My frog is being weird

[DG Kim]

So I've had my Fantasy Pacman frog, Cheeseburger, since November 2015 and he's been doing good so far. Eating, pooping, growing, everything seems to be fine and I've been keeping the enclosure at the recommended temperatures and humidity. I have him in a 10 gallon tank with live plants and have been spot cleaning regularly and cleaning the tank once a month, though I started doing every two weeks since I moved the plants into pots.

So anyways, the past couple of weeks I've been hearing a thumping noise coming from the tank but didn't think much of it and when I would go to check, my frog would just be staring out into the distance. Last night i finally caught him making the thumping noises, and it turns out he's been trying to climb out of the tank! I was able to observe him in the darkness for a good 10 minutes (no video footage because it was too dark) and during that time he was moving all over the place, going from one end to the other seemingly looking for a way out. It looked like one of those horror films where a person is trapped in a room and banging on the walls crying for help. This seems to happen usually after I feed him since that is when he is most active. In addition, nowadays he seems to spend a lot of time at the front of the tank staring out into the distance, watching me sleep (my bed is right across from the enclosure).

Any experts here have any idea why he might be trying to get out? I don't think he's looking for more space, but I do have an empty 18x18x18 if he needs more in the future.

[jasonm96]

Depending on age, if an adult or near there, I'd move it into at least an 18 x 18 foot print, I personally think 10 gallons is far too small for adult horned frogs. You might have problems with heating in the 18" cube due to the height, high wattage heaters may be needed and high wattage heat bulbs or ceramics don't mix well with a lot of amphibians. If your using a wall-mounted heat mat as your heat source I would consider replacing with a low wattage ceramic or daylight heat lamp. I've tried wall-mounted heat mats with a few terrestrial frogs and it's just drove them mad but I'm not sure why. Also, a background is a good addition to a frog set up as it can make it feel more secure, so try to include one.

[DG Kim]

Yeah I plan on moving him into the 18x18x18 once he gets big enough, but I think it's too big right now. I used to use a background and put it on an angle to adjust the floor space as needed (even if it did leave a large empty space in the back) but got real annoyed with crickets always climbing it. I have a fogging machine set on a timer so I don't think humidity would be a problem even with higher wattage bulbs.

For heat in the 10 gallon, I actually put a heat mat on the side and a 40w red bulb over that. It's April but it's still chilly here for some reason. Cheeseburger also seems to dislike warm substrate so I put the heat mat above the substrate, which seems to help raise temps just a little, and I also cover half the screen top with bubble wrap to maintain humidity on the cool side. By the way, I've heard frogs don't see red light so the red bulbs don't disturb their night cycle, but my frog definitely gets startled when I turn it on suddenly so I guess they do see something.

[jasonm96]

I would go for the 12" high version, which makes heating easier. I think heat mats are useless on the wall for terrestrial species and I've tried it a few times and the frogs would go nuts trying to climb up the wall to get heated. I'm not convinced frogs can't see red light either, so at night ceramics are best.

[DG Kim]

My frog is weird I guess since he actively avoids the heat mat. In fact, that's the only corner I never see him in but I leave it on just in case, since it's still chilly where I am.

[jasonm96]

Are you using a digital thermometer to monitor the temps of the mat? Analogue ones can't really monitor the heat they produce, still I see them included in kits with mats lol. Heat mats can get quite hot so it may be that it's too hot for him?