My new Green pacman

[PirateJing09]

I just got a new pacman from petsmart. Um.. I put coconut husk into the tank and lightly damped it. But my frog instead wants to sit in between the thermometer and hygometer...is it normal for new frogs to not burrow?

[DazzleDiscus]

Not too knowedged about pacman frogs... or frogs in general for that matter. However, adding a bit more information could help us figure out why your frog may be acting like that. Sometimes they just don't want to burrow- I'm sure he'll eventually want to explore in the dirt sometime.

Not sure (I think pacmans dig up plants, right?? :/ ) but do you have any plants in there?

He has access to water, correct? I'm thinking a bowl of water or something of that sort pushed down into the coco.

Has the frog eaten anything since you've gotten him?

What does your temp and hydro read?

Sorry I can't help further- the others here will be able to better answer your questions. It always helps to give us as much info as you can to start off with that way we arn't answering a question without having good background info.

Welcome to the forum! I'm Dazz - Hope your little pac does well for you!

[froggsong]

You said you lightly dampened the coco husk. Is it pieces of bark, or finer, like soil? You should use the finer stuff for a pacman, and you should get it good and wet. Not sopping, but really moist.

If you can post a pic, that would be best, that way we can help you out to the best of our abilities.

We have a couple of members that are really into pacmans. I can't remember who atm, but if you do a search for threads about pacmans, you should come up with their names. Then you could PM them to get detailed info about your new pet. I'm not as familiar with them, so I can't help as well as one of those folks could.

Again, a pic would be totally helpful, so try to get one posted as soon as you can.

[claymore]

Frogsong is right! Make sure you use Eco Earth or similar coco fiber, NOT coco chunks.

They need a fine soil like substrate that is easier to burrow into.
And the soil needs to be moist at all times! Humidity should be in the 65%-70% at lest.

Pacmans like it a little warmer than Darts, I'd say an indirect heat index between 75 - 85 for daytime temps. And room temps or above 70 for night time temps.

For water provide a shallow water dish. The water should never be deeper than the below the frogs chin. Use Dechlorinated water (I'm sure you know this).

Pacman Frogs do and can dig up plants. The best way to do a planted vive for them is to
use heavier and sturdier plants that can survive the Frogs weight. Other wise a Planted custom background would work well for these guys. I also use Leaf Litter on top of the substrate, this gives them something to hide under and gives the most bare bones tank a more natural look.

If you have a young frog MAKE SURE you dust it's food with calcium and calcium/D3 often. Young Pacman frogs are notorious for getting MBD if not fed enough Calcium. Also make sure you feed young Pacmans everyday and as they grow slowly taper the amount of food off to 2 - 3 feeds a week. Adults can eat one good size meal a week and be ok. Feed Rodents Sparingly, due to high Fat content. And stay away from feeder fish, They are notorious parasite carriers.

Finally, It's not unusual for new frogs to not burrow the first day/night. They are like most other herps, sometimes they just need to get familiar with their surroundings.

I have kept both Ceratophrys Ornata and Ceratophrys Cranwelli for more than 4 years so if you have any more Q's don't hesitate to ask.

[PirateJing09]

thanks guys very much for your help! he/she has settled back in and has buried itself . And the temp is 79 degrees and the humidity is 75%-80% most of the time. I have not tried feeding him yet. I decided to give it a day before I feed it crickets. Do i need to throw two of them in and let them roam around? Or use tweezers and put it right in front of the frog?

update-I tried feeding the crickets today and meal worms. I held the cricket up to its face and it lunged but could not get it so it gave up. the meal worms nothing. so i will give it maybe 2 more days to settle in and get different tweezers and bigger crickets. I did periodical misting to keep humidity between 75% and 80%. I love this frog already and its not even eating. All advice is welcomed!

[claymore]

Sometimes it takes a day or two for them to get acclimated to their new surroundings, but they should start eating rather quick.

You said you got yours from Petsmart, correct? If so you Most Likely have a Ceratophrys Cranwelli of the species. They are not as aggressive as the Ornata but still ready to bite the hand that feeds lol.

For feeding, I always let the Crickets free roam for about an hour. Always remove the left over crickets! I've had some major damage done to my frogs in the past from cricket bites!

I would stay away from Mealworms, they have high amounts of chitlen(sp?), they have been known to cause impactation in young frogs. If your going to feed worms use Night Crawlers. The frogs love them and they are a primary source of diet to wild frogs throughout the world. You can get Night Crawlers pretty cheap at Walmart or Bait Stores. Never use wild collected worms just for the fact you never know if the worms came from an area that pesticides and herbicides were used.

For young frogs cut the Night crawler in half and drop it right in front of their nose.

I Never use Tongs to feed my Pacs any more. I had problems with them lunging to hard against the tongs and smashing their Nose and Mouth.
They should eat on their own readily.

What size is the frog? What size is the present enclosure?

If the frog is really small then maybe a temporary small enclosure is needed. If the enclosure is to big for the frog then the food might not come in contact with the frogs burrow. Pacman Frogs are sit and wait ambush Predators.

I hope this sheds a little more light on your new little guy.

Oh and post some pics! We all would love to see the little bundle of joy lol!

[PirateJing09]

Claymore, you have been very helpful friend. Is there any way i can contact you faster? and I just bought nightcrawlers at walmart. I am going to try to feed it soon and its about the size of a quarter. I have it in a 3 gal container. And I will take pics whenever i got a camera, i am living in a college dorm lol and not allowed to frogs but i dont really care haha. O and my frog is an ornate :P

ps. i cut a nightcrawler in half and put the piece in front of the frog. It didnt seem to want it at all. So i may have to wait a few days before it will eat.

pss. the petstore had it on a tuesday,thursday,saturday schedule. It friday today.

psss.They had it on crickets, but i really cannot buy crickets bc if any get out i can get in big trouble.

[claymore]

Check your PM's

3 Gallons is perfect for now. But make sure you upgrade to a ten gallon as he grows.
And make sure you keep his tank clean!!! These frogs are also notorious for Red Leg and other Bacteria infections brought on by the massive amounts of waste they produce.

You might want to treat your frog for chytrid. Even if it might not have it, its a good practice for acclimating new amphibians.
Here is a link explaining Chytrid and the treatment.

Chytrid...the fungus among us - talk to the frog

After the treatment a lot of frog owners have reported better and increased eating habits!

As crickets go, I would get a small cricket keeper which is available at any petco/petsmart.
The keepers have nifty little tubes so you can just knock the crickets into the enclosure.
And Make sure the Crickets are well fed/Gut loaded, The healthier the cricket the better it is for your frog.
I recommend a varied diet for any frog, But Many have been very successful at keeping their frogs on just Night Crawlers alone.
I don't think the schedule that the pet store had really effects this species of frog. They always seems ready to eat. LOL

More over I think a Pacman Frog makes an excellent Dorm Room Mascot.


I hope this helps!

[Herpetology101]

Originally Posted by claymore

More over I think a Pacman Frog makes an excellent Dorm Room Mascot.

I totally agree

[PirateJing09]

lol i dont know how to post the pic on here