Concerns About Terrarium Set-Up

[Heatheranne]

To make this easier...

Temps:
Young pacs need 82'F during day and can drop to 78'F or so at night. Lower will decrease their metabolism and they will not be hungry.

Adults can drop about 2 degrees lower safely.

Distilled water can be used for misting only and is good to prevent water spots on glass.

You can use spring water with no chlorine, chloramines, or heavy metals in it or dechlorinated tap water to moisten all substrates and for water bowl water. Change bowl water daily.

Humidity:
70-80% and substrate should be moist but not muddy

Feed crickets, worm pieces or Dubia roaches of size to the length of the distance between their eyes or less for ease of swallowing. Better to feed an extra cricket than too big of one. We want to avoid intestinal impaction. Never feed mealworms.

Gut-load crickets with properly rinsed fresh fruits, carrots, green leafy lettuce (not iceberg), potatoes, Cheerios, flukers cricket food, etc. daily. Remove any uneaten bugs from the frogs home daily. Crickets can and do bite. Feed at lights out in early pm.

Supplements: (amphibian or reptile brands)

Calcium with vitamin D3:
(Has to have the vitamin D3 with it for proper absorption)
~Lightly dust on insects just before feedings, every other feeding.

Multivitamin such as Repashy calcium plus or Herptivite:
(My frogs seem to prefer Repashy)
~Lightly dust insects just before frog feeding one day a week on day different than calcium/vita D3 day for best absorption.

No special lighting is required for pacman frogs. They live on the forest floors buried in the leaves and dirt and are nocturnal. They do need some source of light to determine sleep and wake times. They should have an approximate 12 hr switch schedule of day to night with light during the day and as dark as possible at night.

Dilemmas with heat and humidity:
Always an issue it seems. All heat pads should be proper amphibian/reptile safe heat pads and should only be placed on side walls with any burrowing frogs. My tanks have heat "corners" in which I place a heat matt on two coinciding walls to make a nice cozy warm corner. You can add heat lamps of 50watts or less. Heat emitters are best bc they emit no light. Red lamps and black bulbs are acceptable. Remember, they are nocturnal and love it black.

Humidity issues with heat lamps:
Try adding tin foil to half or more of the screen lids. Have a reliable hygrometer to monitor levels. It is likely you'll have to mist 2 times per day.

Substrates:
Pacs can be aggressive eaters and snatch up their food quick with no regard to what's in their path. Moss can and does cause intestinal impaction if ingested. So far the safest substrate has shown to be coconut fiber (not the husk chunks). It is still best to take caution in how much they accidentally ingest.

Once your frog has settled in and starting eating comfortably and regularly, you can try tong feeding.

So, here's a list of what came to mind. I'm sure I've left something out that will come to me later. My brain's on slow-motion from multitasking all weekend at work. I will follow along.

Lija and others have given great advice! As always .

Thanks all!