Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey ya'll!

Hi um, I hope no one judges or flame me but I'm the type of person who is found of "cool" and colorful looking pets and I'm thinking of getting a pacman frog as a pet but I don't know much about it. Could you guys tell me what do I need to have to provide a good living condition for this frog; what foods do they eat; and how long do they live. Do they need sunlight? I hope not... Do they need a big enclosure? I hope not... Are they noisy? I sure hope not...

I want to get a pet that is not space consuming, colorful, can provide excitement, low and cheap maintenance, and is apartment material.

Unfortunately, a pac man really doesn't meet these requirements. They need a minimum 10 gal tank, each frog needs its own seperate enclosure as they will kill each other. They're not really exciting. Mine moves about once a day- into then back out of the water dish. They do need UV light, which can be provided by a special amphibian bulb. The males can be quite noisy, but my female never makes a sound. They eat a large variety of insects, earthworms, super worms, meal worms, crickets, hissing cockroaches etc... Most people keep their pacmen on coconut fiber bedding (Bed-A-Beast, EcoEarth, etc). I'd recommend you search for good info w/ a site like Horned Frog Haven or such before making a long-term (decades!) commitment to a horned frog.
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

I mean this in the most polite way possible and don't mean to offend you but according to my research, which is not that much yet, HF don't need UV lights and the maximum enclosure for them is 10 galons. Foods cost around a dollar or two and enclosure cost around $10.00 - $15.00 so I think they don't need much space and are cheap, feeding wise. Females almost deosn't make noise.

That's fine. You asked our opinions. I did a lot of research as well prior to getting one. Most things I read recommended UV light; yes food is cheap, I didn't say it wasn't- just recommended various bugs; & yes, a 10 gal will do- I said "at least 10 gal". I also said my female makes no noise- as is typical for females, but males can be noisy from what I've read here on this forum. I'd recommend the book "The General Care & Maintenance of Horned Frogs" by Philippe de Vosjoli. It will give you good info on all of your questions. This book doesn't mention UV light at all, but as I said, I've read in many places that it's a good idea.
Best of luck.
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

I would say a horned frog is an excellent pet for an apartment. The nosiest part of most horned frogs is the crickets that they eat! They are awesome looking frogs, and are definetly good in terms of cheap caging and food! Bed-a-beast kept slightly moist is an excellent substrate in a ten gallon aquarium (and ten gallons are small and dirt cheap!). Be aware a pacman will not move often, and should not be handled too much (the oils in our hands can harm them in time...if you do pick them up wash your hands before and after )With the UV issue, if you need to buy a UV light they are a bit pricey (~18-25 bucks for the light), but don't buy a fixture (what holds the light) at the petstore unless you wanna spend an arm and a leg! I recomend you go to kmart or walmart and buy an 18 inch fixture (or whatever fits your cage size)...they are in the housing dept. around the lightbulbs. They are made for undercabinet lighting and whatnot...they are around 5 bucks!
Good luck
Amy

Hmmm... thanks. Is it okay if I just not put any substrate, just water so cleaning would be an ease. Do they really need light at all? I don't want to buy any lighting bulbs and heard that since these animals came from the rain forest, they don't really get lights. The only issue that prevents me from getting this frog is the enclosure issue and the lighting.

First of all, they don't come from rainforests. Most come from savannahs where they spend close to half or more of the year buried underground. They do not need UV lights. But no, you need a substrate. The frog will get stressed, and without a substrate you will need to clean the tank daily. If you keep the tank with bed a beast and a large water bowl, the frog will urinate and defecate in the bowl so you only have to change the water bowl daily. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

How bad exactly is a pacman's poo-poo and wee-wee?

What do you mean how bad? How bad is it for the animal? If that is the question, then quite bad. It would be like a person living in his/her own feces and urine. Leave it to sit for a bit, and the bacteria just builds. It can cause red leg as well as infections. It is intensified a lot due to frog's ability to absorb anything they touch into their body through their spongelike skin. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

Some species live in the rain forest.
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1.2.1 Leopard Geks
2 White's Treefrogs
2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
Fish:
0.2 Parrot Cichlids
1 Upside Down Catfish
0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
1 Geophagus jurupari
1 Fire Barb
0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
Goldfish

They really do need a substrate. They spend 90 percent of their time buried in it, really. I see mine on average once a month. The rest of the time, I have a ten-gallon tank partway full of substrate, a waterbowl, and a buried frog.
Not having substrate would be like one of us, trying to go to bed with the lights on in a chilly drafty room, for a year. Please use substrate! Coco fiber is best, as is "sterile" nonpolluted and nonfertilized soil.
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*~Ginevive~*

I find water anoying to keep. It gets the room smelly too. As with bed a beast is perfect. They feel secure with the soil around them. Also the soil wouldn't drown any crickets, and doesn't give a chance for the crickets to hide. Also this subtrate would absorb the smell. The horn frogs may not poop or move out of the same spot for a week, The only time mine moved is when theu poop. I find moss annoying because the crickets hide in it. Around the back of the tank you can make or buy a backround to make the tank look better, and to comfort the frog. As for the pee and poop. They pee a lot and can be intoxicated by ammonia. Frequent cleanings about twice a month are benificial.
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1.2.1 Leopard Geks
2 White's Treefrogs
2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
Fish:
0.2 Parrot Cichlids
1 Upside Down Catfish
0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
1 Geophagus jurupari
1 Fire Barb
0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
Goldfish

Frequent cleaning about twice a month? I can definitely do that! I don't consider that frequent.
How about for substrate? How often do I need to change it?
So like, all I need to do with these animals is to give it food and water, leave it like that for about three weeks and then clean it?

Typically you'll want to change the substrate every 6 months or so. More often if it seems to be getting a little on the "smelly" side. And you will need to provide clean, fresh, treated water daily.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

You probaly a whole subtrate chain once every 3 weeks. They do need a heat mat to be kept warm. I never used a UV lighting and the hornfrogs thrived, but some people suggested so I don't know.
Heating is a must, food, and water bowl. The substrate(bed a beast) should be about 2-4 inches. The water(nonchlorinated) may need to be change very day, but you may not need a water bowl as long as the subtrate is damp. I every day I would just water the frog.
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1.2.1 Leopard Geks
2 White's Treefrogs
2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
Fish:
0.2 Parrot Cichlids
1 Upside Down Catfish
0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
1 Geophagus jurupari
1 Fire Barb
0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
Goldfish

Heat mats are bad news. Heat lamps work much better and are more natural. Heat coming from below the earth isn't exactly what horned frogs, or really any terrestrial frogs, are used to. They burrow to escape heat and drought, and well, when you have a heat mat and the frog tries to burrow and ends up right on top of the thing, burns can result. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks

Get the book by Bartlett. de Vosjoli still states that fish and mice are a perfect diet for frogs, even though they are not. Also says gravel is a good substrate. Things have changed since the early 80's. I would say a 10 gallon minimum for a small adult male, 20 for a female. My site has a caresheet on it as well
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

I'm sorry, but from reading this thread it sounds like you only want a pet that won't make noise, won't require any tank or substrate, will be cheap to feed & will require, literally, no maintenance, saying "How bad exactly is a pacman's poo-poo and wee-wee?". Well, it's feces & urine, just like every other animal produces &, like with every other animal, will require a certain level of work, care & yes, money. You have said you don't want to have to buy lights & really don't want to buy an enclosure: "The only issue that prevents me from getting this frog is the enclosure issue and the lighting.."
I'm not flaming here, but I feel compelled to ask: Why exactly are you looking at getting a frog?
Perhaps a Beta fish would fit your requirements better- no substrate, you can keep it in a cup w/ no lighting & the food will cost you $1 a year.
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

A random thought...
Arboreal tarantulas- no lighting, no substrate (mine lives on coffee filters, the bedding is an afterthought),no big enclosure, no noise, probably costs 50 cents a week to feed. Most can live in critter keepers. You just gotta mist the thing down and take out the cricket husks.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Oh... thanks, could tel me more about this tarantula? Where can I see it and buy one?

I don't think that a tarantula is the way to go either. They should be kept in nothing less than 10 gallons (and that depends on the species, some need up to 40 gallons) they also hav a longer life span that most may think. Some can live up to 20 years if cared for properly.

Honestly, if you want something that isn't going to take up much space, need extra heat or lighting and isn't going to live long... a gold fish is really the only thing that fits the bill.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

needs more space than people realize! Minimum 20 gallons for an adult. They can live over 20 years, and grow to be more than a foot long!
I say that if you want a pet that has no space or food and does not live long, buy a pet rock!
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*~Ginevive~*

Thank you Giniveve (sorry if I spelled it wrong, forgot to cut and paste). Please do not rec. other animls to someone who does not want to care for an animal. My betas are much more work than pet stores lead you to believe and goldfish are one of the highest maintenace fish.

Circle,

get a rubber frog, some dirt and a silk plant. Voila! room decoration. Tell all your friends it eats rats and anything else you think is cool and you won't ever have to clean, feed or deal with the animal.

Sorry to sound harsh, but these are living creatures we are talking about.
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Stacey

Now that I think about it, most tarantulas probably would need a 10 or equivalent. The BIG ones would need a larger tank. It's hard for me to imagine because I raised mine from a pinhead and he's only half grown. Mine's an Avicularia, they only get about 5 inches across. I guess the bad news is that female tarantulas can live for a very very long time. Males don't live quite as long. Also, there's basically no veterinary care available for spiders, which really bums me out, but it's the reality.
You still have to keep up on these guys, though. Not something you can just put in a corner and forget about. You'd need to go and read up on spiders. But they're a lot of fun and pretty much the easiest to keep of all my pets.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Please tell me more about Tarantulas. I did some research on them and I think I can handle them. I'm just planning to get one but something big and colorful. Any advice or anything? What do they eat and how do you care for them?

I personally don't know much about tarantulas outside of the very basic care. We carry a couple at the shop I work at, a rose hair, a green bottle blue and a Goliath Bird Eater (Talk about a nasty looking spider!! And she is NOT a nice girl LOL)

But here is a site I found that has a whole list of tarantulas and their care.
Click here

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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

if you do decide to go with a tarantula, be sure to research EVERYTHING and keep in mind that they aren't really something that you can always hold. A bite from one can sometimes be quite painful depending on what kind you get. And there can even be a skin irritation just from the hair on their bodies.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

I'm not really looking for something to hold, just something I can look at and feed whenever I feel like it, kinda like turtles. Something really easy to care for and doesn't require much space and light but not a fish.

Well jusy make sure that you feed a pacman more often than "when you feel like it" You'll want to feed them a couple crickets every day or a few every other day. And be careful not to get your fingers too close to their mouths because they WILL bite you LOL
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

Turtles are so much work it's not even funny.
I can't hand you tarantula info in a post, they still need species-specific setups and proper temps and humidity. Basically anything that breathes needs that stuff. Also, trants hide almost all the time, but if you're very creative you can get around that- so they think they're hiding but you can see them through the glass.
They eat nothing but live bugs and an adult could probably get away eating every few days.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

You are definitly right. At my marine bio school we have so many sliders, painters, snappers, and diamondbacks that we adopt. We have at least 20 or more of them. We own wet lab that we go to that as sharks, bass, flukes, fish, turtles, and more. We volenteer to clean the turtles every week. It is a huge dirty stinky mess. We the come from the wet lab cleaning turtles, and come to the school just to clean and look at turtles. then come home to take care of my sliders. After all that cleaning, only a day or 2 later it is filthy again.
Luckily enough I found away to keep them clean, and only clean them 2 a month.
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1.2.1 Leopard Geks
1.0.1 High Yellow, 0.1 Blizzard, 0.1 Normal
2 White's Treefrogs
2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
Fish:
0.2 Parrot Cichlids
1 Upside Down Catfish
0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
1 Geophagus jurupari
1 Fire Barb
0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
Goldfish

Herpin since 93'

I want to just say this bluntly: Are you sure you want a pet? It sort of sounds like you want whatever is cheap, convenient, and won't die after you forget about it for a while. Honestly, after reading all of these posts, it scares me that you want a living animal. I think you need to take A LOT of time and do A LOT of research before you even CONSIDER getting a pet. With as mercurial as you seems, it just shows whenever you get a whim you just kind of drop one thing and go to another. I am not trying to get on your case, but I am just making a simple observation so an animal doesn't end up forgotten. If I am mistaken, then I apologize, but I have friends that sort of acted on whims when they heard about an easy to keep pet that required little work and to make things short, none of them had animals that lived longer than a month. Good luck to you and sorry if I wrongly accused you.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

That's okay. no offense taken. I understand that you are only concerened but I have been and currently taking care of animals together with my dad. It's just that I've been taking care of animals that demands so much time that I want something easy for a change. I'm trying to see how far I can take it easy about taking care of a pacman. And I WILL get a pacman.

Well if you are going to get it regardless, try not to cut too many corners. As for the tank, if you dont want to buy a 10 gallon tank, then buy a large rubbermaid sweater box with the same floor space as a 10 gallon tank. It should only be 3 dollars or so and they work pretty well. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

... Sorry about that. Here's what I'm looking for in a pet:

Cheap, will not require light, will not require a big space, looks cool, no noise, not a fish, and with a short life span.

I feel compelled to inform you of some issues that the others have not brought up. My biggest problem is your emphasis on being cheap. Nobody here is a millionaire and likes to spend any more money than what they have to. However, you have a moral obligation to get this animal veterinary treatment whenever it needs it. I always recommend that anybody who has live animals should have $100 tucked away ready to be used at the veterinarian whenever it is needed. The majority of vet visits will cost more than $100, however. Will you ever be able to get away without going to a vet? Heck no! Simply put, if you are not willing to spend what is necessary to keep your animal healthy and pain-free, then you don't have any business keeping a live animal that is solely dependent upon you for every single one of its needs. I admit that most people who are serious about reptiles and amphibians, started off on the wrong foot and have a few dead animals to their credit. But now we're in the age of information technology and there is no excuse for not knowing what to do or what to expect and how much it will cost. I don't think that anybody here wants to keep the joys of having amphibians to themselves, but we're all compassionate about these animals and will do and say anything we can to make sure that helpless animals do not suffered needlessly. For these reasons, I highly recommend that you do a lot more research, and seriously question yourself, before getting a pac man frog.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

Pac man are ridiculously easy to care for compared to most other reptiles and amphibians. If you have issues with the most basic and non complicated care issues associated with these animals, then perhaps a reptile or amphibians is not the best thing for you. You also mentioned that it be short-lived. I cannot think of too many reptiles or amphibians that are common in the pet trade that will not live less than ten years if given appropriate care.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

I agree. I don't know anything about spiders, but maybe one would fit your criteria better. Pacman frogs can live 10 years. A frog really doesn't fit your requirements on many levels. Good luck in your search for a pet.
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

After careful consideration, I decided that I'll get one albino horned frog. So what exactly do they need so that I can give them a good living environment. How often do they need to eat; changing their substrate; how big their enclosure should be; do they need to be kept in a controlled temperature; and do they need light?
I can provide the rest, except for the light.

Go to Devin's site, he has a great care sheet on horned frogs
horned frog / Pac Man

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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

the onnly thing I would do differently is to skip the under tank heater and just use a light on top (for temperature reasons) and avoid the mice and fish. Feed them mostly crickets with the occasional variation of earthworms, wax worms or any soft bodied invertabrate. If you decide to collect bugs from outside, make sure that you get them from an area that hasn't been treated with insecticides.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

I live in an apartment in a city so getting insects are difficult.

How about getting a battery powered frog? I'm sure they make those. Besides, they don't eat, poop, or do anything a living animal would do, cept move around. No vet visits either. =P

Don't mean to be sarcastic but if you can't even satisfy the minimum requirements to keep it healthy, I feel sorry for the frog. Why do you feel obligated to get one? As for insects, maybe try finding a petstore nearby that sells crickets or order them online and maintain a colony of your own. Just throwing another suggestion: How about a hermit crab?

Johnny

I'm thinking about putting this frog in my room. Now, my worry is since it will be in a close environment, will it be dangerous for me because of some body juices that this animal produces or maybe the enclose space would trap its excrement gases it has or something similar to that situation that might poison me?

Um, sorry to make you guys think I'm very irresponsible. It's just that I'm taking care of two dogs, and a couple of turtles and tortoises and two hairless guineapigs and they are hard work and very high maintenance especially during winter season but I enjoy taking care of them.

I saw a pacman frog and sparked an interest in taking care of one and I'm hoping that this animal would not much be of work. An enclosure, weekly supply of food, and occasional cleaning would be enough for this animal.

You've got skinny pigs? I really want one but we're already allergic to our peruvian.
Ammonia is the same stuff that your cavy monsters are putting out, so if you can deal with them, a teensy frog isn't going to hurt you.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

What you are looking for you will not find in a frog. you are saying it will not need a light, it will like to eat once a week, it will not make noise,it will like living in less then a 10 gallon tank,etc. what is this a child??? the frog will not bend to fit your needs,sorry hun. theres no training a frog. i think the best pet for you right now is a pet rock.

GET A SNAKE. Corns are very easy maintaince. Eat once a week and are quiet..