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Care Sheet: Cranwell's Horned Frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli)
Common Name: Cranwell's Horned Frog, Chaco Horned Frog, Chacoan Horned Frog, Escuerzos, and Pacman Frog. Scientific Name: Ceratophrys cranwelli. Distribution: South America. Size: 10-12cm. Heavily overfed females can reach a width of 20cm but this is unhealthy for the animal, typically they should be as wide as they are long. Life Expectancy: Captive bred individuals can often be expected to live for an average of 5-7 years although 10+ years is attainable. Sexing: The females of this species are the larger of the sexes. Coloration: The usual coloring of these frogs is a light brownish gray, with dark green, yellow and red markings. Captive breeding has created an Albino strain, which is now more common than original and also recently green phase & brown phase individuals have become available.
Green Phase	Albino
Requirements: These frogs are large fairly inactive individuals who show cannibalistic tendencies and therefore should be housed alone in a vivarium with a floor area of roughly 8 -10 times its body size. They require a woodland type set-up with a deep substrate of soil with a covering of live moss. Although they don't look it they are actually very good climbers, so pieces of cork bark can be arranged to provide a number of hiding and climbing places. A large shallow water bowl (no deeper than the frogs nostrils) must be provided with clean dechlorinated or spring water. The water will need to be changed daily to avoid the build up of ammonia and bacteria in the water whilst changing the water it is a good idea to visually inspect the tank and remove, clean and replace any soiled items. The tank will need to be heated to a temperature of 23 - 25°C this can be done with an under-tank heat-mat controlled by a thermostat. It is not advisable to use spot / heat lamps with amphibians and so a separate light source should be provided by the means of a fluorescent UVB tube. Once every two weeks the tank and its contents should be completely cleaned and sterilized using an amphibian / reptile friendly disinfectant. Feeding: Juvenile Horned Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including waxworm, earthworms and well grown juveniles may also be fed pinkies. The food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement two-three times a week. Adult specimen should be fed every three-four days with a mixture of earthworms, adult locusts, cockroaches, giant mealworm, slugs, snails, fish and suitably sized rodents. The food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement once a week.

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