Play time!

[CJR]

I decided that, since Tia's been in the tiny cage for six weeks now, I wanted to see how she was doing with her leg/let her run around a bit. The vet did say two weeks ago that her pelvis has healed enough to begin to increase her activity, but I didn't want to start it just yet.

She was out in the bathroom for about five minutes and she had a great time! Hopping around, sniffing, just being a curious little girl. She was very happy, but wasn't pleased when it was time to go back into the cage. Ah well... until tomorrow, perhaps?

What do you guys think of her hopping/running? She doesn't limp any more or seem to favor her left hind leg at all as far as I can see...

Yay videos!

 

[Carol~Anne]

Awww, look at her enjoying her outing; you've been doing such a good job with her. =)

 

[Sierra]

She looks like she is doing wonderful. She looks so happy

 

[cindyv3737]

She looks so happy. I love watching chins run around. She looks great!

 

[tunes]

She's looking good Ash. I am so glad to see that she is recovered from such an awful break.

 

[Essentia]

Yay for the no longer broken, yet still grouchy, chin princess!

Edited to add... AWWWWWWWWW for close up whisker cleanings.

 

[suzi1780]

great video! I love the whisker cleaning, the Tia song and those Dr Pepper pants! :wink2:

 

[mishellyshel]

she is adorable....and looks very healthy and plump! great job.

 

[CJR]

great video! I love the whisker cleaning, the Tia song and those Dr Pepper pants! :wink2:

It makes me smile when she cleans her whiskers. She's so thorough! Are all chins like that? :hmm: The Tia song is... I don't even know, something dumb I like to do. She likes it, I think. When she's in her cage and I do it she runs around.

Also - Dr. Pepper pants ROCK... I have three pairs of them...

 

[Jazicat]

I have to say I think you've done an awesome job with her! I did rescue work with birds and it really can be a roller coaster because they want something or you're forcing something that affects bonding. Thankfully your princess is doing so well thanks to you!

 

[chinsmom]

Yaaayyyyyyyyy, sweet Tia, she looks so happy to be free! I absolutely loved the video, and yaaaayyyyyy, Ash - you're an awesome mom!!!:clap:

 

[Sandi]

The whisker cleaning was too cute. She's looks great! Your doing an awesome job.

 

[menagerie]

I loved the whisker cleaning because it shows that she's not favoring her back leg anymore and can comfortably use it to support and balance herself while using both her hands for grooming. A HUGE accomplishment. She's looking good. :thumbsup:

 

[StevieP]

She looks great! You've done an excellent job with her. I have a lot of respect for you bro -- for being determined and patient with the healing of Tia.

I think letting her have some playtime is a good idea at this point. Just make sure she takes it easy. She needs to regain muscular strength now that her bone is healed. ...Although she looks like nothing ever happened in the video!!!

 

[ticklechin]

She is looking so good and happy! You did a fantastic job with her!

 

[lauralynne]

Awesome job, Ash!!!! She looks so happy!

 

[CJR]

Thanks everyone!

Just a note though - she is not fully healed yet, not by any means. As of two weeks ago, she had a decent cartilaginous bond growing, with bone starting to grow in. The Doc said it should be fully healed, all completely bone, by the end of May.

A false step or fall could easily break that bond apart again - hence why I'm still hand dusting her (even though she HATES it). I feel that she is stable enough to let her run around a little bit, so she will start getting playtime daily... I think that 5 minutes at a time is good for now.

The main reason I hand dust her is because when I let her dust herself, she frequently pauses for long periods of time before continuing and the day after she is not very active at all. I'm taking that to mean either a) she's in pain, or b) it's very tiring because she isn't used to that level of activity anymore.

I'm just so happy to be able to let her run around, you don't even know. I can not WAIT until she can go back in her big house! Right now she's in a moderately sized guinea pig cage - I'd say it's two or maybe two-point-five feet long, about a foot high, and one-point-five foot deep. It's the biggest cage she's been kept in throughout this whole ordeal, and she doesn't seem to mind it *too* much...

Sorry, I kind of can't stop talking when I get started, but I'm just so happy!!!! Thank you all for your support and kind words, it has really helped me a lot!