When you own a pet, it’s very natural to hold it and cuddle with it. This applies to pets like cats, dogs, lizards, and even snakes in varying degrees. But things become a bit complicated when it comes to frogs, as most frogs don’t like to be touched. Even so, they are such adorable little things that you can’t resist yourself. Well, you should.
There are multiple reasons for you to not a hold a pacman frog. Mainly because, of the frogs’ ability to release and absorb venoms through their skins. They’re also highly sensitive creatures, so holding them could cause damage and stress.
Let’s take a detailed look at why holding your Pacman frog is a bad idea. And for stubborn frog lovers, I’ll mention some ways how you can hold pacman frogs with the extra precautions.
Why you shouldn’t hold your Pacman frog
Although it is very tempting to hold your pet Pacman frog, it’s a very bad idea to do so. Unless you have to (which I will come to in a moment), you must not touch your Pacman frog. There are two main reasons why it shouldn’t be done. First, it is dangerous to the frogs and second, it is dangerous for you as well.
Check this article where I have compiled a list of frogs that are not afraid of cuddles!
Why is touching Pacman frogs dangerous for the frogs?
Pacman frogs don’t like to be touched or held, that is a fact. But why is that? Let’s take a look
1. Spreading chemicals
As mentioned earlier, the skin of a Pacman frog is extremely sensitive. Their skin also absorbs moisture. This is the main problem when it comes to holding these frogs. When you touch a Pacman frog with bare hands, the toxins and chemicals present on your hand will be absorbed by the frog’s skin.
Also, there is oil present in our skin alongside chemicals and toxins. So touching a Pacman frog without washing the hands will result in the oil being absorbed as well. It is extremely harmful to the frog. This can even be fatal for it.
But what if you hold it after washing your hands with soap? The danger doesn’t pass even if your hands are washed with soap. Sometimes the hands aren’t properly rinsed after using soap and soap particles remain on the skin, unbeknownst to you. Touching a frog in that state will result in soap being absorbed through the frog’s skin, which may be even worse than oil being absorbed.
What about hand creams or sanitizers? Can you touch your Pacman frog by applying these instead of soap? The answer is negative. Sanitizers contain alcohol and creams contain other chemicals that are also quite harmful to the frog’s health.
2. Making the frogs uncomfortable
Sometimes creating a situation that is uncomfortable for the frog is enough to kill it. Holding your Pacman frog does exactly that. As I mentioned before, Pacman frogs don’t like to be held at all. So when you hold them, it stresses them out while also making them extremely uncomfortable.
3. Hurting the frogs
Pacman frogs are fairly sensitive creatures, all things considered. They also tend to freak out and respond to adverse situations quickly. So when you hold your frog, it may try to escape by jumping out of your hand. One of two things will happen in that scenario.
First, you may try to prevent it from jumping out by tightly grasping the frog. This is not recommended since grabbing the frog tightly will hurt it as it struggles. Second, you may let it go fearing you may hurt it and it jumps down onto the floor. This is also harmful to the animal as the distance they jump from the hand to the floor is quite big, and it will end up hurting the frog even more.
3. Disorienting the frog
Also, even if the frog doesn’t get hurt after jumping down, the environment outside the tank is alien to the frog. Since it is used to living in a tank that is tailor-made for its comfort, the outside of the tank is completely new to it. Hence it will be disoriented very quickly. This lack of. orientation will result in increased stress and malnutrition if its stay outside the tank is extended.
Why is touching Pacman frogs dangerous for you?
Not only is holding a Pacman frog dangerous for the animal, but it is also very dangerous for the person holding it. But why is that? Let’s see:
1. Coming in contact with toxins
Toxins do not only harm the frogs, but it also takes a toll on whoever holds them. Pacman frogs secrete toxins through their skin. These toxins come in contact with the skin of whoever is holding the frogs. As a result, severe discomfort is felt.
2. Spreading Salmonella
Salmonella is very harmful to humans, and can even cause death. Pacman frogs, no matter where they live, carry Salmonella germs. Their excretion contains these germs, which spread to humans when they touch the frogs. If someone holds a Pacman frog and touches their eyes or mouth before washing their hands, the germs will enter their body.
After someone is affected by Salmonella, things go south very fast for them. The symptoms of Salmonella sickness are vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea, etc. If left untreated, it can even cause death, which is in all honesty, quite a steep price to pay for holding a Pacman frog.
3. Risking a finger or two!
As I said before, Pacman frogs are very reactive to sudden changes in their surroundings. So when you hold a frog, which they do not like, they try to get away by biting your fingers. Now, Pacman frogs eat anything from insects to mice. Hunting mice would not have been possible without having a very strong bite.
When these strong jaws clamp on your fingers, there is a very high chance that you won’t leave this altercation unscathed. You may even lose one or even two fingers in the process. It isn’t worth cuddling or holding a frog if you can’t come out of it with all your appendages intact.
How to hold a Pacman frog with precautions
Although holding a Pacman frog is not recommended, there are times it can’t be avoided. When the frog is sick and you need to take it to a vet or you have to clean the tank, you have to hold it. But some guidelines need to be followed for this. They are:
1. Using gloves
Holding a Pacman frog with bare hands has to be avoided at all costs. It’s a must that you use gloves when doing so. Even if you use gloves, there are some proper steps to do so that you don’t harm the animal. First, wash your hands with soap so that you don’t contaminate the gloves.
Second, put on disposable gloves, preferably made of nitrile or powderless latex. Third, as soon as handling the frog is done, remove the gloves. Do it in such a way that your skin doesn’t touch the gloves. Finally, wash your hands thoroughly to ensure no germs are on your skin anymore.
2. Being cautious when holding them with bare hands
If you can’t find gloves nearby and have to handle them urgently, you can use your bare hands, although it is not recommended, and I can’t stress this enough. If you have to hold a Pacman frog with bare hands, some steps need to be followed. First, make sure there isn’t anything on your hands like soaps, oils, or any kind of chemical that may be detrimental to the frog’s skin.
Next, pick the frog up by placing the thumb on its back and the other fingertips around its abdomen. The frog must be placed on the fingertips. Finally, after you are done handling the frog, don’t touch any parts of your body and wash your hands thoroughly. Use soap to wash your hands.
3. Handling them from a safe height
Pacman frogs jump around when being held, so the height from where they are being handled has to be quite low. That means even if the frog gets out of the hand, it doesn’t fall too far down. Doing so will prevent the frog from getting hurt.
4. Taking care of the fingers
As mentioned before, Pacman frogs are very reactive to being held. It’s not unprecedented that they bite fingers off people holding them. So you need to keep an eye out on these animals so that they can’t get their mouths around your fingers. The first way to ensure this is to hold the frogs in the way I have mentioned before.
Another way of making sure you return with as many fingers as you had before is by feeding the frog beforehand. As a result, it won’t be hungry and be encouraged to bite. Finally, holding them gently and not making any sudden movements to startle them is recommended, as is wearing gloves while doing so.
Are Pacman Frogs Friendly?
Looking at the above discussion, it might seem like Pacman frogs are quite hostile towards humans. This is not the case, especially if the frogs are pets. Pacman frogs which are kept as pets are known to be very docile. The wild frogs, however, can be a bit hostile when they are threatened, which is completely natural
Coming back to pet Pacman frogs, they only become agitated when their natural living conditions are interrupted. If you don’t touch them and maintain proper living conditions, there is no reason for them to act hostile.
Final Words
It’s only natural that you would want to hold your pet. But Pacman frogs are not suitable for handling. So these frogs are only suitable for people who can resist themselves holding a pet. If you think you can not live without handling a Pacman frog, it’s better that you adopt some other pet instead.
However, you should adhere to these aforementioned guidelines if you need to hold your Pacman frogs in emergency situations. Hopefully, you’ve learned a lot about handling Pacman frogs from this post, and if you have any questions feel free to comment.
