Pacman Rescue!

[GrifTheGreat]

So I went to Petsmart to buy crickets for Grif and I always go and look at the reptile section. When I got over there I saw a sign for a Green Pacman. The lable also said ornate. Its a baby so I'm not quite sure yet. Anyway when I look in the little keeper they have it on Peat moss with bark mixed in and of course its small enough so that the frog could accidentally eat it and possibly die. Not only did it have the wrong substrate but it also had crickets in with it. So it was a disaster waiting to happen. I told one of theclerks who works in that area that it was the wrong substrate and the frog could ingest it and die they were like uhhhh I don't know I'm not normally over here. When I saw nothing was going to be done about it I purchased the little Pac and immediately when I was. Home put the little guy/girl in a keeper with a shallow water dish and Eco earth. So I. Believe I saved a little Pacman frogs life and gained a new little pal. Grif also started chasing crickets when he awoke tonight which made me all the more happy. I hope he's recovered now.

[John]

Pet stores generally don't know or care about things like that, sadly. However, they love people like you who feel sorry for the animals and buy them to save them . I know you did the right thing but I would try not to make a habit of it if I were you.

[Poly]

That's horrlibe! Glad you bought the little guy though! But I second Johns warning, if you keep that habbit up, you'll soon be know to all the local folk, as the crazy frog guy...

It's terrible how they can endanger an anmials life, and even when warned do nothing about it!

[demeteraurion]

:O I'm so jealous! I want a new pacman frog too! I hate chain pet stores, they never give a **** about the poor animals. And then they won't hire anyone (like myself) who will actually try to research each animal to give it the proper home. I hope your little frog does good, and give us pics

[ViperJr]

Pet stores generally don't know or care about things like that, sadly. However, they love people like you who feel sorry for the animals and buy them to save them . I know you did the right thing but I would try not to make a habit of it if I were you.

Pretty much what John said. I understand the urge to save the frog, but from the store owners view, you just confirmed that it works, selling frogs like that. Just throw in another pac in that tank and let it be "rescued"!
It's a real dilemma. Yes, you truly saved that specific frog, but supported the store not only with money, but with evidence that it does not matter if you treat the frogs like ****. They'll get sold anyway.

[GrifTheGreat]

I understand the dilemma. In general, I do not like supporting chain stores. But I just couldn't stand to see the poor little thing in such deplorable conditions. The chucks of bark were definitely dangerous and they were clearly feeding it in the same enclosure. It was in the smallest size critter carrier inside a large tank (corporate greed again- have to fit as many animals, or should I say products, in as little space as possible). The water dish took up half the carrier and was very deep, probably too deep for the little pac to get into. The staff clearly didn't care about the issue or even want to acknowledge that there was an issue. I'm going to send Petsmart a very unhappy email, not that it will do much good. While I don't plan to adopt anymore animals anytime soon, I will say that I'm not very good at saying no to big eyes. ;-) My dog and all of the cats I've had have all been rescue animals too.

This pacman is so tiny. It must barely be part being a froglet. It's definitely smaller than Grif was when we got him. It was very scared last night. It's sides kept heaving from breathing so heavily. But once we got it settled down in its new home she/he calmed down. It ate like four small crickets and pooped so all seems good. Right now it's burrowed down sleeping. :-) I should have some pictures up tomorrow!

[DVirginiana]

It ultimately comes down to whether or not you have the time and money to care for another animal as opposed to just going out and trying to save every abused petstore frog there is. You seem to have a pretty good handle on things, so IMO you did the right thing. If you hadn't bought the frog, it wouldn't have made any real difference to Petsmart, but it made all the difference to the frog. Got mine from crappy Petsmart conditions too, and worked him through a really bad impaction because of it (they also sell them as the wrong species; don't be surprised if your ornata is really a cranwelli ) He wasn't really a 'rescue', but he almost definitely would've died if I hadn't decided to get him.

Chain petstores really piss me off. Luckily I just found a fish/reptile specialty store near where I'm living so I can take my business elsewhere now. Better prices, better products, AND I don't feel like I'm selling my soul every time I walk through the door!

[LizardMama]

That's pretty much as bad as what the owner of Off The Ark Exotic Pets told me today about Pacman Frogs. I was telling him how my frog has gone from eating so much to not eating at all he he said that I shouldn't have my frog on dirt like I have him on, instead I should have him in about an inch and a half to two inches of water. I feel bad for the 1 Ornate he has (in near 2 inches of water and pebbles). A lot of pet stores really don't give a **** about the animals they have in shop, all they care about is the dough that they get on a daily basis. Glad that the frog has a new, loving owner who will take good care of him.

[BG]

Its all in the name Grfthegreat. Unfortunately with this wonderful method we feed the fire. The other day i bought 3 tiny bullfrogs from china town and set them free. There's 3 bullfrogs that are not ending up as fried frog legs. How can they sell baby frogs for food. Your frog is one lucky guy. What about the thousands of poor frogs with a dark future out there? Its ok ,you did the right thing. Hopefully theres alot of Grifters out there to rescue another pacman.