 | Posted by: | Sarah S., scarlette@zoomtown.com | | Subject: | Crippled rescue-mobility? | | When: | 10:36 PM, 19 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 216.196.170.8 |
Hi! I'm just wondering if you guys can offer any advice. About a month ago I rescued a male glider ( approx. 15 mos. to 2 years old ) from a cousin who had badly neglected him. She decided that she'd rather have a kitten and I thought he was adorable.
I knew nothing about gliders so I immediately got online and did some research so I could care for him. As I started reading, I was horrified at how abnormal his behavior was. He was sneezing and toddling, in fact he could barely walk. I immediately went shopping and whipped up some leadbeater's and found an exotic vet asap. The vet told me that he suffered from a severe formative calcium deficiency. He described it as "folding fractures" caused by his body weight crushing his weak bones during growth. He gave him a shot for the sinus infection (I received the animal soaking wet in November) and told me that the diet I planned was good.
Tiny Tim (as I renamed him) is much feistier now and loves his Leadbeater's, crickets, mealworms and fruit, likely much better than his previous diet of canned fruit and McD's chicken nuggets!
My problem is mostly housing and entertainment. He is so deformed that he cannot fully extend his limbs, so gliding is impossible, and he can barely navigate the nubbly texture of my couch, let alone climb in his cage. His claws get stuck in everything (vet trimmed them, said he couldn't control fingers enough to hold them up).
So what can little Timmy do for fun besides chase broken-legged crickets in his feeding corral? (large plastic storage box lid--EZ clean!)
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| Posted by: | Debbie, delliott@tulane.edu | | Subject: | none | | When: | 11:59 PM, 19 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 216.227.111.97 |
Gosh - Poor thing! I commend your crippled cricket chasing activity - as horrible as that sounds it is closest to a normal "fun" thing that I can think of that he can manage. I am afraid you may be heartbroken as I kind of doubt he will live long. But at least you will have given him a much better existence even if shortened than he would have had otherwise! (And he may also prove me wrong!) 
Is he too slow to enjoy a wodent wheel (at least its smoothe)?
| Posted by: | Judie, RichJHausmann@cs.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 1:53 AM, 20 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 152.163.204.189 |
Gee, my heart goes out to both of you.
Something that may be a comfort to both of you is considering a companion for him. They will eventually become a bonded pair and a little female may be what is needed to help improve his quality of life. I doubt if there would ever be any babies but I feel he would be a much happier camper to have someone who he could cuddle with and help with his grooming as pairs are usually very affectionate towards each other.
This would also help you too. Especially since he more than likely will have a shorened lifespan due to his current medical problems that more than likely will create a broken heart much sooner. You will then have his mate who will help ease the pain and help you through the grieving period.
Love him well.
| Posted by: | Barb, blooprints@yahoo.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 8:10 AM, 20 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 63.178.65.118 |
My heart is just breaking for Tiny Tim's condition. It is so very cruel and abusive to treat an animal the way he was treated. I agree with Judie. An animal with the will to live is always one that will fare better.....Years ago my favorite bunny in his old age started having his teeth grow too long, so it was difficult for him to eat and groom himself. I took him to the vet to get his teeth trimmed several times, but I was at the point of not being able to afford it. I got a beautiful but not so friendly female home for him. He chased after her till I thought he'd die of a heart attack, but he lived a good long life. She groomed him and loved him, and the old guy was happy as a lark. When he finally died she took on some of his loving personality, and you could tell she really missed him. (Besides his age he had an incurable infection...My vet said he had never seen a bunny live with that particular infection, but my old fella live 3 extra years - with the infection.)
| Posted by: | W | | Subject: | none | | When: | 8:37 AM, 20 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 192.233.21.53 |
When I had a single glider, she loved snuggling and playing with tiny stuffed animals and plush finger puppets. Her favorite was a brown mouse that was close in size to her. I would suggest a stuffed friend to anyones glider (just make sure it is glider-proofed!). Another good toy is a toilet paper roll-mine love these and it wouldn't take too much effort to play in it.
Also, if the poor little thing can't climb well, just make sure it has enough flat playing space.
I respect your efforts and kindness in helping this little glider, I wish both you and him luch and good health!
| Posted by: | Dawn, capriceb@aol.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 11:26 AM, 20 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 12.4.177.226 |
What a poor little fella! My hat is off to you for taking him under your wing and caring enough for his mental (as well as physical) health to ask this question. I recommend putting several safe branches across the floor of his cage -- mine love to chew and climb on theirs. Having them on the bottom will allow him to do that without the risk of falling, or the effort of climbing that his poor little bones may not be able to take. You can secure them with cable ties (aka "zip strips") so they don't roll while he's playing. Also, give him safe leafy branches whenever possible. Mine play for hours with leaves -- toting them around, tearing them up, etc. The favorite toy for mine is a stuffed bat (actually a cat toy called "Bat-a-bout" with the catnip removed. I use the velcro in the back (where the catnip was) to fasten him to the side of the cage, and they love to mess with him. Best wishes to you, and to your little fella.
| Posted by: | Jasmine, Spookie_Girl@yahoo.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 11:26 PM, 20 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 165.247.116.88 |
Sarah-
First off, I must say U RULE! Very few people are willing to spend the time or the money to rehab a disabled, neglected animal. You are in the minority. 
Getting Tiny Tim a companion is a definite possibility in the future, but you may want to wait at least 2 more months before getting him a friend. For one thing, there's a good chance he will recover easier on his own. It also will be much easier for you to work with him alone, and sometimes healthy animals bully the sicker ones. Aside from that, his immune system may be recovering still, and he could either make the other animal sick or catch something from the other animal that he normally wouldn't catch with a healthy immune system.
I've found physical therapy really helped some calcium-deficient crippled iguanas that I've worked with in the past. All of these animals looked permanently deformed, but most of them gained their movement after I worked with them. Perhaps it could help a sugar glider, too.
Here's what I did:
Twice a day I'd very carefully message each limb and stretch it out until I felt some resistance. After I felt a little resistance I'd hold the limb for 10-20 seconds and gently put it back. I'd work my way from thigh, to knee, to toes. I'd even work with the tails and tummies, depending on how paralized the animal was. I'd always do this in short periods (10 minutes at a time) with weaker animals and take longer periods (20-30 minutes) with them as they recovered. I noticed that doing this in a warm bath helped loosen ligaments and muscles more, but I wouldn't recommend bathing a glider. Just make sure your hands are warm. If you are extra gentle and do this every day, your glider may come to love it (mine love body messages) but try it's best to start it when he's sleepy. Young animals recover very fast with this therapy (days to weeks), but the adult iguanas sometimes took months to regain proper movement in their limbs. Keep this in mind and don't lose heart if you decide to try it. The key is to be persistant, consistant, and gentle. Hopefully, it'd help him gain more movement in his feet, but at the least it could help with the bonding process. You will know he trusts you if he voluntarily lets you message his little fingers and toes (SO CUTE).
I would not mess with his nails until you are 100% sure his bones are healed. Claw-clipping can be a strenuous task that requires two people, a towel, and a pair of tiny fingernail clippers. This can be really traumatizing to a glider who's not used to it, which may be part of why your vet hesitated to finish the job. If he ever gains the ability to walk on his feet properly, you could put the parakeet sandpaper perch covers on some of the branches in his cage to help wear his claws down.
You are right on track giving him disabled crickets for entertainment. It's great exercise and helps him with his coordination, as well as his confidence too. You could also try giving him feathers. Gliders love to chase feathers like cats. They carry the feathers in their little mouths or curled up tails to their hideboxes to either snuggle with them or rip them apart.
Hope this all helps! Good luck to you and your Tiny Tim! We're all rootin' for ya!
-jAZ, Murry, Zelda & Loki
| Posted by: | Sarah S., scarlette@zoomtown.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 9:45 PM, 26 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 216.196.172.63 |
Thanks for all your advice guys! One small clarification, the vet did finish clipping his nails, what I meant is that even though they are short, he still gets stuck because his muscle control is so bad. The feather thing is a hit and I'm putting together some low branches for him to try out. I'll keep you updated on his progress. I had actually already tried massaging his little legs, but his bones have already solidified (as the vet said) so muscle tone is the key, hoping to gain adaptability. I have also played the stair game with my hands as you would a bird, having them step up hand-to-hand. He seems to like it, especially since he can't get tangled on my skin and it's a bonding thing.
| Posted by: | Sarah S., scarlette@zoomtown.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 9:48 PM, 26 Dec 2000 | | IP: | 216.196.172.63 |
Oh! and as for the wheel--he's far too weak to push it. As for the mate $$$, I really can't afford one, and I'm really afraid of bullying.
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