|
Honestly, a heat source is unneccessary for most amphbians. Remember, that though many amphibians live in tropical climates, they often occupy microhabitats that are not terribly hot. I keep horned frogs, and I use no supplemental heating on them whatsoever. I keep my frog room in the low to mid 70's, but my pacmans (or should it be pac-men?) are in a cooler area of the room, and are closer to the ground.. where it is generally in the low 70's during the day, and goes as low as 68 at night.
IF you kep your house in the low 70's, your frog should need no supplemental heat.
Below is an outline on setting up pacman frogs that I wrote in an earlier post on the subject. Here it is:
10 gallon tank, or a suitably sized rubbermaid are great options for enclosures.
Eco-earth/bedabeast/coco-husk fiber substrate... keep it at least 3 inches deep for an adult frog.
A water dish that they can get their entire body into.. but not so deep that they would drown. Just make sure the water level does not go too far past their eyes. And make sure you either use dechlorinater for fish tanks that gets rid of chloramine as well (repti-safe and the hagen brands do both)..... or simply use spring water for the water dish and misting. Stay away from distilled water in the dish.
That is basically it for the essential necessities.... other than of course crickets, and a GOOD calcium supplement WITH vitamin D3 ... like fine grade Rep-Cal. Stay away from crap like zoo-med supplements, flukers supplments, or any of that crap. I would only recommend rep-cal.
If you want to spruce the tank up a bit..... you can add a few slabs of bork bark sticking on a 45 degree angle from the substrate.. they create a naturalistic sort of cave... and look nice.. though a hide is not really necessary for these frogs as they bury themselves anyway. Plus, you can also add OAK leaves from a pesticide free source. These give a beautiful and naturalistic look and are safe if eaten.. though they are easily spit out.
For plants...... you can use pothos or philodendrons.. both are bulletproof, grow well under low light, and can be potted directly n the eco-earth...or left in the pots if you prefer. Make sure that if you plant them directly in the subsrtate that you get rid off all the soil around the roots by rinsing them off.
Make sure you *do not* put an incandescent basking lamp or anything of the sort above the tank. Frogs are not reptiles... and wth the exception of waxy monkey frogs, amphibians do not need to bask!
If your house is kept in the low 70's and falls to high 60s at night.... the frog will be fine. If your house is cool... use a 5 gallon undertank heater.... but put it on the *side* o the tank rather than the bottom... as these frogs burrow to *escape* the heat.
This is an easy to maintain setup, that looks fabulous, and is fairly inexpensive.
All this said, a rubbermaid with eco-earth and a water dish will suit these frogs well. They are fairly hearty frogs, and thrive with minimal work.
__________________
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now. It's just a spring clean for the May-queen."
-Led Zeppelin
|
Linear Mode
