We are loosing to many pacman out there

[Amphibious]

Before I answer this question, I do not encourage Pacman Frog handling except when absolutely necessary. That said...

That sort of depends on what your Pacman Frog has been doing. Normally it my feel like the skin is a little tight. If they have been soaking in the water dish they my feel like they have loose-ish skin, they will feel larger and heavier. Your description sounds like a well hydrated Pacman Frog, but of course, I can't be sure from the description.

Oh I wasn't handling him for fun. I had to remove him to change the substrate of his tank.
Well that's not bad news. He's exhibiting basically normal behavior so that might be all it is.
Thanks.

[BG]

The problem with pacman is that they get treated like some kind of toy. Tree frogs,and other exotic frogs get more respect,and end up in responsible hands more likely. Its all in the name,wich doesn't help at all. They are over bred. The sellers tell you what you want to hear,so you can buy it ,and cant wait to go home and play with your new toy. Hopefully all your massages will help people think deffrent of the little horned frogs of south america.

[EventHorizon]

Exactly, I've worked in petstores, and while they aren't the most ideal place to get pets, the ones I chose to work for (no puppies, no kittens), all insisted you learn all you could about the proper care of the animal, that you'd be able to be asked about any animal we carried and reply with the correct answers, and that we were to refuse sales to people who seemed to not be willing to make sure the animal they bought would have a proper set up.

I always tended to be the reptile person, and so many people just don't seem to understand that yes, the initial set up can be costly, but if you set an animal up right from the start, most are fairly simple to keep up with.

Not enough people research before they buy. I had been commenting to a friend I had a reptile setup I had been wanting to fill, but I knew I was best prepared for a tropical reptile, and I kept being offered desert ones. I love them, but what I had was more for a higher humidity pet, especially where I had in mind.

So I guess it was just fate that dropped the little, sick Argentinian Horned Frog into my lap! But, before I took her from the customers, I already knew what the care was for a healthy one, because I had a male years ago who I absolutely cherished.

The problem is I feel, that too many petstores aren't like the ones I've worked for, where people just want to make sales, especially the ones where they work on commission! Not enough really school their employees on care, and people just don't realize that when they walk into a store. So many people mean well, and think that they can come in and talk to an employee- and get all the answers they need, and that SHOULD be the case, but sadly it's not in many places.

I feel for those people, who are trying to make a responsible, informed decision, but don't know enough on how the petstore trade is run to know what to look out for. Personally, to test the knowledge of a place, I'll go in and ask questions of something I know about really well, before I ask about something I don't (say, saltwater fish), but then I go home and use those answers as a starting point for research! Sometimes you need to have a touch of information, before you can really research it well yourself.

Sometimes it just makes me angry that this even needs to be an issue...

[GrifTheGreat]

Exactly, I've worked in petstores, and while they aren't the most ideal place to get pets, the ones I chose to work for (no puppies, no kittens), all insisted you learn all you could about the proper care of the animal, that you'd be able to be asked about any animal we carried and reply with the correct answers, and that we were to refuse sales to people who seemed to not be willing to make sure the animal they bought would have a proper set up.

I always tended to be the reptile person, and so many people just don't seem to understand that yes, the initial set up can be costly, but if you set an animal up right from the start, most are fairly simple to keep up with.

Not enough people research before they buy. I had been commenting to a friend I had a reptile setup I had been wanting to fill, but I knew I was best prepared for a tropical reptile, and I kept being offered desert ones. I love them, but what I had was more for a higher humidity pet, especially where I had in mind.

So I guess it was just fate that dropped the little, sick Argentinian Horned Frog into my lap! But, before I took her from the customers, I already knew what the care was for a healthy one, because I had a male years ago who I absolutely cherished.

The problem is I feel, that too many petstores aren't like the ones I've worked for, where people just want to make sales, especially the ones where they work on commission! Not enough really school their employees on care, and people just don't realize that when they walk into a store. So many people mean well, and think that they can come in and talk to an employee- and get all the answers they need, and that SHOULD be the case, but sadly it's not in many places.

I feel for those people, who are trying to make a responsible, informed decision, but don't know enough on how the petstore trade is run to know what to look out for. Personally, to test the knowledge of a place, I'll go in and ask questions of something I know about really well, before I ask about something I don't (say, saltwater fish), but then I go home and use those answers as a starting point for research! Sometimes you need to have a touch of information, before you can really research it well yourself.

Sometimes it just makes me angry that this even needs to be an issue...

This is true and I believe sales should be refused to unprepared buyers and especially if they are unwilling to do research first. I rescued a baby Greddn Cranwelli from a Petsmart that's near me. Its the same one I purchased Grif from. I stopped to buy some fake plants and a light bulb for my little baby. Ofcourse I stopped to look at the reptile section and there again was a baby pacman on moist peat moss mixed with bark. I purchased the items I came for and imediately grabbed a manager and advised him that the frog was on the wrong substrate and if fed in the enclosure on that substrate that it was going to accidentaly going to ingest a piece of bark and die. I said it as politely as possible and told him that it would save them money if they housed the frog properly and showed him exactly what substrate to house the frog on. I can only hope that I got through to them. I acted on behalf of the frog but explained it in terms that a money hungry buisness would understand so that maybe they would change their ways, but I can only hope.

[BG]

Martin,you are right,and i agree with you. Its not just pacman. It could happen to all the frogs. Look whats happening to the baby red ear sliders. They are the wurst turtle to keep,and yet every store and corner in chinatown push them on to kids like candy. They get huge and have 20 times more needs then frogs. Turtles also bite and are aggresive. Turtles are not for kids. Thats why they are the #1 pet to give away on crIgslist for free. I

[GrifTheGreat]

That is really sad. I hate to see neglected pets that people get rid of just because they don't want them anymore. Its a responcibility. If you buy the pet then take care of it. Mine are beloved creatures that are not just animals they are family. I could never get rid of them or grow tired of them.if I was not physically able to take care of them then I would have someone I trusted take care of them until I could again. I also don't buy something that's living and just look at it as just a frog or just a dog and so on. They have names. They need to feel loved too. Even if they aren't cuddly which Pacmans and many other frogs are cute and tubby, but you shouldn't cuddle them. Bad idea. If I got a pet for my kid whenever I have one, ill teach them what they need to know and proper husbandry.

[ViperJr]

The problem with pacman is that they get treated like some kind of toy. Tree frogs,and other exotic frogs get more respect,and end up in responsible hands more likely. Its all in the name,wich doesn't help at all. They are over bred. The sellers tell you what you want to hear,so you can buy it ,and cant wait to go home and play with your new toy. Hopefully all your massages will help people think deffrent of the little horned frogs of south america.

I'm sorry BG, but I don't really agree with you. It might be true that pacmans are more directly treated "like a toy" (getting picked up, rodent only-diet because it looks cool etc.) but tree frogs gets equally bad treated. It's only a little bit camouflaged. Instead of being treated badly like pacman would, they're being house incredibly bad instead. A terrarium without plants and hiding space, a tropical tree frog in a superdry tank, feeding small frogs with large crickets etc etc. In my experience, this is unfortunately even harder to make people understand than that picking up a frog is bad. For some reason, people understand that housing cats in a 1 gallon cage, feeding it only with carrots, is bad. But they can't understand that animals like frogs have requirements as well...