Light at the end of the tunnel

[Molch]

I just had a brand new experience with my frog Linus.

Linus is a female Pacific Chorus Frog who was given to me by friends after they received her in their weekly shipment of organic veggies.

I just fed Linus 2 earthworms. The first went in real well, the second more reluctantly, presumably because she was full.

Then, 5 minutes later, I saw one of the worms emerge from the wrong end of Linus looking completely unscathed and untraumatized by its trip through the valley of the shadow of Death.

I've never seen such a thing. Is this something that can happen with frogs? Maybe Linus' stomach was so full that one worm managed to wriggle past and follow the light at the end of the tunnel? Linus certainly didn't seem to object.

The worm is question now resides in a small container with a bit of moss. It will be pardoned and returned to the worm bin. Time will tell if it requires therapy.

Has anyone ever seen this happen?

 

[Scorpion]

that's... odd

 

[michael]

Don't put it back in the worm bin. What if it picked up something from the frog?

 

[Molch]

Don't put it back in the worm bin. What if it picked up something from the frog?

yeah...that's a thought. Plus, I wouldn't want it to tell the other worms how to find the emergency exit in the dark

 

[FRANCOIS]

That is just weird.... did you drink some Beaujolais Nouveau?

 

[Molch]

non non monsieur, seulement du Diet Dr Pepper. And Linus didn't drink at all.

Okay, is anyone gonna say something scientific or intelligent about this?

Or must it remain a mystery? Has such a thing been seen by others? * Are frogs just that way?


*family lore has it that a Molchian great-grandfather once famously passed a tapeworm, wrapped it around a #2 pencil and plopped it in a jar of spirits, which he displayed on his desk until his death. Verification has been uncertain as said ancestor expired not long after when falling down the cellar steps (true story so far) and the jar in question has not turned up as a family heirloom.

 

[Molch]

okay, the question was discussed in the chat room tonight (a welcome break from the usual topics of sex, death and religion . Here the unauthorized summary:

- such a thing has been observed, at least in the state of Virginia, in fish and salamanders. It is not unheard-of.

- skepticism was expressed by the French delegation that the worm can survive the hostile environment in the gut, including stomach acidity and digestive enzymes

- the worm's experience has been likened to driving your car through a long tunnel, with corrosive acids dripping off the walls. Probably a fatal experience, but survivable if you drive fast enough and there are no road blocks

- the worm likely encountered open sphincters, less acidic conditions than usual, and fast passage possibly aided by peristalsis because the frog's gut was already busy digesting the other worm

- or something like that.

In any case, a fascinating experience for all parties involved.

 

[Red Eft14]

At the petstore that I work at we had this sick day gecko and he was used to eating crickets and it was skinny and weak for some reason so we force feed it waxworms and they can out alive through the other end too lol