Hey everyone!

First post on the forum, thanks for having me!

Anyway, I wish that my first post would have a more optimistic in nature but I fear my milk snake might have some form of heart condition. I was handling him today and I noticed that he had a large bulge in him. My first thought was that it was the mouse that he had eaten two days prior, but on closer inspection almost instantly I realized that this was not the case as it was way to high up in proportion to his body, I found the actual bulge from the mouse, and his heartbeat was clearly visible on the bulge. Now I have not been able to find any information on heart problems with snakes but this does not seem normal to me. I plan on taking him to the vet this week as soon as I can to be sure but I was hoping to get an opinion on him here first. Any ideas?

More info on the snake. He was a recent adoption taken into my custody only around 1-2 months ago. The previous owner was "snake-phobic" and had him in a 5 gallon tank without being handled for over 10 years after the original owner passed. So far as I know he was given the proper temperatures and fresh water but the tank itself was not properly cleaned. I'm sure this has definitely had negative side effects on his health over that long a time period.

Once again, thank you for all of your help in advance!

- Al