very hard to maintain the moisture in it. It's too dry with the original lid, and too moist with the modified lid. Also, it doesn’t have a locking lid and it has proven hard to keep my daughter OUT of it.
If it's size of egg (around 2 in. SVL) would leave it with 1/3 of enclosure area. Make sure divider not only provides a physical but also visual barrier. Also, cover all enclosure sides but front with aquarium background material or similar. An option is to place frog, substrate, water dish, and a small silk plant in the critter keeper and then place the whole thing inside the 20G. That way you solve the issue of controlling humidity and temperature in the plastic keeper.

Also, I have to avoid the use of a heat lamp of any type because of the hazards they pose for my three year old. That is why I purchased the thermostat heat regulator for the heating pad. I purchased the reptitherm 8” X 18” UTH (to be used on the side of the tank) and the Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats. The pad and regulator should arrive in the next two days.
When you get the heat pad will have to affix to back glass due to size (can't use under enclosure with frogs). If pad does not bring day temp to at least 82F; you could consider getting the 18 in. Zoo Med Terrarium Hood. It can handle up to 2 - 60W bulbs and does not get that hot to touch as metallic domes do. If getting hood can use saran wrap around rest of top to conserve heat and reduce moisture loss too. When spraying tank avoid water hitting a hot back glass; it could shatter.

Hope this helps a bit Mara !

[Mentat]

Also, in the article you posted it said that ten gallons is sufficient for a grown pacman and I was wondering if my 20 Long with a frosted or opaque tank divider would be suffcient in the future for keeping Two pacman frogs or maybe Pakku and another type. I am interested in the posiblity of having a Ceratophrys Cornuta. or something with similar living conditions to Pakku.

Space wise it's doable; but would have to quarantine new frog for at least 30 days and understand you are still taking a risk. Any of two frogs could have a pathogen they've built resistance to but not the other one.

An option is to wait until this one get's between 3.5 to 4 in. move it to a ten gallon. Then disinfect the 20G and can use it for maybe 1-2 toads (same set-up) or a leopard frog (1/3 dry, 2/3 water) set-up; and neither of those require heating. Could also use the 20G for an Ornate; but only an adult female would need such large tank.

[MaraBird]

Thank you. That was all very helpful.

btw, when I got home yesterday The heating pad has arrived. It's a very nice size and should heat the tank nicely but I won't apply it until the regulator comes, in the next two days, for fear of over heating.

[GrifTheGreat]

Welcome MaraBird! Carlos has you covered on the basics. We do have a great Pacman section here so any questions, just ask!

[MaraBird]

Having an issue guys, and it's urgent!
Check out the thread, Pretty please?


http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...nner-help.html