Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The kit that my new frog came in has a layer of sand at the very bottom, large gravel with an indent as a shallow pool, various large rocks, sphagum moss and a fake plant. It all looks really great but I want to be able to maintain a level of cleanliness in the water. How do I change the water daily?

Or, is evaporation and simply pouring in fresh water going to take care of the daily maintenance?

what type of frog? no, evaporation and topping off does not help water quality at all.

A pacman frog. It's the set up he came in and they wouldn't sell me just the frog =(. Also, is it ok to have sand as a substrate if there are 2-3 inches of moss over it? He burrows as deep as the moss, the sand just provides some interesting geography. REally I'd prefer to have him in a glass tank w/ just eco-earth and a water dish, but the set up he came in has a lot of aesthetic appeal.

aesthetic appeal is good, IF you can look out for the animal's health first. your instincts are providing a lot of healthy things, that the setup you had to get, doesnt. the only options for mine at home are wet paper towels. now i understand if you are set on something a little more natural looking, you can do this with the eco-earth and small water bowl. in my opinion and experience wet paper towels are the healthiest thing for the frog. i wouldnt use sand for anything. i dont like moss either. your instints are steering you in the right directions it sounds, listen to them. if you have any other questions just post them.

Thanks, I think I will take the sand out. The reason I don't like eco-earth (which I have a lot of) is that it clings to the pacman. Also, I heard that with a more complex set-up (fake plants/unlevel terrain) a pacman is more likely to show himself. It's holding true so far, my little guy is just sitting half burried in front of the plant. He wouldn't get into the pool at first but since I've put moss into the water, he also is just soaking in the pool. This leads me to my next question though...

Because of the moss, I want to tong feed him. My other pacman didn't hesitate a wink to eat off of tongs, especially fish. This pacman just ignored tongs. He doesn't hop away scared but he doesn't bite either? How can you introduce tongs? Maybe it's just too early and I should let him settle, but I can't dust crickets and just throw them in there can I?

Thanks!!

rubbing the food back and forth along his mouth with the tongs can trigger a feeding response. sometimes they just get mad and bite at the thing bothering them, then realize it is good and want to eat it. i dont know if you really need to try rubbing his mouth, maybe give him a few days to get hungry. a few crickets running around may simply mean he can eat when he eants, probably at night. not all the crickets need to be dusted, so a few running around without it is okay, but i would still try to get him hungry and then try tong feeding again.

Thanks! I will wait a few days and try rubbing it on his mouth again. But in the mean time, I'm scared that his hunting of crickets through sphagum moss might cause an impaction. I removed a piece of poop today that was very hard and obviously had some moss in it. Maybe I should change the substrate to completely eco-earth but then I am worried he will not be as comfortable (and therefore be less likely to tong feed) if he doesn't have the cover that the moss provides. What do you suggest?

i keep mine on wet paper towels, but all eco-earth should be fine, he will be able to hunker down in it and be comfortable.