Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I just signed up here today

Yesterday I turned 18 and bought an Argentine Horned Toad (is there a difference between that and other PacMans? Horned Toads?) because I wanted a pet to take to college next year. The girl said they were hearty frogs that didn't need lights or heaters and were easy to care for, feeding twice a week, changing the bedding once a month...

but when i got home i immediately hopped online and everyone says something different. the girl at the store didn't own a frog herself but she knew alot about other animals...but was she wrong?

Prince Charming (that's what i named him) is I think a boy (he has the dark markings on this throat) and is a Green and Brown 2 inch by 2 inch guy....she didn't say how old he was so I don't know if he's big or small...

I have a Critter Carrier& a small water dish with a ramp for his home with bedding of Jungle Mix (mud stuff...) that is about 1 1/2 in deep.

Yesterday Prince got 8 calcium powdered crickets that seemed pretty small to me (but in Jersey we have huge mutant crickets so that could just be that i don't have a good comparison...)

and I have questions upon questions...

How often should I feed him so as not to overfeed him but so that he grows nice and fat?
And what? i was told I could start feeding him pinkies soon but i don't know...

and what are these roaches you speak of? (I suppose getting a PacMan was a good way to confront my feed of crawly insects)

I'm reading the stuff on " http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/horned.html "

should I do anything else?

just...feel free to correct me or help me in any way cause i want to be a good mommy to this little guy (and i've learned not to pick him up, bad for his skin, right?....but when he gets bigger and less active would it be ok to sit him on my lap if i had a towel on it or something?)

anything to give me some kind of definitive would be great...like how big does he need to be before i can feed him certain things, etc.

THANKS EVERYONE for listening to the ramblings of a nervous newbie

forgot something (sorry if double posting is a no-no...)

what about fruit or vegis or anything? are pacman's purely carnivorous?

I love my frog...but I know that I don't know as much as I should and I want to take care of him

HELP! thanks :-D
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

Im not an expert but I have two. One albino male and one green and brown I think female that eats like a monster (it tried to eat me today)
No fruits or veggies. It eats crickets, mice and fish. I think it's still to small to eat pinkies, but once it gets alittle bigger and it looks a pinkie could fit comfortably inside it you should be able to feed it pinkies, not all the time though. Only give it pinkies everyonce and a while because a diet with alot of pinkies can make it sick and give it fat deposits in its eyes. You can use moist paper towels, gravel with shallow water, and shagnum moss as the floor in the cage. I heard as far as feeding them if you give them big meals they get bigger faster but if you feed them smaller portions they live longer. For example 8 might be considered a big meal depending on the size of the crickets. SO it could get big fast but not live as long as if you were to feed it like 3 crickets every 2 days.

I keep one of mine in a a clear round container with gravel on the bottom with shallow water and some moss to go on to get out of the water (it stays in the water) and the other is on potting soil ,that it burrows into, with a big water dish.

I feed them about 3 crickets two or three times a week.

Thanks!

I think the crickets are pretty small, they're classified as small (and a couple medium) and the little guy seems pretty happy.... do yours seem to swallow twice (and like close their eyes when they swallow?) it looks a little weird to swallow but maybe it's perfectly natural for amphibians (I've never owned one...)

I heard you can hurt them by giving them too much calcium....I'm powdering crickets, I skipped one powdering so he's had 2 powdered cricket meals with one non-powdered meal.

Food's my only concern cause I've never owned an amphibian...I don't want to overfeed him or underfeed him or undernourish him...

maybe in another week we'll try a pinkie (and just one pinkie, right? that would replace the crickets and he'd be fine with just the bigger meal?)

Thanks for responding...I'm like a first time mom with this little guy
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

No problem.

Yeah they do close their eyes when they swallow. I dont know why, maybe crickets give them heartburn . One of mine also tries to grab the crickets or pinkie with its little arms and it looks like its wrestling with it. One pinky at a time should be good. I would use the calcium every other time.

What other animals have you had besides amphibians?

ive had the hermit crabs that died in two days...we have a family dog and technically i have a bird but my mom takes care of it....

hes the first pet ive ever bought and taken care of by myself...

i got him to keep me company in college

he's seems like a baby... i like lead the crickets to him and basically spoon-feed them to him. is that ok or should i let him do it on his own? seems like some people strictly tong-feed so its not bad?

and whats all this about wet paper towels for bedding?

i probably sound so neurotic... i love my little guy i dont want him to go the way of the hermit crabs
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

what made you decide to get a pacman?

some people would rather tong feed them so they get them used to tong feeding right away, it's really just how you like to feed them.

You can use the paper towels as substrate, instead of gravel or potting soil or whatevere you have them on.

Which college are you going to? I should be in college right now but Im too busy working and not really interested in school. Plus I have way to many animals to stay in a dorm.

snip "I heard as far as feeding them if you give them big meals they get bigger faster but if you feed them smaller portions they live longer. For example 8 might be considered a big meal depending on the size of the crickets. SO it could get big fast but not live as long as if you were to feed it like 3 crickets every 2 days. "

While this has been shown in other species, I don't think this has been shown to be the case that are shown to have a massive growth rate as juveniles and greatly slow down as adults.

When feeding with supplements, what you want to use is one that has a Ca ration between 1 and 2 to 1, a ratio of A to D3 to E of 10 to 1 to 0.1 (or as close as possible). You also want to use fresh supplements and replace them every six months as they do degrade over time.

If you search the archives, this has been discussed here multiple times.

Ed

I've always like reptiles and frogs and lizards...I went into the Pet Store looking for a small lizard but they are all really pricey and require lots of equipment that I couldn't bring with me to school... I saw this little guy and he was reasonably priced and didn't require extra lights and stuff...

I'm going to The College of New Jersey in the fall, and they allow up to a ten gallon tank for pets :-D perfect for my PacMan :-D (just hope i get a roommate who doesn't mind the menu require for his diet..I know not everyone's into crickets)

and to Ed...thanks for replying! I've been reading up on some of the archived threads and have learned alot... though some of the language loses me.

I heard on a different site that PacMan's can get from silver dollar sized to 6 inches across in 5-6 months...

what is the typical growth rate for PacMan's? Like an inch a month? Half an inch? and (though how I would weigh him I have no idea) what's a typical weight?

I'll try to post a pic of him soon he's really settling into his new home nicely.
Thanks for the help!
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)