An Odd Occurrence

[Laceflower]

So as I'm sitting on my couch this morning watching my Northern warm up, I noticed him doing something extremely odd - he looked like he was choking. His mouth was wide open, his tongue was balled up to the side, and he looked as though he was trying to push something out of his throat. I had a clear view inside, but I couldn't see anything, and it's his feeding day today, so I know he hasn't had a chance to get anything stuck in there. It was very weird. He seems fine now, and is pretty much normal otherwise. He's definitely not dehydrated, and he's currently wandering around his terrarium, making his morning rounds post-poo like normal.

For good measure:
Temps: 94F (hot end) 73F (cool end)
Humidity: 42% (I'm in Tennessee, so even with aspen bedding, it manages to be fairly humid. He seems to thrive in slightly higher humidity for a Northern, though).

Like I said, now he's totally normal. I just want to know if I should be worried or not. Thankies!

[alichamp]

I'm guessing he's fine.
The only thing that I can think of is perhaps he was doing that weird thing they do after a drink, push up high on front legs, open mouth up wide and kind of gulp a little...?
I'd probably keep a close eye on feeding and pooing for the next several weeks to make sure it stays normal.

[Laceflower]

Thanks! I'm not sure what it was, but he hasn't done it again. He ate as ravenously as normal yesterday, too, so I'm not really worried. I appreciate your help!

[splashy07]

Observed one of my Easterns doing the same thing, just happened to be sitting there watching him when I was home on a Saturday. Scared the heck out of me, then he just went about his business like nothing happened. Makes me wonder what other odd behavior I miss being at work all day. Then I started thinking, when I used to keep bearded dragons they did that also. Sort of look like they're going to throw up, but nothing comes out.

[kingofnobbys]

Throat skin stretching .... my water skinks did it, my BTs do it , my beardies do it.

I can relate how freaky it looks and how it can give someone who doesn't spend a lot of time with their pet lizards a fright if they see it happening and have never seen it before.... first time I saw it I thought my pet lizard (was choking and immediately picked him up and tried to see what was causing the obstruction .... not easy if lizard clamp jaw shut and doesn''t want to open it's mouth to let you look down his throat....

[Laceflower]

Throat skin stretching .... my water skinks did it, my BTs do it , my beardies do it.

I can relate how freaky it looks and how it can give someone who doesn't spend a lot of time with their pet lizards a fright if they see it happening and have never seen it before.... first time I saw it I thought my pet lizard (was choking and immediately picked him up and tried to see what was causing the obstruction .... not easy if lizard clamp jaw shut and doesn''t want to open it's mouth to let you look down his throat....

Well, the reason it did freak me out is because I do spend every hour of my day that I'm not in class in my herp room, and I'd say 90% of my time in the herp room is with this particular animal, and I'd never observed that behavior before. I'm sorry if I seem offended, I just feel like that comment was a tad presumptuous - but no hard feelings here. I do thank you for telling me what it was so I'll know for next time.

[splashy07]

Interesting. Keeping reptiles for 40+ years and never saw this before I kept beardies. Or if I did, never thought much about it until I saw it mentioned in this forum. I think I pay more attention to my blueys than I ever did with anything before, you just can't help it. They never stop being adorable and amusing me.