Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Since this seems to be the most frequented forum discussing Horned frogs, I decided to post here and seek out some advice.
My bf and I have been together for almost five years now and three out of those five he has been fawning over Pacman frogs. And I was all for them until I read that you must feed them pinky mice and then larger mice as they get older. (I have pet rats, so I was having issues with that) But having finally gotten over the fact that these adorable little guys have to eat too, I am going to suprise him with an Albino Pacman for Xmas.
Now here's where you guys come in! I have looked for rescues that might have frogs available, but it seems like these guys don't come into rescue that often (and I always adopt first!)so I have checked with a local mom and pop store that can order an albino for about $30 which is cheaper than Petco at $40. The guy who owns the store said it (depending on which sex I get) will be between the size of a quarter and silver dollar. (Petco only gets ones a little smaller than the size of a baseball now.) So I will need to know what size of cricket and how often to feed, plus any thing else it can eat at that age.
He will be housed in a 10 gal. aquarium (with a mesh lid), will I need to go larger after awhile? I know they are supposed to be lazy, but I always want my "kids" to be comfy (our 3 guinea pigs are in a 3ftX7ft cage)and I do have an acrylic 55 gal habitat.
I know I need a shallow water dish for it to hang out and drink in and since I garden I have some nice tropical plants to add to his "pad" (are any known to be bad for frogs?)
And I have read many different sites that have contrasting info on bedding and if heat is needed or not....so help me out on this one!
Now is there anything else I need to know or get? Its late and I am having problems thinking
Many thanks!

When acquiring a juvenile frog (which you implied was going to be the case from the mom-and-pop shop) you will need to feed them appropriately sized crix every other day. By, appropriately sized, I mean, as long as the space between his/her eyes, to be safe. These frogs EARN their names, they will eat anything that fits in their mouth. However, if it's to big, then you run the risk of impaction. My frog is the size of a tennis ball and he/she eats lobster roaches, hissing roaches, and the occasional mouse. I feed with tongs, so I know exactly how much he/she has eaten, and I don't worry about ingestion of substrate.
As for substrate; I use a clay pellet base, and then a mixture of vermiculite and peat moss, followed off by a layer of peat and sphagnum moss. I prefer all natural habitats, so I use live plants in all my set-ups. For my pac-man I have a couple pothos vines, a Schefflera tree (umbrella tree), and three bromelliads. The live plants also help maintain the humidity level, which should stay ~80%.
I keep a space heater in my herp room, and in the pacmans area it peaks ~80F during the day, and drops into the 70s at night. They don't require any UV source, but NEED VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENTATION, so I dust his food once a week with D3, and then twice a week with a calcium powder. Vitamin D3 can accumulate to toxic levels, so don't over do it.
Hope this essay helps!
Oh yeah...I keep mine in a 10gallon acquarium, and yeah it's a jungle in their!

you don't have to feed mice, I've never fed min mice. It ususally eats crickets and earthworms.
And as the above poster said; when young feed appropriate sized crickets every 1-2 days, when older decrease the frequence but increase the amount of food.
Plants are not nessesary, I don't use any.
Shallow waterdish is required, since they sometimes soak there.
Humidity should stay at around 70, but can decrease to 50-60 without any problem, but you should look so that the soil around the frog is always kept moist.
Temperatures should range between 75 and maybe low 80:s at daytime, "roomtemperature" at night.
As for bedding, I use unfertilized soil, such as "Bed-A-Beast", as moss may cause an impaction if ingested.

Good luck
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CokeOfMan

Whoboy,
Looks like we will be having some of the same plants as you! I have all those growing about the house....but I have to ask, what size is your Schefflera tree since its in your 10 gal! And do you keep your plants in pots so as to not disturb the roots when cleaning the habitat?
Is the peat and vermiculite you use the same you would buy for plants? If so I have a ton of sphagnum peat moss, sadly verm. is hard to come by here. I read you can use soil (which cokeofman mentioned)but it must be sterilized. I can't find any soil at Petco, but have found pressed coconut fiber, bark, Exo-Terra Jungle Earth Tropical Terrarium Substrate (supposed to be good for humidity) etc. And I am guessing that bags of regular soil are out of the question, huh?
Also is a cricket house necessary? You know, to house, feed and basically keep crickets alive. I pass a Petco everyday on my way to work, so would buying them every few days work?
Do I need to take any special care when handling it? I know to keep my fingers away fromt he front of its mouth...wasn't sure about anything else.
Thanks for the help guys!

I plant all my plants directly into the substrate. I try to design all of my vivariums to be as natural as possible. By using a good organic base (peat) and by developing a health detrite colony (little bugs that eat dead stuff) the plants will act as recyclers in the tank. I use tongs to feed my frog, so he/she isn't diving into the substrate for food, which prevents impaction. At one point I used coco-fiber, but plants tend to not do well, so I switched to peat moss. My frog tends to defecate in his water dish, so anytime I notice evidence of him being in the dish, I change the water. Every so often I have to trim the plants back, but thats it. The humidity is always ~80%, and I only mist him about once a week. I'm not a fan of "basic" set ups, i.e. Rubbermaid tub w/ paper towels, etc. My tanks are intended to be aesthetically pleasing for humans, and as reminiscent to the "home-land" as possible for their inhabitants.
For supplies; I try to avoid PetCo/PetSmart at all costs. Depending on how many herps you have; ordering crickets online is cheaper, and more convienient. I buy all my substrate, plants, and lighting at hardware/home-improvement stores. Make sure you soak the plantsin a dilute detergent before placing them in the tank.

I plant all my plants directly into the substrate. I try to design all of my vivariums to be as natural as possible. By using a good organic base (peat) and by developing a health detrite colony (little bugs that eat dead stuff) the plants will act as recyclers in the tank. I use tongs to feed my frog, so he/she isn't diving into the substrate for food, which prevents impaction. At one point I used coco-fiber, but plants tend to not do well, so I switched to peat moss. My frog tends to defecate in his water dish, so anytime I notice evidence of him being in the dish, I change the water. Every so often I have to trim the plants back, but thats it. The humidity is always ~80%, and I only mist him about once a week. I'm not a fan of "basic" set ups, i.e. Rubbermaid tub w/ paper towels, etc. My tanks are intended to be aesthetically pleasing for humans, and as reminiscent to the "home-land" as possible for their inhabitants.
For supplies; I try to avoid PetCo/PetSmart at all costs. Depending on how many herps you have; ordering crickets online is cheaper, and more convienient. I buy all my substrate, plants, and lighting at hardware/home-improvement stores. Make sure you soak the plantsin a dilute detergent before placing them in the tank.

I plant all my plants directly into the substrate. I try to design all of my vivariums to be as natural as possible. By using a good organic base (peat) and by developing a health detrite colony (little bugs that eat dead stuff) the plants will act as recyclers in the tank. I use tongs to feed my frog, so he/she isn't diving into the substrate for food, which prevents impaction. At one point I used coco-fiber, but plants tend to not do well, so I switched to peat moss. My frog tends to defecate in his water dish, so anytime I notice evidence of him being in the dish, I change the water. Every so often I have to trim the plants back, but thats it. The humidity is always ~80%, and I only mist him about once a week. I'm not a fan of "basic" set ups, i.e. Rubbermaid tub w/ paper towels, etc. My tanks are intended to be aesthetically pleasing for humans, and as reminiscent to the "home-land" as possible for their inhabitants.
For supplies; I try to avoid PetCo/PetSmart at all costs. Depending on how many herps you have; ordering crickets online is cheaper, and more convienient. I buy all my substrate, plants, and lighting at hardware/home-improvement stores. Make sure you soak the plantsin a dilute detergent before placing them in the tank.