Had my first scare

[Essentia]

So, Axel, my new violet, scared the mess out of me today. I was taking him out of his cage by grabbing the base of his tail and scooping him up from underneath. Well, he started flailing right as he was coming out of the door. His back left foot got caught between the bars. I didn't know. I just saw him flailing so I let him go. When I did I saw him struggle and hang there for about 5-10 seconds before I got my bearings together and realized what I was seeing. The poor baby was squeaking and "crying" and flailing trying to get loose. I got him loose with a quickness and checked his foot. He let me feel it and everything feels intact. I even bent it a bit and everything is moving the way it is supposed to. I put him down on the floor and he is favoring it a bit, though he will put a little weight on it. I gave him a bit of metacam.

He didn't want to go back in the cage at all. He just wanted to snuggle my neck and the crook of my arm. I feel like a horrible mom. I was finally able to let him hop back into his cage off my arm and he went right up to his tube.

Now, my question is, if it were you, would you bring him to the vet just yet, or wait a bit to see how he does? I honestly didn't feel anything broken, but there could always be something hairline there that I can't feel. Since he is new, and skittish, I don't want to stress him out even further, but I will bring him in a heartbeat if you guys think I should.

Gah. After years of owning chins and never having a problem like this, it's crazy just how fast it happened. I now like the large doors on the FN even more.

 

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

Wow, I'm sorry that happened... I know how you feel though... It happened to one of chins.. She was playing on the ground and caught her foot, but unfortunately she broke it. The vet wanted $900 to amputate it, even know it was just held on by the thinnest piece of skin.. I felt so bad and like the worst chin mom ever..

 

[Rickman]

If he let you feel it, and didn't cry in pain, it's doubtful it's broken!
I'd wait and see if he's still favoring it in a couple of days, and then make a decision.
Could be bruised or sprained, which'll go away.
Amazing how things with chins wait until weekends or holidays to happen, when all the good vets are closed!
Hope he's O.K.!!

 

[shubbles]

Isn't that scary! that happened to me also, it scared the heck out of me.

 

[threewingedfury]

I'd wait a while and see. Trust your instinct.

 

[Cuddlebug]

It's happened to a couple of mine. It really is scary. Both times, the chin let me feel it and they did not act like my touch hurt them at all. I kept a close eye on them and they were fine in a day or two.

 

[RDZCRanch]

If he's putting weight on it I would just watch him. A trip to the vet is just going to stress him further. Usually when there is a break, the animal will not put even the tiniest amount of weight on it. Since it was also such a short snag I wouldn't worry too much about a break.

 

[CerLynn]

I hate when they scare us like that! From my experience, I agree, I would watch him for the next few days and see if he continues to favor the leg. When Kokomo got caught in a FN ramp (which have obviously since been removed), he was probably hanging for a minute or two - no breaks, and was back to normal within 4-5 days (of course had to finish the job by trying to fly a month or so later :banghead. If he's still favoring it after a few days, you might want to consider xrays. Good luck!

 

[Carol~Anne]

Both my temp Ferplast cage and now the Super Pet cage that the rescue boys came with have drop down cage doors (is that the kind you mean?) and someone suggested to me to always place a fleece blanket over the door when it's opened, even if I'm just reaching in to take them out b/c they move so quickly and can easily get a foot caught. I hope your new boy is okay.

I can't even count the times that I and others have warned people to get rid of those awful wire ramps in cages for the same reason and am always surprised that they don't listen to the advice and they keep posting new pics of their chins with the ramps still in their cage. Makes me cringe and really bugs the heck out of me too b/c the next thing you hear is their chin broke their leg and they can't afford the amputation fee so they have the animal put down. So sad.

 

[Essentia]

That is exactly the door I am referring to. I never thought about putting fleece over the door like that, but I will definitely start now. Thank you very much for the idea.

 

[Carol~Anne]

You're welcome Crysta, and I've got Lauren to thank b/c she's the one that brought it to my attention (noticed it in one of my pics) and now I cover the cage door all the time.

 

[Essentia]

On a completely seperate note, what do you use to hang your shelves? I have seen pictures of your cages in several threads, and I can't quite make out what it is. I like the way it looks.

 

[Carol~Anne]

On the most recent cage, angle brackets (smallest) were used to mount the shelves.

http://www.carinya.com.au/e107_plugins/carinya/images/angle_brackets_group.jpg

 

[Essentia]

Update

Ok, I don't like the look of his foot so he is going to the vet in the morning for xrays. He is still in his smaller cage (bigger than a carrier but smaller than a regular cage) with just his tube, hay, water bottle and food. It makes no sense either because he is in good spirits. He is somewhat using the foot slightly, but it is definitely disfigured today. When I push up from the bottom (like you would flex your ankle) I get no resistance, which is what I find very concerning. I did it to his other foot and got resistance. I also did it to a few of the other chins just to make sure, and also got resistance there. The joint is also very swollen. You would think by pushing up on the foot a tiny bit I would at least get a cry of pain, or something, but I get nothing. I can't imagine it not being painful with the amount of swelling of the joint that formed over the course of the day. Does metacam just work that well? I have only been giving him .01ml once a day. He is still eating well though, and I gave him more metacam this evening.

Keep my little guy in your thoughts! I hate that this happened to him at all, but especially so soon after me taking him into my care.

Here is a picture of his foot. It's definitely not a good one since he was squirmy and my camera battery was about to die. What I am also concerned about with the foot, is his toes are curled in (you can see it in the picture). I uncurled them, and they went right back to the curled position they were in. His other foot has the normal uncurled toes though, so I know it isn't normal. Hopefully you can see how swollen the right (his left, but your right in the picture) heal/ankle area is.

 

[threewingedfury]

Oh no Poor guy. Glad you're getting him checked out. Hopefully it's not too serious.

I think your camera was focused on his 'junk'. Great shot Crysta

 

[Essentia]

Ok, back from the vet. None of the long bones are broken. He wanted to get an even better xray of his ankle joint but the xray machine went caput right after the first xray. He showed me the xray that he did get though which wasn't too bad. He said for now to keep him in the smaller cage and continue with metacam and smz. The smz is for where he chewed at the leg just a bit and broke the skin (no more than 1 drop of blood). We just want to make sure an infection doesn't start. I also made a fleece baggie with rice in it for a warm compress on the foot. I have yet to figure out how to keep him still long enough to use it, but we'll figure it out. His toes being curled also concerned him. He said it is probably from the swelling/slight nerve damage/sprain/whatever is going on in there and that it should let up as it heals. He said he would call me after the xray machine is back up if I decide I do want to come back in.

On a side note, I found out today that metacam is an anti-inflammatory as well. I thought it was just for pain. Good to know.

 

[Silverrose]

Poor little guy. Hope it's nothing more then just a little sprain and swelling. You are just not having any luck lately huh =T My thoughts are with Axel and sending healing vibes your way. If you need anything, just let me know.

 

[Sugarmama]

Crysta, did Dr. Hart say to use warm compresses? Generally for this type of injury you would want to use cold. It helps with the swelling and pain. Sprink sprained his leg a few weeks ago, and welcomed a soft ice pack. Dr. Hart gave him metacam for pain also.

 

[Essentia]

Dr. Hart was the one who said warm to keep the circulation going well. Hmmm...

 

[Laurie]

Crysta I'm pleased nothing was broken as I'm sure you are too. We are all sending healing thoughts from Racine to Axel! (Even the cats!)