dixie favouring his right back leg

[savvy]

I think Dixie may have a sprain.  He was fine last night, but today his is hobbling a little and sitting down a lot.

I noticed him almost limping up the ramps this morning and when he eats he is sitting on his left hip.  He is using the leg a little although he gives up when scratching his right side.  He does have a habit of leaping from his wheel to his tube and back again so I think he may have landed a little awkwardly during the night.

He is eating and chewing fine and is rolling a little more ungainly than usual in his bath.

I'll be putting a snugglesafe in later, he isn't interested in his wheel, but is biting at his right hip a fair bit.

Is there anything else I should be doing?  I can't get into the vet until after the weekend.

[moletteuk]

Just check that everything is aligned correctly, I can't think of anything else. I don't suppose you have any metacam? Heatpad sounds like a good idea. Hopefully it will improve quite quickly.

[savvy]

Theres nothing misaligned and I can't find any swelling. He's getting round the cage, just slowly. He's been in bed all morning but he's never been morning goo preferring to drag himself out of bed at teatime and partying all night.

Unfortunately I don't have any metacam, never needed it before. Is there anything over the counter I can get for him? I have a chemist around the corner whose open late.

[deguconvert]

Awww, poor Dixie! It sounds like it is a significant hurt.

[savvy]

He's moving a little easier tonight, and has managed to scratch his right ear without slipping off his tube. I wonder if he was kipping in a draft last night or in a funny possition and it was just a little stiff.

He's eating really well and I have indulged him with treats I must admit.

[deguconvert]

That's good to know! Really glad he is moving better this evening, and that he is not at all deterred from his food.

[moletteuk]

No, nothing available at human chemist. It's a good sign that he already seems a little easier

[savvy]

Jun 3, 2017 19:15:47 GMT deguconvert said:

That's good to know! Really glad he is moving better this evening, and that he is not at all deterred from his food.

Not much puts him off his food.  He's just finished troughing beakfast, now he's busy on dinner.  He's spent most of the day in bed, only slight concern is that he's drinking a bit more than normal.

His coat looks nice and shiny, and his eyes are bright, but I'm just concerned.

[savvy]

He seems a lot better today, still hesitant when waddling up the ramps, but he has has a little run on his wheel.

He was sat at a very strange angle when I caught him 'self cleaning' earlier. Almost on his back with his back legs out in front of him!

And I caught him kissing Bumblebee through the bars while they were warbling to each other so I'm going to try them together in a couple of days for an introduction.

[deguconvert]

AWWWW! To kissing Bumblebee that is, LOL!!

The other brings forth more of an embarrassed snicker, ROFL. Caption "OOPS!! Sorry! I'll just turn around and pretend I didn't see that. Erm . . . carry on . . ."

[savvy]

Update:

Dixie's still having a few problems with his leg, no signs of swelling or misalignment. He's walking around the cage ok, running on his wheel and climbing up where he needs to go, but I have noticed that when he's standing still, he's standing on three legs.

[moletteuk]

That sounds OK to me for progress, look for gradual further improvement over the next couple of weeks or even longer.

[deguconvert]

Glad there are good indications happening!

[bouncy]

Don't be disheartened about the time it's taking to heal, provided there's progress. Even in humans, a soft tissue injury can take longer to heal than a broken bone.