I had a moment of utter shock tonight when I went to get Little Miss Muffin ready for dinner. When I pulled back her hide she began stargazing, wobbling and gagging with her mouth cocked opened.
I have NEVER seen anything like this and I immediately picked her up and looked in her mouth. What I saw was what initially *appeared* to be very large chunks of bloody matter - I was so freaked out by this point.
The situation was so dire that I attempted to open her mouth to ensure that she didn't have anything lodged inside. She looked terrified too and I couldn't quite see what was in her mouth. I had the phone in one hand to call the vet and Muffin in the other.
I took her into the bathroom where the lighting was much better, and tried to pull out some of the debris in her mouth. I couldn't imagine where it could have come from; there was no blood in her cage.
It turned out to be substrate that got stuck in the very back of her throat. It must have been there for awhile. She seemed to be doing the odd movements to get it to either pass down or move out. She didn't have enough saliva in her little mouth so apparently the more she had been trying to get it out, the more full her little mouth became.
I pulled out quite a bit with my finger, and used water to help get the rest of it out. That poor little pumpkin must have been so scared too, she was so happy to have me help her get that stuff out – and was not defensive or agitated in any way. She is clearly very trusting of me.
When I got it all out she was completely back to normal, with her mouth closed and tongue flickering. I call that the BP Smile and it’s so cute - I know this is not the first time anyone has shared this story, but it’s the first time it’s happened to me, and it was terrifying.
I'd never be able to make anyone else understand just how horrifying this was. On to paper towels from here on out.
Reply With Quote