# Sprained Leg...I think.



## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

So I've only posted in this forum a few times but something is wrong with my hedgehog, Jelly. 

He hasn't been putting any weight on his front left leg. As soon as I noticed it I freaked out and made him a vet appointment. They did an X-Ray and said it wasn't broken. They also said he has full range of motion in his leg. They gave me this medication called metacam and said to give it to him once a day for 7 days. He's really active and continued to try to walk around a lot but only on 3 legs. I felt like he was going to hurt himself even worse so I took him out of his enclosure and put him in a much smaller area with pretty much only room for him to snuggle up in his blanket, food, and water. It has now been 10 days and he's still not putting any weight on his leg. I feel like maybe he needs a chance to walk around so I put him back in his regular enclosure tonight. 

Does anyone have any advice? Should I take him back to the vet? Should I keep him in his regular enclosure or put him back in the small one? I took the wheel out of the enclosure because he's pretending like he's fine just hobbling around on three legs. I didn't want him to try and run like that for obvious reasons. 

His regular enclosure is a Ferret nation but he only stays in the bottom portion of it. I originally had the loft set up but he wasn't using it so now he's just in the bottom. 

Also, I have pictures of the X-Rays if anyone wants to see them. I don't actually have the X-Rays but they let me take pictures with my cell phone so they're not the best quality. 

Any help or advice anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Metacam is an anti-inflammatory which shouldhave helped any muscle swelling from an injury. It should have helped by now. Is would make a follow up appt w the vet. A muscle tear or injury as well as any tissue damage will not show up on an xray. 

I personally would not have put him in a small cage. Even injured hedgies need exercise. I would have just taken the wheel out, but that's just my personal opinion. I just don't know that he would have the room to stretch out the leg to help it start healing. How small exactly is the cage?

Don't mind the spelling errors. This **** phone won't let me change anything. Hhc plus HTC one phones equals a lot of annoyance


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

The smaller enclosure was like 24" x 12" maybe a little smaller. See the thing is that he's moving around and walking but only on 3 legs. This means that he's face planting...a lot. 

Maybe the dose of the metacam is too low? I was told to give him .02 on the little syringe and to only give it to him once a day. I figured that they weighed him at the vet and knew what to do. I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs. Does anyone know if that is the correct dose? I don't really know the specifics on how old he is or anything because he is a rescue. 

I can't take him back to the vet right now. It will have to wait until next week when I get paid. The vet is a hour and a half away and cost me like $300. I'm willing to go again but I don't have the extra money until I get paid on the 1st.

I've attached a picture I took of him a couple days ago and one of the x-ray pictures. The injured leg is the one that he's not showing. He won't let me go near it.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Did they x-ray the shoulder at all? I have no advice other than to maybe call the vet and see if you should continue the metacam. I feel that putting him in the smaller cage was a good idea, usually you want them to rest an injury.


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## ashjac18 (May 18, 2012)

Is his toe having problems?
It could be a nail or maybe sore pad?


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

nikki said:


> Did they x-ray the shoulder at all? I have no advice other than to maybe call the vet and see if you should continue the metacam. I feel that putting him in the smaller cage was a good idea, usually you want them to rest an injury.


i just meant you don't want him in too small of a cage where he can't walk around at all if he was trying too (obviously it has now been said he's not). if it's just a sprain or muscle injury putting a little weight on it is a good thing most of the time (not always). if he's not putting any weight on it though then there's probably a lot more going on especially with no weight with metacam. for this type of injury obviously rest is best.

only a hedgie experienced vet can give you an accurate dosage of metacam as it's based on weight and they know the least amount to use to be beneficial yet prevent any liver damage that it can easily cause.

how are his eating, drinking, and bathroom habits?


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

I talked to the vet and he said I could continue the metacam and if he doesn't get better in a week to bring him back in.

His eating, drinking, and poop are all normal. 

He is still not putting any weight on it. I didn't notice anything wrong with the foot. I'm going to give him a bath today and check the foot and see if he lets me touch the leg. Bath time is the only time he's nice to me. 

There is another x-ray that I'm going to attach.


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

Here are a few pictures I took while giving him a bath. He let me touch his leg and move it around a little bit. It didn't seem like he was in any pain but the leg was definitely swollen. 

The way that he's holding it back like that is the way that he keeps it. He can and does move it but he doesn't put it down or put any weight on it at all.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Other than his leg you say he is acting normal? He looks skinny. Has he lost weight or has he always been a skinny guy? If he has lost weight, I wonder if there is more going on and the leg weakness is a symptom of something else. 

If you straighten his leg out the way it would be if he is standing and then put a bit of pressure on it, what happens? Is there anything you can do that will make him straighten it out? Did you notice anything leading up to this such as stumbling, stiff leg or legs, funny walking, falling?

I have a gal right now with a similar issue. Hers came on very quickly but has also been accompanied by loss of appetite. She too is on metacam and after 3 doses it hasn't seemed to help in the least except that she ate on her own last night... YAY! At the vet the little stinker walked quite well and did none of the leg dragging she was doing at home. 

In the past I've had a couple with soft tissue injuries and by a weeks time they were back to normal. 

I don't know what to suggest about your little guy.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I haven't had any experience with something like this either, but with the way he's holding it I wonder about a shoulder injury or disclocation. If you feel up around his shoulder area does it feel the same as the other? If you hold both front legs out does the one seem shorter? I know you might not be able to check these things but just an idea if you can.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

poor guy. i hope you get it figured out soon. is the whole leg swollen or just the shoulder? maybe another vets opinion might be good? i'd just worry that the longer he's holding it like that possible permanent damage and muscle loss may be happening? idk just my opinion i could be wrong


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

Yeah, he's always been a skinny little dude. He eats like a champ but his weight stays consistent. He was acting normal and walking fine before whatever happened. He eats normal, drinks normal, and he still tries to be active. I'd have to give him another bath to see if I can extend his leg. I think that's the only way he'd let me even attempt it. The vet said when he examined him he had full range of motion in the leg. The vet had to sedate him to get him to cooperate and sit still for the X-Rays and the rest of the exam.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Erm.... Sedated hedgehog, of course he'd have full range motion of his leg. Lol  He feels no pain and no strength to resist. Sure it means the bones aren't broken and the joints seem intact, but says nothing about muscle and tendon injury. You actually need to see the pain and see how the hedgehog favours the leg. (course I'm speaking more with horse related lameness issues lol but still a mammal). 

I suppose hedgies are too small to ultrasound properly. It does sound like a muscle or tendon injury though. It'll take time to heal.


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

Well that was partially my fault. I went in there all freaked out and said he had a broken leg. The entire time we were in the vet's office he was balled up. He wouldn't unroll at all. So, obviously the vet couldn't access the leg and had to sedate him in order to take the x-ray and was primarily looking for a break. He said there was no break and full range of motion. He gave me the metacam and the instructions. We tried to get Jelly to open up once he was awake but he just wasn't having it. I don't know if it was the smells or the fact that it was 9 am and we had just been in the car for 90 minutes to get to the vet. He really didn't want to cooperate. 

The first night that he had a problem with his leg it was black & blue near the area that I would associate as a wrist. The area that he keeps bent. That combined with the fact that he wasn't putting any weight on it, I assumed it was broken. The next morning is when I took him to the vet. As you can see from the pictures that I took today you can see that the leg is no longer bruised. I don't know, maybe he's just a slow healer? 

Anyway, when he let me touch his leg and move it earlier today he didn't pull it away, squirm, or ball up. Also, I had him in a box when I was cleaning out his cage earlier and he kept trying to climb out and he was walking (hobbling) all over the place.


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

So after all of this and two vet visits with the same results as before, Jelly died last night. On Sunday night he stopped walking on his back leg, same side as the front one that he wasn't walking on. Essentially he would lay on his side, the uninjured(using injured for lack of a better word) side and squirm around. I moved him into a cleaned out litter pan filled with carefresh and the side cut off so that he wouldnt hurt himself laying on the bottom of his enclosure. I put the litter pan in his enclosure in case he wanted to he could move out of it. I checked both his back leg and his front leg and there were no obvious breaks and he had full range of motion in both of them. I made a vet appointment for him that was supposed to be for this morning but sadly he died last night at around 7 pm. On monday and tuesday while he was essentially just laying in his bed of carefresh, he would continue to eat and drink normally and his poop looked normal as well. I would have to set his food bowl in front of him so he could eat while laying down and when he was finished I would do the same with the water. Then a little while later he would poop, while laying there and I would clean him up. I still had some metacam left so on both days i gave him a .02 dose which is what the vet suggested. I really wish I knew what happened. Does anyone have any ideas?

A recap:
A little over a month ago - stopped walking on front left leg, took him to the vet, x-rays showed no breaks, vet gave metacam .02 dose once a day.
two weeks later - still not walking on front left leg, walking but not putting the leg down and putting pressure on it. back to the vet, same result. no break, vet suggests continue metacam
Sunday night approx one month after initial problems started - stopped walking all together, would attempt to get up however not putting any pressure on either left side legs, could still move both left side legs, full range of motion in both and no obvious signs of breaks or injuries. eating, drinking, pooping all normal. Called vet and made appointment, vet suggested metacam .02 until I could get him in for appointment wednesday morning
Approx two days later (tuesday night) - he passed away while I was at work. By the time i got home his body was stiff so I couldnt really check anything. Once again there were no obvious signs of injury. He was still laying in the same spot. 

I'm really upset about this. I did everything I knew how to do. I followed the vets instructions and posted everything on this forum. I tried using google to find more information but it wasn't really helpful. If anyone has an idea of what caused this please let me know. I still have one other hedgehog and if there's a possibility that its something that i did i'd like to know. I don't want the same thing to happen to her. 

I have both of them in a ferret nation 142 separated. My female is in the top half and Jelly was in the bottom half with no access to each other. Both have fleece liners, igloo huts, tubes, and wheels. I don't have the carolina storm bucket wheel, I have the solid plastic wheel extra large (don't remember the name). I feed them blue wilderness cat food and fresh water everyday. The enclosures are one level so no ramps or anything.


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

My heart just dropped when I read the last post.  I never met the little man and I'm bawling my eye's out. You did EVERYTHING you could, so do not blame yourself. I had something similar happen to my dog years ago where he'd do the same thing with one leg, and then the other's started to go too. Once that happens, there's nothing that can be done. We tried metacam, accupuncture, and more, then it became too cruel to keep him going. I blamed myself for not making him better and the grief lasted years. Don't to this to yourself. He's at peace now and knows you gave him everything he needed and all the love a mum could give. Pat yourself on the back for being a caring and responsible hedgy owner. (((hugs)))


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## artistshrugged (Sep 5, 2012)

I am so sorry for your loss. Aside from having your vet look at Jelly and do an examination to see what caused him to pass away I think any other answer will just be a best guess. Based on the fact that it moved to his other leg I am wondering if it was some kind of infection that spread, or even some kind of heart disease or blood clot. The fact that he was eating, drinking, pooping, and attempting to exercise normally makes me wonder about the infection though.

It is best to remember that you did the best you could with the information you had. Sometimes our animals hide their pain, and their illnesses are always a bit mysterious. Your little guy had good care, though, and that is what matters.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

Oh wow! What a heartbreaking story, thank you for sharing it with us. You did everything possible and gave your little guy lots of love and as much comfort as possible in his last days. He was very lucky to have you caring for him. Thistle and I are sorry for your loss.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

This happened to my friends rabbit, and found out it was a rattle snake bite ? It was crazy. I'm sorry for your loss.


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## PB&J (May 8, 2011)

thank you for your kind words everyone. I really just wanted to make sure i didnt do anything wrong. Im paranoid about something happening to Peanut (my other hedgehog).


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You did everything you could for your baby and you did everything right. Sometimes we just can't fix whats wrong, but know that he knows you loved him very much. As to what it could be, to me it sounds like something brain related, possibly a tumour? Its really hard to say. I'm so sorry.


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

Aww, I am so sorry for your loss. It really sounds like you did everything you could and I would have done exactly the same things as you.


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

PB&J said:


> thank you for your kind words everyone. I really just wanted to make sure i didnt do anything wrong. Im paranoid about something happening to Peanut (my other hedgehog).


 I agree about the infection spreading through his body, and was going to mention it when I posted earlier. When my dog started off with one leg going, then the other's, we just couldn't figure out what had happened. The biopsy showed a furious infection that was spreading through his body and it made me feel a bit better knowing that there had been nothing else we could have done to prevent it. I doubt highly Jely's disease was contagious so try to stay calm and enjoy your other baby. My dog's disease was genetic and though he had an infection, it wasn't contagious. Jelly's doesn't sound contagious to me either. Just something that happens.


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## Katebates19 (1 mo ago)

PB&J said:


> thank you for your kind words everyone. I really just wanted to make sure i didnt do anything wrong. Im paranoid about something happening to Peanut (my other hedgehog).


Hello, my hedgehog has the exact same thing!!! He's on Metacam to. His head leans to the right and he ends up rolling around on his back and then squeaks for help, he holds his left leg down and can't or won't bring it up to use...


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