NUGGET
Nugget was a young male glider who came to me from VA with cries that he "can't move his back legs." Of course, so many things go through my mind when I hear that. His caretaker at the time had only had him for two days, and he had been like this since she got him. So, she had come online just to find an experienced person to take him in. I agreed and he was in the hands of my vet the next day.
Nugget presented with a VERY sweet, docile disposition, but no movement in his back legs or tail.
Tests included fecal exams (parasites can cause HLP), Urinalysis (bacterial infection can cause HLP) and x-rays in addition to a standard wellness exam. Nugget was so calm and docile that he did not have to be anesthetized for the x-rays.
His initial x-ray revealed NO spinal damage or misalignment, but BOTH back legs were broken. Here is his initial x-ray:
The breaks were marked. He had two breaks on his rear left leg, and 4 clean breaks as well as eggshell cracking on his back right leg.
Nugget was also significantly swollen, which was impacting movement of his tail.
Treatment was metacam once daily for 30 days (yes, I do know the risks and I did at that time), liquid calcium supplement once daily, and antibiotics for 14 days. I opted NOT to do anything about the breaks until the swelling had gone down and I knew for sure what we were looking at.
I took Nugget home, put him in a very small hospital cage made from a rubbermaid tub, which eliminated the ability to climb, and gave him his medication each day. I spent countless hours on the phone with many members of the community seeking advice and knowledge. Many thought I should have his right leg amputated, as it was basically crushed and the jagged bone might cause him trouble later on. I didn't know how I felt about that. Nugget spent every minute in a bonding pouch or in this hospital cage. His mobility was very limited. Within two days, the swelling was noticeably lessened, and he was moving his tail! Two weeks later, we returned for a follow-up appointment. By this time, Nugget was attempting to walk on his back legs (rather than dragging them behind him) and his tail was fully functional again. Dr. Walsh was pleased with his progress and asked me how I wished to proceed. Not once in all of this time did Nugget act like he was in pain. My concern was that he had suffered some nerve damage.
I could not, in good conscience, amputate a leg that was giving him no trouble and was showing return of function. I just couldn't. I don't tend to live my life with the "in the future this might happen" as my driving force. So, we continued our same treatment: rest/limited mobility, pain management, anti-inflammatories, liquid calcium and antibiotics. In the next 4 weeks, Nugget progressed such that he was walking on both back legs and had moved to a 38 gallon reptarium on it's side as a hospital cage.
Nugget returned for follow-up x-rays 7 weeks after his first x-rays. These follow up x-rays were remarkable! Sadly, I do not have a digital copy of this series of x-rays, but they showed that Nugget's left leg had healed as if there was never a break. You couldn't even see where it had been, the calcification was so perfect! Of the breaks on the right leg, all of the breaks except the one at the hip had also healed PERFECTLY. The break at the hip had healed irregularly, however. But, there WAS calcification, the bones just were not lined up accurately.
Additional testing during this vet visit revealed that Nugget had decreased sensation at the hip/spine on the right side. Nonetheless, Nugget was given the "all clear" to move to a "normal" cage. I moved him to a wire cage and kept a close eye on him. Nugget had very poor control of his hip, almost like he could not feel where it was in space. ??? As a result, he did experience quite a few falls. This was worrisome to me, so I removed the Jr. Stealth wheel that he kept falling out of and added lots more hammocks to this cage. Nugget continued to progress.
Today, Nugget suffers some difficulty with nerve innervation at the tip of his tail and continues to have difficulty controlling that right hip. So, he remains in a shorter cage with many hammocks. He has a cage mate, runs in a stealth wheel, has full use of both back feet/toes,jumps, glides and plays in the tent like any normal glider would. He is precious and I am blessed to have worked through this healing with him. I will forever be grateful that I gave him the chance to heal before amputating a leg that may or may not be a problem in the future. So far, Nugget has only had glowing follow-up x-rays, blood work and physical examinations. :cheers:
Here is Nugget in his first tent time after recovery:
Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:53 pm
