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Post by krycha7120 on Mar 6, 2017 22:30:59 GMT
Hi everyone. Last week two of my degus have hurt their right-front paw. I have absolutely no idea how they did it, they were fine at night and when I woke up in the morning I noticed that they're limping. I took them both to the vet and he checked for any brakes/dislocations and everything seemed to be in order, but their paws were swollen so he prescribed me some medicine to minimize the swelling. My question is, how long does it usually take for a paw to heal? It's been a week now and they still limp and I know that the vet said it should be fine but I'm just worried sick!  When I observe them though, I notice that they are using their hurt paws more, like for food, toys, in-cage climbing etc. I just don't know if it's natural for a paw to heal that long. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2017 22:37:06 GMT
I'm sure they're okay! If they're using the paws that signifies to me they arent in a huge amount of pain. Can you touch their paws, are they significantly warm?
Each degu is different. One of mine hurt her foot pretty badly and wasn't using it at all, she'd cut it all too. It took probably a week before she even put it on the floor to walk on. I wouldn't worry too much. See how they are after a week.
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Post by yasmin on Mar 7, 2017 0:51:39 GMT
Are the paws swollen?
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Post by krycha7120 on Mar 7, 2017 8:13:15 GMT
Their paws feel normal, not significantly warm, and the paws were swollen, but I can't tell if they still are. I was given a medication from the vet to reduce the swelling.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 8, 2017 10:42:27 GMT
As long as everything is in the right place and they can move and use the legs a bit and you are seeing gradual improvement, however slow, then all should be well and it is just a matter of time. Leg sprains can take weeks and weeks to heal and you may even see little setbacks if they do something to tweek the injury again. As long as you see improvement and they are coping well and it isn't affecting their ability to eat, then try not to worry too much. If there is a chance the injuries are from bites then keep an eye out for signs of infection.
You may find that the anti-inflammatories can be counter productive because they take too much pain away causing the degu to use the leg when it would heal faster if they rested it more, so you may wish to think about reducing the dose if you think this may be occurring.
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When I observe them though, I notice that they are using their hurt paws more, like for food, toys, in-cage climbing etc. I just don't know if it's natural for a paw to heal that long. 
