Basic Pacman Help!

[Username]

Yeah, Since i dont really know what im doing with frogs or This forum, I decided to take John's advice because hes been nice to me ever since i joined today. Ive learned alot of stuff about pacmans like What they eat and stuff but i need to know what Lighting it will need. I read a Caresheet and it said A UVB Light would work but im worried it won't give the frog its Heat Potential. Help is Apprieciated.

[Username]

There i go messing up again! I Put it in the wrong Section, i should just leave the forum.. I barely know what im doing.

[Kurt]

Its OK. I am not the best person to get advice for pac-man frogs. The last one I had ended up developing hypocalcemia, a calcium deficiency. I think it died of complications from this. My vet thought it should've had exposure to UV light to synthesize vitamin D, so I ended up putting the frog under UV bulb. It didn't really seem to make a difference.
I am sure some one else will chime in with better advise.

[adawinters]

You are right on track, Username. (I love that username, by the way.) Heating and UV needs are separate.

The basic explanation on UV is that, if a species naturally gets sunlight in the wild, (this includes us humans), its body is evolved to use UVB rays to produce vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is needed to properly absorb calcium. In other words, without UV, it won't matter how much calcium you feed a diurnal (daytime) animal, because it will just pass through the system. (There is some debate right now, regarding if/when/how much/how often nocturnal species may or may not need/benefit from UV. While the verdict's still out, it does seem that vets are beginning to perscribe UVB theraputically for leopard geckos that have suffered malnourishment that led to metabolic bone disease. I don't know much more about it than that.) I do know that over-exposing amphibians to UV can do damage to skin and eyes, because their skin is so sensitive, so IF it's recommended for that species (and I think there's a debate on that front?) I would go for the weakest UV bulb you can find, and/or try to get some plant cover going so that it's "dappled."

Be advised that UV bulbs are supposed to be replaced ~every 6 months. The UV rays wear out long before the bulb stops producing light.

Here are a few links I found that have a ton of info on calcium absorption, although both were written with lizards in mind. (Again, I think there are debates raging on the amphibian front):
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/calciumdeficiency.htm

http://www.greenigsociety.org/mbd.htm

I'm a little bit rusty on my UV knowledge, since I haven't kept diurnal herps in a while. I do use UV bulbs for my parakeets, though.


Generally, UV bulbs don't produce much heat, so you'll want to set up additional heating (unless your home is usually in their temp range). There are a lot of options, and your choice will probably depend on your personal preferences, and the ambient temps of your home. My only general advice beyond that is that hot rocks are evil, but you probably wouldn't have been looking into them for a Pacman.

You're on the right track, so keep the questions coming. I'm sure there are a lot of forum users here who have more pacman experience than I do.

[Username]

Thanks Guys, Ive decided to go for A Weak UV Bulb. This helps alot,

[Kurt]

You're welcome.