New to owning White's Tree Frog, New to Forum!

[charlamanda]

Hello and welcome, I know it's a bit late, but I missed you somehow. I am on disability and have lots of time to kill and am on this site just about every morning for a few hours.
I am a fellow new Jerseian, I moved from Rutherford to Milford Pa and I miss NJ terribly.
Congrads on your new froggers and I am glad to hear Apollo has gotten treatment.
I am a new frog owner of Gray Tree froglets. They decided my pool, which had to be taken down 3 summers ago and is laying on the ground with several inches in it, was there favorate meet and greet and laid thousands of eggs. My entire yard was full of tiny froglets, that thankfully have mostly moved on and some moved in.
I brought 2 in that were very small and very thin, when the weather turned colder and rained for a week, and one ended up dying. The other froglet, I named Baby, was very dark at first almost black, but once he/she began to eat and adjust to it's new home has remained a beautiful green.

[charlamanda]

wooopsy...I posted that before I was finished.
Anyway, its been quite a ride with these guys, but they are wonderful little creatures and worth all the time, money and effort.
Now getting back to Apollo, since the frog had been ill from red leg prior to you buying him I'd march down to that pet store and in the nicest way possible and give them your vet bill for selling you an ill frog!!! When you purchase a pet from a pet store it is given that you are buying a healthy pet that has been checked by their vet routinely. If you buy one that does have health issues than they are responsible!!!! It's the law!!!
I bought my first puppy 16years ago, whom I still have, and he had an undecended testicle. This condition increases the risk for testiclular cancer and I had to have him fixed ASAP. The pet store was responsible to pay about 90% of the cost. I bought another dog from the shelter who had kennel cough and they too were responsable for most of the bill if not all of it, I can't remember I had her for 21 years and she was 6 when I adopted her, she was a peek-a-poo we named pookie, we called her Methusalah though since she was so old!
So my point is that the pet store you bought Apollo from should be responsable for the vet bill and the cost of the treatment.
I don't know how far you are from me , but if you are close I'd be willing to go with you to the pet store, I am a pro at this!!!LOL
Good luck and keep us updated on Apollo's recovery and post lots of pics

[LindyHopp]

That's crazy! I live in Wallington, 2 seconds from Rutherford. Small world!! If I had to leave NJ, I would be very sad. I've traveled all over the country, all over the world (even lived in Paris for a semester when I was in college) and cannot imagine my life anywhere else.

That being said, I think that finding eggs in your pool is the coolest thing ever! So glad you got to keep one and that they're happy and healthy.

[LindyHopp]

I just got the second part of your message. I plan on going to the petstore to let them know about Apollo. Idk..I feel like it is definitely their responsibility to ensure their customers get a healthy pet. By the time this is all over, it'll be over 200 dollars to get Apollo healthy again. I mean...I don't know about you, but 200 dollars is a lot of money..especially for a broke grad student.

[charlamanda]

I just got the second part of your message. I plan on going to the petstore to let them know about Apollo. I dont know..I feel like it is definitely their responsibility to ensure their customers get a healthy pet. By the time this is all over, it'll be over 200 dollars to get Apollo healthy again. I mean...I don't know about you, but 200 dollars is a lot of money..especially for a broke grad student.

$200 is a lot for anyone and being on disability it might as well be $2,000, What pet store did you use, if that's ok? I'd definately bring that bill to them, if they give you a hard time I have several friends and my ex-bf is an attorney, mention a law suit and they will take care of it. I am sure they know, or should know as pet store owners, that they ARE responsible for the health of the animals they sell!!! It's sad that many store owners do not abide by the law and don't routinely have their stock(animals) checked and treated by Vets. Many know very little about the pets they sell and care for them poorly. Gets me so pissed off!
Off Topic:OH, my ex-fiances brother owns or owned a pet store in Hasbrouck Heights, where I lived for several years and even coached 5th-6th grade cheerleading. I've been all over too, but mostly in Bergen county.
I went to H.S. in Wood-ridge, the ex thats a lawyer's brother is the mayor and a state senater for that area (district 6, I believe) and grew up in Carstadt so I am very familiar with Wallington, very small world!
Let me know what happens, I'll help out if I can. Bets of luck with your new group.
BTW...I have 10 in my 33gal and 2 small ones, including Baby, in a 3gal, lots of frogs and my pool is full of tadpoles again, which I am sure are more Gray Tree Frogs. I am going to speak to the Pa fish and Game commission to find out if legally I can give the tads away because without help they most likely will not survive the winter.

[LindyHopp]

Alrighty. I just got back from the pet store. I did NOT have a good experience.

I walked in and got some crickets, of course lol, and then asked the guy if I could speak to him about a recent pet purchase. I explained that I got Apollo less than a month ago, and that a few days after I got him he stopped eating. I told him I brought him to the vet and that he has red leg, and had it before I made my purchase. Basically, the guy told me that they do the best they can to check them out and make sure that they look good, but they have a 48 hour guarantee and that's it. He said that it was probably sick from the breeder and that it's not their fault and nothing can be done. Anyway, I asked to see a manager.

The manager was not nice. Basically, she said that the only thing they were going to do was make sure they didn't order from the same breeder again. I said that as a pet store, it is their responsibility to make sure they are selling healthy pets and that each animal receives proper veterinary care before it is put up for sale. She reiterated that they have a 48 hour guarantee and that I take the risk when I make the purchase. I told her that I'm not one of those people that goes after money, and that I really don't care about the money, but that it's the principle of it. She wrote down my name and said they're going to make sure they don't buy a frog from the same breeder again.

..so basically I got nowhere. Not even an apology. Not even an "I'm sorry you had to go through this." Heck, I really don't care about the money but they should feel SOME responsibility and at least offer me some store credit or free crickets for a year! lol Idk..I know if I owned the pet store, I would at least tell the person I was sorry they had to go through so much trouble...and to be put in the situation where either you take a pet to the vet or let it die. Seriously, it's an awful place to be in.

PS: I bought Apollo from PET GOODS in Paramus. I won't go there again. Is it really illegal to sell a sick frog though? I understand dogs and cats, but is the same guarantee in place for frogs?

Your NJ connections are crazy. Love it! I'm not sure about PA laws, but I dont' see why you wouldn't be able to give them away. It's gonna get cold fast...so hopefully you can get them good homes.

[charlamanda]

I am going to do some research on the company and write them a poison pen letter, they'll be banging down your door with apolgies when I get through with them! LOL
I'll get back to you....

[charlamanda]

Here is my customer review I posted at their website....Charlotte P.'s Local Business Reviews for Paramus, NJ
and I am not done yet!!!!!

[charlamanda]

I am contacting APHIS that regulates pet stores. Here is thesome info and the vet law.VETERINARY CARE

Only 17 states (AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, LA, ME, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, PA, VA) have laws mandating veterinary care in pet stores. The strength of these laws varies. For example, Minnesota only requires a veterinary exam before an animal is sold. This potentially means that pet stores in Minnesota are under no legal obligation to provide veterinary care to a sick animal if that animal is not being immediately purchased.
Four states (KS, ME, MO, NE) require that pet stores devise, usually in conjunction with a licensed veterinarian, a written program preventing disease, parasitic infestations, and/or injuries for the animals housed at the pet shop.
Often feeder animals, fish and invertebrates are excluded from the law. In Colorado, “timely” vet care and prescribed therapy must be given to “seriously ill or seriously injured” pet animals, except for feeder animals.
Pet shops can only provide “medical treatment” to birds or animals in their custody under the supervision of a veterinarian. (Penalty: misdemeanor and max $1,000 civil fine) (N.H. REV. STAT. AN. § 437:5, N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 437:9) A number of states require a certificate of health to accompany animals when they are transported across state lines for sale at a pet shop; other states require these health certificates prior to offering the animal for sale regardless of whether or not the animals were imported.

[IgbyKibbits]

Wow - I've been gone for a little bit and what an update! I'm so SO sorry to hear about your situation!!! I would be unbelievably angry too. You have every right to be! And a 48 hour guarantee? Are you kidding me!?!

Anyway, I completely understand. As you know, we've been going through quite some problems with our two little frogs, Igby and Kibbits. Unfortunately, Kibbits didn't make it...and by the time we could get his "spots" were big enough to get a biopsy, he had little time to live. Unfortunately, Igby is sick now too : ( Luckily, we were on high alert and she was promptly into the vet. Needless to say, it's Chytrid. We're having a skin biopsy on Monday to verify, but after all the research that myself (and the vet) have done, and given how both Kibbits looked, and Igby now looks...it's pretty much clear.

Needless to say, I went into the pet store where I bought both of them, and let them know...hey, my frogs are sick and this is what the vet thinks it is. Guess what we found out? They had THREE sick frogs in the back with splotches, lethargy, loss of appetite, and excessive shedding (all symptoms). No joke, I seriously took out a piece of paper and wrote down EVERYTHING we had found out from our numerous fecal cultures, biopsies, skin cultures, etc, AND about Chytrid and the symptoms. Those poor little frogs!

Here's to the happy recovery of Apollo and Igby!!! We will keep on fighting, right? : )