Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings all, glad to have come across this messageboard there's a lot of good advice here. The closest thing I've seen to heating was a 40 watt bulb on a post below, which makes me wonder if maybe I got one too high. (I'm new to frogs.) My sister got me a baby albino pacman frog and in the next day I went out and got a 10 gallon tank, a pack of bed-a-beast, a shallow water bowl (not high enough for him to drown in) a heat lamp and a 50 watt bulb. I mentioned to the lady at the pet store I wanted the temperature to be around 80 degrees and she suggested a 50 watt bulb for the light, so that's what I ended up with.

Right now (it's been 3 days since I've had him, been 1 day since I setup the new 10 gallon for him) he's halfway burried in the bed a beast (I made it about 2 inches deep), staying on the side where the heat lamp is. (The water dish is on the other side, slightly burried also so it's easier for him to get in and out of.) So far I haven't seen him move at all, not even to get water (maybe when I was sleeping last night but I don't think so).

Was just curious if this sounds like a good setup, especially the heating, and if it sounds like there is anything else that might help out. When should I start feeding? (I tried putting a few crickets in the thing he came in but he didn't eat them.)
Also one last thing is when I got him his right leg is a green color (the rest is albino) - is this normal?
Thanks for any assistance!

When it comes to animals that don't make there own heat, there is one thing a person with a pet herp should NOT be without, a digital thermometer. You can get one for ~$10 with a probe you can stick anywhere in the tank. The TEMPERATURE and DISTANCE is what dictates the wattage. There is no sense in debating the wattage until you get a thermometer.
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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)

Sounds to me like you have a nice lil setup their!

First off here is a nice little site about horned frogs..

http://www.geocities.com/tozgood/home.html

You definetly need to get a tempertaure guage in there to see how hot/cool it is. Check the site listed for the temp requirements.

I have an odd sized tank and it is half the height of a regular 10 gall on and i use a 40watt incadesent bulb in a heat lamp which produces around 80 degrees on the warm side of the tank. The frog seems to enjoy it. So if your using a 50watt in a regular 10 your fairly close to the right temps but i STRONGLY urge you to get a thermo, they are cheap and very essential to any pet owner!!!

The substrate your using is perfectly fine, its what I use, and your water bowl is good to go!

The pacman frog is a very very inactive frog. Mine almost never moves unless it is to get up for food (which alot of times it just sits and waits for the crickets to come to him) or if it needs to go to the bathroom. Other then that hejust chills.

He also never sits in his waterbowl as i keep my substrate (bead-a-beast) quite damp. The only time he will need to go sit in his waterbowl is if your substrate is extremely dry. I have also never seen my pacman drink water.

As for feeding, if you just got him 3 days ago give him a while for him to get acclimated to his new house and setup. It could be that he is just stressed and needs time to readjust. Sometimes they go off feeding for a bit as well. Just keep an eye on him!

Good Luck and Merry Xmas
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2.0 Ball Pythons
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Pacman Frog
2.0 House Cats

And a partrige in a pear tree...

Make sure that ANY water you put in that tank is *DECLORINATED*!!! It could very well kill your lil buddy and then we would all be sad!! They sell stuff at the local pet stores that you can drop in the water to declorinate it. Or if you are going UBER cheap, just let the water sit out in a cup/bowl for a day and a half or so and then it should be good to go!

Also make sure you *WASH YOUR HANDS* every time you go in and touch the frog! The frog is very suseptible to any chemicls or oils on your hands and would putt the lil bugger in danger!
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2.0 Ball Pythons
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Pacman Frog
2.0 House Cats

And a partrige in a pear tree...