Questions about Pacman Frogs and housing

[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.

[demeteraurion]

My frog doesn't seem to like hides either. I've put a hide over him before and he just hopped out of it. I would like to get one of those log hides though, but crickets would probably just use it to get away from him.

In regards to lighting, I try to recreate a "canopy" effect by layering a vine/plant under the lamp so only parts of sunlight actually reach the bottom but it still provides heat.