Pacman frogs have become very popular amphibian pets, especially with first time frog owners. These are large frogs, that can grow up to 7 inches long and round.
These lazy frogs spend most of their time burrowed in their substrate with their two horns, or eyes, sticking out, waiting for prey to come past.
If you are thinking of buying a Pacman frog and are wondering how long your Pacman frog lifespan is, then continue reading for more detailed information.
Pacman Frog Lifespan in The Wild
In the wild, the Pacman frog is food for many predators, which can shorten their lifespan. The average age of these large amphibians in the wild is around 4 years.
Pacman Frog Lifespan in Captivity
In captivity, if your Pacman is living in a clean enclosure with the right temperature, humidity and a varied diet, they can live anywhere up to 15 years. Owning a Pacman frog is a long term commitment.
Albino and Strawberry Pacman Frog lifespan In Captivity
If provided with the right care, Albino and Strawberry Pacman frogs can also live up to 15 years in captivity. However, they do require different care to some of the other Pacman frogs, which could shorten their lifespan if ignored.
Sunlight
Owning an albino or strawberry Pacman may require some different care, such as ensuring that you don’t leave the enclosure where it is in direct sunlight.
While these are burrowing amphibians, if your albino gets in the sun, the right of skin cancer is high, which can reduce your frog’s lifespan. This means, ensure you do not use any UV bulbs in the enclosure.
Eyes
It’s not uncommon for these Pacman frogs to suffer from eye developmental issues. This is due to them having a lack of melanin, which is responsible for the effective development of parts of the eye. This can include the retina, optic nerve, and muscles.
This may require you to feed your Pacman frog in a separate container or try tong feeding, as it may have issues with focus and depth perception, making it harder to catch prey naturally.
Hearing Problems
The albino and strawberry Pacman frogs may suffer from hearing impairments, which may result in your frog being completely deaf.
In the wild, this could pose a problem with predators. However, in captivity, your frog should be able to live a full and happy life.
How to Increase Pacman Frog Lifespan
Keeping a Pacman frog in captivity means you need to take full responsibility in providing everything it needs to give it the fullest and happiest life. There are some factors to consider to increase the lifespan of your amphibian pet.
Tank Size
In order to ensure the comfort of your Pacman frog, you will want to provide an enclosure which is 10 to 20 gallons in size with glass or plastic being the best material choice. This size tank is more than enough for your lazy frog to live, burrow, and eat.
Temperatures
Pacman frogs have specific temperature requirements to keep them happy and healthy.
You need to monitor the enclosure to ensure you are achieving the right temperatures, which should be between 75ºF and 85ºF (24ºC and 29ºC) during the day with nighttime temperatures ranging between 65ºF and 75ºF (18ºC and 24ºC).
Humidity
As with temperatures, you want to ensure you provide your Pacman frog with humidity levels of between 50% and 80%. You can monitor these levels with a digital hygrometer. Humidity is the amount of moisture in the enclosure, which is essential to your frog’s overall health.
Diet
Pacman frogs need a varied diet. They are large frogs with a voracious appetite. Their staple diet is crickets, but they love mealworms, waxworms, and silkworms. Adult Pacman frogs should be fed every two to three days.
Feed at night, as they are nocturnal amphibians.
Always provide clean, freshwater, which can also help in boosting humidity in the enclosure.
Supplements
Pacman frogs require Vitamin D and calcium and in order to ensure that they live a long and happy life, they should be given supplements.
Calcium with Vitamin D multivitamins come in powder form, which can be used to dust insects prior to feeding.
Another option is to gut load crickets with calcium rich nutrients before feeding. Calcium is essential to your frog’s health, ensuring healthy bones.
Clean Environment
It’s imperative that you keep your frog’s enclosure clean with daily spot cleaning, which can remove any dirt, debris, and leftover or uneaten food.
Monthly deep cleaning should involve the complete cleaning of the tank, replacing the substrate, and returning your frog to a clean enclosure.
Minimal Handling
If you are looking for a pet to cuddle and handle, then the Pacman frog is not the pet for you.
These frogs should be handled on rare occasions, such as a monthly tank cleaning when you need to place your frog in another container while you get their habitat clean and fresh.
Always wash your hands before and after handling your frog. The Pacman frogs’ skin is very sensitive and it can absorb any toxins or chemicals on your hands.
That is why you want to ensure you remove all soaps, lotions, or anything else you may have on your hands before making contact.
Conclusion
Welcoming a Pacman frog into your home is a long term commitment. To help your frog live a long life, you will want to provide the best level of care from the size of the enclosure to the diet and supplements you provide.
Ensure your frog visits the vet on a regular basis for checkups, ensuring that it is healthy.