Baby Pacman Frog Care: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Are you thinking of bringing home a baby Pacman frog? Have you recently purchased your baby Pacman, brought it home the size of a quarter, and now you want to ensure you provide the best level of care?

The good news is that Pacman frogs are hardy amphibians and relatively easy to care for, which is why they are a top choice for first time amphibian pets.

	Pacman Frog Quick Facts
Common Name	Pacman frog
Scientific Name	Ceratophrys
Adult Size	Male: 2.5 to 4 inches, Female: 4 to 7 inches
Lifespan	15 years
Tank Size	Male: 10 gallons, Female: 20 gallons
Humidity	60% – 80%
Heating	70ºF – 83ºF
Substrate	Coconut fiber
Hides and Accessories	Shallow big water bowl
Diet	Dubia roaches, nightcrawlers, crickets, locusts, superworms, BSFL
Supplement	Calcium and multivitamin

Baby Pacman Frog Habitat Setup

Tank

Baby Pacman frogs can be housed in a small plastic reptile enclosure for a period of time.

However, remember that they grow quickly so you will want to buy them their permanent enclosure within a short period.

You can put your baby Pacman directly into the enclosure you want to use for them as an adult, which should be between ten and twenty gallons.

Substrate

Pacman frogs are lazy frogs and your baby Pacman shouldn’t be any different. They are lay and wait predators.

They spend their time burrowed in the substrate with just their horns (eyes) sticking out of the substrate.

The substrate you provide should be damp, providing the ideal conditions for your amphibian pet.

Coconut fiber is a preferred substrate, which is easy to use and comes in brick form, which expands when exposed to water. This enables you to put a decent layer of substrate down to make your pet as comfortable as possible.

Heat and Lighting

Pacman frogs are nocturnal. However, they still have specific heating and lighting requirements with babies requiring slightly warmer temperatures than the adult frogs.

Being nocturnal you do not need to provide a sunlight bulb; ensure the bulb you use is not a UV bulb. Provide your frog with twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of night.

Temperatures for a Baby Pacman

Day – 77ºF to 82ºF (25ºC to 27.7ºC)
Night – 70ºF to 75ºF (21.1ºC to 23.8ºC)

Temperatures for Adult Pacman

Once your baby grows into an adult, you will want to change your temperatures.

Day – 75ºF to 80ºF (23.8ºC to 26.6ºC)
Night – 65ºF to 70ºF (18.3ºC to 21.1ºC)

Humidity

Your Pacman frog is originally from humid jungles. Therefore, they require the humidity in their enclosure to be between 60% and 80%. Ensure you do not allow the humidity to drop below 60%.

You can monitor this effectively with a digital hygrometer.

In order to boost humidity levels, you can mist the enclosure a couple of times a day, if needed. Misting involves spraying dechlorinated water using a spray bottle, lightly dampening the substrate, and décor.

You do not want to soak the inside.

The heating lamp you use will help to cause the liquid to evaporate, increasing the humidity level inside the enclosure.

If you are struggling to maintain the right humidity levels you can add a larger water bowl to the enclosure to improve humidity.

The water bowl should be shallow that your Pacman can climb in with its head sticking out, a deep bowl could result in drowning of young Pacman frogs.

Decorations

Decorations can be varied depending on the tank look you are going for.

Natural enclosures are the most preferred with a deep and damp substrate where your frog can burrow with some rocks and logs to provide added hiding spaces, providing your frog with some privacy.

A shallow water bowl should be placed in the center of the enclosure, providing easy access to drinking water and to assist in raising humidity levels.

Bioactive enclosures are also very popular with up to a 20 gallon enclosure, a good drainage substrate and live plants. You can add some cork flats to create hiding places for your frog, along with a shallow water bowl.

Baby Pacman Frog Diet and Supplement

Foods

Baby Pacman frogs need a varied diet which includes crickets, mealworms, nightcrawlers, and wax worms. Wait until your baby frog is adult size before you start feeding pinkies and mice.

Supplements

Good bone development is essential for all babies, whether it’s a human or a frog. Frogs need calcium and vitamin D, which is essential to their bone health, reducing the risk of metabolic bone disease.

Ensure you dust all food in calcium with vitamin D supplements to ensure your pet gets the vitamins it needs to promote healthy bones moving forward.

Feeding

How Often Should I Feed My Baby Pacman Frog?

Baby Pacman frogs should be fed daily. They have a hearty appetite and growing babies require regular meals. Don’t be too concerned if your baby Pacman only eats every second day.

How Much Should I Feed My Baby Pacman Frog?

Most Pacman frog owners will tell you that you should feed your baby Pacman as much as it can eat in fifteen minutes.

The good news is that most of these frogs will stop eating when they are full. You can leave live food in the enclosure overnight, ensuring you remove any uneaten food the next day.

When Should I Feed My Baby Pacman Frog?

Due to the fact that Pacman frogs are nocturnal, the best time to feed is just after the lights go out. You can leave live food in the enclosure overnight to encourage natural hunting instincts.

Why Is My Baby Pacman Frog Not Eating?

There are a couple of reasons your baby Pacman frog may not be eating.

If you have recently brought your baby Pacman home or moved it to a larger enclosure, then it needs time to settle down before it eats.

You should start encouraging your frog to feed within a week, you don’t want to leave babies without food for too long.

Another reason is you may not have optimal temperatures. Temperatures that get too low can result in your Pacman frog going into brumation (hibernation). It is not encouraged to allow baby Pacman frogs to go into brumation within their first year.

Tips to Encourage Feeding

If you are worried your baby Pacman isn’t eating, then there are a few things you can do.

Settling In

If your baby frog has recently been introduced into a new enclosure, allow it up to a week to settle in before worrying about feeding

Hand Feeding

Some Pacman frog owners prefer hand feeding their frogs, which requires using tongs to encourage the frog to grab and eat the food.

Baby Pacman frogs may be used to being tong fed and quite happy to eat this way, others may refuse to eat.

Separate Container

In order to reduce the risk of impaction, some Pacman frogs prefer feeding their frogs in a separate container.

You can try placing your frog in a plastic container and then introducing their live food, allowing them to eat without any substrate around which could cause impaction (constipation), which can be a serious problem that requires veterinary treatment.

Natural Hunting

Introducing your baby Pacman frog to natural hunting at an early age is the easiest way to encourage feeding.

Your frog is already spending most of the day burrowed in the substrate just waiting for prey to come along.

Adding live food to the enclosure at night and allowing your frog to hunt naturally is a reliable and effective way to encourage eating.

Related – Learn more about reasons a Pacman frog is not eating.

Baby Pacman Frog Croaking

When Do Baby Pacman Frogs Start Croaking?

Baby frogs will start croaking from about six months of age. If you’re worried about croaking, then you are going to have to try and determine the sex of your frog early on.

Baby Pacman frogs don’t croak, nether do the females. Only male Pacman frogs croak.

But, don’t be fooled, baby Pacman frogs can scream. Screaming is a protective measure that is only carried out by baby and female Pacman frogs. They may also scream when eating and bathing. It sounds like a high pitched chirp or groan.

How Much Will a Baby Pacman Frog Croak?

Pacman frogs are going to make a noise, whether they are in your home or in the wild, but the good news is that they will make less noise in captivity than if they were in their natural habitat.

These frogs tend to make the most amount of noise during mating season, other than that your Pacman frog may croak a few times a day, mostly when feeding and during misting.

Why Is My Baby Pacman Frog Die Suddenly

While Pacman frogs tend to be very hardy frogs, baby Pacman frogs are not as strong and can die rather suddenly, which can be devastating for the new amphibian pet owner.

Here are some of the reasons your baby Pacman frog may have died:

Poor diet – not enough variety to provide essential vitamins and minerals
Unhygienic living conditions – can result in parasitic and bacterial infections
Improper temperatures – can result in your frog becoming too cold or too hot, too cold and the frog can brumate.
Food too big – Only feed your baby Pacman frog food that will fit in its mouth. These are voracious eaters and it’s not uncommon for baby Pacman frogs to choke on their food because it is too big, result in death.
Impaction – eating substrate with food can lead to impaction, which is constipation, which can be various serious and needs veterinary care.
Lack of calcium and vitamin D – lack of supplement Calcium and vitamin D can result in metabolic bone disease in Pacman frogs
Dirty water source – Dirty water can result in a host of infections in your baby Pacman frog.