PacMan Advice

[Joe9252]

OK so I have had my pacman for about 2 months now and it is still pretty small, or at least I think he is. My main area of concern is that it doesnt eat much I was told this could be to the temp in the tank. As of right now its in a 10 gal tank with a heat pad on one side and the temp is 70. Now I have been told by 2 different places how to care for him one said use the coconut bark as bedding and get a heat lamp. The other place where I purchased it said no heat lamp and not to use the coconut but instead use the moss... Which is the right was to go??? I also have a small water bowl in there but I have never once seen him go anywhere near it at all....Also the place were I purchase it said it is ready for pinkies. And one of the reasons it is so small is because I wasnt feeding it enough. I gave him a pinkie and it bite it and held it for awhile and after about 15 min just let it go and never went back to it. Right now he is back on crickets but i cant even tell if he is even eating them. (Really hard to tell how many are left due to the moss) Here is a pic I took last week when I had the coconut bark in the tank next to him is a cap off a soda bottle is he norm size for being over 2 months or is he small?

Pic when I 1st got him


Pic after 2 months



I was thinking perhaps he has gone into "hibernation" but im not sure doesnt seem like his skin is hard or that he is burying himself done here are a few pics that i jsut took now.... sorry for all the questions but i would really just likeas mush hell as I can get... Thank you!

[demeteraurion]

You need to get rid of the moss ASAP. He may have developed an impaction from the moss if you are just tossing the crickets in with him. Get him on Eco Earth or something similar soon. And yes, 70 is much too low, needs to be at least 80 and a cooler area. I would soak him in warm dechlorinated water for a few days, unless you are sure he is going to the bathroom. Hope your frog improves!

[LizardMama]

Eco Earth or Bed-A-Beast is the best substrate for a Pacman Frog as if your frog does eat it it will pass his or her system without a problem, anything else though could become a problem with impaction. I've heard and read that you do need a water dish in case moisture in the cage isn't right and the frog can go to it for that reason. As for decorations such as plants or hides. So far with my frog he prefers to be out in the open, he doesn't like the hide I have in there for him for some reason. The heat for your frog should be between 78 and 82-85 degrees, dropping a few degrees at night

[Joe9252]

You need to get rid of the moss ASAP. He may have developed an impaction from the moss if you are just tossing the crickets in with him. Get him on Eco Earth or something similar soon. And yes, 70 is much too low, needs to be at least 80 and a cooler area. I would soak him in warm dechlorinated water for a few days, unless you are sure he is going to the bathroom. Hope your frog improves!

Oh ok tom ill get rid of the moss and get the coconut fibers back in there what should i do for more heat because I guess the heat pad on not strong enough? Lastly you said soak him in the water maybe i need a different water bowl how deep should the water be? Also am I correct in saying he is too small or is he norm size for 2 months?

[frogmike]

1. use wet coco fiber substrate.
2. if you want to have a little moss, its ok, as long as you remove it during feeding. or feed him in a separate tank
3. get the temp up to 80f, and he should eat.
4. put in 6 calcium covered crickets, and monitor him feeding for an hour or so. then remove the remaining crickets. 2x a day
5. enjoy your growing healthy pacman frog!

[Joe9252]

1. use wet coco fiber substrate.
2. if you want to have a little moss, its ok, as long as you remove it during feeding. or feed him in a separate tank
3. get the temp up to 80f, and he should eat.
4. put in 6 calcium covered crickets, and monitor him feeding for an hour or so. then remove the remaining crickets. 2x a day
5. enjoy your growing healthy pacman frog!

ok so while i was cleaning the tank and taking out the moss i soaked him in warm water and put a cricket in with him for about 20 min... he didnt eat the cricket but he did poop so that must be a good sign that there is no impaction I also purchased a heat lamp for him and put it towards one side. The bulb I got was a 50w red blub is this ok or is the red color that the blub is giving off going to stress out the frog? As soon as i put the light over the tank he went right over to that spot he norm just chills in the middle so i can only assume he like the light no? Right now temp on the cool side is 75 and the Humidity is 50 is that ok?

[demeteraurion]

Humidity should be at least 70, what type of lid is on your tank? If its screen, you can put aluminum foil or plastic wrap on it to help seal humidity in the tank. Glad to hear he went to the bathroom. There's a lot of different opinions on heating, I use a heat mat but I have an albino and they have very sensitive eyes. You could also try feeding him a nightcrawler, most frogs love them.

[GreenLeader49]

You've got to try and crank that humidity up in the 70 range.

With the red light, my frog has never been bothered by it, so as long as the temperature is above 75 you should be set with that.

Hopefully now that the temp is up and once the humidity goes up your little guy will finally find his appetite! Best of luck!!