About This Project

The goal is to examine the effects of various environmental stimuli on Ceratophrys ornata, commonly known as the Pacman frog. We will be utilizing multiple methods including EEG monitoring, pulse, and weighing to monitor the stress levels. Examples of environmental stimuli are cycling of lights, temperature, humidity and tank sizes.

We will be purchasing the necessary supplies with the money provided. Oversight will be provided by a veterinarian and teachers.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

We are high-school students looking to see how changes in living conditions effects frogs behavior and health. We are doing this as a "Flex Friday" project which allows us time during the week and Friday to work.

We started this project because the lack of responsibility some frog owners have for their animals. Amphibians are very sensitive animals, millions of exotic animals are killed each year due to poor care. We, of course, don't want our animals to experience conditions as poor as these so we will not expose them to anything that will cause them harm while still keeping half of them in a minimalist vivarium.

We are testing to see if the environment changes affect eating habits as well as overall happiness as shown by their ability to relax as shown by the EEG.

What is the significance of this project?

The significance of this project is to find out just how less than ideal living conditions change a frog's health. In big box stores, and by some owners, frogs are kept in less than ideal conditions such as small tanks with unregulated humidity. These conditions are not recommended by breeders, so we hypothesize the frogs will be more stressed. Depending on the results, this could show whether or not buying amphibians from large chain stores is ethical. This experiment is a preliminary investigation with a small sample size.

What are the goals of the project?

Our goals are to build 4 habitats, housing one frog each, 2 as ideal habitats for frogs and another 2 as budget habitats. The ideal habitat will have set light changes, larger tanks, an abundance of plants as well as live food. The other set will have smaller thanks, fewer plants, and dead food. We'll demonstrate the different effects these environments have on the frogs by recording weight, comparing behavior and EEG monitoring on experiment days every four hours.