Well I just got back from taking my Storm, aka Storming Norman, (wow was he mad at the vet's office today ) Never drew any blood, but he was one fierce little fuzzball. Luckily my vet just laughed and said, "I would bite at people too, if I thought I could get away with it."
Anyway, He put Storm under and cleaned up the wound on his shoulder. Said it looked good and NO infection at all. Said it would have healed nicely if Storm had not kept scratching it. He made the cut a tiny bit bigger to get fresh skin to stitch together. I asked about glue, but the decision was made that he would be able to scratch off glue before it could heal. So he used desolvable stitches and gave him a shot of antibiodics and anti-inflamatories to stop the itching. They also trimmed up his nails and gave him lots of cuddles --before my "sweet little beastie" woke up. I gave him some pain meds once we got home and he is curled up in my shirt.
Oh yeah, I asked about a body cone, but my vet feels that he would probably do more damage to himself fighting to get it off, than any good it would do.
I took pictures of the procedure. They are not too graphic so they should be OK to post.
Hey, he and Myst should be pen pals, lol. Thanks for the pics! I wanted to photograph Myst's on Sat, and actually went back in the house for the camera, then remembered something else I forgot (drink for after anesthesia) and forgot it again, so no pics until I got home with her. You can keep ointment on it daily and it should help with the itching as well-if he can't get it with his mouth (or a cagemate), pain relief neosporin is an option which can help with the irritation. I'm using it on Myst's already-tonights will be mixed with SSD cream. vet and I discussed it with Myst, and her back feet will be the threat-vet agrees bandaging her feet into little 'socks' is an option to try if she starts messing with it that way.
Hope your little guy heals up quick!
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: back from the vet (( pictures))
[Re: Xfilefan]
#481095 02/18/0808:33 PM02/18/0808:33 PM
Thanks, he is usually sooo sweet, it shocked me that he was biting, it must have hurt way more than I thought it did.
I forgot to ask the vet, since I've never had to deal with stitches before, How long do they usually take to heal on a glider? Will I be able to tell when it will be OK to bring him back to the family cage?
Thanks for the update on Storm! Your vetsounds like a terrific person with a great sence of humor! It will probably take anywhere between 6-8 weeks for the stitches to dissolve. I would not put him in with the family until he is totally healed. Otherwise, with just a small amount of redness or lack of fur will cause the others to want to groom on him.
Re: back from the vet (( pictures))
[Re: LSardou]
#481112 02/18/0808:55 PM02/18/0808:55 PM
6 to 8 weeks!!! My poor little boy will whither up without his family for that long.
guess that means lots of mommy time and family playtime in a few days.
He goes back for a check up in 2 weeks and to see if the stitches can come out yet. I just assumed that meant he would be healed then too. Thank goodness I asked, I would have caused even more damage.
Aww poor little guy. My Jack has been battling a wound on his back. We keep battling it because he'll use his grooming nails & breaks open the scab & new skin. We ended up having to make him a type of glider sling so he couldn't get to his wound. He's finally healing up nicely.
I'm curious about the anti-inflammatory. How long does it last & what do you they use & how do they administer it? I'm worried about him scratching at the new skin now that he's out of the sling.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
I didn't ask what the anti-inflamatory was, vet just told me he was giving him one to help with the itching. On my bill it says "Dex" for injection.
Storm is still snoozing in my shirt, so I don't know if it is the gas, shot, or the pain meds that have him so relaxed.
Do you have any pictures of the sling you built? I am still very worried about Storm scratching his new stitches. They trimmed all of his nails pretty short but you know how fast they grow.
It was a trial and error process for us- but we finally got a way for it to stay on and keep Jack from getting to his wound. It goes over his wound- across his chest and under the opposite arm of the wound. Before this he just kept tearing open the wound.
There's a few other picts in my photo bucket- but that is the best one I could get that shows what I'm talking about. If you end up wanting to use one, pm me and I'll let you know how we made ours.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
Aww T I'm glad that everything went smoothly for you and Storm! Either storm is "fluffy" or the camera adds a few extra grams
Cindy Mom to Jae, Ashton, Briannah, Nevaeh & Addy & all my fuzzies! Breeder of Leu's, Mosaics, wfb, and standard grey's. Owner of www.MySugarAddiction.com
Re: back from the vet (( pictures))
[Re: GliderLove]
#481249 02/18/0811:15 PM02/18/0811:15 PM
you weren't supposed to notice, but yep my "little guy" is way!!!!! fluffy. Just more to cuddle with. That's why I was so confused about how he got the wound, he is twice the size of his wives and they have never had even a scratch. {running to knock on some wood}
Nancy, thanks for the picture. If Storm even looks like he will scratch at his stitches I will build one for him. Do you have Jack in a small cage with it on? Can he climb and run in a wheel? Storm is in my extra cage (55"tall) but I do have some smaller hospital cages. Is it guaze and medical tape?
I would love all the directions when you have time.
I forgot to ask the vet, since I've never had to deal with stitches before, How long do they usually take to heal on a glider? Will I be able to tell when it will be OK to bring him back to the family cage?
The stitches will dissolve within 6 weeks or so BUT it will not be safe to put him back with his family until the fur starts to grow back in over the wound. Until then, it will not be completely healed inside and if you put him back in too soon then his family will open it back up again. So definitely wait until you see the fur growing back in. With my DaisyMae's last wound it was about half again as big as your Storm's and it took almost 3 months for the fur to start growing back in. Before that, I had tried to put her back in at 1 month - reopened; then another 2 months - reopened; then another 2.5 months - and her cagemate reopened the wound every time Finally, Jen/Xfilefan told me to wait until the fur had started to grow back in - 3 months and that did the trick! It's never been reopened since
awww poor little guy!! Give him lots of lovin and cuddles since he can't be with his family. And just a guess, but the anti-inflammatory was probably dexamethasone, its a steroid.
Re: back from the vet (( pictures))
[Re: tbull]
#481486 02/19/0809:57 AM02/19/0809:57 AM
Do you have Jack in a small cage with it on? Can he climb and run in a wheel? Storm is in my extra cage (55"tall) but I do have some smaller hospital cages. Is it guaze and medical tape?
I would love all the directions when you have time.
He's in a 65 gallon rep. He's been alone since another male did this to him but I do allow him supervised time with my girls. It doesn't keep him from doing anything normal. He gets around just fine, runs in his wheel and has use of both arms.
It's J&J hurts free wrap & medical tape. I'll send you the directions on how and what we do.
Thanks Suz for sharing your experience. We've been going through this with Jack and wasn't sure of the time line and if we were giving it enough time to heal.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
So far, so good. Storm won't take his pain meds, I can't even hide them in yogurt or mealies anymore. But his stitches look good. Here are some pictures from this morning. The emu oil is really messing up his hairdo, he'll be needing a good bath when this is all done.
I thought I would give an update on Storm's wound.
Storm left the stitches alone for almost a week and then they must have itched to much, even with the ointments, and he tore most of them out. I took him back in to the vet to get them redone, but my vet was not happy that Storm was losing weight and over grooming his head. Even though my boy is "fluffy", he has always been solid and healthy.
Doc, said that his not eating and the stress from being separated from his family was too much. Since the wound was much smaller than it started, he made a bunch of calls to other vets and some vet college in CO and they decided to leave it open (not make it bigger by reopening and stitching again) he gave me collasate postoperative dressing to put on it 3 times aday to help it heal and to make it taste bad to the others. He said he could go back with his family, but to watch them closely. I was scared, but decided to try it. Everything went good for the 1st hour, then Lilo (wife #1) started grooming the wound , I noticed that Winter (wife #2) didn't care about it. So I took Lilo and Storm's joey (10 weeks OOP from Winter & Storm) and put them in the extra cage and left Winter and Storm in the family cage. It worked great! It has been 6 days and Winter has not touched the wound. Storm is eating again and not overgrooming. Lilo and the joey are doing great. Everyone still gets together for family playtime, all seems to be working and no one has to be alone. I was upset at first that the home I had set up for the joey, fell through. But now I know, it was so that he could stay with Auntie Lilo, so she wouldn't be lonely.
One thing about the collasate gel, it's thick like honey. Once it dries, it is really hard, so I can't tell how the wound looks underneath. I'm going to take him in next week to have the vet look at it. His skin around it looks good though so I can tell it's not infected.
It sounds like your vet gave you a great plan! I'm happy to hear that things are working out so far! They do make the Collasate in a spray, I'm wondering if you could try that instead. This would allow the wound to have more air exposure. Thanks for the update, I'm always wondering how your little Storm is doing. Many hugs and prayers....
Re: the morning after {{ Update }}
[Re: LSardou]
#491708 03/01/0801:28 PM03/01/0801:28 PM
I just went back and looked at the original pictures. I'm again touched by how sweet they are. You posted and said "They aren't too graphic, so I think they're ok to post" but, actually, they are really very sweet.
I love the care that is shown in those pictures. Obviously your vet tech and your vet are in the right profession. The little face in the anesthesia mask - and the hand holding the mask - just speaks volumes to me! I'm glad you have such good people caring for him!
Alden "Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored." Alice Walker
Mom to Valhalla; 6 cats; 1 macaw; 2 hedgehogs; and very many great gliders!
(plus the 2 skin kids) valkyriegliders.com
Kyrie, nothing will ever fill the hole you left in my heart.
Re: the morning after {{ Update }}
[Re: ValkyrieMome]
#491755 03/01/0802:46 PM03/01/0802:46 PM