Pacman enclosure questions

[AbranV]

Good evening,

I've decided to start another frog tank and I'm thinking about doing a pacman or dart tank. Right now I'm trying to learn all I can on both frogs so I can make the most informed decision I can.

This means I get to bug you guys over here and give the dart frog peeps a break......for now

1. I've been reading about tank set up, and nobody mentions any type of drainage layer. Would it be a good idea to have a small false bottom with a substrate barrier to drain access moisture? If not, why?

2. I've read that plants can be beneficial in a pacmans tank. First, to add a comfort level for the frog, and second, plants will help with some of the waste. What would grow best in a coca fiber substrate?

3. I'm a little confused on heating. I've read and been told that its bad to use a heat bulb or incandescent bulb because it will dry the frog out. I've also read that these heating methods are fine, as long as you pay attention to the humidity and make sure the frog has a water dish. Any thoughts on this matter? What is your preferred heat source,? And why?

4. I've read its best to keep pacmans between 80-85degrees and as low as 75 at night. What's the best way to regulate the day/night heat difference? Also, is it necessary to lower the night time temp? Can you keep it around 82degrees 24/7?

5. What drew you to get pacmans? Why do you like them?

6. Any helpful hints or suggestions?

Thanks for any help, its greatly appreciated

[Snow]

Welcome to this section! I'm sure everyone else will post sometime soon but this time is usually dedicated to the night owls like myself and few others. Hopefully more will answer because I so far have limited knowledge about everything only having pacmans for a little over a year. Lets see!!

1)You can have a false bottom if you like, the only problem being these frogs like to burrow, and sometimes very deep. So the mesh or lining you put down would have to be soft but even then they can rub and hurt themselves on it. And if there is no seperation they can mix everything up and possibly injest it. For me I just use the coco fiber and keep it moist which is fairly easy with a mister paired along with a reptifogger.

2) The only real plant I've heard of thats hearty and strong enough and it happens to be the one I use, golden pothos. Very sturdy and can handle the frequent (about once a month or twice a month) soil changes and still survive. Just be advised depending on the pacman you get he/she can destroy it. So for the most part you'll see people with fake plants or a half log for a hide. But you can get pretty creative on a budget.

3) Now that's a loaded question! There are way too many ways to handle heating and lighting so I'll just describe my set ups. On two of my cages I use the ZooMed Naturesun fluorescent bulb and it works great in terms of showing off Goblin and Houdini's colors while putting off very little heat. The other cage I have I just use a 60 watt house bulb thats 24 inches high from the top soil along with night bulbs on all three enclosures, two purple and one red night heat bulb. The three night bulbs put off enough heat and are also hooked up to the zoomed hygrotherm system which works great on regulating all my temps and humidity. For me having this system is very easy to take care of and doesn't require any kind of adhesive equipment to stick to the cages.

4) Mentioned in the answer above, the hygrotherm system is great at regulating temps and humidity and I wouldn't see a problem with keeping temps at 82 degrees 24/7 as long as your frog can cool down and burrow if it needs to. The natural fluctuation of temps for my enclosures range from 78-83 degrees. Also my frogs run on a 12/12 day/night schedule.

5) The look and shape of them, they just look great to me. No neck, big mouth and very aggressive. I just like the fact that they look like a frog not to be messed with. And did I mention aggressive? They can be fearless and even go after something way larger than themselves to eat it. They are also little trash cans that will eat anything you generally put in front of them. But then again each pac is different. Hopefully that answered all of your questions.

6) See above!