Whites at pet store

[Bombina Bob]

Today after I had gone to my orthodontist appointment i stopped in one of the pet stores at the mall. Pet lovers in Abbotsford was the store. They had fish tanks and terraria stacked on the walls with aquatic plants, iguanas, turtles, you name it! But i stopped once i saw lettering on a ET tank "Green tree frog (Whites) $8 " at first i thought there was a misidentification because of the price but nope, I asked the employee at the till if i could see the frog. she reached into the tank to grab the little frog (2") and it turned out it was a genuine whites tree frog She said they had the guy for close to 3 months with nobody wanting him. He had A fire belly toad as a tankmate with gravel substrate (bad mix lol) he appeared healthy with no bulges on his side. This guy would end up going home with me. the manager went to get what i thought would be a deli cup but instead was a plastic fish bag! he was bagged up with water and told me that he will have air and humidity. I was a little surprised to see um in this bag. 10 minutes later on the way home i see that he had pooped two pebbles! he appeared ok and there was no blood or abnormal faeces. he is now in a 30 gallon tank with water, fake plants and a few hides, he will be housed later in an ET tank.

Do you think i made the right decision buying this frog? Comments and criticism welcome..

[Lija]

Why do you have him in a water? Do i read it right?

You gotta do a qt tank for him and watch closely, he might be having more of these pebbles. Also you need to go regular qt route with fecal, etc.
did they say what he was eating? I would try to feed him nightcrawlers only ( if he will eat them) and do honey baths in case he has more stuff to get rid off.

But seriously though - plastic fish bag? Oh boy....

[Bombina Bob]

Sorry that I wasn't very specific, I have a dish of water. I never asked if he was eating or not but they said that they had him for 3 months without problems (If you call ingesting gravel a problem ) and with the fish bag! i was pretty frazzled. I dont think that whites recognize something as slow as a nightcrawler but ill try tonight with as little disturbance as possible.

[DigitalPunk]

Ahh pet stores you never fail to make me smile

I bought a Red from a pet store once to rescue it. I talked them way down in price. The put him in a box and then dropped the box. The manager said "oh he'll be fine" I said probably but I'm betting he is cheaper now that he's been drop tested.


Anyhow. You will want to do as Lija said and Qt him. Moist unprinted paper towels for substrate. Watch his poops and ensure he eats good for at least 30 days.

[Bombina Bob]

So far...Ok, he denied the nightcrawler but took a medium cricket with zeal. I don't have any paper towels with me but i do have a lot of toilet paper i don't want to disturb him any more than i have to.

[LilyPad]

Buy some unprinted paper towel tomorrow...I envision toilet paper turning into quite a mess. Keep trying the night crawlers, some tree frogs who snub them at first, end up loving them. It would be the easiest for him to digest at this stage.

[ColleenT]

i would worry about parasites. is there a local vet who works with reptiles/amphibians? i would want to drop off a fecal sample and maybe have him de-wormed.

[flybyferns]

So far...Ok, he denied the nightcrawler but took a medium cricket with zeal. I don't have any paper towels with me but i do have a lot of toilet paper i don't want to disturb him any more than i have to.

You are better off with nothing on the bottom than using tissue ( that will melt ) he has enough digestive issues at this point.
I don't know if Lija or Amy mention this --- ( apologize --- if you did ) but the worms are best because the are nutritious and very easy to digest around which is VERY likely additional pebbles I think you should count on that. I'm sure he needs cal and Vit D. If he will not eat the worms--- I would feed him small cricks. Small body parts = easier digestion. Don't overload him. But feed him well. Many of the Whites in the pet stores ( I'm sure you know ) are wild caught despite what the vendors tell the stores. Therefore watch for diarrhea and lethargy. Which 1) could be a parasitic infestation or 2) an intestinal obstruction. If this were my frog I would spent the 40$ to do a fecal and test for Ranavirus.

Hang in there ---- keep us posted ---- keep him in this simple bare bones enclosure for a long time

[Bombina Bob]

so far so good! Mr. White has eaten two small crickets from my hand and attempted to
eat my finger! He hides on the side of the enclosure for most of the day.

[deranged chipmunk]

Good luck with the night crawler route. I was never able to get my white's to even show interest in them. Mine were natural born killers and looked like they enjoyed the hunt. It's a good sign it ate. Poo pebbles are a good sign too. Hopefully they will continue. Good luck with the new acquisition!

Frog in a fish bag with water (smh)


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[deranged chipmunk]

Good news, good news!!


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Bombina Bob]

Update: Ive found faeces in the tank now and another pebble, the poop looks as if its a small shed
piece of skin with a little bit of waste around. He's hopping around as if its not a problem

[kueluck]

All I gotta say is YES!! You made the right choice getting this frog since it sound's like he was doomed if left there. Sound like your'e doing a great job. Mine also LOVE wax and butter worms, just wish I could get them to eat nightcrawlers. Mine also wil have NOTHING to do with those.

[Bombina Bob]

Update. He's eating like a pig and has had no pebbles in his faeces

[LilyPad]

Great news, Ryan!!