Questions about Pacman Frogs and housing

[demeteraurion]

I agree, some of those "starter" kits are just ridiculous. Such as for hermit crabs, they give you hardly any sand and a bunch of junk, a tiny little heating pad, and its supposed to be sufficient. And all of the frog kits at my pet store include "frog moss".
If I were creating a Pacman starter kit it would include:
10 Gallon tank with lid
Eco earth
Small dome lamp
25w blue bulb
Small heat pad
Humidity and temp gauge
Calcium or multivite
2 plants
Water dish
Mister
Tap water conditioner

I think that is the "basics" although some people might choose different lighting/heating. You could also use a large plastic bin instead of a tank.

[DonLisk]

Thanks Demeter.
Do these little guy like to soak in the water dish?
Do you think there is much of a difference between the Eco Earth and Plantation Soil? I always liked the plantation soil and it feels pretty similar to the Eco Earth.

[demeteraurion]

I think the water dish helps when they are shedding and I've read that many frogs like to go potty in the water bowl although mine never has. I do like to soak my frog in a dish of warm water every few days though. I have never used the plantation soil but it looks just like eco earth. I don't think it is available at my pet store.

[MeTree]

I do not agree with most kits for anything. It is quite often people throwing in afew relevant things, but making you buy a whole bunch of stuff you don't need, and then you still have to collect things that you didn't get from the kit.

I agree with everything Demeteraurion said. Personally I would add a Thermometer and Hygrometer to moniter the daily humidity and occasionally the temp. Just afew safety notes on the plants and lighting (just in case).

Plants are great to have in the tank. They can help increase the humidity and keep it stable. You have to be very careful about the type of plants you stock in your Pacman Frog tank, however, because Pacman Frogs will absorb any "sap" they come in contact with. Maybe types are extremely harmful to be absorbed, and may harm or kill your Pacman Frog. The other thing is that since Pacman Frogs burrow alot, you need to make sure that your Pacman Frog can't get tangled in the roots. Other than that, plants are great! I've have thought about getting Malcolm some, especially after I setup my Dart Frog vivarium.

As far as lighting goes, I am certainly not an expert. I briefly looked into it, but I decided not to. Lighting can be great for display, or day-cycles in dark rooms, but you need the correct type. Pacman Frogs don't move around alot, so if they stop under the wrong kind of light, it can dry them out. That is not good. I believe that Demeteraurion knows quite abit about lighting, though, so I seriously doubt you would have to worry about that. That type of lighting sounds fine to me.

As far as soaking, I don't know if Pacman Frogs *need* to soak, I have heard both ways, but I definately think that it is very important for them to have a water bowl that they can soak in. They don't swim, so you need to make sure the water bowl won't cover their mouth, or they could drown. Malcolm sits in his water dish all the time. Sometimes he climbs in by himself, but it is usually me placing him in. After feedings I often put him in his water dish and he will sit there for days until he gets hungry again and then he'll climb out and I will feed him. He also occasionally "does his dirty work" in there. I always clean out his bowl when I take him out, reguardless of how clean it looks.

I hope that helps. Don, I couldn't tell from the first post, but are you looking at getting a Pacman Frog?

[DVirginiana]

Mine loves his water dish. He has had several bouts with impaction, so I sit him in the water dish with the light on to warm the water up to prevent that from happening. It's a lot less stressful than taking him out and putting him in a different container for that. Also, I've noticed him using it to regulate his own humidity. On occasions when the humidity in his tank drops a bit too low, he'll hop into the water dish to sit. IMO the water bowl is really important.

I've seen so many different opinions on lighting that I've basically come to the conclusion that, unless you're worried about harming an albino's skin or eyes, anything that meets the heat requirement and doesn't scorch your frog is good. There are a lot of people who know more about lighting than me, but it seems like they all have different ideas about what's correct!

A lot of care sheets or starter kits recommend 10 gallon aquariums, which would be great for an adult, but I feel like that much space could be overwhelming for a small frog. If the frog was a baby, I'd suggest a 5 gallon. They don't really move that much anyway..

Has anyone else seen the start-up kits that call for hides? I used to have something in my tank for my pac to hide under, but he never used it, and I've seen a lot of really good enclosures without hides. Does anyone have a frog that actually goes into a hide?

[DonLisk]

Thanks do much for all the great info. I'm not looking for one MeTree, just want to learn more about them.

[MeTree]

Yeah, I agree. I like to see small Pacman Frogs in a smaller container. That seems to be the popular assessment going around, and from a little bit of personal experience I also agree.

The hides just depend on the frog. I have heard stories of Pacman Frogs living in a hide most of their life, and then I have heard stories of Pacman Frogs never stepping foot in their hides, ever. Malcolm is more like the second. He doesn't have a "proper" hide. He used to go to the corner where there were lots of fake leaves, but now he just sits anywhere. I think a hide should be provided at first, and if they don't use it then it just sits in the tank and looks cool.

Don, I kind of gathered that you were just researching to get a better understanding, but honestly I was kind of hoping you were considering getting a Pacman Frog. They really aren't all that expensive, especially compared to Darts and tree frogs. They are pretty low maintanence also. I'm not going to nag you about it, though. Just a thought.