We are bound to notice it whenever our pet feels a bit under or acts out of the ordinary. For frogs, though, it can be difficult to pin down why they’re feeling a certain way.
If your Pacman frog is panting, it can’t emote like a dog or cat might when something is bothering them.
You will have to go through the likely culprits behind your frog’s condition and decide what your best course of action will be going forward.
Read on to find out more!
Why is my Pacman frog panting? (4 causes)
#1 Anxiety in a new frog
Many times, I have had this happen with new frogs and my Pacman frog. My Pacman would breathe faster if anyone came close to her tank.
She was a new frog in a new home with strangers all around her, and all these new factors were stressing out my frog.
If you have a newly purchased Pacman, then this is an easy fix because time will ease your frog’s anxiety.
In the meantime, try not to hover over your frog so often, you want them to get used to you, but you want to do this in a positive way.
So, ensure you feed your frog plenty at mealtimes to ease their anxiety around you!
#2 Overweight
Now, if your Pacman is breathing fast and heavy because they’re overweight, you’ve been giving them too much food.
However, Pacman frogs are not naturally active, so their obesity could also be related to their inactivity.
If you suspect your Pacman is breathing fast because of obesity, check to see if the frog is wider than it is longer or if you can feel any fatty deposits under the frog’s belly.
If you can determine that the frog is overweight, it’s time to put your Pacman on a diet.
#3 The frog is sick
If you’ve had your Pacman for a long time or even long enough to know their habits, then when the frog’s fast breathing catches your eyes, you’ll already know something is up.
If you’ve already determined that breathing is not caused by the two factors above, you might have to start thinking about illnesses your frog may have.
Most illnesses, such as toxic out and water edema syndrome, can be sorted out at home.
However, more serious afflictions such as bacterial infection, parasites, or metabolic bone disease are better dealt with at a vet’s office if you don’t have the experience to treat your frog at home.
#4 Inadequate environment
Many of the diseases above are avoidable by having the correct environment for your Pacman.
Your Pacman could be breathing fast because of stress on its body from a poor environment.
Some substrates are harmful to frogs, and wrong temperatures can cause a Pacman many other problems and illnesses.
Finding the correct substrates, water, temperature, and humidity are all crucial. These factors are the difference between a healthy frog and a sick one.
How to help my frog at home?
Letting your anxious frog adjust
If your frog is breathing fast because of its anxiety, this is an easy solution. You need to give your frog time to adjust to its new environment, but you should also prioritize feedings.
Sticking to routine feedings will help your frog form a bond with you as their food giver and less fear.
If your presence makes the frog afraid to eat, just release the food into the tank and leave the frog alone.
They will still have a positive association with you even if you don’t tong feed them.
Diet
If your problem is that you’ve been feeding your frog way too much or the frog has been too lazy, then it’s diet time for your frog and try to get them moving!
You can get the frog to be more active by increasing its enclosure’s size.
Pacman’s are natural lazy frogs, but a larger tank will increase their activity and speed up their metabolism.
For food, you’ll be better off cutting out any mice, fish, or anything else excessively fatty from your frog’s diet to try and help shed your frog’s weight.
Adjusting the environment
If your Pacman is sick, your first task should be to inspect your tank setup and ensure everything is how it should be.
Your temperature should be between 75 and 85 degrees, but if you’re dealing with an obese frog, you should keep it between 80-85.
Your humidity should be between 50% and 80%, and if you’re having trouble regulating it, it would be best to invest in a live plant for the tank.
Your water sources for your frog should be clear and clean to prevent diseases.
Your substrate should be coconut fiber since Pacman frog love to bury themselves, but you should change out this substrate every other week, so it’s clean.
Other accompanying symptoms to look out for
The condition has not changed or gotten worse
If you’ve done everything listed in my last section and your frog still feels worse for wear, then you need to make a few new assessments.
As a frog owner, you must find out if your frog is getting worse since it is going to hole itself up or hide to try and ride out whatever is wrong.
Sometimes your frog can’t do that and might even need medical attention, or the Pacman might lose their life.
If your frog is improving but slowly, then there’s still hope that those home remedies are working.
However, if you notice that your frog is getting worse even after making the proper adjustments and your Pacman’s breathing is still very rapid, then it might be time to consult a vet.
Loss of appetite
For a Pacman, this should be a dead giveaway that something is wrong with your frog.
Pacman frogs are ferocious eaters with massive appetites, whether wild or captive. If this monster frog stops eating altogether, you know something is going on.
Now, if your Pacman just skips a few feedings, you shouldn’t worry because they can go from a week to almost a month with no food.
Amid this hunger strike, you should still release some food into their enclosure, so the option is there if they become hungry when you’re not around.
At the worst times, you can attempt to force-feed your Pacman frog. I had to do this with mine for a short time, and you can watch how your frog ends up eating the food to see how bad its condition is.
Most Pacman frogs eat their food in one strike, but if you see yours struggling to get the food past their lips, you know it might be time to call your exotic vet.
When to see a vet?
Unresponsiveness
Unresponsiveness is a major thing to watch for when your frog’s fast and heavy breathing persists despite everything you’ve done to try and curb it.
Your frog isn’t responding to any stimuli you put in front of it at all.
First, make sure your Pacman is still breathing; if he’s not, check that your frog is alive before rushing to the vet.
Next, see if any food gets his attention and if it’s tracking the food with its eyes.
As a last resort, gently pick up your Pacman frog or move it out of the hole it’s sitting in.
An average Pacman won’t want to be picked up or moved from its comfy spot and will squirm or try to return to where it was.
If you see no effort, and worse, if your Pacman splays out when you put him down, then contact your vet for an appointment.
Boils and film over the eyes
Boils are not uncommon on Pacman frogs. These boils can appear mostly on their back legs and are not a cause for concern.
However, you should pay attention to these boils in case they become larger or begin to change colors.
If you find a film over your frog’s eyes and have ruled out the illnesses, your frog may be suffering from Toxic Out Syndrome.
If left untreated, your Pacman frog could become blind, and it’s recommended you call your vet immediately.
No longer able to treat at home
As pet owners, we try our best to care for the animals in our home, but sometimes we’ve done everything we can at home.
After trying to treat everything from home and finding no solutions, you might need to call your exotic vet and make an appointment for your frog.
Only so much can be done at home for serious situations, and knowing when you need to get your frog medical help is crucial.
Final thoughts
If your Pacman frog is breathing fast, there isn’t an immediate cause for concern because the bulk of what could be the cause are issues that have simple solutions.
From changing your frog’s environment to putting your obese frog on a diet, many home remedies will do the trick.
Sometimes, you might have to rearrange your frog’s entire routine to accommodate them. In other cases, you might have to take your Pacman to the vet.
In every case, it is important to be keen on your frog’s conditions since they can’t tell us when something might be causing them discomfort.