Our new/first frog!

[kitty_b]

so i work in frog husbandry at UNC-CH in a genetics lab. working with these guys has really increased my desire to keep frogs as pets (i've wanted a pacman or dart frogs for a long time). my husband found them to be quite interesting as well.

so today, for our 1 year wedding anniversary, i got my husband a small pacman frog from the local chain store. he didn't have a soaking dish or the proper substrate (of course) so i set him up as soon as i got home.

the water is only green due to some of the moss. all water was treated. he's got several inches of moist peat moss and green moss to burrow under (like the bark chips he was on!). oh yeah, and there is a lid. i just took it off for the pictures.

we'll see what my husband wants to name him. if he had been more green, i'm sure he would have been named "Hulk."

 

[Bulldog08]

Congrats! I wish my wife would get me a frog for our anniversary...

 

[OldHag]

aww hes darling!! I love pacmans. I have a cute little fantasy pacman.. its a pain in the butt to get it to eat!! Just the way IT is, not the way most pacmanz are.

 

[kitty_b]

my husband has named him "Wall-E" after the upcoming movie he's dying to see.

here's some pictures of wall-e getting more settled. not interested in food at the moment, but i'm not surprised, given all that's happened to him today.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

the water is only green due to some of the moss.

Do you mean it's leaking chemical dye? I've seen threads on other forums where frog owners had problems with dyed moss, I'd get rid of it.

 

[kitty_b]

it's the fluker's moss. made no reference to needing to be rinsed or being dyed.. so i dunno

 

[Arachnomaniak]

Congrats! This is an awesome species! You'll find as they grow, they are basically a mouth connected to a giant stomach Pretty little things and entertaining to feed!

 

[Dillon]

Your Ceratophrys Cranwelli looks great!!

Get him off of that moss though, it can get impacted and possibly kill your Ceratophrys.

These animals do best on straight coco fibre.

Good luck they grow quickly!

check out my frog forum http://fatfrogs.7.forumer.com/index.php

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Whew! I thought I was gonna have to be the wet blanket and warn you about the moss. I always feel kind of bad criticizing someone's efforts when it is clear they intend the very best for their new pet.
But Dillon is correct, strands of moss can be bad news for your frog's digestive system. The tend to lunge and gulp their prey and it is quite common for them to get a mouthful of substrate in the bargain. And then the threat of impaction rears its ugly head. So of course you want to use the substrate with the least risk factor, and it is generally accepted that coco-fibre is the way to go.

Nice looking frog, by the way.

 

[wayne the pain]

Yes great frog, but ditch the moss, looks great, but not good.

 

[kitty_b]

yeah, i had debated on the moss but couldn't remember if it had risks of impaction associated with it.

anyway, his home is now moss-free and i added more moist peat moss to compensate for the lost depth. i made a little burrow (aka, a hole) and put him in it, since he had been buried in the moss and looked quite stressed now that he was back in the open.

he seems content now. the next big step will be when he decides to take his first meal.

 

[dtknow]

For those who keep these...how often does the substrate have to be changed? They seem rather inconvenient in that regard.(compared to smaller frogs)

 

[Dillon]

isopods work wonders in my frog's tank, they're actually breeding in there...I recommend you use some, helps out A LOT!

I use ispods in all my humid tanks and ive really noticed them going to town and reproducing in the frog tank, due to all the waste these guys produce, i guess?

but i would say if you dont keep the substrate wet 24/7, letting it dry out every now and then, and spot clean ( grab his poop , which is alot for these guys, massive turds LOL) The substrate should be good for a year +.

Be sure to use some "repti-safe" or any dechlorinator/ heavy metal remover on the water for your "eco earth" if you're using that. Amphibians are more sensitive to that than the inverts.

 

[froggyman]

have fun with your pacman frog...they're pretty fool proof impaction is really the only problem...good luck in all your froggy endeavors

 

[Dillon]

built like tanks....

 

[froggyman]

or like gumdrops

 

[OldHag]

Just dont lick them.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Or make direct eye contact.

 

[kitty_b]

just came home to find the cage "empty."

upon further investigation, "wall-e" had burrowed completely under the peat moss.

i'll take this as a sign that he likes his home.

 

[Dillon]

peat moss? you MEANT coco fiber im sure.