Below are answers to some questions that I have received by e-mail. Scroll down and see if it may answer any of your questions before you e-mail me with your own. I get swamped with messages a day and I will not answer any questions that appear on here, so make sure you read this page thoroughly. If you have a question that is not listed here, don't be afraid to send it in. Enjoy. (Questions are in bold, my responses are below)

I am going to use a few inches bed a beast with some moss over it, it that ok for substrate?

I use the same type of setup as you. Except I cover half the tank with moss and the other half peat moss (like bed-a-beast) so yes that is fine.

I have a heat pad but i dont know where i should put it, under the water dish or what?

Put the heating pad underneath the tank. But do not put it under the same area as the water dish. Keep the dish on the opposite side of the dish.

Do they need any kind of lighting?

I personally use a flourescent tube light for my frog. 12 hours a day. If it is really cold where you live, you may choose to use a heat lamp (low wattage so you don't cook your frog).

I bought a hide log that is big enough for him his whole life but it takes up about a third of his 10 gallon aquarium is that ok and does he even need a hiding place?

A hide log isn't really needed. If scared or wanting to hide, they will just burrow. Plus, it takes up a lot of space that will be needed when your frog is bigger. Use that space for plants.

How much of what do i feed him (pacman) and how often?

Keep him on a staple of gut-loaded crickets. Every week or two, throw in a feeder goldfish or nightcrawler to change up his diet, sprinkle with vitamin powder every so often. And once a month, for a special treat, feed him pinkie mice and larger mice as he too gets larger.

Okay, I am really bad at making some types of decisions. This is one of them. I will get my pacman in a month and I don't know which phase to get. I don't know if I should get an albino or an ornate pacman. Somebody PLEASE help me with this dilemma. I don't know which to choose. The most expensive is the albino($25) and the ornate is $20. So there is really no problem with the pricing. I guess it is personal preference. Last time I was at the shop I looked at the ornate and decided I wanted him. Then I looked over at the albino and wanted him too. Uhhhhhhh!!!! Picking froggies is so difficult!!!! Please put down your personal favorite.

Albinos are awesome! Their coloring is so amazing! I have a cranwelli, it was lime green when I got it, so I picked that over the albino. Only problem is now he turned brown :( I'd buy the albino if I were you, just because I want one! But its your preference!

I am new to pacman frog keeping and am getting my first baby very soon. I really appreciate all of the help people have given me with their posts. But here is the problem. Every one says to use a different feeder animal exclusively or not at all. Some say feed mainly mice, others say only feed mice once a month, and on and on and on. So here is what I am going to do. I will add up all the posts and info sources (books & websites) for mice, goldfish, and mealies&crix. Then I will use the feeder that has the most supporters; feeding the other animals occasionally. I am really hoping that every pacman keeper who reads this will post and help me out. Thanks in advance.

I'm going to be straight to the point, do not feed mice more than twice a month. They are sort of like a steak dinner for your frog. If you want a staple diet for your frog, gut-load crickets. But I will tell you, you CANNOT just keep your pacman on a steady diet of just crickets. For example, use crickets as your staple food, but every week or so, throw in a feeder goldfish or nightcrawler. And for a special treat, and when he is large enough, buy it a pinkie mouse or hopper (depending on the size of your frog) once a month to fatten him up. That's the best explanation I can give you.

I got a heat pad for my frog, which I later found out was a bad idea, but I don't have any money, so I am going to be stuck with the heat pad instead of a heat lamp for quite some time... this morning I was misting/checking the cage out, and I realized my frog had been quite active the night before, I was excited, thinking, "Alright, he's healthy and moving about!!" but then I realized, almost all of the spots he left were over top of the heat pad.

When I moved the substrate and touched the bottom of the aquarium, it was really hot. I probably couldn't even force myself to lay on it for a whole minute :( Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could put between the heat pad and the subtrate that the frog can't burrow through but will still let some warmth through, and will not collect bacterium or need to be changed any more often than the substrate?

I was going to put a hand towel there, as I've seen this done for other animals, but due to the moisture level, I think it would collect some bacteria.

Someone pleeeeeaaaase help. I don't want my frog to get burnt, and I want it to be able to use all of it's enclosure, not just one half :(

Some ideas you can do:

Pack the substrate down more. Good enough so the frog wouldn't burrow all the way to the bottom of the tank. You should have enough substrate in the tank so it doesn't have to burrow to the very bottom of the tank. Also, buy a heating pad regulator. You can find these at petstores and they are pretty much like a control dial to adjust how hot the temperature of the heating pad can be.

The heating pad doesn't neccesarily need to be on the bottom, it could be on the side of the tank, giving off heat, then he could burrow himself to get away from the heat or maybe to warm up. Either way. Experiment.

I have heard that pacman's will eat until they are full, and I've been feeding him very heavily because he keeps on eating! I was averaging 3-4 large crickets every couple of days, and today he's eaten 6 large crickets in the 5 hours since I bought them! Is he eating too much? His cage is kept at a very constant 82-84 degrees F, with over 70 percent humidity and its a beautiful set up. Should I not feed him as much? Also, they're all gut loaded, is the abundance of calcium dangerous?

This doesn't sound too bad. Crickets aren't really that bad for him and its not like your piling him down on mice. My pacman ate like crickets like crazy when it was younger and he turned out fine. Just if you notice him getting too fat or seemingly uncomfortable, cut down. Be sure to balance the diet with an occasional fish/mealworm or nightcrawler every now and then.

I have just acquired a baby Albino Argentine Hornfrog and cannot find any books to purchase for this particular frog. Do you know if any books exist and where I can find them.

Look at any chain of petstores (petco, petsmart) or even try going to a Barnes and Noble bookstore. Should have books on pacmans there. If not, try going to http://www.petbooksetc.com and I know they have a horned frog book there!

I am looking to but a Horned frog and have one little problem......I CAN'T FIND ONE ANYWHERE! I have checked all my local pet shops and add papers and multiple classified adds but have had no luck so I thought you might be able to help me. Basically I was wondering if you knew of any private breeders in the scotland area?

Hmm. I'm not too familiar with the Scotland area, but here are some tips. Go to www.kingsnake.com and click on Classifieds. This will bring you to classifieds from breeders around the world (often selling horned frogs). I do not know if you have a Petco or Petsmart (popular ppet store chains here in the States) but if you do, check there also. Be sure to check my "About Horned Frogs" section on my page for breeders and reptile expos too, where horned frogs can be found. A last resort is to go to this web page ------------->http://www.herts-reptiles.co.uk/shopscounty.html and see if any of those stores are near you!

At what size can my Pacman start eating pinkies?

As soon as your frog is twice the size of the pinkie. Use common sense. Pinkie sizes vary so make sure he can swallow the thing.

Hey there, We were looking through your page & i wanted to ask u a question. I just got a pacman frog in April. Hes been fine & ate good. Hes really lazy tho & weve had to put a cricket in front of him to eat it cause he never wants to jump after it. Well i had him at my boyfriends till i moved & brought it to my house. It's probably been over a week since hes eaten. So we put the cricket right up into his mouth & he spit it out & turned away. If they jump by him he just turns. I have his temp in the mid 80's & ive raised & lowered it. I talked to people at pet stores & they say they can go awhile without eating but they will. He's looks healthy & doesnt have red leg..But are they suppose to ever move he always just sits there. I found poop so i guess thats a good sign. I was just wondering if u had any advice.

Your frog seems fine. Don't expect him to move a lot because its a frog. It's really not suppose to be moving and hopping around. It basically is suppose to sit there. And it eating for awhile is normal, they do this sometimes.

My Pac Man frog refuses to eat. He's really skinny and looks unhealthy. I think something is wrong with his eye b/c while one eye is wide open the other stays shut and sometimes it appears that his eye has somehow gotten "poked" out. Do you have any clue about his eye and any info on how to make him healthy again. How should my aquarium be set up? does he need any kind of heat or light? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Please try reading the "Housing" section on my web page. It will tell you how to set up your aquarium exactly and about lighting also. What is your tank setup right now?

As for his eye, I'm really not sure. It may be irritated, it may have some debris in it that he cannot get out. Maybe it's infected. If it remains this way for a few more weeks, I'd get him checked out to a reptile vet.

I was wondering about heat pads, I'd like to get one, but I'm afraid that if it is under the cage then the surface of my desk would get to hot and maybe start a fire, could this happen?

A heating pad is a must. Especially if you live in a colder climate. If you cannot keep the tank about 82 degrees, then you need to buy a heating pad. If you get one, they stick right to the bottom of the tank and won't even touch your desk. But to be safe, try placing something underneath each corner of the tank to raise it off the desk a little bit to make sure it won't burn. If it gets too hot, say during the summer, shut off the pad.

I have recently purchased several Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches and they have been breeding like crazy and I was wondering if it would be safe to feed their young to my Ornate horned Frog?

I don't think feeding them to your young pacman would be bad. Except make sure your young frog is first of all large enough to eat these guys and second make sure the roaches are small enough for him to eat. Because if they are too big for him, he could choke or the roaches could chew out of his belly!

Well, my frog still isn't eating real well. I've tried goldfish and worms, and he still seems to freak out whenever my hand is in the tank. He won't move or even attempt to take food from my tongs. He's started eating fewer crickets and I'm getting kinda worried about him. I have his tank temp in the right range and keep it misted with plenty of hiding spots. I'm not sure what else I should do for him. Any ideas of how to get him to take food from me or just to eat anything at all?

Make sure you keep the temps right for him. You pacman may not be eating because 1) he may be stressed 2) trying to hibernate, or 3) he has a illness. Check out my "Illness/Disease" section of my page and check to see if your frog has any sign of illness. Again, keep the temps right, his waterbowl fresh, and see what happens. If you see him losing mass, its time to worry and take him to a certified vet.

My name is Steven and I want to know if I can use foging systems in a pacman frog tank.

Yes, you can use a fogging system in your horned frog tank. Although they are not required, they won't hurt. They are mostly used in tanks for poison dart frogs and tree frogs.

Hey I just wanted to ask that I went and got my albino pac man and the pet store man said that they like it better to put calcium sand in the tank as substrate and then pour water in so it's like a swamp, is this good?

No, no. Whoever told you to put calcium sand in the tank is a completely wrong. The frog can eat this sand and die easily. Please use the substrate I listed on my website. Only use products such as peatmoss, bed-a-beast, forest bed, or some sort of clean soil. Do not use sand, it is very dangerous for them.

I’m looking for a breeder to supply a wholesale company with horned frogs. Please let me know.

While I do not supply or breed horned frogs, there are some companies on the internet that may supply you with a bulk load of horned frogs. Try going to the "About Horned Frogs" section of my website and at the bottom you will see a list of online breeders. You'll have to email them and see if they do special deals with companies.

I'm looking to buy a horned frog, can you sell them to me?

No, I do not breed these frogs. I get this question a lot and I do not breed or keep this frogs in mass numbers. I own two but do not sell them. Please try out one of the breeders on my website as I listed above.

I have a female albino horned frog, and a male chaoco horned frog, one 10 gallon tank, 2 water bowls, and a lot of peet moss, they are of equal size, and they are both the size of a small cup cake. There is enough for both of them to eat and I was wondering if its ok for them to be in the same cage because I don't have enough money or space to have another cage becouse I live in student housing and we are not supposed to have pets. I have to keep a low profile so please help me out.

I'd like to say yes, try it out, but I can't. Keeping the two together is a bad idea. Regardless of how much space or if they have their own sections, these frogs are cannibalistic and will eat eachother, even if they are the same size. They are very territorial animals and you will need to either get another tank or get rid of one, or else you'll have to witness one of them getting eaten.

My old ornate pacman frog was kept in a ten gallon tank and soon died of red leg disease. His aquarium was laid out with a special moss made for reptiles and amphibians. I recently got a new albino and I'm keeping him in a little Kritter Keeper with just a rock and some water. I was wondering if the moss may have caused my old frogs sudden death and if its safe to move my current frog into a tank with that moss.

I personally think moss can be a big problems for frogs. It can be infested with parasites and is a hot humid breeding ground for infestations if kept for a long time without cleaning. If you do choose moss, make sure it is store bought, soaked and cleaned for 24 hours, and kept maintained! Also, keeping your frog in a water tank setup is bad too. Try using potting soil, bed-a-beast, forest bed, or any other chemical free dirt substrate. This way your frog can dig and bury itself as well as get the comfort it needs. There is no other better way to setup a tank for your frog.