Stargazing?

[rarzi11a]

i just had a question about stargazing. i guess i should start at the beginning to make this as clear as possible.

earlier today i went to petco to pick up a rat, as it is feeding day. well i come home and put the rat in the box on top of her cage to pre-scent. after a minute or two she comes right out and starts to inspect the box. everything is going fine. i dumped the rat out of the box and it took her several minutes to locate the rat. this has never been an issue before, but i just shrug it off. well she finally eats, and i head off to work. the last time i saw her before work, she was just relaxing in her water dish soaking it up.

well i came home from work and she was is still in her water dish just staring up at the top of her cage, in what seemed like the exact same position. i thought this was odd, and opened the cage to see if she was ok. she made a b-line straight for her hide. ok, that's not that unusual. well, after a couple minutes or two she poked her head out and starts staring up again, at about a 45 degree angle. she has been staring up now at the same angle completely still for 2-3 hours now.

she has never displayed this type of behavior before, especially after eating. she is usually fairly active and likes to cruise her cage stretching up to try and find an escape. this is pretty weird to me. anytime i walk up to her cage while she out, she usually looks over at me to see whats up. but tonight she doesn't even notice me when i walk up. even when i tap on the glass, she is just transfixed in this daze. the only time she notices me is if i make a quick motion right in front of her face.

here is a pic...


she has been in this position for 3+ hours now. could this possibly be stargazing? i figure im pretty much over-reacting and being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

edit: i searched the forums for old threads, but none of them really helped out for this situation. pretty much looking for other, more knowledgeable opinions.