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?

[monster]

Hi, if you have your heat matt on the same end as your 40 watt light he might be avoiding that area because as suggested it may be too hot. Im thinking you should be able to be ok with just the 40 watt bulb. Is there any way you could post a picture of your setup, it could be something as simple as were you have your thermometer placed not giving a proper temp reading. And when you say the heat and humidity is were its supposed to be what are the exact measurements? Another thing im thinking is you mentioned he usually does this after eating, how much are you feeding him? Could it be he is still possibly hungry and hes looking for more food?

[DG Kim]

Hi, if you have your heat matt on the same end as your 40 watt light he might be avoiding that area because as suggested it may be too hot. Im thinking you should be able to be ok with just the 40 watt bulb. Is there any way you could post a picture of your setup, it could be something as simple as were you have your thermometer placed not giving a proper temp reading. And when you say the heat and humidity is were its supposed to be what are the exact measurements? Another thing im thinking is you mentioned he usually does this after eating, how much are you feeding him? Could it be he is still possibly hungry and hes looking for more food?

This site keeps saying my pictures are an invalid image file so whatever on that, but the ambient temperature in the warm spot is around 78 and the substrate temp right by the mat is around 73. As for humidity, the bulb saps the ambient humidity too much so I cover half of the top and have a fogging machine set to every four hours while it's on (substrate stays moist though, maybe even too moist). I use a digital thermometer and hygrometer for measurements so I suppose it's accurate.

As for why he behaves like this after feeding, I also thought maybe it was because he was still hungry. I usually drop in crickets until he stops eating but I did run out of crickets last feeding so...

[monster]

For the pictures you have to upload to photobucket or imugr and then copy and paste from there. You want to try and have you temps around 80f mark and 82f IMO is pretty much spot on perfect. For the substrate you don't want it to be wet, so if you think its a little on the wet side you may want to change the settings on your fogger. Try to get your temps up abit and see if this helps, if he isn't warm enough he wont be able to digest properly and it will make him not want to eat and want to look for somewhere warmer.

[jasonm96]

Good advice from cory. What I would do is keep humidity around at least 70% even up to 90%. Thing with fanatasy is there mixed with cranwelli, which require moderate humidity but with cornuta requires higher as its a forest species. Keep temps within 78-84 during the day, no lower than 70s during the night. Ideally use a heat bulb ontop or if heat is needed at night as well as daytime, use a ceramic heat emitter connected to a thermostat. Heat mats aren't the best heating option unless used underneath connected to a thermostat but many hobbyists are against this.

[DG Kim]

For the pictures you have to upload to photobucket or imugr and then copy and paste from there. You want to try and have you temps around 80f mark and 82f IMO is pretty much spot on perfect. For the substrate you don't want it to be wet, so if you think its a little on the wet side you may want to change the settings on your fogger. Try to get your temps up abit and see if this helps, if he isn't warm enough he wont be able to digest properly and it will make him not want to eat and want to look for somewhere warmer.

Ah seems like a hassle with the pictures.

Anyways, I think I may have figured it out. I was feeding him last night and I got a good whiff of the tank and it smelled foul. I think the substrate was too wet which is my fault since I would occasionally pour water and stir it around a bit to keep humidity up, but hadn't checked the substrate moisture in a while (the ambient humidity levels led me to believe it wasn't wet enough). So I cleaned the tank today and I guess I'll see how it goes.

I think the temps are fine since like I said, he is eating and pooping regularly, and he also normally avoids the warm side on his own. We got through a very cold winter like this and it's finally going to be getting warm next week so temps should be rising naturally anyways.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions!

[jasonm96]

Good rule is if it smells bad then time for a change. The substrate can usually be moist but not wet. Depending on how much you pour water and stir it up this may be fine. Use an accurate hygrometer to access humidity, so far I've found the zoo med ones to be good. Put it in the middle of the tank for good readings. If temps drop below before the warmer months come use a ceramic heat emitter (usually 40-60w in my experience) connect it to a thermostat to allow natural night time drops (low 70s). Any problems, feel free to dm me, even cory I would imagine would be happy to assist, good guy