# Frogs & Toads > Pacman Frogs >  What I can feed my Pacman?

## JessySihk

My name is Jess and Im new to the forum, though I am also joined to Pacific Northwest Herpetelogical Society forum and Bearded dragons.org forums. I am not new to reptiles how ever I am new to owning a Red Albino Pacman frog. 
I was wondering some thing, maybe some of you more seasoned Pacman owners can help me out?

~I know i can feed my pacman Shrimp, can it be raw or cooked? Can it be either? Or is one better to feed then the other?
~He is only a baby and as big as a quarter, I have him housed in a 10 gallon with decorative red rocks on a quarter are of the tank, and the rest is kept moist paper towel. I use to have spagnum moss there but figured he could ingest that and switched. He also has a water bowl big enough for him to sit in on his heated side. I will put pictures below of his setup but note the pictures were taken when i was using spagnum moss, Is there anything else i should know?

I hand painted the backround myself

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## Kurt

I wouldn't keep a pac-man (or any other frog for that matter) on gravel. It can be accidentally swallowed and can lead to gastric impaction, a condition that can lead to death.

Are you a member of the Pacific Northwest Herpetelogical Society? And if so do you know a Sarah Hodges (or Staples)?

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## John Clare

Cooked shrimp (the kind you buy frozen in the super market) is just fine but I don't recommend it as a staple food simply because it's not something they would eat very often in the wild, plus the shrimp sold in super markets is marine shrimp, something these frogs would never come into contact with in the wild.  I highly recommend nightcrawlers as a staple for large sedentary frogs like Pacman frogs and Pyxie frogs.  An occasional frozen mouse is fine too (but again, shouldn't be the staple).

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## JessySihk

> I wouldn't keep a pac-man (or any other frog for that matter) on gravel. It can be accidentally swallowed and can lead to gastric impaction, a condition that can lead to death.
> 
> Are you a member of the Pacific Northwest Herpetelogical Society? And if so do you know a Sarah Hodges (or Staples)?


Yes im a member and no i dont know that person. i am already aware of the gravel thing and thats why only a small portion of his tank has gravel in it, He alsmot never goes over there so im not worried about it, He would rather be on the moist paper towels hidin in his dish or something so the rocks or more for looks.

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## JessySihk

> Cooked shrimp (the kind you buy frozen in the super market) is just fine but I don't recommend it as a staple food simply because it's not something they would eat very often in the wild, plus the shrimp sold in super markets is marine shrimp, something these frogs would never come into contact with in the wild.  I highly recommend nightcrawlers as a staple for large sedentary frogs like Pacman frogs and Pyxie frogs.  An occasional frozen mouse is fine too (but again, shouldn't be the staple).


Well i would be doing crickets as a staple but my beardies eat a ton of them as it is. What are night crawlers? And thanx for the info on the mini shrimps.

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## John Clare

> Well i would be doing crickets as a staple but my beardies eat a ton of them as it is. What are night crawlers? And thanx for the info on the mini shrimps.


I'm not a big fan of crickets because you need to gutload them for them to be of any value.  Nightcrawlers are the large earthworms sold as catfish bait.  Not the red-ringed smaller species that are sold as compost earthworms.

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## Kurt

[quote=JessySihk;467]Yes im a member and no i dont know that person.[quote]

She was an old friend of mine that I have lost contact with. She went by the handle of Fr0glet. There are two pics of her on the PNHS web site. She is wearing a blue shirt with a gecko on it. I guess she has moved on.  :Frown:

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## JessySihk

> I'm not a big fan of crickets because you need to gutload them for them to be of any value.  Nightcrawlers are the large earthworms sold as catfish bait.  Not the red-ringed smaller species that are sold as compost earthworms.


I have Dubia roaches all sizes =] I bet those would be good too.

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## JessySihk

[QUOTE=Kurt;472][quote=JessySihk;467]Yes im a member and no i dont know that person.


> She was an old friend of mine that I have lost contact with. She went by the handle of Fr0glet. There are two pics of her on the PNHS web site. She is wearing a blue shirt with a gecko on it. I guess she has moved on.


Im sorry i dont know her =/

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## Kurt

[quote=JessySihk;474][quote=Kurt;472]


> Yes im a member and no i dont know that person.
> 
> Im sorry i dont know her =/


Its ok. Thanks anyway.

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## jody

yeah, id remove the gravel.   the larger stones are fine. I use glass "stones" they look nice lots of colors, and clean easily. I throw the broken or chipped ones into the fish bowl.  I use gut loaded crickets and also dusted crickets twice a week. they love the night crawlers. and feeder gold fish. I cant feed mice. im a baby about that.

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## jody

are the tank sides painted?  pretty setup.

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## JessySihk

> are the tank sides painted?  pretty setup.


Yup their painted on the outside =] Thankyou. I have yet to do the right side of the tank becuz im lazy and i have other tanks such as my snake tanks i want to paint =]

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## DeeSeven

hey jessy

I feed my pacman frog the following

Dubia Roaches, NightCrawlers, Gut Loaded Crickets, a frozen Pinky once every 2 months (give or take)


roaches are nightcrawlers are the staple...crickets are the alternative if I'm low on the first 2 and pinky is as a treat

Below is the "stare down" I get every time I look at him lol

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## findiviglio

Hi Jesse,

The roaches, and earthworms if available, along with small fishes, will be fine as a staple.  Just be sure not to use goldfish exclusively, as such has been linked to kidney/liver problems in some species (alternate with shiners, guppies, minnows, etc.).  As mentioned earlier re shrimp, fish are not part of the normal diet...however, fish have been used long-term for years with these frogs (shrimp have not) and have proven a good dietary staple and calcium source.

Other insects should be mixed in on occassion - crickets, waxworms, wild caught insects; tong-fed canned insects a great way of incresing dietary variety.  Be sure to feed your crickets well...I have an article on this and many related topics posted at http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatreptileblog/,

Best regards,  Frank Indiviglio

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## nat31

I hope that this can help 

here are some care sheets i found on pacman frogs just search through them and you should find all you need to no on this frog.

http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/967.html

http://www.anapsid.org/ornatacare.html

http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/506.html

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## DeeSeven

> small fishes, will be fine as a staple.  Just be sure not to use goldfish exclusively, as such has been linked to kidney/liver problems in some species (alternate with shiners, guppies, minnows, etc.).


Fish cause problems regardless if its a minnow/goldfish/betta/piece of salmon/etc.




> fish have been used long-term for years with these frogs (shrimp have not) and have proven a good dietary staple and calcium source.


um NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

there is no good diertary and not enough calcium in fish..

[/quote]wild caught insects[/quote]

sorry but are you out of your ****ing mind? wild caught insects may carry parasites or chemicals from the outside

please do research before posting again holy ****

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## Alex Shepack

Not to instigate DeeSeven but you need to be more respectful and consider just who you're criticizing.  Frank Indiviglio is a pillar in the herpetocultural community. To start off with, wild caught insects are just fine if you catch them in areas uncontaminated by pesticides and parasites are not really an issue for the most part.  Second of all, fish can be used as a diet as long as you mix up species and are feeding whole fish.  There was an article a while ago about "feeder" fish not being appropriate unless supplemented, but as a whole they are great food sources.  

It is fine to disagree and debate but you need to do so respectfully.  The point of these message boards is the sharing of knowledge and discussion between keepers.  

Alex

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## John Clare

Yes, thank you Alex.  DeeSeven, please try to be more respectful.  It's fine to disagree but please don't swear at someone when it's possible to make a constructive and persuasive argument while remaining polite.

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## DeeSeven

my apology to the board for my outburst..I've just seen a lot of pacmans and other frogs die from feeder fish and wild caught bugs..and your right the board is to share information and knowledge but I've never ever ever ever ever ever heard anyone say wild caught bugs is ok nor feeder fish...in fact I've read on several sites and heard thro various people you should avoid the 2 at all costs.

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## John Clare

I personally would never use feeder fish unless I had cultured them myself.  Regarding bugs/insects, it really would depend on the source.

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## Alex Shepack

Its funny.  Twenty or thirty years ago when this hobby was really in its infancy there were no mass cultured insects or other food sources, everyone relied upon wild-caught foods. If you read the older books they all talk about how to catch your own insects for your pets.  In reality the array of wild-caught insects provides a much more balanced diet for your frog; in the wild your pet would not just have a handful of prey items, they would have a diverse selection to choose from.  That being said, in todays day and age you have to be very careful about the source of your inverts because we so often spray with insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers; all of which can be harmful to amphibians.  If you do decide to go with wild-caught be sure to choose your collecting locations carefully. 

As for fish.  Fish can provide an excellent dietary supplement and in some species an excellent diet.  You can feed pieces of fish or whole fish.  Fish possess many nutrients and useful stuff for reptiles and amphibians just like it does for humans.  There are plenty of sources that say this is an ok idea but you must be careful.  Just like feeding your frog mice, it could lead to obesity.  As for the sources, choose your feeder fish source wisely as well.  Are the fish healthy, are they wild-caught or captive bred, etc.  The best people to ask about feeder fish would be snake keepers who keep aquatic or semi-aquatic species like Chersydrus, Seminatrix, Erpeton, Thamnophis, etc.  These species feed almost entirely on fish.  N.B.-Feeder goldfish are not really great, try minnows are something along those lines.  

And finally, parasites.  Herpetoculturists always get bent out of shape when it comes to parasites.  We are constantly flooding our captives with drugs and caustic chemicals to "rid" them of parasites.  The reality is that all animals, us included, can handle some sort of parasite load.  If you ever look at wild amphibians or reptiles they almost always have some parasites.  These parasites only become a problem when the animal is stressed, which is why we always flush newly imported animals.  Of course we should always attempt to limit the number of parasites that our pets consume but it probably won't be the end of the world.  

Alex

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Geckogirlemi92

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## Kurt

> in fact I've read on several sites and heard thro various people you should avoid the 2 at all costs.


Frank is a published author and professional herpetologist, so he has the credentials. The fact about most web sites, is that anyone can write anything they want. Doesn't make it true. I could post pac-man frogs eat crayons and really thrive on the blue ones. Doesn't make it true, but someone some where would swear it was the God-given gospel because they saw it on-line. So try to keep in mind the source of any information you come across. 
Also, one thing I learned keeping many animals over many years and working at the Museum of Science in Boston, is that there are no husbandry laws written in stone. There some that are widely accepted, but none are accepted as law.

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## Deku

> my apology to the board for my outburst..I've just seen a lot of pacmans and other frogs die from feeder fish and wild caught bugs..and your right the board is to share information and knowledge but I've never ever ever ever ever ever heard anyone say wild caught bugs is ok nor feeder fish...in fact I've read on several sites and heard thro various people you should avoid the 2 at all costs.


I know this is an old thread. But I must disagree on the statement about wild caught bugs. 

That is wrong in my honest opinion. If the bug isn't toxic to the amphibian, comes from a pesticide free, non polluted environment then it should be fine. 

Say if you live by a forest, and you have insects that your amphibians would be able to safely eat. Such as: moths, earthworms,  roaches, etc. They would be fine to feed to the amphibian AS LONG as it comes from a NON-POLLUTED area, NO pesticides where used for atleast a year. I'ved fed some wild moths to my frogs before. Nothing wrong happened. I'ved caught crickets from my yard and fed it to my frogs, turtle, and toads----nothing happened.

I'ved fed wild caught earthworms to my pets as well. Nothing happened. That's my experience on how it's occurred to me. Animals are hardier than alot of people make them appear. Now if you're talking about feeding some fireflies to an animal that's different. They're toxic to begin with.

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## pretzelstickz

This is a very informative thread. Thanks guys  :Smile:

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## Deku

> This is a very informative thread. Thanks guys


If it was my advice that was helpfull I guess you're welcome. I just thought I should have pointed out my experience on wildcaught bugs as feeders. Imo all insects can carry anything. Even if kept in perfectly clean conditions. They're not steamed and served in a plate to the frog for it to eat. No its still alive therefore it will still have bacteria and possible parasites on it(if any).  Personally I mainly just feed stuff I think my amphibians will love from what I find. My toads love moths. My turtle likes spiders and such.

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## pretzelstickz

It was everyone's info equally I was thanking you all very good info  :Big Grin:

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## Deku

> It was everyone's info equally I was thanking you all very good info


Mkay. Well on my part--- you're most welcome.

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## BG

I started raise pac man frogs on different foods.  I keep it flexible,so they don't get bored. They get spoiled  more in captivity. Just like us.lol. millions of years ago our diet was different then todays.

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## tukmol

i sometimes feed my pacman raw shrimps (thawed of course) which i buy from the grocery. no problems with it.

commonly i feed my pacman frog around 10-15 feeder frogs (acquired from the pet store), let him have it loose in his cage so he could hunt for himself. he grew rapidly on this diet.

i also had fed him feeder goldfish as an alternative. i limit him on two at a time.

i tried feeding him superworms. he loved it (he has a knack for squirming prey) however lots of exoskeletons had been found in his feces.... so now i've made the superworms into darkling beetles and fed him some instead. waiting for results.

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## BG

Very interested in your way. Thank you.

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

> my apology to the board for my outburst..I've just seen a lot of pacmans and other frogs die from feeder fish and wild caught bugs..and your right the board is to share information and knowledge but I've never ever ever ever ever ever heard anyone say wild caught bugs is ok nor feeder fish...in fact I've read on several sites and heard thro various people you should avoid the 2 at all costs.


Wild caught bugs are risky- they might have eaten pesticides- But if you live in the country (and better yeat if you are on a farm), and have healthy bugs and earthworms, i don't see why they would be a problem. Avoid any and all critters from urban areas

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

> i tried feeding him superworms. he loved it (he has a knack for squirming prey) however lots of exoskeletons had been found in his feces.... so now i've made the superworms into darkling beetles and fed him some instead. waiting for results.



I've read that some pacmans have a hard time digesting superworms. The wikepedia entry on pacmans suggests the exoskeletons are very hard to digest. Mine likes them, but Im not sure I'll feed him superworms again

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## tukmol

> I've read that some pacmans have a hard time digesting superworms. The wikepedia entry on pacmans suggests the exoskeletons are very hard to digest. Mine likes them, but Im not sure I'll feed him superworms again


i agree, i stopped feeding him superworms already after seeing his feces. it's not the usual hard lump, but more of an LBM type and superworm exoskeletons are scattered everywhere.

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## Dekaylub

A lotof ppl are saying "night crawlers" is this the same as a "Dew Worm" that's easyily bought at bait shops?? If so I found my fooood! I hate crickets

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

> A lotof ppl are saying "night crawlers" is this the same as a "Dew Worm" that's easyily bought at bait shops?? If so I found my fooood! I hate crickets


Worms are good- My pacman loves them. I'd like to find a place that sells those huge night crawlers.

I didn't realize how aggressive crickets can be-Last night one of them actually tried to chew on my pacman's eye! Luckily no damage was done- That cricket died a horrible death for attacking my pacman. (fed to my giant goldfish)  
If you feed your pacman  crickets, make sure you watch  them, or use tongs to feed them directly. I imagine my pacman is growing bored of the taste of crickets, he/she has eaten well over 30 of them. I hope to find some bug alternatives that are nutricious and tasty. How about ants?

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

> I know this is an old thread. But I must disagree on the statement about wild caught bugs. 
> 
> That is wrong in my honest opinion. If the bug isn't toxic to the amphibian, comes from a pesticide free, non polluted environment then it should be fine. 
> 
> Say if you live by a forest, and you have insects that your amphibians would be able to safely eat. Such as: moths, earthworms,  roaches, etc. They would be fine to feed to the amphibian AS LONG as it comes from a NON-POLLUTED area, NO pesticides where used for atleast a year. I'ved fed some wild moths to my frogs before. Nothing wrong happened. I'ved caught crickets from my yard and fed it to my frogs, turtle, and toads----nothing happened.
> 
> I'ved fed wild caught earthworms to my pets as well. Nothing happened. That's my experience on how it's occurred to me. Animals are hardier than alot of people make them appear. Now if you're talking about feeding some fireflies to an animal that's different. They're toxic to begin with.


I think it depends where you catch them- My family had a farm that was rich with bugs and earthworms- we never used pesticides- Farm worms and bugs are safe. But ones found under a rock near a gas station or in the city are risky

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## BG

> Worms are good- My pacman loves them. I'd like to find a place that sells those huge night crawlers.
> 
> I didn't realize how aggressive crickets can be-Last night one of them actually tried to chew on my pacman's eye! Luckily no damage was done- That cricket died a horrible death for attacking my pacman. (fed to my giant goldfish)  
> If you feed your pacman  crickets, make sure you watch  them, or use tongs to feed them directly. I imagine my pacman is growing bored of the taste of crickets, he/she has eaten well over 30 of them. I hope to find some bug alternatives that are nutricious and tasty. How about ants?


i got 500 crickets from the show last week,and i was very happy.   Im not any more! Every time i go to collect some,some escape. Now the house is full of cricket. They are noisy buggers. They Re so hard to manage.lol

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

> i got 500 crickets from the show last week,and i was very happy.   Im not any more! Every time i go to collect some,some escape. Now the house is full of cricket. They are noisy buggers. They Re so hard to manage.lol



I lost a few as well. What about grasshoppers? Can pacman frogs eat those? I think that theyd need to be tong fed, as grasshoppers bite. And katydids? I'm not sure if katydids are crickets or somthing else. The crickets I use are white colored, but the ones we used to have on our NH farm were jet black, very fat and made a lot of noise

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## Sublime

Have you guys seen that Samurai Japan Reptiles pacman food you roll into a ball with water?  I have no clue what's in it though.

Samurai Japan Reptiles -Pacman Frog -

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## Ebenezer Frothingham

Bedtime for me, which means my pacman is waking up- like clockwork, wthin 3 minutes of shutting off most of my lights he reemerged from the substrait- I had some fat crickets for her/him, which were eaten at once. The crickets seems to charge my frog, luckily were all eaten.
He/she won't eat any more crickets, so i assume that means my frog is full.
Hopfully she'll poop tonight

When my frog swallows, it looks painful- the poor thing clenchces its eyes shut..

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## Heather

That's normal  :Smile:

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## Colleen/Jerrod

> Bedtime for me, which means my pacman is waking up- like clockwork, wthin 3 minutes of shutting off most of my lights he reemerged from the substrait- I had some fat crickets for her/him, which were eaten at once. The crickets seems to charge my frog, luckily were all eaten.
> He/she won't eat any more crickets, so i assume that means my frog is full.
> Hopfully she'll poop tonight
> 
> When my frog swallows, it looks painful- the poor thing clenchces its eyes shut..


Frogs shove their eyes into their head to help force the food item down their throat. Its all part of the mustles used to swallow. I can see how you would think it looked painful though.

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## Brian

> Wild caught bugs are risky- they might have eaten pesticides- But if you live in the country (and better yeat if you are on a farm), and have healthy bugs and earthworms, i don't see why they would be a problem. Avoid any and all critters from urban areas


Chemical usage depends greatly on the farm (as I'm sure you know), but pesticide and herbicide use are standard practice for most commercial crop growers in my area at least. One should know the history of the land before collecting anything from it (and have permission of course if it's not your land!).




> A lotof ppl are saying "night crawlers" is this the same as a "Dew Worm" that's easyily bought at bait shops?? If so I found my fooood! I hate crickets


I think "Dew Worm" is a Canadian term for _Lumbricus terrrestris,_ which is the typical worm found in bait shops and get called "Nightcrawlers" south of our border. See Identifying Earthworms and follow the link to the taxonomic key if you want help in identifying worms. I don't think it really matters the type of earthworm you use to feed, just make sure the bait shop hasn't done anything funny to the worms like dye them to be more attractive to fish.

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## c1c0

[QUOTE=Kurt;472][quote=JessySihk;467]Yes im a member and no i dont know that person.


> She was an old friend of mine that I have lost contact with. She went by the handle of Fr0glet. There are two pics of her on the PNHS web site. She is wearing a blue shirt with a gecko on it. I guess she has moved on.



You're the guy going by Dendroaspis Polylepis at the time?  :Smile:

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