Pet Spotlight: Wintermelon the Pacman Frog

Pet Spotlight: Wintermelon the Pacman Frog

So slimy and wet

Green on scarlet, glistening

My Wintermelon.

~"The Frog" -- My first Haiku, 12/06/2014

Disclaimer: I'm no reptile/amphibian/pet expert and I will never claim to be one. All information I put on this blog are what I've read on the internet or in books and from personal experience. Please do thorough research before purchasing a pet and be a responsible pet owner!

I was going to spotlight a couple of my newest pets today, but I figured this one is probably more interesting and I'll go onto the newer ones at a later date. Considering this is The Frog Blog, it's only natural I blog about frogs at one point or another, so without further ado, let me introduce one of my frogs: Wintermelon.

Wintermelon is a female Pacman frog. These frogs are so-named because of their huge mouths, which resemble the game, Pacman. See the resemblance?

To be honest, they -- the frogs -- are really nothing more than stomachs with legs. They have no neck, no shoulders or hips (well, strictly speaking they do...) and look like a giant coin purse. They're one of the easiest pets to take care of, although at the same time they literally do nothing. They can sit in the same position all day, every day, except for when they need a soak and when they're being fed. Sometimes I wonder if they're asleep all along, when I look at them.

But the greatest part about them is how adorable they look. Look at them round eyes! And the round body! And the stumpy little legs!

It's one of my life's dreams to actually lick one. Unfortunately, because they're not exactly sterile (and neither is my tongue, from their point of view), that's not something I'll do in the near future. Seeing them swim is enough pleasure -- scroll down!.

Wintermelon is one of my greediest pets. She loves her food and eats with great gusto. One of the funniest thing about her is she thinks everything that moves equals food, so if I go too near her tank (even if I'm doing things that have nothing to do with her), it's a common phenomenon she'll turn on the spot and face me, expectantly. Place her next to a box of things that move during cleaning time, such as mealworms or a tank of fish, she may even headbutt her tank -- I try to avoid that as it can hurt her lips/face/head-body.

Not that she gets food unless it's her meal time...

 

Speaking of food, she eats more or less anything, everything. She eats the best out of all of my other frogs, who will be spotlighted later -- one in particular is very picky about her food. Fish, crickets, roaches, mealworms... Wintermelon'll eat it all. Just throw it in front of her and she'll (try her best to) chomp it. Occasionally she'll miss and end up catching her mouth on the sponge instead, but that just makes it funnier. But usually she's pretty spot-on with her aim (see video for example).

I also love how she sometimes sits like she doesn't have arms or legs. A bit like cat loaf. Frog loaf?

**ba-dum-ch**

Amongst many funny things I find about the frogs, one of them is their uncanny way to sit facing one single direction. This means if you turn the tank at a reasonably slow pace so she doesn't get disorientated, Wintermelon will turn on the spot so she remains facing wherever she was facing. Not infallible, but always worth a giggle.

Another funny thing to watch is her swimming. Wintermelon's is particularly adorable, because she has a very rotund body (especially after she's had a long soak!) and very long froggy back legs that are disproportionate to her girth.

You'll notice we use a bright green sponge for her to sit on (or under). Apparently the internet experts say it makes her green brighter -- and I have to say, she has lovely colouring, great for painting. I've also started an acrylic painting of her sitting in a most majestic pose. Maybe one day when it's finished, I'll blog about it.

 

A couple of things to note for people who are planning on owning froggies -- the list is incomplete. 

- They're easy to take care of: fed once a week, clean up their poop in that kind of frequency.

- Give them plenty of water in a tub so they can sit, soak, and swell up. 

- Don't overfeed them and don't put them in the same tank as any other living thing, or they'll eat it.

- Don't handle them too much. Human hands are too hot for them and our hands are often too dirty for them, too! Considering they absorb everything in contact with their skin, you wouldn't want them taking in the perfume or cream you'd just used, or the ink you'd stained your fingers with, would you?

That's about everything for today. My other pets will make an entrance in the upcoming weeks/months. What do you think of Wintermelon? Is she lovely, rotund, and adorable? She's not slimy in the slightest, just nice, soft, and cool. Not icky. Very serious about her food, and makes an awesome model.

She's so majestic!