GottemOnDubs
Member
His back legs are tucked underneath him and all he does is twitch his toes and he drags them when he walks. I know all about impaction and when the previous owner was describing his symptoms to me, I knew right away. As soon as I got him, I started in with the warm soaks and the massaging. I spent hours working with him that first night. He was so bloated that his sides were actually beginning to split. He still was eating fine so I gave him some spinach and shredded carrot peels that I put some vegetable oil on. I even oiled up his sides to help keep them elastic. It was pretty bad. After a few days, he wasnt getting any better and i was finding him on his back in his cage. He wasn't even struggling to right himself. It was very sad. So, just out of curiosity, I got a Fleet enema and melted it down and mixed it with some warm water. I pulled the metal needle out of a syringe so that it had a fine plastic tip and filled it with the enema solution. before I could count to 5, a large white solid chunk the size of a large grape came out of him. It was just a solid mass of bird seed, which the owner was told to feed him. I gave him one more dose and he pooped out enough to fill one of those little Dixie bathroom cups. I was so happy because the owner said he hadn't pooped in weeks, probably months. The bloating went away instantly. Let him have another warm soak after that and put him away for the night. The next day, I gave him another dose of enema and out came about 6 inches of poo.
I know the impaction is over (hopefully) but he is still unable to move his back legs. He runs laps around his cage and is super active but still just drags them around. Does it take time for him to "relearn" how to use his legs or is there permanent damage? I do little stretches with him and bend his legs back and forth as though he is moving them, almost like a rehabilition exercise. He can swing his tail and move his legs but in an awkward way, not in a manner where he can walk. I have him out with my on my desk as we speak and he is running around all over the place. He is a fighter.
So did I do ok? Am I just worried now or will he get back to normal? The previous owner was severely misinformed about all kinds of things and was extremely happy that I took these guys in. Any suggestions for me? I really appreciate your help. thanks guys, Tony
I know the impaction is over (hopefully) but he is still unable to move his back legs. He runs laps around his cage and is super active but still just drags them around. Does it take time for him to "relearn" how to use his legs or is there permanent damage? I do little stretches with him and bend his legs back and forth as though he is moving them, almost like a rehabilition exercise. He can swing his tail and move his legs but in an awkward way, not in a manner where he can walk. I have him out with my on my desk as we speak and he is running around all over the place. He is a fighter.
So did I do ok? Am I just worried now or will he get back to normal? The previous owner was severely misinformed about all kinds of things and was extremely happy that I took these guys in. Any suggestions for me? I really appreciate your help. thanks guys, Tony