Strawberry Pacman is one of the striking morphs of the Pacman Frog. These magnificent amphibians captivate your eyes with their unearthly skin color. Among all types of Pacman frogs, the strawberry Pacman looks most squishy though you can’t touch them.
These poor swimmers spend most of their time under the leafy litter of the forest. If you are thinking of getting one of them know that these are solitary frogs that live a lazy life.
As a pet frog, strawberry frogs do not need extreme care because they are easy to pet and hopefully you will enjoy seeing them getting big like a flat ball.
In this article, you will see both the species and the A to Z of the strawberry Pacman care will become crystal clear to you.
Let’s Break the confusion: Strawberry Pacman Frog Types
Strawberry Pacman frogs are a specific breed of Pacman which belongs to two different subspecies – Ceratophrys Cranwelli and Ceratophrys Ornata.
Unfortunately, most frog owners think they belong to one of these subspecies. The real story behind this is the genetics of the breed. So one of the moms or dads of the frog either belongs to Cranwelli or Ornata.
So when it comes to taking care of the strawberry Pacman frog, first of all, you need to know the species’ name. Then you can take the further step toward proper caring. Or else you might have a weak Pacman or even a dead Pacman inside the tank within a few days of bringing the awesome creature to your house.
How to take care of Strawberry Pacman frog (Ceratophrys Ornata)
Ceratophrys Ornata is the more common breed of the Strawberry Pacman species. Let’s explore the factors which are key for taking care of this little gremlin…
Tank size
Pacman frogs are lazy most of the time and move less. Unless they see any prey, they rarely move. You will often see that your frog is missing because he/she will burrow under the substrate while its red eyes are popped out and searching for food.
As these frogs mostly stay idle, a 10-gallon size terrarium would be perfect for them. However, if you want you can choose a bigger size tank.
Temperature & Humidity
Your frog will be in a happy mood if it gets exposed to perfect living temperature and humidity levels. This species will be fully comfortable when the temperature inside the tank is between 75-85 Fahrenheit.
Humidity plays a big role to maintain the Pacman frog’s optimum health. Strawberry Pacman also has sensitive skin which requires a good range of humidity around 60-70%. Any decrease or increase in the humidity level will have a serious effect on the frog’s health.
Also, you can choose a half-screen lid that will allow fresh air to flow for proper ventilation inside the tank. This will help a lot to reduce the chance of any skin infections in your frog.
Substrate
You already know that these docile pet love to hide under the substrate. They will spend most of their time in this position.
They deserve an excellent substrate for their optimum body function. You can use ground coconut, tree bark, or moss as substrate. So, the colorful Pacman won’t have a hard time digging and hiding.
Diet
In terms of feeding, the Strawberry Pacman frogs are very easy to deal with. They are always ready to hunt anything eatable in front of their eyes. On top of that, they don’t fuss at all over the food.
According to frog experts, gut-loaded cricket would be the best option as their staple food. For regular feeding, you can also provide them with gut-loaded Dubia roaches. As part of their treat or side dish, you can sometimes feed them wax worms, butter worms, mealworms, etc.
The frequency of meals for adults would be 3-4 times a week with larger meals. You can give your adult Pacman frog a monthly/weekly treat with pinkie mice and small-size frogs. It will provide them with a boost in their body growth.
However, a baby Strawberry Pacman’s diet is a bit different. They need daily feeding for their normal development and the size of cricket, Dubia roaches have to be a smaller size for easy digestion.
Lighting
Just like other Pacman frogs, this one does not have any different lighting setup. 12 hours light and 12 hours without light would be okay for them.
My suggestion for you is to install UVB light which will help to prevent Metabolic Bone Disease.
Handling
These frogs do not like to get touched by humans. Their health may suffer as a result. Due to the sensitive skin, they can easily get the chemicals from your hand if you use any soap or cleaner before touching them. The bottom line is the less you touch the Strawberry Pacman it’s better for them.
Stress
Stress can be the combination of every point that I covered in the upper part. Any ups and downs in temperature, humidity, the right amount of feed, proper meal time, and tank size can create huge stress on the frog’s health.
What stresses them most is any extra frog in their tank. There are only 3 cases when you should do that.
Deal with parasites and fungal infection
It’s not a hectic job to ensure the good health of Strawberry Pacman. Properly maintaining their tank, ample amount of light, humidity, temperature, and feeding would be enough.
However, amphibians have a hard time due to bacterial, and fungal problems. Their skin tells a lot of symptoms of any infection. Such as you might see redness on their skin, skin can get swallowed or they can start forming cocoons. The excess temperature would help the parasites to attack the frog and make it weak and sick. While too much humidity can lead to respiratory infection of your frog. So a good climate will ensure good health.
Plants
In nature, the Pacman frogs enjoy the presence of different types of plants. So, adding some plants would give them a forest vibe. And, it will prevent too much light from directly hitting the substrate layer which Strawberry Pacman Frog really loves.
You can add different types of plants like Syngonium, Chamedorea Elegans, Chlorophytum Comosum, etc to the terrarium. Do not forget to buy pesticide-free plants.
Cleaning
Assuring a clean habitat is important. Unlike the forest, the Pacman frog inside the tank can’t move that much. Due to their limitation, they will be eating and pooping in a small area which can be harmful to the frog.
You can do daily cleaning by removing the poop which is highly recommended. Moreover, every week you should be changing the 1’’ substrate layer.
For monthly cleaning, you can remove every single object inside the tank and keep the frog in another container or tank. Then, clean the glass of the tank using a 10% bleach solution. Finally, wipe them properly and put back everything. Add a new layer of the substrate.
How to take care of Strawberry Pacman frog (Ceratophrys Cranwelli)
This is the second type of Strawberry Pacman frog you will find in many breeder houses and online stores.
Let’s look at how to take care of them…
Tank size
The lazy hunter Pacman (Ceratophrys Cranwelli) does not need much space when they are babies. Even you can keep them in the same size tank when they become a full adult.
A terrarium ranging from 10-20 gallons would be enough for the frog’s happy living.
Temperature and humidity
Every single amphibian has its own suitable temperature where they have the best growth. Your Strawberry Pacman would be in the best condition when the temperature is around 72-78 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, if accidentally the temperature jumps up more than 85 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be fatal for the Ceratophrys Cranwelli frog. A high-quality digital temperature gauge would be useful for this job.
Pacman’s natural habitat has around 60-70% humidity level and in the enclosure, you have to make sure it remains the same. To check the humidity level, a digital hygrometer would be the perfect tool.
Substrate
The ideal substrate is crucial for Strawberry Pacman’s comfort. It will be spending maximum hours hiding beneath the substrate.
Regardless of the type of substrate, it has to be moist full-time. For that, you can use chlorinated water or spring bottled water.
Substrate like leaf litter, tree bark, moss, and coconut fiber would be excellent for the frog.
Diet
A healthy diet means the healthy and fast growth of the Pacman frog. You are lucky because they are not picky when it comes to food.
During their baby period, you can feed them daily crickets or dubia roaches for faster growth. When Ceratophrys Cranwelli would become adults, a big meal that includes cricket, waxworm, cockroaches, and butter worms should be on their regular menu. And for faster growth monthly or weekly treats to the frog would be excellent.
For each and every meal, you have to dust the feeder insects with vitamin supplements and calcium supplements to provide the required nutrients.
You should give alive insects to keep the animal or hunting instinct active inside the frog.
Lighting
To give a natural touch to the terrarium, you can add a high-quality UVB light. An ample amount of this lighting will help the Pacman frog to regulate Vitamin D3.
For lighting, you can give 12 hours of lighting which will save your frog from suffering from Metabolic Bone Diseases.
Handling
Every single sub-species of Pacman has ultra-sensitive skin. And this Strawberry Pacman Frog is no exception. If you keep touching them it would be harmful to their health. So, don’t touch them unless it’s absolutely necessary. Even if you touch make sure there is no chemical like soap in your hand.
Stress
Multiple factors can trigger stress in your Strawberry Pacman (Ceratophrys Cranwelli). These include the wrong temperature level, too low/too high humidity, access amount of meal .overfeeding, small size tank, etc.
Due to these bug-hungry frogs’ solitary nature, they enjoy being alone. Adding any neighbor Pacman in the same enclosure will be extremely stressful for Strawberry Pacman.
Deal with parasites and fungal infections
Parasites, harmful bacteria, and fungus are always waiting for the right chance to attack your Strawberry Pacman. So you have to ensure they are not getting the opportunity to get inside your Pacman frog.
Regulate the temperature and humidity properly within the appropriate range and your frog won’t fall sick.
Plants
Although plants are not mandatory, they will ensure the proper shade which is good for the Pacman frogs. They love to be around a bit shady area where light has little access.
You can keep alocasia dwarf amazonica, scindapsus pictus, chlorophytum comosum, etc inside your Pacman frogs terrarium. Before ordering the plants, ensure they are free from any kind of pesticides.
Cleaning
Many new pet frog owners forget about the necessity of proper cleaning. Due to living in an artificial enclosure, the frog becomes vulnerable to many invisible things like viruses and bacteria.
Adult Ceratophrys Cranwelli leaves a lot of poop so you have to remove them daily. And at the end of every week, the substrate layer has to be changed up to 1’’.
To kick out them, an A to Z tank cleaning is a must. You can simply wash the tank by removing everything and the frog. A 10% bleaching solution would be the best pick for this task.
Spray them evenly all around the tank and wipe them and you are good to go.
Wrapping up
Overall you will find the Strawberry Pacman frog as a shy, aggressive pet that loves spending time alone. When it comes to Strawberry Pacman Frog cares it requires moderate level care which means a beginner will be able to pet it.
Give them good care and this lazy amphibian will live for a long time. Pet with care buddy!
