diff --git a/gateway/platforms/telegram.py b/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
index cbee25393e..188038a1ad 100644
--- a/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
+++ b/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
@@ -512,6 +512,17 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
                 self.name, attempt,
             )
             self._polling_network_error_count = 0
+            # start_polling() returning is necessary but not sufficient:
+            # PTB's Updater can be left in a state where `running` is True
+            # but the underlying long-poll task is wedged on a stale httpx
+            # connection and never makes progress. No error_callback fires
+            # in that state, so the reconnect ladder won't advance on its
+            # own. Schedule a deferred probe to detect the wedge and
+            # re-enter the ladder if needed.
+            if not self.has_fatal_error:
+                probe = asyncio.ensure_future(self._verify_polling_after_reconnect())
+                self._background_tasks.add(probe)
+                probe.add_done_callback(self._background_tasks.discard)
         except Exception as retry_err:
             logger.warning("[%s] Telegram polling reconnect failed: %s", self.name, retry_err)
             # start_polling failed — polling is dead and no further error
@@ -523,6 +534,50 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
                 self._background_tasks.add(task)
                 task.add_done_callback(self._background_tasks.discard)
 
+    async def _verify_polling_after_reconnect(self) -> None:
+        """Heartbeat probe scheduled after a successful reconnect.
+
+        PTB's Updater can survive a botched stop()+start_polling() cycle
+        with `running=True` but a wedged consumer task. No error callback
+        fires, so the reconnect ladder doesn't advance on its own. This
+        probe detects the wedge by:
+
+        1. Sleeping HEARTBEAT_PROBE_DELAY so a healthy long-poll has time
+           to complete at least one cycle.
+        2. Verifying `Updater.running` is still True.
+        3. Probing the bot endpoint with a tight asyncio timeout. A
+           wedged httpx pool fails this probe; a healthy one returns
+           well under the timeout.
+
+        On any failure, re-enter the reconnect ladder so the existing
+        MAX_NETWORK_RETRIES path can ultimately escalate to fatal-error.
+        """
+        HEARTBEAT_PROBE_DELAY = 60
+        PROBE_TIMEOUT = 10
+
+        await asyncio.sleep(HEARTBEAT_PROBE_DELAY)
+
+        if self.has_fatal_error:
+            return
+        if not (self._app and self._app.updater and self._app.updater.running):
+            logger.warning(
+                "[%s] Updater not running %ds after reconnect — treating as wedged",
+                self.name, HEARTBEAT_PROBE_DELAY,
+            )
+            await self._handle_polling_network_error(
+                RuntimeError("Updater not running after reconnect heartbeat")
+            )
+            return
+
+        try:
+            await asyncio.wait_for(self._app.bot.get_me(), PROBE_TIMEOUT)
+        except Exception as probe_err:
+            logger.warning(
+                "[%s] Polling heartbeat probe failed %ds after reconnect: %s",
+                self.name, HEARTBEAT_PROBE_DELAY, probe_err,
+            )
+            await self._handle_polling_network_error(probe_err)
+
     async def _handle_polling_conflict(self, error: Exception) -> None:
         if self.has_fatal_error and self.fatal_error_code == "telegram_polling_conflict":
             return
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_telegram_network_reconnect.py b/tests/gateway/test_telegram_network_reconnect.py
index 532639b2db..81b7bed12e 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_telegram_network_reconnect.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_telegram_network_reconnect.py
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ async def test_reconnect_success_resets_error_count():
 
     mock_app = MagicMock()
     mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock(return_value=MagicMock())  # heartbeat probe path
     adapter._app = mock_app
 
     with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
@@ -139,6 +140,15 @@ async def test_reconnect_success_resets_error_count():
 
     assert adapter._polling_network_error_count == 0
 
+    # Clean up the heartbeat-probe task scheduled after a successful reconnect.
+    pending = [t for t in adapter._background_tasks if not t.done()]
+    for t in pending:
+        t.cancel()
+        try:
+            await t
+        except (asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+            pass
+
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_reconnect_triggers_fatal_after_max_retries():
@@ -284,3 +294,182 @@ async def test_drain_helper_noop_without_app():
     adapter._app = None
     # Should not raise
     await adapter._drain_polling_connections()
+
+
+# ── Heartbeat probe ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_probe_no_op_when_polling_healthy():
+    """
+    Probe scheduled after a successful reconnect: Updater.running=True and
+    bot.get_me() returns quickly → recovery confirmed, no further action.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+    mock_updater = MagicMock()
+    mock_updater.running = True
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock(return_value=MagicMock())
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error = AsyncMock()
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        await adapter._verify_polling_after_reconnect()
+
+    mock_app.bot.get_me.assert_awaited_once()
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_probe_reenters_ladder_when_updater_not_running():
+    """
+    If Updater.running has flipped to False by the heartbeat delay, treat
+    as wedged: re-enter the reconnect ladder.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+    mock_updater = MagicMock()
+    mock_updater.running = False
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock()
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error = AsyncMock()
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        await adapter._verify_polling_after_reconnect()
+
+    mock_app.bot.get_me.assert_not_called()
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error.assert_awaited_once()
+    err = adapter._handle_polling_network_error.await_args.args[0]
+    assert isinstance(err, RuntimeError)
+    assert "not running" in str(err).lower()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_probe_reenters_ladder_when_get_me_times_out():
+    """
+    If bot.get_me() hangs longer than PROBE_TIMEOUT, treat as wedged.
+    Simulates the connection-pool wedge that motivated this fix.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+    mock_updater = MagicMock()
+    mock_updater.running = True
+
+    async def hang_forever(*args, **kwargs):
+        await asyncio.sleep(3600)
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock(side_effect=hang_forever)
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error = AsyncMock()
+
+    async def fast_wait_for(coro, timeout):
+        if asyncio.iscoroutine(coro):
+            coro.close()
+        raise asyncio.TimeoutError()
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        with patch("gateway.platforms.telegram.asyncio.wait_for", new=fast_wait_for):
+            await adapter._verify_polling_after_reconnect()
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error.assert_awaited_once()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_probe_reenters_ladder_on_get_me_network_error():
+    """
+    Any exception raised by bot.get_me() (NetworkError, ConnectionError, etc.)
+    should re-enter the reconnect ladder with the original exception.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+    mock_updater = MagicMock()
+    mock_updater.running = True
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock(side_effect=ConnectionError("pool wedged"))
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error = AsyncMock()
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        await adapter._verify_polling_after_reconnect()
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error.assert_awaited_once()
+    assert isinstance(
+        adapter._handle_polling_network_error.await_args.args[0], ConnectionError
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_probe_skips_when_already_fatal():
+    """
+    If the adapter is already in fatal-error state by the time the probe
+    delay elapses, the probe should bail without further action.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+    adapter._set_fatal_error("telegram_polling_conflict", "already fatal", retryable=False)
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock()
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error = AsyncMock()
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        await adapter._verify_polling_after_reconnect()
+
+    mock_app.bot.get_me.assert_not_called()
+    adapter._handle_polling_network_error.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_reconnect_schedules_heartbeat_probe_on_success():
+    """
+    After a successful start_polling() in the reconnect path, a probe task
+    must be added to _background_tasks. Without it, a wedged Updater would
+    sit silent indefinitely with no further error_callback to advance the
+    reconnect ladder.
+    """
+    adapter = _make_adapter()
+    adapter._polling_network_error_count = 1
+
+    mock_updater = MagicMock()
+    mock_updater.running = True
+    mock_updater.stop = AsyncMock()
+    mock_updater.start_polling = AsyncMock()  # succeeds
+
+    mock_app = MagicMock()
+    mock_app.updater = mock_updater
+    mock_app.bot.get_me = AsyncMock(return_value=MagicMock())
+    adapter._app = mock_app
+
+    initial_count = len(adapter._background_tasks)
+
+    with patch("asyncio.sleep", new_callable=AsyncMock):
+        await adapter._handle_polling_network_error(Exception("Bad Gateway"))
+
+    assert len(adapter._background_tasks) > initial_count, (
+        "Expected a heartbeat probe task to be scheduled after a successful "
+        "reconnect's start_polling()"
+    )
+
+    # Clean up.
+    pending = [t for t in adapter._background_tasks if not t.done()]
+    for t in pending:
+        t.cancel()
+        try:
+            await t
+        except (asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+            pass