# hedgie's dragging back feet - help!



## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

I took out my new hedgie to let him walk around my desk and he is barely using his back legs. I know he ran on his wheel last night - it's the saucer style. Could he have hurt himself on it? He's exploring the desk and seems okay otherwise but he is sort of dragging his back feet. Should I take him to the vet tomorrow or is there an explanation for this?


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

How old is your hedgie?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

How long did he do it for? Sometimes they will do that if they are stretching. They just walk along and drag the back feet for a short distance.

Did he do it the whole time he was out? Could he have fallen? Even a fall from a short distance can cause injuries if they land the wrong way.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

He was out on the desk for maybe 20 minutes and he barely used them the whole time. But then when I put him back in I can tell he used his wheel overnight. He walked around the desk but most of that time I could see his legs being dragged. His feet are really dirty so I am going to try to get him to let me wash them tonight, since I read they can't stay dirty from that wheel for long.

I can't think where he'd have fallen from, unless he somehow got on top of his igloo, but his thermometer is there and it wasn't disturbed. There's nowhere for him to climb in his cage and I am the only one who can take him out, and he was just on the desk. 

I hope he was just stretching, if he was able to run on the wheel he can use them now, so I think that must be it. He just worried me! I did wake him up because it was 2am and he was still sleeping, but I'd had the light on so I figured he thought it was still daytime. 

I don't know how old he is.


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## jesirose (Sep 21, 2008)

Well he's walking around fine now...poor little guy has to give me worries. I guess his little legs were tired before.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

Sebastian does that once in a while.. I'm not sure what it is, but he never seems to be in pain or anything. It's kind of like the hedgehog version of the dog scoot on the carpet :roll: It just seems like he's two lazy to use all the legs he has, especially if he's not planning on traveling a distance. He doesn't work hard, he works smart  

I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially if he's letting you pick him up and he's eating and running and acting normal and not screaming out in agony. Just make sure he can't get his quills stuck on anything!


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

My old man will do this from time to time. 
He will do it most often on surfaces with a semi-slippery texture (like hardwood and plastic), I don't notice it as much if he's walking around on the bed, or on carpet.


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