New pac man frog.

[J.huff23]

I had a kind of "impulse buy" moment today. Went to the LPS with the intentions of checking out what Ts they had. Ended up buying a pac man frog.

I did some research on here and on google, but I wanted to double checke the facts with people who have experince with these frogs.

So feel free to correct me on facts, or add some of your own. Thanks.

1. A 10 gallon with damp coco fiber substrate, a shallow water dish, and nothing that will be accidentily swallowed by the frog, is the ideal home.

2. Feed adults as much as they can eat, once or twice a week.

3. They will try to eat anything that goes in front of their faces.

Males can get up to 7 inches, while females can reach 9 inches?

 

[maitre]

What's the scientific name of your frog?

There are many fat frogs out there that are referred to as pacmans.. but usually the nickname "pac man frog" describes the Ceratophrys genus.

 

[J.huff23]

I have no idea man. I could get a picture and post it tomorrow. I would do it tonight, but its 12 AM over here and I got up at 3 in the morning on friday morning and black friday shopped all day, so im pretty much about to pass out, lol.

I will post a picture of him or her tomorrow...which would be today, Saturday.

 

[kupo969]

Try to also get pics behind it's eyes.

 

[J.huff23]

Here ar the pics:

NOTE: I wouldnt have picked the frog up, but it was impossible to get a pic of it in the enclosure because the flash was bouncing off of the substrate and making he frog look white, also the frog was covered in dirt, so I brushed it off a bit.

 

[kupo969]

It's a typical C. cranwelli. As it ages it will turn brown.

 

[maitre]

Yup, that's an ornate horned frog.

It'll get to around 5-6" max. Yours looks super young so you should actually feed it everyday - appropriately sized meals that is!! No all-you-can-eat buffet with everyday feedings. Dust its food items with calcium every 2-4 days and alternate with a vitamin/mineral supplement. You can skip the vitamin/minerals if you gutload your feeders - which you should. When it gets larger (double the size it is now), you can begin to supplement its meals with a pinkie mouse/rat once a month - no more than that!! Don't follow the crap on youtube where they overload their frogs with mice. It's extremely unhealthy for them because of the fat content. Try to choose feeders based on high-protein, low fat content.

10gal tank is okay. When it is full grown, I would upgrade to a 15-20gal. I have a pixie and actually keep him in a large 55gal sterilite tub. I like using tubs because they're lightweight so moving it around for cleaning is a breeze.

Keep a 40-60watt light over its waterbowl.. I keep my pixie at 80F during the day and 75 at night.

hmm what else.. this is such a jumble, I know, but it's stuff off the top of my head.

I'll write more if I rmb something

goodluck with your fat friend!!!

 

[Anthony Straus]

Yup, that's an ornate horned frog.

I thought "ornate" was reserved for Ceratophrys ornata , and that the Ceratophrys cranwelli as this one is, was refered to Cranwell's horned frog?

 

[J.huff23]

Thanks everyone!

So is Cranwell's horned frog and the "Pac man" frog the same frog? But with different names?

I will go to the loal pet store on monday or tuesday to see if they have calcium to dust his or her food with, (they are closed tomorrow)

Also, how do you tell the sex of them? I read that they were sexually dimorphic? But of course, I read that on the pet store care sheet, and we all know that pet stores have a habit of giving out BS info.

Thanks again,
Jake.

 

[maitre]

I thought "ornate" was reserved for Ceratophrys ornata , and that the Ceratophrys cranwelli as this one is, was refered to Cranwell's horned frog?

Yeah I think you're right lol i guess i should have called it horned frog? i dont know. pac man frog is the way to go

 

[maitre]

You won't be able to sex your little buddy until it gets older.. I know for pixies, you can sex them when they are around 4" SVL based on their head shape and ultimately as adults based on sheer size.

I'm not sure if pacman frogs are the same

 

[J.huff23]

Ok, thanks guys! I just saw him eat last night. Really neat.

Thanks again!

 

[kupo969]

J.huff, try to post some profile pics of the frog (clean the frog before pics pls). Males have boxy (square-like shape) snouts where as females have pointy snouts. Males max out 3-3.5", females at 5-6".

P.S.: Not an Ornate, just a cranwelli. Ornates have spots behind their eyes (which is why I asked for those shots).

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

And of course if he vocalizes when he gets older, you'll know it's a male.

Mine is currently on a hunger strike. He isn't in estivation, but with the temperature shift that the approaching winter has borought on came slightly lower tank temps, which may have affected his appetite. I'm just starting to become a little concerned, but I'm a ways from the freak-out stage. Still, he hasn't accepted anything since September 26th! I checked him out and he's physically fit, he has all his motor skills and hasn't lost any body mass, so it isn't time to push the panic button yet. They can go a long time without eating. But I prefer my critters to have a healthy appetite, of course. Hopefully, it's just a stubborn spell, and not something like the dreaded chytrid fungus.

Worse still, I'm out of 'crawlers and he doesn't bother with crickets anymore. And I checked Wal-Mart and they have no 'crawlers in stock. I bought some puny "panfish" worms, which are just small earthworms, and he ignored them as well. Might be a lean winter for the frog if I can't locate a bait shop that still stocks them!

 

[lester]

lol..this rem me of my pacman frog

 

[Arachnophilist]

@ Kupo969 C.ornata doesn't always have the spots just FYI. but you are right generally they do. Nice cranwells you have there is this your first fat frog? if it is I doubt it will be the last! don't be surprised if your frog doesn't always have much of an appetite, in my experience the C.cranwelli have the least voracious appetite, unlike a C.ornata or a P.adspersus. Your tank setup sounds good but post some pics of it!

 

[kupo969]

@ Kupo969 C.ornata doesn't always have the spots just FYI. but you are right generally they do.

When would they not? Every single ornate I've seen has these spots. That is the main way to distinguish the two (cran vs ornata) other than color (not always accurate).

 

[Arachnophilist]

on a frog forum we all loaded pics to test the theory and some did not have them.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Nice little cranwelli you have there! Since it is so small I would try tong feeding. Coconut fiber is a pretty safe substrate but the little guys can still get impactions from it if they ingest enough.

Also: in addition to the head shape and throat color, which aren't always reliable, and the croaking (which is pretty reliable), you can look for nuptial pads as it reaches maturity to sex them. Males will have a dark, slightly thickened patch of gray to black skin on the inside of their legs and "thumb" while females will not.

Remember to feed an invertebrate dominated diet for health, and if you ever feed fish go for something like livebearers as goldfish are vectors of many parasites and also contain an enzyme that can inhibit vitamin B absorption.

Have fun! I bet you wind up with more of these, they're a fun species