Providing the proper lighting for PacMan frogs helps with establishing light cycles, daily routines, and a realistic environment. Learn how to choose the best lighting for PacMan frogs.
PacMan frogs come from the humid jungle areas of South America. They spend most of their time buried in the leaf litter, moss, or other vegetation of the jungle floor waiting for food to come by. Because of this, specialized lighting for PacMan frogs is not really required. Since they do not receive much direct sunlight in the wild, they do not require any special lighting in captivity.
Although lighting is not necessarily required, it is still a good idea to provide some lighting to make your terrarium visually appealing and to maintain proper light cycles. Here we will go over some of the best options to supply lighting for PacMan frogs.
Fluorescent Tube Bulbs
Fluorescent tube bulbs (sometimes referred to as linear fluorescent bulbs) are not used much nowadays. With newer technology, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs are taking the place of linear fluorescent bulbs. Fluorescent tube bulbs may still be used to supply ambient daytime lighting for a PacMan frog terrarium if desired.
A special reptile fluorescent bulb is not required as a typical household fluorescent tube will work fine. These bulbs may be found in a wide variety of lengths to fit your terrarium so choose one that covers at least 80% of the length of the terrarium. For the best appearance and color rendering, use a fluorescent bulb that is daylight or natural daylight.
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Compact fluorescent bulbs (or CFL) are the energy efficient bulbs that became very popular in the past decade. These are sometimes referred to as “spiral” bulbs, but also come in other shapes as well.
Ordinary household compact fluorescent bulbs can be used to light a pacman frog habitat. These bulbs have a high output of light while using a low amount of watts, and can even be dimmable.
If you feel that using a compact fluorescent bulb fits your needs, we recommend the EcoSmart 40W Equivalent compact fluorescent bulb, or the GE Energy Smart Fluorescent Bulbs for PacMan frogs.
LED Bulbs
LED bulbs are also a good choice of lighting for PacMan frogs. These bulbs have grown in popularity in recent years due to their durability, small form factor, and versatility.
A simple household LED bulbs may be used for lighting a PacMan frog terrarium. To save space LED strip lighting may be used in a wide variety of applications. They can be found in different intensities (cool white, warm white, natural daylight, etc.) and even ones that can change colors. This variation can give the PacMan frog parent a bunch of cool options to play with for lighting the terrarium.
Light Cycles
Maintaining light cycles is a very important part of housing a PacMan frog. PacMan frogs generally prefer to eat during the night time hours. Because of this, it is important to provide cycles of day time lighting and night time lighting. Remember, you want to mimic the pacman frog’s natural environment as closely as possible. This also includes mimicking the rise and setting of the sun.
The best way to accomplish this is to provide day time lighting for a period of time, then provide night time lighting for a period of time.
It may seem like a hassle to continue to switch one light off while turning on another, but using the Zilla Reptile Power Center makes this task a snap. Simply plug each light into a corresponding receptacle on the Power Center and set how long you want each light to be on. The Power Center does all the rest. A programmable timer such as the Power Center is highly recommended for easily controlling light cycles for a PacMan frog.
Night Time Bulbs
We have discussed daytime lighting quite a bit, and we mentioned nighttime lighting above. Now let’s talk some about nighttime lighting.
Truly, PacMan frogs do not need any lighting at night. The most important thing to remember is to maintain enough heat for the PacMan frog during the nighttime hours.
The biggest reason you would want to supply nighttime lighting is so you can observe your PacMan frog during its most active times. The best way to accomplish this is by using a black or red reptile bulb. These bulbs provide very little visible light, but just enough to be able to see what is happening in the terrarium. These bulbs do not disturb the PacMan frog during nighttime cycles as a bright bulb may.
We recommend the Exo Terra Night-Glo Moonlight bulb. This bulb also produces some heat, so make sure you use a bulb wattage that matches the size of the terrarium. You would not want to use a high wattage bulb and overheat the terrarium. For a small terrarium a 15 – 25 watt bulb should be plenty to maintain the proper temperatures.
Bulb Housing
Once you have selected the bulb(s) you want to use to provide the best lighting for PacMan frogs, you will need a fixture to house them.
Linear fluorescent tube bulbs need to be house in a fixture made for that type bulb. A fixture commonly used for fish aquariums would be adequate or the Zilla Slimline Fixture may be used.
If compact fluorescent bulbs are to be used then we recommend the Exo Terra Compact Light Fixture. This fixture can house either incandescent heat bulbs and CFL bulbs for lighting (or both).
For LED lighting for PacMan frogs, we recommend the Exo Terra Day/Night LED Fixture. This fixture provides daytime lighting as well as nighttime lighting to help maintain proper light cycles. It is perfect for amphibians that do not require UVB lighting, such as PacMan frogs, and includes 24 LED bulbs. Another great option is to use LED strip/tape lighting.
The Best Lighting for PacMan Frogs
As you can see there are many options for you to supply lighting for PacMan frogs. While specialized lighting isn’t necessary, supplying good lighting is enhance the overall aesthetics of your PacMan frog’s environment. Proper lighting and light cycles can also have indirect effects on your PacMan frog’s health and well-being.
Get creative on ways to light your pacman frog’s home!
