Hello, new Pacman frog owner here

[xghostmakerx]

Hello, my son who is 8 and I recently purchased a Pacman frog so I wanted to sign up here, post a few pictures and maybe get some advice on how to keep our little friend happy and healthy. We purchased "it" (as Petsmart was not sure of the gender) last night and got some of the essential supplies but wanted to see what else I could get that he (lets pretend she's a boy) needs. The enclosure we purchased is a 10 gallon tank and it came with a top an analog thermometer/humidity gauge and a light. Its pretty nice I think but its super large for him. We also purchased 30 crickets which we keep in a critter carrier. We feed the crickets some potato as instructed by the employee at the mart of pets. We also got him a log to hide in and a water bowl. We intend on misting him at least twice a day with bottled water as well as change his water daily with bottled water as well. I put about 6-8 crickets in the enclosure with him since the cage is large and he just kind of hangs out and burrows in the mulchy stuff in his cage. We got these three bricks that we had to take one and soak it in water until it came apart and we use that for his bedding. I keep a thin layer of it on the bottom of his cage.

So far he seems happy and healthy although I haven't seen him eat. I think there is one less cricket than we had before but its hard to tell. They are tiny and move around a lot. My son does want to take him out of his enclosure and have him scurry around on the floor of his bedroom which is actually pretty cool. He certainly moves more on the floor than he moves in his habitat. I do make sure my son washes his hands before and after handling him. My son has a lot of experience handling backyard toads and frogs so he knows how to carry it so that it doesn't jump out of his hands. We haven't picked out a name yet but I think we're leaning toward "Jabba".

Temperature in the tank is currently around 75% but the humidity is only around 50%.

I wanted to check on preferred food for them. Crickets are fine for me but a hassle. I'd much prefer something I could keep in the fridge like worms but I worry a little bit about him getting enough to eat with the large enclosure. Does he need to come out and go into a smaller enclosure to get his fill?

Ok, so advice would be nice at this point. Any pointers?

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Dan ! Well, we are to a rough start; but will try to get you on right track to a healthy frog. OK, first you need to read this when have free time: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding.

Let's start with the enclosure. Your suspicions are right; it's too big and will stress the baby out. Get yourself a smaller critter keeper type cage (ExoTerra's small Breeder Box for 1-1.5 in. frog or a medium one for a 1.5-2 in.). You will add shredded coco mixed with dechlorinated tap water until slightly damp and clumps in fist but does not drip water out. Just add enough substrate to equal the frog's height.

Then clean and fill the frog's water dish with same dechlorinated tap (clean and change daily), add a small silk plant, and the frog. Then place the whole thing inside the empty 10 gal. You can bag and air dry the remainder coco substrate for later re-use. Just remember to mix with dechlorinated tap only when re-hidrating. Myself use either Seachem Prime or ExoTerra Aquatize and recommend those over all other dechlorinators. More info on water and why treated tap is better in here: http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...hing-else.html.

To help keep right temperature (82F day with couple degrees drop at night) you are going to cover the whole screen with aluminum foil (from kitchen). Then place the heat lamp on top and trace it's border with a sharpie marker. Remove lamp and using scissors, cut out the lamp hole. Now you want to turn on lamp and adjust the heat with a dimmer (manual rheostat) or get a thermostat to keep tank at 82F. Analog gauges are flacky; either get a digital combo gauge or a "floating glass thermometer" which are more accurate. Both can be found at Walmart for good prices. While at store, go to the sports section and grab a container of not dyed Night Crawlers. You can store it on refrigerator veggie bin; until feeding time. Oh, also get some plastic or plastic tipped steel feeding tongs, you will need those later.

In lieu of a controller you can also make the hole around the light fixture bigger to let more heat escape; or change bulb for one with more or less wattage (don't go over 60W) or a mix of above. If even with a 60W bulb you do not get 82F; a heat pad affixed to side could help get here. Humidity should stay between 70-80% and with top covered in aluminum it should be easy to get there and hold it with couple daily mists.

OK; now on to feeding! Depending on baby size; you might want to start it with either mouth sized pieces (frog snout to vent length 1-1.5 in) or worm pieces same as frog length (SVL = 1.5 to 3 in.). Cut the worms with sharp scissors from pointy end (they won't die) and using tongs; wiggle in front of frogs mouth until it eats it. Sometimes you can gently rub the worm against the frog mouth and that will get it to eat. Be patient, once they learn the trick it becomes more easier. NCs should be the frogs staple food. You can also use crickets and they should be sized same or smaller that distance between the frog's eyes. Gut load crickets with lettuce, carrots, and cherios for 24-48 hours before feeding frog. Later you can also start a Dubia roach colony and replace crickets with that. Will need to use food supplements, more on that in here: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html.

Most frogs including Pacmans are see and don't touch animals. Not only does it stresses them; their absorbent skin can take in skin oils and chemicals in your floor or other surfaces that could be fatal to frog. Keep the frog in it's enclosure and try teach the kid to care for it in there. Good luck !

[xghostmakerx]

A few updates

Went to Petsmart and got some grubs and got some worms from the bait shop and still can't get the little guy to eat. He has crickets now with the grubs and worms. He might have ate a few crickets but its hard for me to tell. He has had bowel movements twice now though so not sure if that's a good sign or not. I got some tongs from the store and have tried enticing him with the grubs and earthworm bits but he's just not interested. Any ideas to get him to eat?

I ended up totally enclosing the roof except for a hole for the heat lamp and put him inside a smaller enclosure inside the 10 gallon tank

Hey, just a couple of other questions.

I got red worms from the bait store as they were smaller than earthworms. Are these still good? Do I need to feed the earthworms anything other than cornmeal?
I've seen declorinated tap water mentioned but is bottled water ok?

Thanks all

[Bombina Bob]

don't feed the red worms because when they are molested, they secrete very nasty mucous that the frog will not like. Earthworms can be fed though and be sure to feed ground up soy beans, this will put some meat on the worms and cornmeal isnt very nutritious. Dechlorinated tap water is OK, but try to use natural spring water if you can. Many bottled waters still have the chlorine and minerals that may be beneficial for us but harmful to the frog.

I would recommend keeping him in a smaller tank though, possibly a critter keeper. pacman froglets
can get stressed very easily in large enclosures. A small critter keeper you would see at most pet stores is adequate.