Ceratophrys (horn frog)

Origin: Northern part of South America, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Length: 10 to 20 cm (head to body)
Age: on average about 7 to 12 years old.
The horned frog, also called Pacman frog, is a large frog known for its appetite and all-devouring mouth. In total there are 8 different subspecies of this frog: the Brazilian, Colombian, Surinamese, Cranwell's, Joazeiro, Argentinian, Stolzmann's and Ecuador species.
As pets, the Cranwell and the Argentine are the most common.
The frogs come in many color variations.

Grooming
Experience: For this animal you need experience with keeping reptiles or amphibians as they are fierce animals.
Feeding adults: offer food once or twice a week. This could be earthworms, crickets, Dubias, adult mouse, Hikari Pac Attack pellets or gold Elrits.
Feed young: offer food every day (the animal may not want to eat every day). You can feed these almost anything you give an adult animal. Only give pinkies instead of adult mice and you can also feed them waxworms.
Feed: Youngsters every day, sub-adults 3 or 4 times a week and adults 1 or 2 times a week.

Water bowl: Yes.
Change water: Daily

Feeding:
When feeding your frog, pay attention to the size of your frog and the size of the food. For example, for a young frog, cut the earthworm into pieces and give smaller insects.
You should also be careful with crickets and Dubias, because the hard exoskeleton can cause blockages in your frog. This can cause your frog to die.
It is also important that you supplement the food with vitamin and mineral supplements. Various powders are available for sale at specialized pet stores.
Feeding itself is best done with tweezers, but some animals will not know this and have yet to learn this.

Water:
Horn frogs absorb water through their skin. That is why a shallow water bowl cannot be missing. Make sure that this water container is stable and cannot fall over. In addition, the tray should be cleaned every day and filled with fresh water. If this is not done, the water can become dirty and if the animal absorbs this water, the animal can become ill.
If you make a part of the terrarium with water instead of a water bowl, you must ensure that there are resting places such as driftwood in it. The frog can then lean on this while it is in the water.

Cleaning:
You only have to clean your frog's enclosure completely once a month. If you turn the bedding every few days or once a week and clean the faeces that you find then, that is enough. The water bowl must of course be changed every day. During cleaning, check that all systems and meters that come with the accommodation are still working properly, so that the climate in the accommodation is good.

Handling:
Try to avoid handling as much as possible. Although the animals are nice to handle, they can still bite hard. In addition, the animals can get sick from dust and bacteria that we humans have on our hands.
If you really need to pick up the animal, the best option is to do this with gloves and approach the animal from behind. For example, the animal cannot mistake your hands for prey. Then grasp the animal around the abdomen and gently lift the animal. If you pick up the animal without gloves, it is important that you have washed your hands with water for the time. Do not use soap.
After handling the animal, it is important to wash your hands with soap.
If you are bitten by it, it is important that you do not try to shake the animal. The animal will only bite harder and if the animal suddenly lets go, you can seriously injure the animal. Hold the animal under a running tap with lukewarm or cold water. Eventually the animal will relax and let go.

Housing
Minimum enclosure size for 1 frog: 40 x 34 x 17 cm.
Day temperature: 24 - 30 degrees.
Night temperature: 20 - 24 degrees.
Hours of light: 12 hours of light. An extra heat lamp is possible, but choose a soft lamp that is not too bright. Otherwise there is a chance that your animal and the bedding will dry out.
Humidity: 80-90%
Ground cover: Moisturizing ground cover. It is best to use cocohusk / cocopeat, but normal potting soil is also possible. Spagnum moss is not recommended, because the animals can swallow it and become constipated. You can use normal moss again. Make sure the bedding is slightly damp, but not soaking wet. If you grab a handful of bedding and you can squeeze a few drops of water out of it, it's fine.
Furnishing: Because the animals are mainly dug underground, they do not need much. But it is important to give them a heat mat and a water bath or a place where they can lie in the water. They will also appreciate a shelter. A lamp is therefore also possible, but make sure that it does not dry out the accommodation too much.

Behaviour
Lifestyle: Night active.

Character:
Horned frogs are fierce frogs. They try to eat everything they see. That is why it is wise to keep 1 animal per stay. Horn frogs are also known for cannibalism, so if you put several animals together, the largest frog may eat the other.
Apart from eating behavior, they are quite calm animals that will not move a lot. That's why they don't need such a very long stay.
Points to Note: Many captive horned frogs (and other reptiles) suffer from metabolic bone disease (or MBD). This means that the animal does not get enough calcium and the bones become soft. In the horned frog this can quickly be seen by a hanging lower jaw, listlessness, muscle spasms and deformities of the spine and hips. If you see this, you should start taking extra calcium as soon as possible. This can be done by sprinkling it over the food as a powder or by putting it in the mouth as a paste with a syringe. If the animal has developed malformations, these will not go away.

Cost and Purchase
Legislation: No additional certificates or permits are required for this animal.
One-off costs: With the one-off costs, you should think of the costs for the accommodation and everything for the furnishing such as the water bowl, the heat mat and hiding places. This can quickly run into the hundreds of euros, depending on the quality of your gear.
Fixed costs: With fixed costs we are talking about the costs for the feed and the bedding. This often runs into tens of euros per year.
Unexpected costs: Unexpected costs can also appear. We are talking about costs when your animal is sick and has to go to the vet or if your devices break down.