Will the frog be okay?

[ArchGrammarian]

Hello, forum.

I just got back from PetSmart and had a pretty awful experience. I asked to see the Pac-man frog in the amphibian enclosure (listed as Ceratophrys ornata) and the worker on duty unlocked the enclosure and took the frog out. When she did this, she presented the frog in her palms face-up as if showing me an animal that doesn't attempt to hop away from any sort of danger.

Well, before I could say anything about the frog potentially hopping away, it happened. The frog leaped from her palms, struck my chest, and struck the floor. All in all, between my chest and the tile floor, it fell about four-and-a-half feet. When it struck, the frog looked as if it landed on its head, just behind the right eye. The frog made no move, and its mouth hung open for some time (about three or four seconds). The mortified sales associate picked him/her up, stroked its back until she saw movement, and then put him/her back into its enclosure. When we last observed it, the frog appeared to be all right (although understandably shocked).

I felt really awful for not doing anything more or saying anything sooner (and still do, honestly) and couldn't wait to get back and ask you knowledgeable folks what you think: will the frog be okay? It's scheduled for an emergency visit from the veterinarian tomorrow, and, if all checks out, I'm taking the little guy home with me.

Per usual, I appreciate any feedback.

Kyle

Edit: I forgot to mention: the frog was no bigger than the size of a quarter. It was quite small.

[froggiez]

OMGosh! poor thing! I hope he will be ok let us know what happens

[John911]

So wait, petsmart is gonna flip the bill on a frog they sell for 15.99? Your odds of it being ok are 50/50. Like if you got t boned in your festiva by a semi. You just might luck out. Obviously a horned frog isnt designed for pretty much anything but eating and burrowing.

[Kevin1]

Sounds pretty typical of a petsmart employee.

[ArchGrammarian]

froggiez: I certainly will keep everyone updated via this thread. I'm going back there tomorrow evening to check up on the frog. I really hope to be able to take the poor critter away from there.

John911: I would think the physics between a human being suffering blunt trauma due to vehicular impact and a frog falling from a relative height would be somewhat different. Newton's second law dictates that force is a product of an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration (in this case, due to gravity). Smaller critters, I would think, could fall from relatively higher places and suffer less attrition due to possessing little mass.

Kevin1: I try not to be so cynical when it comes to individual workers, but the moment this girl took the frog out and held it as described, I wanted to correct her posthaste. I feel so awful for not doing more to prevent the situation from happening and I just can't get the image of that frog upside-down on the tile out of my head...

[Kevin1]

John911: I would think the physics between a human being suffering blunt trauma due to vehicular impact and a frog falling from a relative height would be somewhat different. Newton's second law dictates that force is a product of an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration (in this case, due to gravity). Smaller critters, I would think, could fall from relatively higher places and suffer less attrition due to possessing little mass.

This is exactly right. I think the odds are good that the frog will recover. Try not to beat yourself up too much over it. It's not your fault friend. It's their job to know what they're doing, their bad.

[ArchGrammarian]

Thanks for the encouragement, Kevin1. I can't help but feel bad, however. I guess I'm officially becoming a full-blown herper

[ArchGrammarian]

Good news, everyone: the frog appears to be okay! What's more, I've purchased the critter, bought it all of the necessities for its own living quarters, and, come Sunday evening, it will be beside Birdo in my dorm room (although in a separate terrarium-- I know not to mix ceratophryds).

Below is a rather low-quality photo of the little guy. My girlfriend took some fantastic photos with her digital camera, but I have no way of porting them on this computer [angry face].

As for the name, I think I'll go with "Blunder." It complements "Birdo" and highlights the surrounding circumstances that made my purchasing him almost an ethical obligation