Are you a brand new owner of a Pacman frog? Or considering adding one to your family? Pacman Frogs are great for first time frog owners or frog enthusiasts. They are easy to care for, super low maintenance, and so fun to watch! But they do require some specific care and accessories, which I was not aware of when I purchased my first Pacman Frog. So I wanted to share some of my tips for taking care of your first Pacman frog that I learned from researching and talking to other frog owners. I hope you find this information helpful!
Always purchase your Pacman frog from a reputable source- Not all pet stores or breeders are created equal. A lot of big box pet stores aren’t properly educated on the care of their smaller animals (especially their frogs and reptiles) so you might come home with a Pacman frog that isn’t in the best shape. Check to see if you have a local specialty pet store or if an exotic pet show is coming to your area soon. Both of these are great places to start looking for your frog.
Tank set up is VERY important! With the wrong substrate or space needed for your Pacman frog you will have problems keeping your frog healthy and happy. Pacman frogs are solitary creatures, you should never have more than 1 in a tank. For some reason you will often see Pacman frogs in pet stores housed on top of moss, which is NOT good for them. They can eat it which could cause an impaction. All you need is some Coconut fiber bedding (Like eco earth) and it must be saturated with water to keep it moist. It shouldn’t be dripping, but it should be wet enough to hold it’s shape while squeezing. Pacman frogs also love big leaves to hide under and enough substrate to bury themselves up to their eyes in. Fresh water should also always be offered. Some frogs love a dip in the pool!
Temperature and humidity must be kept at a consistent level. The ideal temperature for a pacman frog is between 80-85 degrees F, with the sweet spot being at about 83F. Your humidity is important to keep up as to not dry your frog out. You want to shoot for 80% humidity as much as possible. I highly recommending investing in a temp/humidity gauge to keep an eye on your levels to make sure they are as close to optimum as possible. As far as how to keep your tank heated, I suggest heating pads over a light, as a light can easily dry out your enclosure.
Food choice will vary from frog to frog. But the good, okay, and bad list will stay the same. While some Pacman frogs will gobble up nightcrawlers, while others won’t even touch them. My boy (His name is Keroppi by the way!) LOVES Pac Attack and crickets as a treat. Also some frogs feed better in their enclosures, while other frogs prefer to be fed in a separate tank. It will take some trial and error to find out what your new frog will like, and they might even switch it up on you! Also, watching them eat is probably my favorite thing about them. They got their name by how big their mouth gets when eating, just like a Pacman!
Most Pacman frogs are not super active. You won’t see them hopping all over the tank, they won’t even move that much. They are super chill and easy animals. You won’t have to worry about them trying to hop out of the cage when you take the top off. You also might worry that something is wrong with them when they don’t move much, most of the time this isn’t the case, they are just content and relaxed (but as always, if you think something is wrong, follow your gut and get them checked out!)
Placement of your water bowl is important. Pacman frogs should always have access to a shallow water dish for soaking and drinking. You will want this on the warmer side of the tank (near the heating source) to ensure that the water doesn’t get too cold for them. Once they have spent some time soaking and have hopped out, your bowl will be filthy, make sure to change it to fresh water!
Speaking of water…..You are going to want to make sure any water used for misting and for their water bowl is treated water. Not from a tap! You can use bottled or filtered water, or you can use tap water if treated with something like Reptisafe.
Last but not least, handling. Pacman frogs for the most part, are not fans of being handled. Of course there are times where you will have to handle them, like when changing out their substrate, or having to take them to the vet. Any time you handle a frog at the very least, make sure you can washed, cleaned hands. Even better, throw on a pair of gloves. Their skin is very sensitive to irritants! A good rule of thumb is to only handle when necessary, otherwise, enjoy looking at them in their enclosure 🙂
I hope these tips were helpful to any new Pacman Frog owners! Do you have any more tips to add? Let me know in thre comments! Hey! Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I’m so glad you’re here. Before you go make sure you check out the other fun and informative posts below. Then be sure to follow me on Youtube, facebook, and instagram. We’d love to see you back here for our next yummy recipe.
This is some great information. Thanks for sharing.