Before deciding to own a pet, you have to know every detail regarding the animal. You need to ensure both your and your pet’s safety. Some animals may seem innocuous, but they can deal some serious damage to you if you are not careful.
Many people seem to think of Pacman frogs as harmless creatures and so they wanna play with them by holding them in their hands, but you should be careful.
Pacman frogs tend to bite when feeling threatened or when they think of a finger as food. But do Pacman frogs have teeth to harm any human? Guess what? Pacman frogs have teeth on their upper jaw, and they are quite sharp. These teeth are of two types, maxillary and vomerine.
Do these teeth deal any damage? Does it hurt when a Pacman frog bites you? Let’s find out the answers to all these questions.
Teeth: Do Pacman frogs have them
Image Credit: Instagram, whatdafrogs
Usually, when people think of Pacman frogs, the image that comes up in their heads is the picture of an inactive, chubby animal that keeps to itself. They typically don’t come off as aggressive animals that will bite your fingers off.
While it is mostly true, Pacman frogs do have teeth and they are very sharp. All of these teeth are situated on their upper jaw, while the lower jaw of the animal is toothless.
There are two kinds of teeth inside a Pacman frog’s mouth. They are:
1. Maxillary
These are extremely small teeth that are not easily visible. Chances are you can’t even see them at the first glance when you look at your frog’s mouth. The only function of these teeth is to hold the prey while hunting.
None of the two types of teeth in a frog’s mouth is designed for chewing, since frogs, like many other amphibians and reptiles, don’t chew their food.
Despite there being only one jaw that has teeth in the mouth of Pacman frogs, they don’t lag when it comes to the sheer number of teeth. Pacman frogs can have up to 40 maxillary teeth in their upper jaw.
The reason these teeth aren’t easily visible is that they are small and situated near the animal’s mouth’s roof. Their conical shape helps the animals a lot to keep a hold of their food before swallowing them whole.
Do these teeth fall out like other animals’ teeth? Yes, like most other animals, Pacman frog’s teeth also fall off. But they have a whole set of spare teeth that immediately replace the fallen teeth. So, losing a tooth doesn’t hinder the feeding process of a Pacman frog.
2. Vomerine
When it comes to numbers, vomerine teeth are nowhere near the maxillary ones. But they are equally as important.
These teeth are even harder to see than the previous ones. Unlike the conical maxillary, the vomerine is pointy.
The function of vomerine teeth is more or less the same as maxillary teeth. After the frog has captured prey with the maxillary teeth, the vomerine holds in still before the animal swallows it.
These teeth are always in pairs. Like the aforementioned maxillaries, the vomerine is also replaced by a set of teeth as soon as they fall out.
Do Pacman Frogs Bite?
Image Credit: Instagram, pacman_frog_u
Pacman frogs don’t usually come off as an animal that bites people. They are usually calm and don’t bother anyone. But these frogs do tend to bite people when they feel threatened, agitated, or mistake a finger for food.
Unlike most frogs, Pacman frogs don’t hunt by extending their tongues, rather they bite, which is why sometimes humans feel their wrath.
Do Pacman frog bites hurt?
Image Credit: Instagram, wa_si_punch
Pacman frogs have a strong bite. They use their superior bite power to crunch the tough exoskeleton of insects. So when they clench their jaws around the human flesh, it hurts a lot. Also, due to them having teeth, the bites have extra something in them, which causes even more pain.
There even have been occasions where Pacman frog bites have caused a loss of fingers of a human. The amount of pain caused by a Pacman frog bite mainly depends upon the size of the animal.
If the animals are adults and they bite in a more sensitive area, you will feel more pain. But if the frog is a baby or juvenile, the pain won’t be as much.
When a Pacman frog bites you, make sure to wash the bitten area as soon as possible as these frogs have bacteria in their mouth. Once you properly wash the area, applying an antiseptic is recommended. It will be best if you visit a doctor soon afterward.
Do Pacman frogs have sharp teeth?
Image Credit: Instagram, ruralfrogfamily
As I mentioned earlier, it causes a lot of pain when a Pacman frog bites you. This is partly due to the powerful jaws of the frog. Another thing that has a part in inflicting pain upon humans is its sharp teeth. Despite being small, the teeth of Pacman frogs are very sharp.
Pacman frogs are hunters who like live prey. As they catch their prey, they wiggle and struggle a lot to get free. So, the frogs need sharp and powerful teeth to hold the prey tight so that they can’t escape.
Final words
A lot of people mistake the calmness and passivity of the Pacman frogs for granted and harass the poor animals. Only after they are bitten, do they ask the professionals if Pacman frogs have teeth.
Pacman frogs only bite when they are threatened and hungry. So it’s best to let these animals keep to themselves and also feed them regularly so they don’t end up mistaking your fingers for food.
