Need help with pacman frog

[Juston63]

I bought a packman frog a week ago today. She is in a 10 gallon tank with ground coconut substate. The humidity fluctuates between 70-80 percent. The problem I'm having is getting the tank temperature to the suggested temp. It stays about 72-73 degrees during the day and at night it gets down to about 66 degrees. I have an under the tank heater that is for a 10-20 gallon tank. The substate stays warm but the tank temp as a whole will not rise. I have thought about another UTH to stick to back of tank to raise the temp. There was a basking light on top of tank but it greatly lowers the humidity in the tank. She stays buried for the most part (I presume to stay warm). I have read the related post about similar situations but any suggestions on how to get the temp up to a regular and healthy degree? Also she has not eaten since I bought her. (also read postings on this as well) I'm going to try earthworms tomorrow when I go to the store. Any suggestions would be a great help.

[Bombina Bob]

66 degrees is too low, the temps can go as high as 82. 70-75 should be a good nighttime temperature. Heat mats and light bulbs are your best options for heating your frog. heat mats should be placed on the side or bottom of the tank, the temperature should be monitored as well to avoid overheating. If your pacman frog is refusing food, try covering 3 sides of the enclosure, nobody likes living in a transparent house! Earthworms and nightcrawlers are by far the most nutritious thing you can feed your pacman.

[Juston63]

The back wall is covered by a coconut husk mat that is also used for hermit crab cages. it holds humidity very well. I will get some more to cover the other 2 sides. Another UTH is will be added to the back of the cage. Any ideas on feeding? I have read it is common for them to go 1-2 weeks without eating when introduced to a new home. The temp is now up to 70 and slowly climbing since this morning. thanks for your reply and help. Look forward to hearing any more advice on feeding and any other tips on pacman frogs.

[monster]

How big is your tank? How big is the frog? Your temps have to come up to at least 82, put that light back on till you get a another UTH. If you buy another UTh put in on the same end as the other one but on the back. From my experience this last week with heating you want to go up a size when putting these UTHs on the sides. Right now on my baby pacman I have a 10-20 on the end and 30-40 on the back hooked to a dimmer. During the day I get 83 to 84 and then just dim the bigger one at night and I put it down to 79f. And if you cover 3/4 of the top with tin foil that helps to.

[Juston63]

the tank is a 10 gallon. the frog is about 2 inches wide. the pet store i bought the coconut husk mat from was out when i went by today so i am covering it in a forest patterned cling. i bought night crawlers to give to it. any suggestions on feeding the night crawlers to the frog? if just dropped in tank in front of it, if not eaten right away, won't they just burrow in the substrate? should they go on a small dish or held in front of it with tweezers or something? is it better to have live plants in the tank or is silk just as good? I've heard live plants can help keep the humidity levels up some.

[monster]

Do you have the UTH on the bottom right now? Pac man frogs bury to cool off so if its on the bottom he cant control his body temperature and it will really throw him off. You always want to put these on the side never on the bottom. And if its on the bottom and you don't have one of those thermometers that go into the substrate hes probably cooking. The nightcrawlers you give by tongs or drop it in front of him but make sure he eats it. At 2 inches if the nightcrawler is a big one you can cut it in half and if its a smaller one you could give him the whole worm. The live plants yes help with humidity but these guys are like tanks and he will probably dig them up burying himself or he will just plow over them. So that one is really up to you.

[Juston63]

Yes the UTH is under the tank. I will move it to the side though. Thank you for the tip. The person from the pet store said it was supposed to be set up under the tank for warm soil conditions. Just one more reason i joined this forum and quit asking the pet store for help. Thank you again for the advice and tips. If you think of anything else please feel free to let me know. Y'all have been a great help.

[monster]

The one you have on the bottom if your care full you can peel it off. Some people do put them on the bottom but in the wild when the sun comes out and and the air heats up they bury down in the mud to cool them off. Both my pacmans in the day bury and then come up at night when I lower the temps. So if you put that 10-20 on the side, put your other one on the back in the same end. Pretty much so when you look in that whole end will look black, by doing this you make a nice hot corner and the other end will be a couple degrees lower so he can go cool off if he wants. And again foil the whole top and leave about an inch on each end for ventilation. I only have to mist my tanks 2xs a day, once in the morn and once at night about a half hour before lights out. And unless someone else has another trick the UTH you buy for the back go up a size, and you can buy a dimmer at home depot for about $8 bucks. Hook the bigger one up to the dimmer and just dim it at night to drop the heat. This is how mine is setup and right now my tank is 83f and I dim it down to about 80f at night. I would go more but its just a baby.

[monster]

Here is a picture if it helps. My tank is also only a 10 gallon.

[Juston63]

I moved the UTH to the side. I am getting the next size up tomorrow to go across the back. She is now on the surface. I tried feeding her a nightcrawler but she still won't eat. Im hoping that when i get the temp to the correct range she will eat. Thank you very much for you help and the picture. It has helped me out a lot. Should i try feeding her at different times of the day to see when she wants to eat?

[monster]

Has she pooped in the last week? The high temps help them digest there food so if it was to low she may have a full belly. But you don't want it to sit there to long or it will go bad and turn toxic. The temps with these guys is so important. If she hasn't pooped since you had her you can try giving it a warm honey bath. For this you put a couple drops of honey in a warm bath of about 80f and let her soak for about 20 mins. It should only be chin deep and you can cover the container with a towel to keep the heat in. Put her somewhere its quiet. When you give the worm try not to come right at the frog from in front, kinda come from the side so she gets a good look at it. If you just shove in her face right away you maybe making her nervous. And you can try after she has seen it to touch her lips with it, she may take it. Your frog may also still be adjusting to its new home. They are all different, my one didn't eat for about 3 days when I first got her and my baby I just got has ate every night since I got him 2 weeks ago. Oh and sorry for calling your frog a girl, its because mine is female so im used to typing that. L.O.L They come out at night to eat in the wild so that's the best time.

[Juston63]

From what I was told at the pet store it is a she. She pooped the second day I got her. Since then I haven't seen any more. I will try inticing her by bringing the worm from the side slowly and maybe even leaving it front of her on the ground but making sure it doesn't burrow its self away. From what I can tell she doesn't appear to have lost any weight. Im keeping a close eye on her so I think I would notice something. Now that Ive got the temp on its way to the correct area I'm worried about her eating or lack there of. Ive read that they can go 1-2 weeks without eating but I don't think she's big enough to go that long without eating. The pet store said they only fed her 3-4 large crickets a day. I will take a few pictures and put them up so you can see what you think about the tank set up. Keep in mind I set it up on the advice from the pet store that has given me some advice that hasn't necessarily worked for me so far. So there may be some things I need to change or move around.

[Juston63]

I gave her a soak in the honey water. I used non chlorinated water. She pooped in the water. Not as much as what I cleaned out of her cage the second day I had her but I could tell she had done it. Im going to let her rest for the night. Ill try feeding again tomorrow night maybe the clean out got her hungry again. If she doesn't eat in a couple of days I guess Ill have to force feed her. I really don't want to put any more stress on her but she has to eat. Any more tips or tricks would be very helpful. Cory thank you very much for all your help.

[monster]

When you say non chlorinated water what do you mean? Do you mean you didn't add any water conditioner? And I forgot to mention that after the honey bath you can let her soak in just a normal warm bath for another 20 mins. But you always need to make sure you use water conditioner like a reptisafe or something in all its water. You can use r/o or distilled for misting because it doesn't leave calcium deposits on the glass but that's all you should use it for. Your best bet for water is tap or spring with something like reptisafe in it. And I don't know how much you have been around your tank trying the get the humidity and temps right, but if you have been around it a lot that may be why she isn't settling in and eating for you. Not saying you are but if you have just give him a couple days of just checking your humidity, temps and go around to feed and he may living up abit and start eating. when I just got my little guy a couple weeks ago for the first week I only went around to feed and change his water, and I checked his humidity a couple times a day and hes doing great. They are all different and maybe your guy is just having a hard time adjusting? Do you got him in a high or low traffic area?

[Juston63]

Sorry I dint clarify. I used water conditioner to make it safe for her to soak in. After her soak in the honey solution I used the treated water to rinse her off. After her the soak I did notice she got a little testy for the first time since I've had her. While rinsing her off she nipped at my finger and kept her mouth open for a bit. Kinda got me a little excited to see her act in that manner. On the lines of checking on her, I keep away primarily. Just go around to check humidity and the temp and try to get her to eat. Im thinking of closing off all her sides of the tank to give her privacy for a couple days. Maybe that will help her adjust. Her tank is in a room that gets some traffic but it is the least traveled room of the house.