# Leg Injury, Stroke or nothing at all?



## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

So last evening Annabell got a bath & toenail trim, neither of which she liked. Once she was dried, I set her down on the living room floor (carpet) to run around. 

At one point she stopped to scratch her chin with her hind leg. I then noticed twice that when she was running, she was rubbing her chin along the ground. I thought she was still itchy so picked her up & gently gave her a scratch. To me knowledge she stopped.

At another point she was running on her wheel. Stopped to get off & fell off instead, onto her side. It was like a cross between her tripping & her leg giving out. After I rushed to her & she looked at me like I was crazy, she then got up & continued to walk around & explore.

A few weeks ago she had fallen a short distance and hurt her front leg. I watched her like a hawk that night though. After a few moments of protecting her leg, she was walking on it again (wheel was taken out for the night). No swelling or bruising that I could/can see.

So I'm wondering if I'm just an over zealous owner, & last night was just an itchy chin & a mis-step, or if this warrants a vet check for something more. I don't see any swelling or discoloring on her & she's able to run. I question stroke as her father recently passed from "stroke like symptoms" however she does not have any ongoing paralysis.

Thoughts please? I may also call the vet & hear their recommendation.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Ok, well I think I'm probably just over reacting. I've noticed her trip getting off the wheel once before. But the combo of dragging her chin & falling to the side was what concerned me.

Checked on her today & she seems fine, besides being confused as to why I woke her up.

I have a CWS from Reaper but also a stand from Larry. I've put Larry's stand on now to see if it being lower to the ground, plus stepping onto a larger flat area vs. "stairs" of CWS stand, may help


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

I can't give you any medical advice but my Diggory trips/stumbles off his wheel all the time. He used to do it on his FS and I thought the angle was the culprit and didn't want a broken leg so I got a CSBW. I love the new wheel but I watched him this morning(silly boy is most active at 6am) and he still stumbles off it every few minutes. I have it really low to the ground though so I hope he will be fine.


I guess what I'm trying to say is stumbling off the wheel appears to be normal for hedgies.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks for the reply.
I think Annabell is just developing 'quirks' maybe as she gets older. I just gave her a little hard boiled egg & she decided to lick the whole thing before eating it. Odd to watch. Her appetite seems unaffected (or maybe even larger as of late)


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Both the stumbling and the chin-rubbing sound normal; my boy has done both. Stepping off a wheel while it's still moving probably isn't the easiest thing - kind of like getting off a bike while it's in motion. They don't always seem to have the sense to stop running, and let the wheel stop, before stepping off. As for rubbing the chin/muzzle against the bottom of the wheel, it seems to be just a way of scratching an itch on the go. Whatever the reason, yeah, both are pretty common, and not a reason to be worried.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> Both the stumbling and the chin-rubbing sound normal; my boy has done both. Stepping off a wheel while it's still moving probably isn't the easiest thing - kind of like getting off a bike while it's in motion. They don't always seem to have the sense to stop running, and let the wheel stop, before stepping off. As for rubbing the chin/muzzle against the bottom of the wheel, it seems to be just a way of scratching an itch on the go. Whatever the reason, yeah, both are pretty common, and not a reason to be worried.


With Diggy it's more like he can't run straight lol. Because it's just a misstep and then he gets back on and keeps going. It always worries me he's going to come flying off of it too hard or that he's running less because of it(can't tell how much he runs.) I did tilt the wheel up a bit this morning to help prevent it, we'll see how that goes.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks for the reassurance. I've seen her stumble before getting off the wheel but never rubbing her chin along the carpet, so that's what alerted me.


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