# Questions concerning new pacman frog!



## sunnywhere (Mar 28, 2016)

Hey everyone, im new to the forums and recently purchased a 3 months old bearded dragon and pacman frog.
Now, I have a few questions concerning my new amphibian friend, as he is behaving a tad bit different from what i have expected!
not that its bad, just wondering if i should be concerned for his health or if i can improve my care for him.

1. He never goes into his water dish.....ever. When i clean his tank i sometimes put him in the dish to soak in, he remains there for 10-15 mins max, jumps out and doesnt go in by himself.
Ive heard pacman frogs love soaking....is it weird he doesnt? 

the humidity in his enclosure fluctuates between 60-80 percent, i mist it everyday.


2. Another thing is his eating behaviour. When i first got him, he didnt eat at all for 3 days, which i was worried about, but turns out he was just nervous and stressed because of his new home etc.
he started eating soon enough, but when he eats its only two locusts max.
ive tried feeding him locusts, calci worms and wax worms.
He always only eats two of each feeder, and i dont know why, since theyre supposed to shred away any food they get their claws on :O

So i dont know if he gets the nutrition and energy he needs out of the recent amount he is eating.

I hope you guys can help! thank you.


OH BTW, his temp is achieved with a heat mat that is set on 28 degrees during the day and 25 at night, his substrate is eco earth with bits of moss mixed in.


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## jasonm96 (Aug 30, 2015)

They don't go in their water dish that much, at night for a short time. 

Horned frogs not eating a lot is usually an indicator that they're not warm enough. Is the heat mat on the wall? Reason Im asking is I made this mistake at first after taking advice from some hobbyists to put it on the wall but truth is this does nothing for the frog. Place it underneath and you'll see you're frog will start to eat more because it will be warmer. Put the thermostat probe under the substrate on the mat for the frogs safety. 

I'd recommend the book AVS chacoan horned frogs, this is a great guide to the care of these frogs


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## Basin79 (Apr 1, 2014)

Don't worry about not soaking in their water. They all don't. 

With regards to food as long as you're using the right supplements it'll be fine. Calcium + vit D and multi vitamins. It'll eat what it wants. Also feed the feeders good food. That goodness gets passed onto your frog and lizard.


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## jasonm96 (Aug 30, 2015)

If the frog only eats two locusts it will probably develop MBD even if the correct supplements are provided because you still rely on it to eat the food in order to get the supplements, so not enough food= not enough supplements


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## sunnywhere (Mar 28, 2016)

Hey, thanks for the advice, guys! That could definitely be it, ive read that if the heat mat is placed underneath the enclosure, it could burn the frog when it burries down, but i guess that should be prevented, since i have a regulated thermostat, wasnt entirely sure though and didnt want to risk it.

Ive had a heat mat stuck to the wall of the exo terra, put one underneath now, though! So lets see if that will help with his appetite! :2thumb:

Im glad i got confirmation that him not soaking on his own isnt a real problem.
Heres a picture of how i set up his tank now.


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## jasonm96 (Aug 30, 2015)

Like you said it won't burn the frog when used with a thermostat. If the thermostat probe is under the substrate the glass will never get hot enough. Because the frog burrows the surface temperature (on top of the soil) is not as important unless you use above heat source like a lamp. You'll find Some hobbyists disagree with this method because of the burrowing behaviour of the frog and in that case they will heat them with a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter but I would never recommend a heat mat on the side unless the herp is arboreal. I think that mat may be too big though and it is important that it never covers more than half of the floor. Let us know how your frog does and if it starts to eat more


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## sunnywhere (Mar 28, 2016)

jasonm96 said:


> Like you said it won't burn the frog when used with a thermostat. If the thermostat probe is under the substrate the glass will never get hot enough. Because the frog burrows the surface temperature (on top of the soil) is not as important unless you use above heat source like a lamp. You'll find Some hobbyists disagree with this method because of the burrowing behaviour of the frog and in that case they will heat them with a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter but I would never recommend a heat mat on the side unless the herp is arboreal. I think that mat may be too big though and it is important that it never covers more than half of the floor. Let us know how your frog does and if it starts to eat more



cheers for the tip!
I always get a bit paranoid when it comes to using lamps with amphibians, im scared theyll dry out quicker than when a heatmat is being used, i guess that really just is my paranoia speaking, lol.
Oh dear, yeah it does cover 80% of the floor as of now id say, but thats okay, ill buy a new one on amazon asap, that will be my third one...the things we do for our animals :mrgreen: 
ill keep you all updated!


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## Basin79 (Apr 1, 2014)

jasonm96 said:


> If the frog only eats two locusts it will probably develop MBD even if the correct supplements are provided because you still rely on it to eat the food in order to get the supplements, so not enough food= not enough supplements


I read it that the frog was eating 2 of each feeder. So 2 locust, 2 calci worms etc. Although if it's eating 2 locust (size?) regularly I'd say that's fine. My baby horned frog didn't eat a great deal at the start. Grew fine. The odd pinkie certainly won't hurt either. 

As regards to heat mat placement I used to use the back wall and under the water bowl for my giant African bullfrog. And for my baby frog it was in a RUB within a heated viv.


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