KeeprHusbandry You're a Pro? Click here to meet Rex
Atlas / Library / Terrestrial Frog / Ornate Horned Frog
IntermediateIUCN VU
Terrestrial Frog

Ornate Horned Frog

Ceratophrys ornataกบแพ็คแมนหยัก

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. exo-terra.com

Photograph: Leonel Roget · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/ceratophrys-ornata

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–28 °C
Humidity70–80 %
Enclosure45×45×30

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–28°Ambient

One ambient band, 24–28°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states24-28 °C; optimum 25-26 °C; tolerates a few degrees less than cranwelli; day/night gradient recommended (5 °C nocturnal drop)

Humidity

70–80%Target RH

The sheet states70-80%; moist coco fibre/sphagnum substrate; shallow water dish

UVB

Not needed for this species

Stated in the sheet, not inferred.

The sheet statesUVB not required; photoperiod 12 h

Diet
insectivorous diet of crickets, locusts, cockroaches, and earthworms, dusted with calcium/multivitamin powder; occasional pinkie mouse as a protein boost, not fed too often

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m10–12 cm ♂
1520100400 cm
10–12 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal. This sheet gives a figure per sex; the one drawn is marked.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Adult size
♂ 10–12 cm SVL; ♀ up to 16 cm; juvenile ~3 cm
Lifespan
10–15 years in captivity
Legal status
Unrestricted
Difficulty
Intermediate (slightly more demanding than cranwelli in T° and humidity)
Cohabitation
Solitary MANDATORY (cannibalism)

How common this animal is

1,815Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

water70–80 % RH45 cm30 cm
water
50100150200 cm
45 × 45 × 30 cmWidth × depth × height
20dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWarm side: not in our dataHides: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesTerrarium 45×45×30 cm for adult ♀; shallow floor; deep substrate

Terrarium / aquarium
Terrarium 45×45×30 cm for adult ♀; shallow floor; deep substrate
Temperature
24–28 °C; optimum 25–26 °C; tolerates a few degrees less than cranwelli; day/night gradient recommended (5 °C nocturnal drop)
Humidity / water
70–80%; moist coco fibre/sphagnum substrate; shallow water dish
Lighting / UVB
UVB not required; photoperiod 12 h
Substrate / decor
Moist sphagnum or coco fibre 10–12 cm; larger species requires deeper substrate
Feeding
Identical to cranwelli but larger prey according to greater adult size (adult mice, large roaches, large earthworms); adults 1×/week

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
10–15 yrLifespan in care
10 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Sexing
♀ noticeably larger (up to 16 cm); ♂ brownish throat; ♂ loud call
Maturity
♂ 8–12 months; ♀ 12–24 months
Breeding trigger
More pronounced cool-down than cranwelli: T° 15–18 °C for 2–3 months (simulates Argentine winter); complete cessation of feeding and reduction of humidity during this period; progressive reactivation
Egg laying
Identical to cranwelli: axillary amplexus in shallow water; numerous eggs; remove adults immediately
Tadpoles / metamorphosis
Carnivorous (cannibalistic): raise individually or at very low density; metamorphosis 4–6 weeks
Juvenile care
Very voracious and cannibalistic: isolate immediately at metamorphosis; small crickets, earthworms

Common health problems

Cocoon syndrome (pathological aestivation)
Signsif humidity is too low, C. ornata forms a shed-skin cocoon — prevent by always keeping substrate moist
Obesity
Signssame risk as cranwelli — strictly 1×/week feeding for adults
Bite wounds between individuals
SignsNEVER cohabit two Ceratophrys
Quarantine
Signs30 days; solo terrarium with clean sphagnum substrate; T° 25–26 °C; test appetite D3; weigh on entry

Good to know

  • More sensitive to low temperatures than cranwelli: avoid T° <20 °C prolonged except during breeding cool-down
  • Spectacular ocellated green/red/brown pattern. WC individuals display more saturated colours than CB
  • Hybrid with cranwelli gives 'Fantasy Pacman': note the exact cross on sale certificates
  • More sensitive to low temperatures than cranwelli — avoid T° <20 °C prolonged except during breeding cool-down
  • Spectacular ocellated green/red/brown pattern — WC individuals display more saturated colours than CB
  • Hybrid with cranwelli gives 'Fantasy Pacman' — note the exact cross on sale certificates

Common questions

What is the difference between this and the cheaper pacman frog?

This is the ornate species, larger and more striking, but also a bit more sensitive and less common, which is why the price is higher.

Does it bite hard?

Hard enough to hurt. It has a wide mouth and a very fast feeding strike, so always use tongs and never hand feed.

How long do they live?

Often around ten years with careful feeding and clean substrate, sometimes longer.

What do I need to buy with it?

A plastic tub or low tank, soft moist substrate deep enough to burrow, a shallow water dish, and feeding tongs. Nothing complicated.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 45 × 45 × 30 cmbecause enclosureTerrarium 45×45×30 cm for adult ♀; shallow floor; deep substrate
A thermometerbecause temp24-28 °C; optimum 25-26 °C; tolerates a few degrees less than cranwelli; day/night gradient recommended (5 °C nocturnal drop)
A hygrometerbecause humidity70–80%; moist coco fibre/sphagnum substrate; shallow water dish
No UVB: the sheet states none is neededbecause uvbUVB not required; photoperiod 12 h

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.