Petco Reliable Dealer?

[Kurt]

Isn't mantella a type of dart? And doesn't the ones beginning with "hyla" mean a sort of treefrog? Litoria sounds a little familiar, but I'm not sure why. That's the best I can do.

Mantellas are not darts. They are similar, but they are not darts Depending on the line of taxonomy you follow they are either in the family Ranidae (true frogs) or in their own family, Mantellidae.

"Hyla" on its own would be a genus of treefrogs, like Hyla versicolor, H. arborea, H. gratiosa, and so on. In this case Hylarana erythraea is not a treefrog.

Litoria subglandulosa is a close relative to Litoria caerulea, so your on the right trail.

Let me know when you give up and I will reveal the answers.

[1beataway]

Let me know when you give up and I will reveal the answers.

I had classes, and now work, so I'll work on it when I get home tonight. I hope you don't reveal the answers before then.

[Kurt]

I won't.

[1beataway]

I was tired; so far I have only worked on half the frogs. I was trying to use the roots of the word to figure out what they are. I know that Pseudophryne corroboree is the corroboree frog, and I'm going to guess that Litoria subglandulosa is the white-lip treefrog, because I think that's close to the White's?

Otherwise, here is what else I have:
Lithobates palustris litho-rock bates-one that walks palustris-swampy
So this isn't a frog at all. It's a rock that walks through swampy areas. But...If I had to guess, the best I could guess is that it's a toad.

Ameerega trivittata trivi-three ways
Maybe a happy male frog. Otherwise, I have no idea.
Anaxyrus exsul Anax-king Exsul-to be exiled

An exiled King. Still no help.

Hyperolius semidiscus Hyper-over semidiscus-half circle?
No idea, still.

Hylarana erythraea Hyl-matter or wood rana-frog erythr-red
A red frog who lives in wood? I don't believe that's the name for tomato frog though, so again I'm stumped.

I did find a website for the roots that I really like though. And I'll work on more later.

[Kurt]

Litoria subglandulosa is not the white-lipped treefrog. It is the New England treefrog, a native of the New England area of New South Wales and southern Queensland. The white-lipped treefrog is Litoria infrafrenata.

Lithobates palustris, formerly Rana palustris is the pickerel frog, native to the United States. It very much looks like a leopard frog, but its "spots" are rectangular in shape.

With Ameerega trivittata you were almost on the right track. Ameerega trivittata is the three-striped poison dart frog. Its former name is Epipedobates trivittatus.

You were kind of on the right track with Anaxyrus exsul, the black toad. It's species name, exsul, means exile, referring to its limited distribution in California. Its former genus is Bufo.

Semidiscus does mean half circle and refers to an incomplete throat disc in this reed frog's anatomy. Hyperolius semidiscus is the yellow-striped reed frog.

You would think Hylarana would be the wood frog based on your research, but it is not. The wood frogs's taxonomic name is Lithobates sylvaticus. You were, however, very close with the species name. The common name for Hylarana erythraea is the Asian greenback frog or the red-eared greenback frog. Tomato frogs are of the genus Dyscophus.

[1beataway]

The roots don't always seem to be helping me. I'll continue with the same process tomorrow though, to try to figure out the rest.

Today, thinking about Sludgemunkey's earlier post, I was trying to guess what kind of customer he would be. I think he fits well with some of the fish customers.

Customer: I want this fish.
Me: Ok. What size tank do you have?
Customer: I know what I'm doing.
Me: Ok. What size tank is it?
Customer: Why do you need to know?
Me: I cannot sell the fish without knowing the size of the tank and that it's established and blah blah blah (explanation of why).
Customer: I know what I'm doing. I've had fish for years. I have 3 50 gallon tanks.
Me: So, 50 gallons? Great.

Either that, or he would be like one of my favourite customers, a guy who knew a ton about saltwater tanks and use to set them up for companies and setup some organization, and whom I talked to for about an hour at work, asking all kinds of questions.

[Kurt]

I am the customer that gets asked all the questions by both employee and other customers.

[SludgeMunkey]

The roots don't always seem to be helping me. I'll continue with the same process tomorrow though, to try to figure out the rest.

Today, thinking about Sludgemunkey's earlier post, I was trying to guess what kind of customer he would be. I think he fits well with some of the fish customers.

Customer: I want this fish.
Me: Ok. What size tank do you have?
Customer: I know what I'm doing.
Me: Ok. What size tank is it?
Customer: Why do you need to know?
Me: I cannot sell the fish without knowing the size of the tank and that it's established and blah blah blah (explanation of why).
Customer: I know what I'm doing. I've had fish for years. I have 3 50 gallon tanks.
Me: So, 50 gallons? Great.

Either that, or he would be like one of my favourite customers, a guy who knew a ton about saltwater tanks and use to set them up for companies and setup some organization, and whom I talked to for about an hour at work, asking all kinds of questions.

LOL

I'm the one you end up getting yelled at by your boss for because we end up chatting about critters for an hour and a half every time I am in the store. I talk...a lot...LOL Truth be told though, I am not a saltwater guy. Never have been. (Do not laugh too hard) I always felt saltwater was too much work!

[poaponies]

I have gotten 2 or 3 green tree at petco,but the only seem to last a few months. Also the cage setup is only a water dish and hiding place.

[Kurt]

Well, green treefrogs are wild caught and are usually loaded with gastrointestinal parasites. You mix that with the stress of a new living situation and possibly poor husbandry skills, and the frog will most likely die. Its really a good idea to have all your frogs dewormed/treated for GI parasites, even if the pet store says it's captive bred. Unless the pet store practice severe sanitary protocols or only deals with captive bred animals, there is a good chance that there will be CB animals being infected with GI parasites whilst in their care.

PS I have had my green treefrog, Hyla cinerea for around 4 years now.

[scro]

I began to read the other replies, but then thought, the best way to voice my opinion would be just to let you have it.

There is a Petco near where I live and I have begun thinking it is the 2nd worst in the area.

The past two times I've gone there, only for crickets, I pointed out a dead White's each time.
DISGUSTING!!!
Despite the store being clean (which is the only thing that looks on the up-and-up) the workers and pretty generic with their knowledge of reptiles/amphibians.
I must say though, there was this one guy working there who seemed to be more into the rep/amph dept than the other employees. The more I bought crickets from him I could tell his disgust with his management was rising.
...thus he quit...
...thus I have seen the recent frog deaths (probably from neglect).
Thought I might let you know..."they blow"
...you usually get what you pay for...cheap=cheap

[JeffX]

Petco is really hit and miss. It all depends on management and the people they hire. When I worked there, we had managers who had no clue on how to care for amphibians or reptiles. They didn't care either and always relied on Petco's veterinarians that supposedly decided on the care of these animals. I eventually quit in disgust over the constant fights with management.

[froggymatt]

petco,reliable,healthy,frogs,all in the same sentence? i'd take out the middle two words. at least for the petco by me in florida. i had to rescue two whites from my local one today as they were housed with a baby ball python! no water,no food, and on a dirt substrate!....we ended up with 2 whites and 5 firebellys because of the conditions. i started a investigation at the board of health and fish and wildlife. i also made some corporate phone calls..hope this helps others. the only thing i would buy from them is crickets and calcium suppliment!

[BG]

I bought alot of animals from petco,or should i say rescued. They have these weired sales like 75% of on crested geckos,day geckos, whites tree frogs. They sell them real expensive the whole year and one day they have sales. I paid 12 bucks for the cresties, 30 bucks for the giant geckos,and 10 bucks for the WTF. they are all doing great .I haven't lost one . But i had some issues getting these animals, due to the clueless,useless, dumbest,unexperienced, trolls that petco hires. They made my buying experience a nightmare.

[DogRetepCow]

petco,reliable,healthy,frogs,all in the same sentence? i'd take out the middle two words. at least for the petco by me in florida. i had to rescue two whites from my local one today as they were housed with a baby ball python! no water,no food, and on a dirt substrate!....we ended up with 2 whites and 5 firebellys because of the conditions. i started a investigation at the board of health and fish and wildlife. i also made some corporate phone calls..hope this helps others. the only thing i would buy from them is crickets and calcium suppliment!

Wow, housing white tree frogs with a ball python?! That's nuts.

[xdartfrogx]

I have gotten frogs from Petco in the past and all of them always did really well, BUT...

About 8 months ago,
I had decided I was going to start keeping Red Eyes and built a new 50g live planted setup just for them. One day I went in knowing there was a sale on Red Eyes, and purchased 3. To my dismay, 2 immediately showed signs of illness from just going from the store and to my house- a 12 minute drive. Had them all checked out by a local herp vet later that day. She said they had Springs Disease? (I believe was her diagnosis). They stayed overnight at the vet to be observed and died that very night ...
Apparently this is something that RET males can suffer from when removed during breeding season?

Nonetheless, I have completely turned away from RET and have no intentions of trying that species again. Personally, I believe it was Petco's fault for not providing them with proper humidity/temp, and also the fact I learned later- they were wild caught. (Yes, shame on me for not looking more into why they were so cheap!) I feel really bad for what happened. I'm sticking to my L. vermiculatus colony & other misc frogs I have had good experience with.

As far as Petco goes, stick to CB animals that look healthy. If what you're looking into is a specie you have never cared for before, talk to people who really know what they're doing ie a breeder and buy from someone who knows their frogs! The firebellies, walking frogs, tomato frogs, and crested geckos have always been healthy whenever I did get one from Petco; but I HIGHLY recommend buying anything more exotic from a true keeper of the species. A good breeder is always willing to offer a tour of the facility and answer any questions and concerns that may arise with the animal(s) before and after purchase.

Sorry for the rant. Just a cruddy RET Petco Experience ........

[BG]

That's why they have easy to keep,common animals. To tell you the truth,I'm surpriseed to find Madagascar giant day gackos there.

[Stardust369]

I have gotten 4 white's tree frogs from PETCO in total. Two of them are still alive. The first one died after I had it for 6 months, I don't know what happened I just found him dead one morning. The other one that passed away wasn't eating, I tried everything possible to get him to eat, and I was going to take him back (it was within their 15-day guarantee period), but he died as well. It's kind of a hit-and-miss. I'm sure that more experienced frog owners wouldn't have problems with PETCO frogs, but I would suggest a reptile store or even Petsmart.