something wrong?

Last night when I went to feed my female normal( not sure if it helps but she is 968g) I went to feed her and when I put the rat up to her I saw something about 2/3rd the way down her body. It looked as tho it was her heart beating like you see on cartoons where it jumps out of there chest( but it was no where near where I would assume the chest area to be. It was about the thickness of half a pencil and jumped out like 3 times in like a 2-3 second time frame. It jumped out about 1/8th an in. But ever since, I have yet to see this again. Has this ever happened to anyones bp before, or do you know what it is?( oh yeah, and yes she ate fine)

Heavy breath?

I'm guessing it was an intake of breath or a heartbeat. Probably a breath, as heartbeats can be difficult to find, even if you're looking for one.

Do snakes get muscle spasms?

no it was like.... Imagine a pencil going into the snake and pushing out on the skin on the other side. to small and to focused on a single area for a breath. If anything more like a heart beat but it was towards the tail. About 2/3rd the way down the body....... Yea kinda like a spasm

Hi,

Was it on her underside or on the sides or back of her body?


dr del

Do you feed her on bedding? The larger mulch type? Do you think she might have ingested a large piece and it was being pushed out/up by her breathing or lodged in her stomach/intestines?

If you think this could be a possible scenario she would need to see a vet for x-rays to diagnose a foreign body. They can't digest/pass wood or bark. It would require surgery to remove it.

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Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

They can't digest/pass wood or bark. It would require surgery to remove it.

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Are you sure? I've seen mine accidentally swallow pieces of aspen. i can't imagine never eating something foreign in the wild. And they can digest bone, wood shouldn't be difficult. Not that it is safe, because it's not. I guess if it was a really big piece, then yeah. On any account it might require a trip to the vet just to make sure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Are you sure? I've seen mine accidentally swallow pieces of aspen. i can't imagine never eating something foreign in the wild. And they can digest bone, wood shouldn't be difficult. Not that it is safe, because it's not. I guess if it was a really big piece, then yeah. On any account it might require a trip to the vet just to make sure.

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Yeah, if its a big enough piece it can become lodged. Most non-herbivore animals can not fully digest wood. It wouldn't be common but it can happen.

It was on her lower side, like a half in. before the white.

And no bedding I use paper towels and always have.

You might want to contact a vet and tell them whats going on. The only thing I could think of would be a foreign object.

Unless a broken rib might stick out like you described? I would still call a vet especially if you notice it again or she starts to refuse food.

Hope she's ok.

If it was her belly, the muscles they use to push and move can sometimes twitch like that, and even more creepy, they can do it down the belly when you hold them in the air looking for purchase. It looks like a bunch of muscle spasms crawling down their belly. (I know that doesnt make much sense. )

It's a strange sight.