SHARING STORIES

Members are encouraged to share stories of gliders who have experienced HLP or permanent paralysis so that others can learn from it. Please share with us anecdotal information that is useful for owners or veterinarians, including:

* Symptoms you first noticed
* Tests vet ran to come to this diagnosis
* The treatment prescribed by vet
* Aftercare provided by yourself (include any help you received from community members if you like)
* Recovery information or notes that might be helpful to others
* The results of treatment.

Photos are encouraged IF they help to teach or provide examples.

WRIGLEY & OLLIE

Wrigley and Ollie are 2 boys that came to me from a girl that lives close by. Technically they are Val's gliders. Due to time, travel, money contstraints, I have had them for about a month now. Wrigley had gotten one foot caught in a vine, and, (she thought) hung by it all night long. He wasn't using it, and wouldn't come out of the the pouch much. She was very concerned about his health. I got them. Observed this behavior myslef, but couldn't tell which leg she was referring to, as none of them did what they were supposed to.
Vet visit ensued, promptly. Ollie is fine, needs to gain weight 4 years old, neutered, 71.7 grams.

Wrigley, 6 1/2 years old, 80.6 grams, not fine. He can't walk a straight line, can't hold him self in place, can't climb in and out of the pouch. Doesn't WANT to move. X-rays show decreased bone density, as read by me, Dr Lusk and the radiologist. So, we put him in a hospital cage, pouch on the floor, a few toys, and feed them twice a day, plus treats. Liquid calcium and TMPS. They barely eat anything. I'm scared they're going to die. One week, HUGE improvement. Two weeks, eating if I hand feed. More Improvement. More, more.

Today, I took them in. Ollie is at 80.6 grams, he has the prettiest darned tail!

Wrigley is at 86 grams! Woot! Dr Lusk still says continue the oral calcium, avoid any significant height or risk of fall, as bones still likely fragile. We are not out of the woods yet, but huge improvements in personality and playfulness. These two gliders are very, very loving boys. Lick, lick, lick you, want to be near you, and so much want to explore! I have to find a safe way for them to do that. Them jumping from me to the bed is a no-no, per the vet! LOL

Sounds like you are doing a great job with them...
I will keep them in my thoughts.

Val I think you might be Auntie Val to these gliders as it sounds like someone has fallen for them???

Just an update - These boys have fully recovered and are now in my home. They have been renamed (Mason & Dixon) and are living in a large cage and working on getting a girl friend. Dixon (the one that had the HLP so bad and had neurological signs) no longer has any neurological signs, and their last vet visit revealed improved bone density and no infection. No more movement problems at all. A full recovery. Yay!!!

(I'll add a picture of these cute boys after work. Maybe we can talk Shawna into posting the video of how bad Dixon was when he first arrived at her home).

OLIVIA

Hi,

My little Olivia's adventure started earlier this week when she greeted me at the cage door, dragging her two back legs behind. She is a young glider, OOP in March 2010. I have a colony of 9, soon to be 10 (1 IP) and have never had any health issues until now. I immediately moved her out of the colony cage and into a hospital cage. I inspected the whole gang, and everyone else seemed fine.

So off to the Vet :) When I first got my gliders, I had chosen a Vet in Concord NH, but that's about 80 miles away. He was the closest at the time. As luck would have it, a new office opened up in town and they treat exotics. I found out that the Dr actually has lots of exotic experience as he was once the Vet for Benson's Wild Animal Farm and has treated lions, giraffes, monkeys etc. I know that doesn't make him a glider expert, but at least he has some experience with a wide variety of animals. He gave her a physical exam, tested her by poking with a needle in her hips, back and tail to look for a reaction. They weighed my little one at 58g. He ordered x-ray and ultrasound which we had to go to another facility to have done, blood work, urine and fecal testing as well.

As of this morning, the lab work had not come back yet. He stated that he saw something on the x-ray, along her spine he's not sure what it is, but he didn't think it looked like a break. Though suspicious, he feels strongly that it's not the cause of her paralysis, but instead feels at this point that it's diet related.

I have a consult with him on Tuesday to review the lab work and xrays, but at this time he has prescribed a Calcium Gluconate (23%, 500ml) .25 cc via SubQ injection twice a day for 5 days, followed by oral Calcuim Glubonate daily for two months. I don't have a dosage or anything on that yet as it is waiting for me at the pharmacy.

I am concerned about a couple of things. First, I am obviously concerned about the "whatever it is" on her x-Ray. He said he emailed a copy of the x-rays to a colleague for consultation. I am also concerned that HLP due to nutritional issues doesn't seem likely given her age according to things I have read online. I am concerned about an infection, bacterial or parasitic.

As for Olivia, well she hasn't much liked having to go on adventures and outings two days in a row when she should be getting her beauty sleep. Yesterday after a long hard day she pretty much stayed in her pouch for the afternoon and evening. She had a snack, but that was about it. Later on, at about 3am, she decided to get rowdy and she was playing like crazy in her little hospital cage. Boy she gets around fast on only her front legs when she wants to! Tonight I made her some BML (my troop HATES it, but I thought it would be good for her while she is healing) and surprisingly enough she lapped a fair amount of it up. She also snacked on some carrot and pear. :) She needs a bath.. all sticky and stinky! but she's not a big fan of that either LOL!

So that's her story so far. I am really hoping that it has a happy ending. Please ask any questions or provide suggestions. I will update as things unfold.

Cyndi

Wishing your baby a good, speedy recovery. Val can give you lots of advice on special needs gliders as she has been dealing with them for years.

Yes, I had the opportunity to chat with Val via phone last night. She gave me some advice and suggestions for little Olivia. :) I am thankful that there are others who have so much experience to help!

In other news, I made some BML last night figuring it was probably a good idea to make sure she had something truly balanced and consistent during recovery. (I usually feed Suncoast) She seemed to enjoy it, ate quite a bit and did a really good job on her fruit and veg as well :)

Cyndi

Good Morning -

Well, it seems there is an unfortunate turn of events. Last night, little Olivia was playing and seemed fine considering of course the situation with her back legs. This morning when I went to check on her, it seems that sometime between 2am and 10am, she has gotten a rather bloated belly. We are off to the Vets shortly... will let you know what happens.

Cyndi

Time for an Olivia Update :)

She's doing pretty well! She has some mobility in her back legs, more in the right than the left. She has use of both her back feet for grabbing. She gets around pretty well, eats well too. Her appearance is much better; she doesn't look so much like a stinky drowned rat all the time any more. She's still a little messy near her cloaca and the base of her tail but the rest of her looks fine. She is gaining weight, and now I have to look a little closer to determine who is who as I brought down one of her older sisters to be a buddy for her.

So we're going along...baby steps... but she's doing well.

Cyndi

Here is a short video of Pandora's injured hand. When I picked her up from the vet a week ago the outside, elongated digit was swollen.  That resolved in 2-days.  Yesterday I noticed her inside digit (her index finger) was slightly swollen.  It's more swollen tonight.  She is still unable to grip with that hand, but you can see her extend her digits a bit.  Seems strange the swelling is jumping from one digit to another unless the entire hand is inflamed/infected...