Very New To This- Basic Advice? Albino Pacman Frog

[WalkerBait]

1. Size of enclosure: 16x8" (too small, I know! Have to upgrade ASAP)
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size difference : 1 pacman frog, approx 1.5 years old
3. Humidity 60% Trying to increase it
4. Temperature 85
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish Dechlorinated filtered tap water
6. Materials used for substrate Moss (Villa brand)- same as the pet store had him in and Exoterra brand plantation soil( the coconut fiber based one) though he's only burrowingin the moss.
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other material Water dish, substrate.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source Large feeder mice every 5-7 days (According to pet store)
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often N/A They dust the mice with vitamins. I have reptivite to use
10. Lighting 50 watt infared basking spot light (red) + 26 watt UVB
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure At first,a USELESS exoterra heat pad on the side. Now, the red light is for heat I think.
12. When is the last time he/she at Last Wednesday at the pet store. I obtained him yeseterday (Monday)
13. Have you found poop lately No and not sure what it looks like.
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine See photos below
15. How old is the frog1.5- 2 years
16. How long have you owned him/her 1 day.
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bredCaptive
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treatd Apparently he has graduated to large mice and that's all he was fed.
19. How often the frog is handled Rarely
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic areaffDo I count as traffic?lol Beside my laptop. Low traffic area
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etWater dish changed daily.


Okay, I am completely new to this!~
I know that pet stores give the wrong information all the time. I have parrots and if they tried to tell me misinformation about a bird,I would know.
However, this is a frog, and I know nothing despite researching it..There just doesn't seem to be a lot of coinciding information re: pacman frogs!

The lady at the pet store said that he eats feeder mice, because he's big and would eat too many crickets otherwise.
I thought they were too high in fat to be fed mice all the time?

I also thought moss was bad... But they kept their two pacman frogs (1 albino, the one I bought, and they had another normal one) in moss that they spritzed once a day. When I took Olaf home yesterday, the moss was dry as a bone which I thought was a bad thing?
Also, their temperature gauge was broken so no idea what temp they were keeping him at..No humidity gauge in there either. I have those now in his tank.

I bought the light fixtures and bulbs that the lady suggested. It's northern bc here and I have an older,poorly insulated house so it is about 70 degrees or so in my house this time of year. I don't want him to get cold.

Question - is it safe to have the lights set up how I do? I just turned the red light off because it was very effective in getting him up to the right temperature.

I know he needs a bigger tank.; I got the tank yesterday and the person told me it was a ten gallon but after measuring it,I'm pretty sure it's a five, which is too small for poor Olaf!!

IS too much temperature fluctuation bad for them? The temp had gone past 86 a few mins ago but now that the red light is off, it quickly dropped to 75. Am worried both about him overheating and being too cold. I turned the light back on for him.

Is spritzing water in the tank the only way to increase the humidity?
I have to take that stupid exoterra heat pad back to the other pet store I got it from. Seriously,NO heat came off it when I set everything up and he must have been cold last night despite me putting my regular heater right next to him.

Sorry if my questions are stupid. I just want to do this right. Any other advice would be appreciated!
Thanks

[WalkerBait]

Here's one more photo that I took.

[mpmackenna]

Lose the UVB light. Raise humidity, some plastic wrap over the top side where you removed the UVB should help. Lose the moss, coco fiber only. Feed crickets and earthworms lose the mice except for occasional treat. View the pacman frog care sheet it's around here somewhere.


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[mpmackenna]

Here it is.... http://www.frogforum.net/care-sheet-...ubmission.html


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[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Walker! Well first thing is to read this care article: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding . Second is not to worry much about enclosure size; frog is fine there for a bit of time. You do have to take care of a couple things. First, please let us know what is frog's length from snout to vent (SVL). Second get rid of the moss since it's an impaction hazard. When mixing the shredded coco, add dechlorinated water until it's slightly damp and clumps on fist without dripping water out.

You can use red lights, black lights (moonlights) or heat emitters. Avoid daylight type bulbs since they can hurt your frog skin and eyes. To prevent overheating tank, get a manual (rheostat) or automatic (thermostat) to control the heating bulb. Lamps dry air, so you will need to cover the top screen with glass, polycarbonate, or even Saran Wrap. What I do is cover whole screen top with Saran Wrap taped to edges then use a sharpie to mark off around light fixture. Then add 1 in. around marked circle perimeter to prevent heat from melting wrap and cut off a hole for light. Covering most of top will increase humidity and the inch perimeter will also provide ventilation for frog.

Water dish should be cleaned daily even if it looks "clean." Many frogs poop in water and you will smell it; others will poop in the hole they bury then move to another one. Sometimes it will be buried but it's easy to find because they are pretty big logs. Spot clean tank daily and replace whole substrate once a month.

Would not feed mice more than once a month. Perfect food are night crawlers and you can probably get Canadian NC at a bait shop; do make sure they are not dyed. For your frog can feed whole ones and would start dropping them in front of frog's mouth. If frogs eats it; then feed one large (4-6 in.) worm per frog in. of length. For a full grown frog (presuming yours is one at 1.5 years old), would dust food with CA/D3 2X and vitamins 1X monthly on different weeks. Can also feed Dubias or any other large roaches sold locally at pet shops. Good luck !

[Lija]

Oh my goodness......
Started to read answers and thinking where to start.... Yeah... Another pet store..... I better not to go there.... Makes me plain mad....urg

So so happy you found the forum and looking for answers! And no, your questions are not stupid, they are just right, I can tell you care very much for your frog, welcome to the forums!

First of all I have a feeling your Olaf is in fact Olafa lol anyhow check nuptial pads, but first you gotta do a lot of things here, pretty much change absolutely everything except the frog of course lol

Carlos covered it all, except locally nobody sells Dubia or any other roaches lol, it is Canada
tank is the least of problems here! But if you could measure it we could tell you more, based on pics it is all right.
After diet like that I would not feed mice at all for a while so her body would process all she had eaten. And I can totally can relate, I don't like heat mats at all! Infrared lamp plugged in thermostat is a way to go.
You can get hydrotherm (ebay would be your best bet), in stores they are 2x more, plug in infrared lamp and fogger and live worry free about temps and humidity.

Oh and you need to get a good gauges, digital are the most accurate.

[WalkerBait]

Oh my goodness......
Started to read answers and thinking where to start.... Yeah... Another pet store..... I better not to go there.... Makes me plain mad....urg

So so happy you found the forum and looking for answers! And no, your questions are not stupid, they are just right, I can tell you care very much for your frog, welcome to the forums!

First of all I have a feeling your Olaf is in fact Olafa lol anyhow check nuptial pads, but first you gotta do a lot of things here, pretty much change absolutely everything except the frog of course lol

Carlos covered it all, except locally nobody sells Dubia or any other roaches lol, it is Canada
tank is the least of problems here! But if you could measure it we could tell you more, based on pics it is all right.
After diet like that I would not feed mice at all for a while so her body would process all she had eaten. And I can totally can relate, I don't like heat mats at all! Infrared lamp plugged in thermostat is a way to go.
You can get hydrotherm (ebay would be your best bet), in stores they are 2x more, plug in infrared lamp and fogger and live worry free about temps and humidity.

Oh and you need to get a good gauges, digital are the most accurate.

Thanks for the quick responses, everyone!
Olafa.. haha oh no! Not a male? Is it because of the frog's size or colour that you say that?
I tried to measure him just now, and without getting too close, I'm going to say 4.5" from head to tail.
Mind you, that's in his "I'm going to be a gelatinous blob now" mode.
I'm going to try and get the moss out and put the proper substrate in today. Sooo.. Frog scoop and move him to a smaller container while I work? Is that how you clean your terrariums? Thanks for the tip on using the proper substrate Mentat!

Should I be leaving the heat lamp on 24/7 then? It's not that bright but it does get hot and I panicked last night when I was going to bed and turned it off. I have an irrational fear of fires, I think. :| Of course the temp dropped too much by this morning.. Ergg I feel like an idiot,the least I could do is keep his temperature stable..

Difference between a nightcrawler and a Canadian nightcrawler? IS this like where people in the states say Canadian bacon and for us it's just normal 'ol bacon? haha

Going to go look at some older threads now and get some more information.

[Lija]

Her head shape/size says it is a female, add to that size of 4,5" you're saying she is, but it is not very reliable method, thus I said I suspect the only way to tell is to check for nuptial pads if hear a call.

you really need to get a temp controller or at least get a lamp with a dimmer, to keep a heat lamp full on constantly is no good, big temp swings are no good either..

Yes we place a frog in a separate container, I always combine it with warm bath, so while they are soaking I'm cleaning.

Yes is it same old bacon lol

one thing you should always remember - to never use UVB for albino! Ever!

[WalkerBait]

Her head shape/size says it is a female, add to that size of 4,5" you're saying she is, but it is not very reliable method, thus I said I suspect the only way to tell is to check for nuptial pads if hear a call.

you really need to get a temp controller or at least get a lamp with a dimmer, to keep a heat lamp full on constantly is no good, big temp swings are no good either..

Yes we place a frog in a separate container, I always combine it with warm bath, so while they are soaking I'm cleaning.

Yes is it same old bacon lol

one thing you should always remember - to never use UVB for albino! Ever!

*hangs head in shame and turns off UVB light*
Okay, sticking with the red light only.

How do I get a dimmer for the red one? Does that mean I have to purchase a whole new lamp ? (Starting to get a bit mad at self for making unnecessary purchases that aren't cheap!)

Thanks for the tip on cleaning. I take it soaking is good for them from what I've read.

Another question I just thought of...Since they are nocturnal eaters, do people always feed them at night? I get home from work around 10pm, should I be scheduling the feedings then? Or does it matter?

ETA: Do you all use frog scoops or do you handle the frog with gloves or bare hands when moving it? I'd prefer to not handle him but I would want to use the least intrusive way of transporting him.

[mpmackenna]

*hangs head in shame and turns off UVB light*
Okay, sticking with the red light only.

How do I get a dimmer for the red one? Does that mean I have to purchase a whole new lamp ? (Starting to get a bit mad at self for making unnecessary purchases that aren't cheap!)

Thanks for the tip on cleaning. I take it soaking is good for them from what I've read.

Another question I just thought of...Since they are nocturnal eaters, do people always feed them at night? I get home from work around 10pm, should I be scheduling the feedings then? Or does it matter?

ETA: Do you all use frog scoops or do you handle the frog with gloves or bare hands when moving it? I'd prefer to not handle him but I would want to use the least intrusive way of transporting him.

Here is an example of a dimmer for you light. Lutron TT-300H Credenza 120 Volt 300 Watt Single Pole Lamp Dimmer You could also get a 25 watt incandescent red bulb.
Soaking seems to lead to defecation which is good for everyone... : )
Yes, feed at night.
I wash my hand thoroughly and then rinse and then wet them with dechlorinated tap water before handling and keep handling as brief and limited as possible.

[Hypnotic]

I clean my hands with alcoholgel, then rehydrate them with a dechlorinated water rinse. I used gloves in the past, but I've switched to bare handed. Theres only one vital tip I've learned, don't keep a finger infront of his mouth. I scoop them up from the back with a flat hand and then place my thumb on the hard spot on the back, just below the back. making sure both jumping feet are unable to kick off, by letting them pass through my fingers.
Kind of like holding a hamburger upside down.

[Lija]

Lol that is a good one !!! To scoop from behind lol

yes soaking is good, it helps them with shed, water exchange and poop too. And you will see. Very pretty shiny frog after that ready for pictures, it is win win!

[WalkerBait]

I clean my hands with alcoholgel, then rehydrate them with a dechlorinated water rinse. I used gloves in the past, but I've switched to bare handed. Theres only one vital tip I've learned, don't keep a finger infront of his mouth. I scoop them up from the back with a flat hand and then place my thumb on the hard spot on the back, just below the back. making sure both jumping feet are unable to kick off, by letting them pass through my fingers.
Kind of like holding a hamburger upside down.

Haha the girl at the pet store scooped him up just like that.. So she knew how to handle him at least. I was like :O watching her do it.

I got the substrate changed. It wasn't easy. I frog scooped him into a smaller plastic container, covered it with the grate (from the terrarium) and he started kicking and trying to jump!I sung to him and he seemed to calm down a bit. I'm not sure he likes the non-moss that he was used to.. But I know this is safer. Trying to get him back from the container to the tank was a five minute ordeal with me going "Oh geez how are we going to do this?" Eventually I placed the container inside the tank and scooped him out gently..Freaking out the whole time! Leaping 4" frogs are kinda scary for me apparently!

Off to the fishing store to get some worms now. Hopefully he will eat some later!

He just got all cozy into the substrate, that's probably a good sign.

Here's some more photos!

Also, I covered about half of the top with saran wrap, ending about 1" away from the heat lamp to help with humidity.


Closer to 4" I think?






heat lamp now moved to the right and saran wrap over the left part..How does this look?

[GrifTheGreat]

That is a beautiful and 100% female Albino you have.

Glad you came here for advice. Everyone has you covered with excellent changes that needed to be made.

I'm going to recomend you buy a lamp with a dimmer switch. That light at full power will dry everything out including the frog. Look for Fluker's 5.5" clamp lamp with dimmer.

[WalkerBait]

That is a beautiful and 100% female Albino you have.

Glad you came here for advice. Everyone has you covered with excellent changes that needed to be made.

I'm going to recomend you buy a lamp with a dimmer switch. That light at full power will dry everything out including the frog. Look for Fluker's 5.5" clamp lamp with dimmer.

Thank you. Olafa it is then?

I went to the fishing store and all they had were dew worms. Guess what? with a little persistence, she ate one ! She was quite slow to grab it though. I thought it would happen faster. What a big mouth they have! I'm going to try and give her another one..IF she's used to mice, she might have felt that was a snack, not a meal.

I think that's worm torture though. Ick. I kept dropping it from the tongs and freaking out a little. I'll get used to it though!!

[Lija]

lol dew worms is a bacon too and yes they do have a big mouth and that is why you really, really don't want to keep your fingers close lol that is very good she ate, sometimes when they used to one food only it is hard to convince them something else is food too.

[WalkerBait]

Thanks Lija

Any advice on physical behaviour when they are "ready" to eat? She's sitting like a burrowed lump and I don't want to offend her by dangling a worm about if it's just going to stress her out.. But apparently night time is the best time to feed, so I'd like to try again.. I tried earlier today and she did not care for food at all.

Is it okay to just try and feed whenever, even if they are burrowed and "resting"?

I'm enjoying having her company regardless, even though she doesn't do much Still trying to decide on a better name than Olafa though. BF says Ophelia but I don't care for that name much! Esme (pronounced Ez-may) was another suggestion..Both Olaf and Esme are from a Series Of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket Which we both enjoy

[Mentat]

...Any advice on physical behaviour when they are "ready" to eat? ...Is it okay to just try and feed whenever, even if they are burrowed and "resting"?...

A full grown frog can be fed every couple days to once a week depending on the frogs appetite. When feeding, do so until frog is satiated, Pacmans do not overeat. Good luck !

[Lija]

Thanks Lija

Any advice on physical behaviour when they are "ready" to eat? She's sitting like a burrowed lump and I don't want to offend her by dangling a worm about if it's just going to stress her out.. But apparently night time is the best time to feed, so I'd like to try again.. I tried earlier today and she did not care for food at all.

Is it okay to just try and feed whenever, even if they are burrowed and "resting"?

I'm enjoying having her company regardless, even though she doesn't do much Still trying to decide on a better name than Olafa though. BF says Ophelia but I don't care for that name much! Esme (pronounced Ez-may) was another suggestion..Both Olaf and Esme are from a Series Of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket Which we both enjoy

yes nighttime is the best to feed, about 30 min and later after lights are off and temps down they go hunt in a wild.

usually when my pacs are hungry they are alert and looking around.