Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright,

I just bought a Green Pacman today at the White Plains, NY Rep. Expo. He's a cute little guy, but I have some questions.

Right now he is about 2-3" long, nice and fat, and residing in a 5.5G aquarium. It has about a 4" layer of Zoo Med Eco-Earth shredded coconut.

My problems are mainly with the means of heating, etc.

Currently, I have a 40W Red Incandescent sitting over hit water dish. I know this will lead to dry conditions so I want to adjust this some how. The room is fairly cold, in the summer time it sits at right about 65 degrees due to the A/C. The other reps in my room have no problems, but the two snakes are in Visions, and the Leos are in a glass tank that has a type of insulation wrapped around the sides and top to prevent heat loss.

Now, some questions:

1) What's the best way to keep the heat up in the tank? Is a UTH good enough to keep the tank warm enough unregulated or will it have to be regulated with a thermostat or dimmer?

2) How long will he be able to stay in a 5.5?

3) Humidity should stay about 65-75%, right?

4) Should the tank be decorated because some people say they like to have plants around the tank, while others say a plain tank with a deep substrate is best. I'd prefer to go plantless, but if plants are better, so be it.

Anyways, thanks in advance for any replies!

1. I don't really know the best way to keep the tank warm, but I use tubes. You shouldn't use heat mats under the tank since these frogs sometimes bury to get away from the heat. The most important thing is that the heat is around 75-80 degrees. 75 seems to be the best. I'm quite sure a dimmer is not neccesary.

2. Well, sorry to say I don't really know this one either. But what I do know is that you could keep an adult specimen in a ten gallon.

3. 65-75% humidity is good. It can also be around 60 I think. I don't use a Hygrometer in the tank, I just water or spray the tank when it's starting to dry up. I don't keep the substrate really wet, just damp and humid.

4. I personally think that plants are unnecessary. You can look at a picture of my tank in the below post called: "Scary epsiode when I was cleaning my frog's tank"...At least it was called something like that.

(If anyone thinks I'm doing something that is wrong, please tell me, I'm no expert)

Good Luck
-----
CokeOfMan

I would avoid using a heatpad, since the frogs bury themselves to escape heat (from the sun.) Hopefully someone else can tell you how to properly use a heat lamp; I do not need them for my horned frogs because my house is warm.
I would invest in a ten-gallon tank for the frog. It will be enough to house him for his entire life, since they do not move around much (they only seem to move after they defecate.) Also, make sure that the water bowl is shallow and sunk into the substrate so that the frog can easily enter and exit.
Hope I helped!
-----
-Gin