Just got a new Pacman Frog

[AsmCoder8088]

Hi All,

I just received a new Pacman Frog today -- my first one! However I am slightly concerned about one of his eyes appearing to be somewhat larger than the other, as well as having a sort of thin film of gray over it. I'm not sure exactly what the deal is... Maybe it's just temporary? Or is it a potential health issue?

I've attached a photo so you can see what I mean. If you've got any thoughts, let me know. Thanks!

[John]

I would take him to a vet - his eye looks infected and this is often caused by being kept in dirty conditions. Welcome to the forum.

[Username]

Welcome to the forum. He is a cool looking Pacman frog i hope to get one Mid-September.

[Kurt]

I will second what John said. There is definitely something wrong with the eye. Nice ornate though.

Welcome aboard.

[AsmCoder8088]

Thanks John, and Kurt, I'll have to certainly see if maybe a vet can prescribe eye drops or something.

I've also finally finished putting together the rest of his cage (a 50 gallon tank), so he should be much happier now:

[Kerry1968]

Bless him, he looks kinda lost in that big tank!

[John]

Bless him, he looks kinda lost in that big tank!

Yes, "lost" was exactly the word that occurred to me too.

[coltiger]

Even when he/she grows to full size it will look out of place. The eye looks like problem, I hope it is fixable...its a nice looking Ornate

[AsmCoder8088]

Hmm, I had read that the larger the tank, the better. Maybe not? Oh well, he's not going to feel cramped anyway.

His eye looks to be doing a lot better lately:



And he's still eating crickets fairly well, so he seems healthy at least!

[Kurt]

So the eye is improving?

[coltiger]

nothing wrong with giving your animals space at all. My first Cane toad was in 100 gallon tank until side cracked.

[AsmCoder8088]

Yeah, the eye is improving for sure. However I had purchased another pacman frog when I originally discovered the infection because I thought the first pacman might not make it. Now I have two pacman frogs in the same tank.

How long can I keep them in the tank until I risk them eating each other? They're both baby pacman right now, so I don't think they would do that until they're adult size, but what do you think?

[Kurt]

I would seperate them immediately. They are one of the most canibalistic species of all the frogs.

[Douglas]

Great looking frog. Congrats.

If the eye isn't 100% better, it might still need some medication.

As for your tank size, that is way too big for a pacman. They just sit in the dirt. Especially as they get older, moving is something they don't do a lot of. If you put crickets into a tank that size than your frog will never catch them. They just sit and wait for food. So the bigger the tank, the less chance the food will pass by your frog. A tank that size would be better suited for a pyxie...but even then it would be big...

Also, definitely separate your frogs asap. They will try to eat each other

[Tom Highum]

You could place a seperater in the cage like a plexi glass wall or some thing opaque siliconed in to seperate your two frogs.

[Kurt]

You will have to take them out for at least 48 hours to let the silicone cure. I think you are better off buying a pair of critter keepers for them an using the tank for something that can live communally. Like tomato frogs or rubber frogs (Phrynomantis sp) or chubby forgs or some sort of Bufonid (true toads)

[Tingleysweet]

My pacmans eyes started off the same way.. you need to take him to the vet.. mine is now blind because of his eyes. His eye looked like it was getting better too.. but it spread to the other and now is completely blind and needs to be hand fed.

[Kurt]

Oh man that sucks. I am so sorry.

[AsmCoder8088]

Okay, so I finally took him to the vet today since I was concerned that it might get worse. She said that it's not an eye infection, in fact, it's a sort of cataract where some kind of nerve damage has taken place. Anyway, she gave me some eye dropper medicine to apply three times a day (Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ophthalmin Suspension, by Falcon Pharmaceuticals; a 5mL bottle).

Also, I have separated the frogs because one of them did attack the other while I was working with them (it was actually the smaller frog lunging at the larger one!) and so I promptly set them aside and made a divider out of the substrate:



So now they each have their own 25 gallon space.

Also, I asked the vet and she said to feed them 5-6 crickets a day.. is that about right? I had been feeding them 2-3 crickets a day. What's the recommended amount?

Here's some more pictures:

[John]

I'm not sure I think the vet's diagnosis is correct, and since she gave you an antibiotic for it, I don't think she's so sure either. But at least she gave you what you need to treat the eye. Regarding feeding them, try the 15 minute rule - as much as a frog will eat in 15 minutes. For young frogs kept at a good temperature I would feed them every day.