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Post by mattandhis3degus on Aug 12, 2015 1:35:36 GMT
One of my degus, Horace, has developed a bit of a limp with his rear right foot. I first noticed it a couple of days ago. They hadn't been out of their cage much at the weekend so I can't really see what could have caused it. He can still run on the exercise wheel, it's just that when he moves around the cage he tends to stay off this foot. Does anyone have any thoughts about what to do?
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 12, 2015 9:44:04 GMT
Have you had a good look and maybe a feel of the leg and compared it to his other leg, will he let you do that? If everything is aligned correctly and the leg moves normally when he does use it, then you could leave it another couple of days and see if it starts to improve by itself. Obviously, the alternative is to take him to the vet who would have a good feel, it's amazing what abnormalities they can discover this way, we have had a few leg strains and the vet has a feel and says amazing things like the knee isn't tracking right, or there is inflammation around certain tendons, it impresses me anyway. I does give peace of mind, but the usual treatment is to leave it to heal by itself and metacam may or may not be prescribed. If he is using it sometimes then my vet would normally not prescribe metacam because it can encourage them to use the leg more and delay healing, if there is inflammation then you are more likely to get the metacam.
On a practical note, do what you can to discourage activity and make alterations in the cage to make jumps and slopes less of a strain, also make sure he is eating OK because he may be needing to use a front leg to balance so might be trying to eat one handed, which can be awkward for them.
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Post by mattandhis3degus on Aug 14, 2015 0:17:09 GMT
Many thanks for the reply. I had a quick feel of the leg and tried to compare it to the other one and I couldn't see any obvious difference. But I don't really know what I'm looking for. I will give it until the start of next week to see if it improves by itself. If not, I will be back on here asking for a list of good vets!
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 14, 2015 9:33:50 GMT
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