Horned frogs, also known as Pacman frogs, dwell in the humid forests of South America. They get their common name because they have a rather round body with a large mouth which resembles the character Pacman from the video games. Pacman frogs are from the genus Ceratophrys. We work with three different species including cranwelli, cornuta, and ornata. They make great beginner frogs because they are rather hardy frogs rather simplistic care.
Pacman frogs are one of the bigger frogs on the market. They reach between 6-8 inches in total and are close to the size of a dessert plate. In the wild, Pacman frogs live between 5-7 years, but, when properly cared for in captivity, this frog can live anywhere from 10-15 years. If you follow this care sheet, you can expect your frog to live a nice long life.
Pacman frogs will eat anything that moves! A varied diet works best consisting of crickets, earthworms, roaches, and feeder fish. They can also eat worms such as phoenix worms, butterworms, and horned worms. All prey items should be dusted with a high quality Calcium D3 powder. We use and recommend the brand Minerall for all our frogs. We feed between 4-6 insects every other day of appropriate size. Keeping them on smaller, more frequent meals will help prevent any issues in the digestion process. Pacman frogs can be taught to feed off tongs which can make for a more interactive feeding time. An occasional pinky mouse is okay for an adult pacman frog, but should not be a weekly routine because they are extremely high in fat.
Pacman frogs need their humidity to remain between 60-70%. If the humidity gets too low, the frog can start to dry out and can easily die of dehydration. We recommend misting the frogs once a day to keep humidity high enough. If you decide to put the frog in an enclosure with a screen top, you may need to mist more frequently to keep humidity up. If you cannot mist them every day, you may need to get an automated mister in order to keep the humidity at the proper level. Always monitor the humidity with a digital hygrometer for best accuracy.
Because frogs have extremely sensitive skin, care must be taken when picking the kind of water to use. We recommend using spring water, but, if you need to use your own tap water, you will need to use de-chlorinator in order to remove any impurities from the water. Do not use Distilled water! It can easily kill your frog. Always use either Spring water or tap water with dechlorinator. Provide your frog with a large, shallow dish of water. Be sure the bowl is shallow enough so that the frog can easily get out of it. This bowl should be changed out daily so that the water remains clean.
We recommend using eco earth,peat moss or an organic potting mix to line the cage floor. This will help keep humidity up as well as giving the Pacman frog a substrate that it can burrow down into. We provide our frogs with between a deep substrate that is between 2-6" deep. The bedding should be moist, but not dripping yet. You do not want any standing water in the substrate or else mold and mildew can build up.
Provide small areas of cover for the frog, so that they can feel secure in their cage. We do this by placing either small areas of pillow moss in the cage for the frog to burrow back into or by placing live or plastic plants around the tank. The best live plants for a naturalistic tank include: Pothos, Philodendrons, Spider plants, Ficus, and Dracenae. Be sure to re-pot and wash off the plants leaves so that the frog does not accidentally ingest any fertilizer or pesticides.
Pacman frogs are best kept a bit above room temperature. The tank should stay between 75-85 degrees. Pacman frogs tend to thrive in the upper 70's the best. If your house will be to cold during the winter months, we recommend heating the tank with an under the tank heat mat. We do not recommend using heat lamps because it dries out the tank quickly, whereas, a heat mat will raise the temperature, but not effect the humidity. Although UVB lighting is not required, we recommend it as a way to help the frog get the proper amount of vitamin d3. A 5.0 UVB will be sufficient for a pacman frog and will help the frog metabolize all its vitamins.
Pacman Frogs have extremely sensitive skin and should rarely be handled. All frogs have thin skin that they use to absorb water and oxygen, but they can also absorb toxins through their skin, such as oils, lotions, pesticides, etc. We recommend using Powder-free Nitrile disposable gloves when handling your frog in order to prevent the frog from absorbing toxins that may be on your hands. Pacman are considered a display pet because they are a “watch, don't touch” amphibian.
☐ Shoebox size container – Babies/Juveniles
☐ Tub measuring 20”x11” - Adults
☐ Coconut Fiber Bedding
☐ Crickets or Dubia Roaches
☐ UVB 5.0 strip light (optional)
☐ Plastic plants, Pillow Moss or Live Foliage
☐ Mister Bottle or Spray Bottle
☐ De-chlorinator
☐ Shallow water bowl