Day 2...new Pac Man frog...need some advice.

[scm133]

After eating two crickets this morning, he buried himself completely....is this normal? I can move the soil around, and see his two little eyes staring up at me.

Yesterday, when I unboxed him...he ate 6 crickets. But stayed on top of the substrate. He is in a 10 gallon tank. Top is covered with a foil insulation. 1/3 of the top is open for ventilation. Humidity is staying around 70%. Ambient air in the middle is 77 degrees. Substrate temp on warm side is 80-81, and 74 on cool side. Shallow water bowl is in the middle. Substrate is Eco Earth (moist). I am spraying dechlorinated water 3-4 times a day.

[frogphibian]

Hi, normally it is pretty normal for a pac to bury himself, but just to be safe, how deep is the eco earth?

[scm133]

Thanks for replying. The depth is about 1.5 inches. I actually dug him up, and he did eat another cricket. Was that wrong to do? I probably need to sit on my hands, and leave him alone....right??

[michael1846]

Some people take there packs out every feeding. (To feed in a separate container) so I think it's ok. ~Michael

[Mentat]

Pacmans do burry themselves; that is normal. But if frog is stressed it might stop feeding. A 10G tank will usually stress out a frog smaller than 3.5 to 4 in. Maybe want to try moving him to a smaller plastic keeper (i.e. ExoTerra's small Breeding Box for babies) and place the keeper inside the 10 gal. for environmental parameter control. Good luck !

[danfrog]

These frogs are nocturnal also, so feed at night around an hour after lights now. Do not use any type of substrate warmer. Ambient air temp should be between 82-84 degrees with a night time temp of 77-78 degrees. Put your water dish on the cool side. Try to bump humidity up another 10 percent. Cover up three sides of the enclosure to reduce stress. As Carlos said be prepaired to buy a smaller enclosure. Don't stress, your frog is behaving very well and normal. Most don't eat for like a week after you get them. Do your research and be sure to ask any questions you may have. And lets see some pics!

[danfrog]

Ah I forgot you had that awesome ornate. The ornates will eat during daytime hours. I would feed your frog every day or night at the same time. It will probably be better at night though. Just make sure to stay on a good routine, and offer food daily. Prey items should be about the same size as the distance between your frogs eyes (worm pieces can be a tad bit longer). Crickets are alright as a staple as long as they are properly gutloaded, but nightcrawlers are better as a staple diet. Always remember to calcium d3 dust three times a week and vitamin dust once a week. When your frog get bigger you can start calcium d3 dusting twice a week.

[scm133]

Thanks for all the great advice! After, I, uh..dug him out. He just nestled down against a plant. He did eat more crickets! I am going to tweak the temps a bit, like suggested. Moving water dish to the cool side. Two sides of the tank are already covered. The UTH is on the side, but may need to get a CHE to keep the ambient temps up.
Thanks again!

[GrifTheGreat]

Just uncover the frog's head rather than digging the frog up all the way. The frog will see the food running around and go after them.