Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a new Pacman about 4 days ago. I started reading a lot about potential problems and found that red leg is a big concern. I started looking at my frog and noticed that its lower legs and skin in between is a little pink. It doesn't look alarming or anything. The frog seems happy enough. He sits partially covered in moss and seems alert. He hasn't eaten yet but I have 3 crickets crawling around the cage. I am using an under the tank rubber heating cable with only about 1/2 of it under the tank to keep the heat down. On the bottom of the tank the temp hits 90 but on top of the moss about 83-85 degrees. Any input would be appreciated. I was told that sometimes they take a while getting adjusted before they eat.

Thanks

It's normal for a Pacman frog's lower belly/underside of the thighs to be slightly pink. I wouldn't worry unless other symptoms were present such as bloating, lethargy, lack of appetite or a really obvious reddening with enlarged/broken capillaries.

A popular substrate for Pacman frogs is grounded up coconut husk. These are sold in stores in brick form as Bed-a-Beast, Eco-Earth, etc., and are favorable over moss. Moss tends be acidic and sphagnum moss tends to clump together in large pieces which could be harmful if ingested by your Pacman.

85 °F substrate temp is a bit high. Ideally, 75-82 °F ambient air temperature with the substrate being cooler. This may be difficult to achieve since your heating from underneath.

Yes, sometimes a frog will have no appetite for a few days maybe adjusting to the new environment or just stressed from the move.

I hope so. I noticed this morning that his front legs a pink as well. But there doesn't seem to any bright red spots indicating ruptured vessels. Maybe the heating cable is causing some problems since he is right against the glass when burrowing. Will try to find another medium for substrate.
Thanks

Anybody have any links which chows what redleg looks like?

Okay, first things first,

simply having red legs is a symptom unless/until the frog is shown to be septic with one or more types of bacteria (particuarly Aeromonus hydrophilia but others can also cause the same symptoms) before it can be shown to have "red leg". However there are a number of other items that can cause similar coloration of the ventral surface that are not caused by bacteria. Items like trauma, ammonia burns or other skin irritants are other possible causes..

Ed