To much moisture in enclosure and a question about heatpad

[Musicpanda]

My terrarium is made in plexiglass and according to my combo-thermo/hydrometer it's 85% moist. And I've read that it should be 70% for my Pacman. I wipe inside the enclosure 2-3 times a day cause the moist sticks to the plexiglass, it's not what I would consider "wet" in the substrate, but I'm still worried why there's so much moist in the air and if it can give my frog fungus.

The other question I have is about my heatpad, I actually have it under the plexi bottom of the terrarium (there is space so the heat won't make a fire) it's only a 7w pad, the instructions to it said not to have more than 1 cm substrate covering the heatpad, so I follow that, but then a thought struck me, my frog can't burrow there now can he? ... that seems pointless considering that the heatpad covers 28x28 cm of the frogs space (It's not even half of his space but anyway). I guess what I want answered is why they produce heatpads if you can't use substrate over it? If I put it on the side the heat wouldn't be as effective now would it? Considering heat is ascending.

/Leonard

[Deku]

IMHO I think you shouldnt worry too much about the moisture. They come from south america, where its constantly moist. You should post some pictures of your pacman. I love these frogs.

[Musicpanda]

IMHO I think you shouldnt worry too much about the moisture. They come from south america, where its constantly moist. You should post some pictures of your pacman. I love these frogs.

Okay I'm just a bite overprotective now after my albino recently died I'll try to take some pictures of him next week when my girlfriend is here with her camera. It's a promise!

So anyone knows an answer for question two, the function of heatpads?

[Deku]

Okay I'm just a bite overprotective now after my albino recently died I'll try to take some pictures of him next week when my girlfriend is here with her camera. It's a promise!

So anyone knows an answer for question two, the function of heatpads?

Oh I forgot to see that question! Heatpads go underneath the terrarium and give heat from below. Personally I dislike to use them for that reason, the frog could get burnt if it digs down which it will. What I recommend is you get a "heat lamp". Doesnt have to be bright. You can even get the ones that make no light whatsoever that are "Black" lights. It will provide some heat. Just remember if you are using a 10gallon aquarium only use a 40-50watt light NO MORE. If its a 20TALL use a 75watt. 20long 40-50watt. 30breeder 40-50 watt. Because of the height. You can put one of these on one end. But because of the height it would give off too much heat and the frog will be in stress. Just measure the heat it gives. If its not enough return it and upgrade for one step above. Dont over do it though. And good luck.

[Musicpanda]

Oh I forgot to see that question! Heatpads go underneath the terrarium and give heat from below. Personally I dislike to use them for that reason, the frog could get burnt if it digs down which it will. What I recommend is you get a "heat lamp". Doesnt have to be bright. You can even get the ones that make no light whatsoever that are "Black" lights. It will provide some heat. Just remember if you are using a 10gallon aquarium only use a 40-50watt light NO MORE. If its a 20TALL use a 75watt. 20long 40-50watt. 30breeder 40-50 watt. Because of the height. You can put one of these on one end. But because of the height it would give off too much heat and the frog will be in stress. Just measure the heat it gives. If its not enough return it and upgrade for one step above. Dont over do it though. And good luck.

How do I measure how much gallons my terrarium is? I'm not that good at maths. Only problem is what I should do with my heatpads now They shouldn't burn at 7w? I've touched the floor and it's barely warm (maybe the don't even do anything xD), but winter can sure be hard in Sweden so I might use lamp now and some additional heatpads then if the lamp doesn't goes all the way. Can't the lamp burn the frog btw? And is there lamps without UVB? I'm not that existed about those lamps...

[Deku]

Im just cautious about heat pads. Lamps CAN burn the frog if they are too close. You can measure your tank by length x width x height.

so post here how long it is, how wide it is and how tall it is. Do it in either feets, or inches. I dont do centimeters. Yes there are bulbs that are strictly for heat only without uvb. I think one is from ZOOmed. It doesnt produce light yet produces heat.

[UncleChester]

How do I measure how much gallons my terrarium is? I'm not that good at maths.

Measure length, width and height in centimeters. Multiply these three numbers together, call this 'ANSWER'. Type "ANSWER cubic centimeters to gallons" into google, and behold the power of the internet.

Example: if you measure length=60cm, width=30cm, height=30cm, you get 60x30x30=54000. Ask google "54000 cubic centimeters to gallons" and google tells you "54 000 (cubic centimeters)= 14.2652908 US gallons".

If your ruler is inches, you can replace "centimeter" with "inches" above, but I figured you are in Sweden. Alternatively, if you know how many liters your tank is, ask google to convert it directly for you (or just divide the number of litres by 3.78 to get US gallons).

This is the internet way for those of you who didn't go to a school at a time when not being able to convert various units of measurement around meant you failed. It's also for those who didn't grow up in a country confused on whether it used imperial or metric measurement.

[Paul Rust]

How do I measure how much gallons my terrarium is?

Aquarium Volume Calculator
http://www.fishlore.com/ConversionCalculator.htm

[SethD]

My terrarium is made in plexiglass and according to my combo-thermo/hydrometer it's 85% moist. And I've read that it should be 70% for my Pacman. I wipe inside the enclosure 2-3 times a day cause the moist sticks to the plexiglass, it's not what I would consider "wet" in the substrate, but I'm still worried why there's so much moist in the air and if it can give my frog fungus.

The other question I have is about my heatpad, I actually have it under the plexi bottom of the terrarium (there is space so the heat won't make a fire) it's only a 7w pad, the instructions to it said not to have more than 1 cm substrate covering the heatpad, so I follow that, but then a thought struck me, my frog can't burrow there now can he? ... that seems pointless considering that the heatpad covers 28x28 cm of the frogs space (It's not even half of his space but anyway). I guess what I want answered is why they produce heatpads if you can't use substrate over it? If I put it on the side the heat wouldn't be as effective now would it? Considering heat is ascending.

/Leonard

Don't worry to much about humidity. It is not critical. They can handle it from very humid up to quite dry assuming they have access to a water bowl. Secondly, a heat pad probably isn't needed at all. They do fine at room temp's assuming that it is 70's or warmer. If your not comfortable with that and you want to give him access to a little more warmth what you are doing is fine. A low powered heat pad or heat tape under a portion of the tank will give him some place to go if he gets cold. Don't worry about substrate depth either. Assuming the substrate is loose he will be able to burrow down to the heat if he gets cold. I have kept rococo toads semi-outdoors through periods of of freezing weather this way. It works just fine with many burrowing species. The only thing you need to do if you have a lot of substrate in your setup is make sure the heat pad isn't trapped under the tank with no way to vent excess heat. That can potentially start a fire depending on you heat pad and thermostat type( from your post though I think you know this). Make sure the edges of the tank are raised enough to let a little air get in. I will usually use a hard rubber spacer under each corner about the thickness of three quarters stacked on top of each other. That is plenty to allow built up heat to vent a little and prevents a potentially hazardous situation.

[Deku]

Don't worry to much about humidity. It is not critical. They can handle it from very humid up to quite dry assuming they have access to a water bowl. Secondly, a heat pad probably isn't needed at all. They do fine at room temp's assuming that it is 70's or warmer. If your not comfortable 4with that and you want to give him access to a little more warmth what you are doing is fine. A low powered heat pad or heat tape under a portion of the tank will give him some place to go if he gets cold. Don't worry about substrate depth either. Assuming the substrate is loose he will be able to burrow down to the heat if he gets cold. I have kept rococo toads semi-outdoors through periods of of freezing weather this way. It works just fine with many burrowing species. The only thing you need to do if you have a lot of substrate in your setup is make sure the heat pad isn't trapped under the tank with no way to vent excess heat. That can potentially start a fire depending on you heat pad and thermostat type( from your post though I think you know this). Make sure the edges of the tank are raised enough to let a little air get in. I will usually use a hard rubber spacer under each corner about the thickness of three quarters stacked on top of each other. That is plenty to allow built up heat to vent a little and prevents a potentially hazardous situation.

Pacman frogs are south american tropical species. If I remember the come from argentine or peru or near there. Which in deed is constantly moist.

These frogs like to dig down. So 2inches of substrate isnt enough for them; they should have atleast 4inches of depth of dirt. It gives them enough to burrow down and escape the heat or element which in nature is what they would do. I agree with not needing a heat pad as it can burn the frog(seen incidents where I used to work). But it should have some sort of heat, because it comes from a tropical region. But since he needs something that isnt constantly bright and can use it DAY AND NIGHT he should get those heat bulbs that dont produce light but produce heat. Ived tried them. not the infrared bulbs. Those are obnoxious to use. Iam talking about the ones that act like a heater and produce heat WITHOUT the light. He should still add some light in there so it makes some sort of light cycle but he doesnt need uvb/uva either. All he needs is just a simple flourescent or incandescent, leave it on for 12 hours and then turn it off at night and its done. The heat lamp can be on during day and night. Iam saying this because he said and I quote "the winter where I live can be harsh". The temps should never drop bellow 72 which is the normal lowest tropical temps.

[dbolack]

The other question I have is about my heatpad, I actually have it under the plexi bottom of the terrarium (there is space so the heat won't make a fire) it's only a 7w pad, the instructions to it said not to have more than 1 cm substrate covering the heatpad, so I follow that, but then a thought struck me, my frog can't burrow there now can he? ... that seems pointless considering that the heatpad covers 28x28 cm of the frogs space (It's not even half of his space but anyway). I guess what I want answered is why they produce heatpads if you can't use substrate over it? If I put it on the side the heat wouldn't be as effective now would it? Considering heat is ascending.

From keeping hermit crabs, we habitually keep the heating pads mounted on the side of the tank, half in, half out of the substrate. But a typical crab tank probably has a bit more substrate than a frog tank, putting the pad a bit more in the air. Heat lamps muck with the humidity and you can use heat rocks with crabs. Seems like the issues should be the same.