Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have posted before about the size of my pacman, I even thought he was getting larger. However, after comparing pictures taken tonight, to those taken months ago, there is not much difference. He pretty much eats whatever he can catch. Tonight I helped him eat 5 large crickets. If I don't help him they usually have to walk in front of him, even then he only catches about 40%. I try to feed him 2-3 crickets a day, dusted with the needed vitamins every few feedings. I would take out the crickets he didn't eat if I saw that he really wasn't trying to eat them, but he never lets them come near him without attempting to catch them. I gave him some waxworms as a treat also to see if they would fatten him up, but they didn't. My question is, is it possible for him to be this size and still be healthy? He acts healthy. He is over one year old. The pet store I bought him from said he was the size of a dime when they got him. I was also told when I got him he was about one year old (which I didn't believe), but now that he hasn't grown much (it's been 7 months) maybe they were telling the truth and I just have a small pacman.

There is an UTH that heats the tank to approximately 78-83 on one side. He always chooses to burry on the warm side. Could he be using more calories because of the warmer temperatures? Still, I do try to feed him as much as he will eat and he does choose to stay on the warm side.

Here is a close up picture of him and a picture of his 10 gallon tank (to show how small he really is). There is usually a hide in there, but there was a recent infestation of baby crickets on it from the crickets he did not catch. I was away on vacation for a few weeks and the "babysitter" did not clean the tank. Thanks for any reply,

Lisa

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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

sorry for the poor picture

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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

If you are concerned that you are meeting the frogs metabolic needs then you need to record the temperature and weigh the frog as well as the amount of food you are offering it.
You can then look at the chart below and determine if you are even close to the frogs nutritional needs.

"m going to post a couple of caloric requirements on weight, you will have to weigh your frog to determine which is the closest.

30 grams at 20 C 0.14 kcal/day (just multiple by 7 to get the weekly need)
30 grams at 25C 0.35 kcal/day

50 grams at 20 C 0.29 kcal/day at 25 C 0.54 kcal/day

80 grams at 20 C 0.43 kcal/day at 25 C 0.80 kcal/day

100 grams at 20 C 0.52 kcal/day at 25 C 0.97 kcal/day

500 grams at 20 C 1.9 kcal/day at 25 C 3.7 kcal/day.

earthworms have 0.5 kcal/gram while crickets are 1.9 kcal/gram.
So with a little math you can figure out the conversion ratio between crickets and earthworms

I guess I should invest in a scale. However, just going by pictures and the weight of my leopard gecko I would say he is roughly 35-40 grams. My math is awful, please correct me if I'm wrong.

So 40 grams at 25C (usually around 28C but I'm not going to attempt to figure out the difference) would be about 0.45 kcal/day. Which then equals 3.15 kcal/week? So if I went by this chart he should only be eating 1.6 crickets per week. Wouldn't this mean I am overfeeding him? which I don't think is very likely considering his small size, unless he is just a tiny pacman.

Thanks once again Ed. My bugs love that gutload I got from Rob. I wish I could keep purchasing from him, unfortunately my little zoo doesn't eat the bugs fast enough so it's not very economical for me. I am trying to start my own mealworm colony ( I hate bugs) but it's taking forever.

Lisa
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

Hi Lisa,
I guess this is the point I forgot to add to this discussion here. That is the basal metabolic rate for the frog (the minimal amount of energy the frog consumes at rest with no other metabolic demands (breeding, growth, healing ect). If there are other demands on the animal the the metabolic rate can be greater than eight times as much.
If you feel that he is not growing to the point that he should then the addition of a calorically denser food item would help with the growth.

The other problem with a mainly cricket (and to some extent an insect diet) diet is that is has been shown to not be able to support growth in poultry due to the lack of a couple of amino acids whose lack can retard growth.

You may want to consider the addition of a few rosey reds (or other cool water) fish a week to the diet to add more calories and other amino acids.

Ed

The only feeder fish available in my town, that I know of, are goldfish feeder fish. There are only a couple of pet stores here. I have read (or been told) that goldfish are not very good feeders.
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0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

Hi Lisa,
You are correct goldfish are a poor choice as a feeder fish as they are very high in saturated fats.
If you want to spend the money you can substitute any of the livebearers but mollies are probably the best choice as they are brackish water fish.

Ed