Popular Pacman Frog Morphs

September 17, 2015November 5, 2018 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Would you like to meet some of our Pacman frog morphs? Like many popular reptiles and amphibians, Pacman frogs have been bred to express a variety of different colors and designs, also called “morphs.” In this blog article, we’ll present to you the most popular and common morphs.

Green “Normal” Pacman Frog

As you probably surmised, the “normal,” “regular” or “green” Pacman is the standard coloration for these frogs in the pet industry. They are generally bright green with brown spots just like the one pictured.

But, did you know that in nature, their natural color is brown?

Proportionately, these hungry and hefty frogs start out small but grow to quite large sizes due to their voracious and seemingly unending appetites. They can reach the size of a softball in less than a year.

ceratophrys cranwelli — A happy little “Green” Pacman Frog.

Strawberry Pineapple Albino Pacman Frog

The Strawberry Pineapple Albino morph is named after the colors of the fruits it resembles. Standard strawberry morph Pacmans have much more pink tones to their skin, but because this little frog is an albino, the colors are duller from lack of pigmentation.

Like most albino animals, this frog also has red eyes. Due to the lack of pigment, there are no other colors to hide the blood vessels, which ultimately makes the eye appear red. You’re seeing the blood inside the eyes.

Albino Pacman Frog

This morph is similar to the strawberry albino described above, but there is no pink tint to the frog. Instead, the lack of pigment creates a yellow and orange skin tone. The frog still possesses red eyes.

Notice the red eyes on this albino morph. This is a very popular frog, originally created by The Frog Ranch in 1992.

Chocolate Mint Pacman Frog

We’re a fan of naming animals after foods, which is why we like this morph. Just like the strawberry pineapple, this frog is named for the colors of the food it resembles.

Chocolate sounds so much better than brown, doesn’t it?

Mint chocolate Pacmans are a paler green color than the standard Pacman with lighter, less harsh brown accent spots.

High Red Ornate Pacman Frog

All the Pacman frogs are in the same family of Horned Frogs (Ceratophryidae), but the High Red Ornate Pacman is actually a Ceratophrys ornata and not a Ceratophrys cranwelli like all its cousins described above.

If you noticed this morph’s coloration is very vibrant, that would explain where the morph gets the “high” title. Any reptile or amphibian morph with “high” in the name basically just means “super” or “a lot.”

So this particular morph is named high red ornate because it’s skin is a very vibrant and noticeable red. They are really stunning animals.

ornate pacman frog morph — Top view of a high red ornate Pacman Frog.

Summary

All of these Pacman Frog morphs are in the same family of horned frogs. The various morphs just reflect what captive breeding them has produced. Not only are the animals healthier, but they are uniquely colored.

best pacman frog morphs — A collage of Pacman morphs.

Backwater Reptiles currently offers a variety of Pacman frog morphs for sale, all of which are captive bred.

Don’t miss the most in-depth, detailed Pacman frog care sheet on the internet, written by the owner of The Frog Ranch.

What’s your favorite Pacman Frog morph?

Which Lizards Are Venomous?

September 14, 2015November 19, 2015 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Are you wondering which lizards are venomous? Everyone knows that there are many species of venomous snakes in the world – rattlers, black mambas, and cobras being probably the most well-known. But did you know that there are actually two species of venomous lizards too?

Venomous Lizard #1 – Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Gila monsters are native to the southwestern deserts of the U.S. and northwestern Mexico. They are the largest land-dwelling lizard in the U.S. and can reach lengths of up to two feet and weigh over five pounds. They are black with orange, red, or pinkish-colored patches.

Because they are considered a threatened species (not to mention are dangerous animals!) it’s not always legal to keep a gila monster as a pet. It varies depending on where you live.

The venom of a gila monster is a fairly mild neurotoxin. The lizard does not possess fangs but does have sharp, serrated teeth. This means that in order to inject its venom, the monster will bite, hang on, and chew to allow the wound to open up and the venom to flow into the bloodstream. In other words, their teeth do not “inject” venom. Ultimately, because it bites like a bulldog, the bite will be very painful and could cause temporary paralysis or difficulty breathing, but is generally not fatal if treated properly.

By nature, Gilas are burrowers and in captivity, they behave much the same as they would in the wild. They spend most of their lives under ground and will eat voraciously, so if you are keeping gila monsters, you should probably be an experienced herp hobbyist who knows the habits of these lizards.

Venomous Lizard #2 – Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum)

The Beaded Lizard is a close relative to the Gila Monster with similar body shape, venom delivery methods, and even skin texture. The Beaded Lizard gets larger than the Gila Monster though and can max out at three feet long and weigh as much as 45% more than its lizard cousin. Beaded lizards are also typically duller in color with browner bodies and white or yellowish splotches.

mexican beaded lizard eating — The resident Backwater Reptiles beaded lizard swallowing a pinkie.

Because the Beaded Lizard and Gila Monster both primarily consume eggs, scientists are not 100% sure as to why these lizards are venomous. Interestingly enough though, the Beaded Lizard’s venom has been discovered to contain enzymes that are useful in the treatment of diabetes.

Fun fact: the Beaded lizard can consume around 30% of its body weight in one feeding! We feed ours thawed fuzzy mice, around six per feeding, and the lizard is barely a foot long.

Beaded lizards (and gila monsters) use their tongues much like snakes do to taste and smell the air. They possess Jacobson’s organs which filter the sensory data obtained by their tongues so that it can be transmitted to their brains for interpretation.

The venom of the Beaded Lizard causes respiratory paralysis and failure, but is rarely fatal to humans.

Honorable Mention #1 – The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Komodos are extremely large lizards and therefore eat large prey animals such as deer, wild pigs, and even water buffalo. Sometimes the Komodo Dragon doesn’t manage to kill its prey in a single sitting, but the dragon is a patient lizard and will wait until it’s venom has worked its magic, which depending on the size of the animal, could take a day or two.

Venom researcher Bryan Fry discovered that the Komodo’s venom is delivered via chewing, much like the Beaded Lizard and Gila Monster’s venom. Once the venom has entered the blood stream, it can cause rapid decrease in blood pressure, expedite blood loss, and send a bitten animal into shock, making the prey animal too weak to escape or fight back.

Honorable Mention #2 – Monitor Lizard Family & Iguana Family

New scientific research suggests that monitor lizards and lizards in the iguana family also possess venom glands. Not to worry though – your pet iguana or pet Savannah monitor is not dangerous to you through its bite. The trace amounts of venom produced in these lizards is only strong enough to take down small prey items such as mice or birds. It is not harmful to people.

This is still a somewhat controversial topic of discussion and we’re awaiting further scientific data and studies until we officially proclaim monitors and iguanas venomous for the purposes of this blog.

Desert Horned Lizard Facts

July 30, 2015November 19, 2015 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Here are a few facts about Desert Horned lizards–probably the most unique-looking lizards in the country. The Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is also known as the Horny Toad lizard or the Short-horned lizard and is native to desert terrains. These interesting-looking lizards are short, round, flat, and as their name suggests, horned. They have an array of spikey scales on their bellies and heads which make them appear quite fierce, although as pets they are pretty laid-back.

horned lizard facts — Horned lizards are one of the most unique-looking reptiles in the United States. Their primary diet is ants, but they will accept other food items.

Horned lizards can be tough to keep in captivity due to the fact that their main diet in the wild consists of ants, which are not necessarily easy to come by in the pet food trade. Horned lizards can and will eat other normal feeder insects such as crickets, but they need ants in their diet in order to thrive, so we recommend making sure you can acquire ants or live near an ant hill before you commit to a horned lizard as a pet.

The primary reason ants are an important part of their diet is because ants contain formic acid. Fortunately, there is a product produced by Repashy called Formic-Cal Plus, which is a supplement powder you can dust feeder insects with (such as crickets), so that the horned lizards are getting proper amounts of formic acid.

Certain horned lizards, such as the Phrynosoma asio (Giant Mexican Horned lizard) can be fed crickets and other insects exclusively.

horned toad facts — Horned lizards are also known as “horned toads.”

The most bizarre thing about these amazing lizards is their primary defense mechanism against predators. Not only can they puff themselves up and make themselves hard to swallow, but they can squirt blood out of the corners of their eyes with fairly decent accuracy! It’s assumed that they aim for predators’ eyes and only use this tactic as a last resort.

horned lizard squirting blood — This is how the Horned Lizard shoots blood from its eyes. Photo from www.discovery.com.

These flat little lizards are excellent burrowers and camouflagers. They like to remain very still and blend in with their surroundings or submerge themselves in desert sand to hide out from potential threats. In captivity, this means you should provide them with a substrate that accommodates their burrowing, such as a compacted sand and soil mix, as well as provide plenty of hide spaces. Remember, substrate that is too dry will not properly hold a burrow.

Backwater Reptiles regularly offers Horned Lizards for sale. They are not necessarily the best pet reptiles for beginners due to their somewhat specialized diet, but experienced herp hobbyists should have no trouble keeping these squat little critters happy.

Spanish Ribbed Newt Care (Pleurodeles waltl)

July 1, 2015November 19, 2015 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Wondering about Spanish Ribbed newt care? These newts make fun pets for amphibian fans because they grow to such a large size. Reaching lengths of up to twelve inches in the wild, Spanish Ribbed Newts generally stay in the range of six to eight inches in captivity, which is still very large for a newt.

Also known as Iberian Ribbed Newts and Sharp Ribbed Newts, these guys can be found in the wild in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Their common names show a lot of variation, but they are all derived from the unique ability this newt has to puncture its own skin with the sharp points of its ribs as an interesting defense mechanism. In addition, during the process of ejection, the ribs are coated with a toxin or poison that would irritate a potential predator’s mouth. Not much is known about this behavior, however it’s very rare that rib ejection occurs in the captive animals and it is not harmful to humans.

ribbed newt rib defense — A photo of the Spanish Ribbed Newt’s defense mechanism of ejecting its ribs.

Ribbed Newts prefer an aquatic environment, so make sure that when housing these animals, their tank is equipped with a lot of water. Ideally, they should live in an aquarium with a small land mass to completely get out of the water if they desire. Temperatures should be kept below 72 degrees as these newts are very tolerant of cold but don’t do well in heat.

ribbed newt pet — Notice the orange tubercles where the ribs will protrude if this animal feels too threatened.

In the wild, Spanish Ribbed Newts are opportunistic eaters, chowing down on whatever stumbles across their path. When kept as pets, these newts will do well when fed pre-made shrimp/worm pellets, newt pellets, live worms, and other slugs and invertebrates. They are pretty indiscriminate when it comes to food.

Breeding these newts is very easy. In fact, Spanish Ribbed Newts have been taken into space on expeditions before just because they are so simple to breed. All that is required is a pair of healthy, sexually mature newts. Under normal conditions, the females will become swollen with eggs and the males will develop crests and nuptial pads. This is how you know its time to drain most of the tank’s water and allow the courtship ritual to begin. Within one week of successful mating, the female will begin to deposit her eggs, which are usually attached to an aquatic plant. Larvae will hatch in about seven to ten days! What a speedy reproductive cycle!

Like many designer reptiles, Spanish Ribbed Newts have even been bred to express the gene that causes leucism, but most are normally a brown or black in color with colored knobby warts.

Backwater Reptiles currently offers Spanish Ribbed Newts for sale. Get yourself a pair and start your own breeding project!

The Rarest Newt in the World: The Iranian Kaiser Newt

May 27, 2015November 18, 2015 ~ BackwaterReptiles

The Iranian Kaiser Newt (Neurergus kaiseri) is the single rarest newt in the world. It originates from an area of land that is only ten-square kilometers in size in the hostile desert climate of Iran, making it hard to come by in captivity.

Brilliantly colored with orange, black, and white markings, the Iranian Kaiser Newt is a hardy amphibian, largely due to the obstacles it has to overcome to survive in a harsh, relatively inhospitable habitat like Iran. We don’t hesitate to say it’s perhaps the hardiest newt we’ve ever had the pleasure of keeping–in fact, we have never lost a single one.

In captivity, the Kaiser Newt should be cared for much like any other newt or salamander. This species of newt seems to highly prefer an entirely aquatic setup. While we do provide floating cork bark for them to climb out onto, they very rarely use it. We have 20-gallon tanks with about 5-6 inches of water, a filter that helps clean and circulate the water, a floating piece of cork bark, and a pebble bottom (large pebbles). They absolutely thrive using this setup.

The Kaiser newt is gregarious and multiple newts can housed together in one enclosure–it’s not uncommon for them to spend time huddled together. These newts eat virtually any insects they can fit in their mouths and the captive-bred ones have been known to go so far as to beg for food. Suffice it to say that they are not picky eaters!

Our’s happily consume a diet of live blackworms and frozen bloodworms, and have also accepted small waxworms and crickets dropped onto the surface of the water.

While we do provide moderate lighting during the day, Kaiser Newts enjoy the dark and will be most active once the lights go out. In fact, they may utilize their hide spaces all day and only emerge once the Sun has set (or once you have turned off the lights in your home and their enclosure).

Backwater reptiles currently has a selection of flawless captive-bred Iranian Kaiser Newts for sale and due to the endangered nature of this species and the fact that it is illegal to export them nowadays, we encourage hobbyists to breed the animals to help contribute to the conservation effort.+

Backwater Reptiles Blog

Over 250 Articles for Herp Enthusiasts

Species Profiles

Popular Pacman Frog Morphs

Which Lizards Are Venomous?

Desert Horned Lizard Facts

Spanish Ribbed Newt Care (Pleurodeles waltl)

The Rarest Newt in the World: The Iranian Kaiser Newt