A Few Questions From A Begginer

[Epsilon]

Hello there forum. Frogs have long since childhood been my favorite animal, and as of recently I decided to get my very first pet frog. After a bit of research which mostly included lurking on older posts in the forum, I made up my mind to purchase a Pacman based on many people saying they're easier frogs to care for. I bought it from PetCo (I know, I've heard how awful they are, but I felt like I had to save the little guy and I fell in love with him at first sight) the people that worked there were rude and not very helpful, they couldn't even tell me if it was a male or female. They only had it listed as 'Fantasy PacMan Frog' So I have a few questions that I'm hoping some veterans can help me answer.

1. How can I tell if it's an ornate horned frog or a cranwelli, and more importantly what's the difference?

2. How can I tell if it's male or female? (Aside from waiting to hear it croak)

3. The store referred to it as a fantasy pacman frog and I've seen the term passed around, so what does 'fantasy' mean?

I appreciate any and all replies and I can post pictures of the little fella if needed.

[daybr4ke]

First off, congrats on buying a frog. To answer your question, a Fantasy Frog is a hybrid of two species, Ceratophrys Cranwelli(Cranwell's Horned Frog.), and C. Cornuta(Surinam/Amazon Horned Frogs.). They are sterile, and rare, as they are bred in captivity and one parent, the cornuta, is rather rare. I kind of doubt it is a fantasy frog, petco and other stores often mislabel these frogs, but I hope it is a fantasy! I can check if you post some pictures, as can other members. Hope this helps.

[JawsofaFrog]

Hello there forum. Frogs have long since childhood been my favorite animal, and as of recently I decided to get my very first pet frog. After a bit of research which mostly included lurking on older posts in the forum, I made up my mind to purchase a Pacman based on many people saying they're easier frogs to care for. I bought it from PetCo (I know, I've heard how awful they are, but I felt like I had to save the little guy and I fell in love with him at first sight) the people that worked there were rude and not very helpful, they couldn't even tell me if it was a male or female. They only had it listed as 'Fantasy PacMan Frog' So I have a few questions that I'm hoping some veterans can help me answer.

1. How can I tell if it's an ornate horned frog or a cranwelli, and more importantly what's the difference?

2. How can I tell if it's male or female? (Aside from waiting to hear it croak)

3. The store referred to it as a fantasy pacman frog and I've seen the term passed around, so what does 'fantasy' mean?

I appreciate any and all replies and I can post pictures of the little fella if needed.

They are fun to watch grow, congratulations on the new addition! http://www.frogforum.net/showthread.php?t=21121 That answers the difference with a picture reference. You will have to wait for the frog to mature, telling the difference between the sexes is unlikely with young horned frogs. One way to tell a male from a female is that the male will croak/vocalize and the male has a loose throat vocal sac that is clearly visible on mature frogs. I have a male Brazilian pacman because he has a loose throat I noticed and he croaks in my home lately. Mature males also develop pads on their front legs that are used to grip and hold on to a female frogs. I am not exactly sure what age they develop these pads which are located on the front feet. Please use calcium with d3 and multivitamin supplements on your frogs food! They will have all sorts of issues if you do not. What I use for years now: http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm

[Epsilon]

Hi, so far Sherbet is adapting well to their new home. Getting pictures was quite the ordeal, he was covered in substrate so I had to gently rinse him off with bottled water. But here they are!






The camera doesn't do it justice but he is REALLY pink.

[JawsofaFrog]

Looking really healthy! Nice Fantasy!

[Epsilon]

Thank you for all your kind replies! I have one more question, he burrows VERY deep into his substrate. So much so I can't even see him. I think it has something to do with the temperature, but when I get a read it on it it says 76° which I've heard is favorable conditions. I'm using a heating pad that takes up about a third of his 10 gallon tank i don't want to use a lamp because I heard it drys them out. Am I just worrying too much about nothing? Or is there legitimate concern?


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[daybr4ke]

First of all, congrats on the frog! I'm glad it's a fantasy frog. Never heard of a Petco or PetSmart carrying fantasies before, very interesting. It's a very pretty frog. As for the temperature question, pacman frogs love to burrow, and spend a lot of time almost invisible. However, the best temp for pacman frogs is usually recommended to be around 82-83. Sometimes slight differences are recommended for the various species, however. For measurement of the temperature, depending on where you place your thermometer(s), you may be fine; for example, if the heating pad is off to the right and the thermometer is in the middle or to the left, it may be a bit hotter on the area near the pad than the thermometer shows.

[Epsilon]

Thank you very much, I try not to worry too much, but I'm very passionate about animals and tend to be over cautious and worry about every little thing.

Since this is my first frog I'm still learning, seems like every time I think I figured it out, I hear something new and get really discouraged. Especially with how delicate frogs are, and if this little guy is as rare as you say I'd feel better if he was taken care of by someone with experience.

They say frogs stress easy, but right now I'm feeling like the stressed one. [emoji28]

[monster]

Hi, congrats on the new frog. Although you don't see fantasies at petcos and petsmart often they aren't all that rare of a pacman frog. You could find them at any reptile expo and there is a few big time breeders in the states that also have them regularly. Were are you taking your temp reading from? By the sounds of it you have the heat mat on the bottom? If so you want to have a probe under the substrate against the glass so you can get a reading from there. If its on the bottom and your air temp is 76f he is probably burrowing right down so he can warm up. You want to have a warm side and a cool side and have the temp drop a few degrees at night. Also if hes a new frog he could also be burrowing to feel secure, sometimes covering three sides of the enclosure helps and try to have him somewhere in your house that's quiet.

[Epsilon]

Hi thank you very much for the reply. Yes I have a mat on the left side of the tank and the right side is where his water bowl is. After messing a bit with the probe on the thermometer, the substrate is almost 90°F which is certainly no good. But the air temp is mid 70's. However the cool side is the perfect temperature sitting at roughly 81°F. What the best way to go about fixing this?


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[JawsofaFrog]

I would take up 1/4 of the tank's bottom with that heat pad. It is just 5 degrees too hot.. you can get one of these to control the heat pad's output. http://www.ink-bird.com/products-tem...er-itc308.html

[Epsilon]

I actually managed to find a healthy balance by adjusting the thermostat in my house. And as of 5 minutes ago I cleaned up my first poop. Now however I'm faced with a new issue, he went through the dozen gut-loaded crickets I bought him Tuesday already. I'm thinking of buying a dozen nightcrawlers tomorrow, for him as I've heard they're more nutritious and easier to digest. But how much nightcrawler should I give him in one day? And do I need to dust them like the crickets?


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[Ra]

Awesome frog. I hate petco and pet smart but itd be nice if my local shops ever had a Fantasy Frog!

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[Epsilon]

Awesome frog. I hate petco and pet smart but itd be nice if my local shops ever had a Fantasy Frog!

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Thank you for the compliment! And yeah aside from petco we have one local pet store but they don't really deal in amphibians aside from the occasional whites tree frog. So when I saw the pink little bugger chilling in that tiny tank with all the wrong substrate and everything, I knew I had to get him out of there!

[JawsofaFrog]

That is good about the temperatures. Yes dust the nightcrawlers, I just dip worms in calcium. When I fed nightcrawlers 2 would fill up my frog. I am currently feeding red wrigglers (bait shop earthworms) & it takes about 4-6 to fill up my frogs.

[Ra]

The big reptile store around here told me they don't carry Fantasy Frogs because people only want to buy the fancy albinos.

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[Epsilon]

The big reptile store around here told me they don't carry Fantasy Frogs because people only want to buy the fancy albinos.

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Honestly I'd rather have one of those beautiful red ornates over an albino. Guess it just comes down to preference.

[Ra]

Yeah they won't even carry those he said. Appears they think nobody likes green frogs these days.

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[Epsilon]

Nothing beats classic green in my opinion.


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[daybr4ke]

I got a green ornata at a PetSmart, consider myself very lucky. I like high red ornates, but there's something nice about the little green guy. Green frogs are every bit as good as gold imo lol