Hello everyone...meet "K" a rescue that found his way to us. Here is a picture of him taken last night...in his second night home with his new family. K is 6 years old...and has HLP. He still has mobility but not much. We are new to dealing with special needs gliders...but have received alot of great info! (Thanks Jen) Just wanted to share! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cloud9.gif" alt="" />
Re: Special "K"
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#112621 06/23/0604:12 PM06/23/0604:12 PM
Ed..I know he'll do just great with you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yelclap.gif" alt="" /> You already have tons of love for him-and that's half the battle! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/muchlove.gif" alt="" /> As long as he still has the will to keep going (and he seems to)-he's got every chance! He's been this way so long, that he's got a long road ahead of him.
Ed had me talk to the lady before he brought 'K' home-he's been like this awhile, slowly deteriorating. Our vet referred them to him..as they needed to find him a home, or he would be put to sleep. He drags himself instead of walking, but does get around. The vet said he needed calcium and meds (not certain how long ago, and she only mentioned the HLP, so not sure what other "meds"), but she said the meds "were expensive", so they put him on a "high calcium diet". It consisted of:
So there is a lot for Ed to undo with this little guy-and I know he already has him on oral calcium. Thanks for the pics, and all my prayers he recovers to whatever point he can-and lives a long and healthy life with you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Keep us updated.
And remember you're welcome to call ANY time.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Special "K"
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#112626 06/23/0606:10 PM06/23/0606:10 PM
Hi <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> K is adorable! He'll do great!
We have a girl who is 6 yrs old and had HLP and also 1/2 her tail amputated. She had come from an abusive situation. She was rescued along with her mate after Katrina and given to me about 6 mos. ago. Izzy is our weeble <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> She's kinda wobbly but gets around like you wouldn't believe! She climbs to the top of tent, runs, jumps and plays like all the other gliders now. Her nails aren't infected anymore, her tail is now a bushy pom pom LOL and she looks ALOT younger than she did!
Best part. NO SIGN of the HLP anymore!! She uses her feet and hands just fine. I keep her dishes and pouch low though. She LOVES mealies and yogies!
She's our smallest glider at 68 grams but has the biggest heart. She loves to hang UPSIDE down and spread her "WINGS". It is awesome to watch her do this after all she's been through!
Good Luck, keep up the great love and work for K and he will be like Izzy!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
God speed my precious angels. I love you. Mama.
Re: Special "K"
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#112627 06/23/0606:21 PM06/23/0606:21 PM
Here are some pics of her now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
God speed my precious angels. I love you. Mama.
Re: Special "K"
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#112628 06/23/0606:22 PM06/23/0606:22 PM
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
God speed my precious angels. I love you. Mama.
Re: Special "K"
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#112629 06/23/0606:23 PM06/23/0606:23 PM
last one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
God speed my precious angels. I love you. Mama.
Re: Special "K"
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#112630 06/23/0606:35 PM06/23/0606:35 PM
Thanks Sugar!!...It is so great to hear that Izzy is doing well. Thank you for sharing! I can't wait for those days!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/muchlove.gif" alt="" />
Re: Special "K"
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#112631 06/23/0608:57 PM06/23/0608:57 PM
I have to say you 3 have are very special, and huge hearts to have done so well with these special needs.
Xfilefan, I wish I could have spoke with you about gliders with out tails befor I brought mine home as you could have shed alot of light on our situation and what to expect.
SugarBlossoms, your izzy looks so much like my Bubbles , except her's is a bit shorter. Oh and I think her's was broken as it hooks.
Any ways Congratz to Osinn for helping this special boy Im sure he is already feeling at home. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/heartpump.gif" alt="" />
Re: Special "K"
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#112632 06/24/0606:10 AM06/24/0606:10 AM
You are very welcome. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I wanted you to know that there IS major hope and with the kind of care you are giving your baby, he will make it just fine. He sure looks happy!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
God speed my precious angels. I love you. Mama.
Re: Special "K"
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#112633 06/24/0603:22 PM06/24/0603:22 PM
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr /> Xfilefan, I wish I could have spoke with you about gliders with out tails befor I brought mine home as you could have shed alot of light on our situation and what to expect.
<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
I was not very clear as to when. I was refering to the day I bought these babies from the breeder. As I was told they would heal on their own and not to worry. He was wrong. Thanks and keep up all the wonderful help you provide.
SugarBlossoms, we have beautiful babies.
Re: Special "K"
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#112634 06/26/0602:33 PM06/26/0602:33 PM
Ok here's an update. "K" is doing very well. We have been giving him .03mls of calcium nightly. He is starting to show signs of getting a little bit of strength back. (He is know holding his head up to eat) We changed his diet over to BML and give him a variety of diffrent fruits and veggies. He also is getting mealies and yogurt drops. (Not sure if they help any, but I can't help spoiling him with treats.) I was told "K" never liked pouches..so he sleeps under a small piece of fleece in his igloo on the floor of his small cage. I do have a concern on his water. I'm not sure he is drinking any. We do have a bottle as well as a tupperware lid to catch the drips in his cage....but he nevers seems to drink. I know gliders get most of thier water consumption through fruit, but wanted to address this anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to see "K" climbing his cage Friday night. He also decided to explore our living room. He does actually run around. It's pretty pathetic and sad to watch, but very encouraging, because all of his legs are functioning. He is not draging his back legs. (He does somewhat of an army crawl too) Thanks to everyone for all the words of encouragement. We will get him through this. To those of you who have had gliders with HLP.....what is thier current diet? Or What did you feed to help get them better?
Here is the list of fruits and veggies I have been feeding. Please let me know if there is anything I should add, or subtract.
Carrots, Peas(1 per night), Corn(1per night), Cantelope, Watermellon, Papaya, Apples, Grapes, Asian Pears, Honey Mellon, I'm wondering if its ok to give him Avacado, and also if its ok to feed baby foods. (Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatos) We want the absolute best for this guy. He is such a special little guy! Thank you again for all the help, and support We've received! We do need it!
Re: Special "K"
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#112635 06/27/0601:59 AM06/27/0601:59 AM
Ed, other than his igloo to sleep in and the lid to catch water (& provide him with an alternate place to drink) what have you done to his cage to make it more "HLP" accessable/friendly for "K"?
Chris Illusion, Malcom, Isabell, Annabelle, Zach, Isis, Aly & Indy AND Miss Emmy & Miss Chloe kitties
My Angels: You are always in my heart.
You've flown to the rainbow and wait there for me Someday I will join you together to be
Re: Special "K"
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#112636 06/27/0602:03 PM06/27/0602:03 PM
Chris, Right now we have Mr. K in a small cage. It was the cage we brought our first glider Comet home in. It is really to small for a glider...but will be perfect him for until he gets a bit stronger. He basically is living on the bottom...which we have lined with fleece. The cage has 3 different levels all of which have ramps. (Hopefully this will prevent falls). Last night we moved him into a pouch. We are keeping it on the floor of the cage for now. We have another type of igloo, that our Comet & Bob used before the family came about, tonight we will be putting his favorite fleece blanket in it and attaching it to the shelf in the top part of his cage. We are going to try moving his food dishes to the large middle section of the cage. I will post a few pics tonight. "K" is doing great he crabbed at my wife and I quite a bit last night. I think we have him confused...he doesn't know what all this attention is...when we picked him up we were told by his previous owners....that they just kept him down in the basement by himself where it was dark and quiet. They said about six months ago. they tried for about 3 weeks to bond with him...but he didn't change so I'm guessing thats when he went down stairs. It is so heart warming to hear him chirp and squeak when he eats and gets a good rub behind the ears.
Re: Special "K"
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#112637 06/27/0610:10 PM06/27/0610:10 PM
On the water concerns- are you using the same type of source the previous home used? If it's different he just may not know. Also my Haley & Comet would not touch their water either when I first brought them home- I started flavoring it just a tad with juice or powdered gatorade. Just don't over due it- just a tad to add some flavor- Haley & Comet now drink from their water every nite.
Ñancy ~Always on my mind & in my Jack, Sally & Serenity~
Ed (and I'm sure some will disagree)...When Riker and Lilo were recovering from HLP....here are the changes I would make for about a month:
ONE piece corn nightly ONE pea nightly ONE piece carrot (high phosphorus foods) Add yogurt EVERY DAY to his dinner
Watermelon, Apples and Grapes are nice....but not real high on the calcium scale-stick with the melons and papaya (calcium rich). I would scale back or eliminate for now, and just stick with the calcium rich fruits. Because he is so bad...2 or 3 months is what I would do.
Babyfoods are fine (gerber tropicals: mango, papaya, mixed fruit) are just fine, and will add to his calcium intake-I prefer the foods over supplements anyway. You can get those at Smiths. Avoid phosphorus heavy foods for now-including babyfood veggies. This is what I used with both Riker and Lilo...with good results. Avocados are fine (just not too much, since they're high in both fats and calories).
I'm so happy he's at least getting around...and look forward to updates. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug2.gif" alt="" /> to you for taking this little guy that needed you so badly, and I'm sure he'll do fine in your care.
You might also want to consider Kern's nectars in addition to his water, as they are calcium enriched.
As far as the water goes...add a bowl of water in the cage as well....some gliders just don't like bottles-Riker and Troi refuse to use one. Change daily.He likely won't drink much...but he'll drink what he needs. Do the pinch test to be sure he's not dehydrated...if he is, consider pedialyte/water 50/50 (by syringe if necessary) until he's better (few days).
Keep us updated! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Oh...and go light on the mealies/bugs for a while as well...they are also phosphorus heavy.
Last edited by Xfilefan; 06/28/0606:46 AM.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Special "K"
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#112639 06/30/0603:08 AM06/30/0603:08 AM
what a shame for such a beautiful boy to be in a basement how cruel. he is what a glider today should look like. i love the rounder face something you no longer see. and the bigger round eyes. todays glider is so inbred they have gotten smaller and smaller. give him lots of love for me. mary from glidertree has made the worse cases of hlp better. contact her if you can. the yogurt is great . i use stoneyfield farms vanilla it has the highest calcium content. he deserves a 6 ft cage and another glider when hes better. dont make him run too much while he has hlp. also i use a birdseed cup for water and put another empty one right above it so no dropping fall in the water. i use no waterbottle. also try gliderade
Re: Special "K"
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#112640 06/30/0607:08 PM06/30/0607:08 PM
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thanx.gif" alt="" /> for all the advice everyone. Tonights shopping trip will include "K"'s new special menu. He is doing quite well and seems to be starting to settle in. We have noticed that his right front leg seems to give him the most trouble. He really struggles to move it. The best way to describe it is real similar to the way a Chameleon moves his legs.....real slow with his little hand spread open...as if he's reaching for something. I'm guessing this is also due to poor diet. He also decided to take a run around the house last night. He shocked us.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />..this little guy can really move when he wants too! This weekend we will try and get him off the floor of the cage. He will get an actual water dish along with his bottle. (we use both in all our cages) and we will install the igloo for sleeping in. (he had only a wooden nest box in his "ferret" cage when we brought him home. Nothing else. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> Monkeys may take over his cage too! he he he <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif" alt="" />
Re: Special "K"
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#112641 08/02/0602:36 PM08/02/0602:36 PM
Its time for an update on Special "K". Our little guy is doing very well. We are starting to see his real personality and not just one of a "broken old glider". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cloud9.gif" alt="" /> He is moving around pretty well now, and over the weekend we caught him moving his tail and using it for balance. We had never really seen him do this up until now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yelclap.gif" alt="" /> His appetite is getting better and he no longer needs us to hand feed him. Although he is still in his very small cage he is making the best of it. We are adding more things to it every week. He is now sleeping in a normal pouch...and it is even hanging in his cage (we were told that he would not touch pouches) but we still leave his igloo in his home because its what he knows. Now this may sound wierd but I have been happy to here him crab. When "K" first came to us this was something he didn't do much of either...don't get me wrong he tried his best but he just had nothing to give. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/upset.gif" alt="" /> I was so proud of him this morning....he really made my day. We gave him a few monkeys to play with a couple weeks ago....and guess who was in the BML dish eating? Guess "K" had dinner guests over last night! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif" alt="" /> I was wondering when should we start encouraging exercise? ?In time are wheels a good idea for gliders with his conditions? Any other ideas?
i have been missing from the board for a while and did not see this post but i have to say he is beautiful and i know he will not just improve but THRIVE in your care.
i applaud you for taking the time, money, and having the love in your heart to give this guy the best life he could ever have.
Re: Special "K"
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#112643 08/02/0606:53 PM08/02/0606:53 PM
AWww he looks lik ehe is being well cared for and sounds like he is doing better and better eevery day Good luck w/ him and his progress he'll be a young man in no time...lol
Re: Special "K"
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#112644 08/03/0604:49 PM08/03/0604:49 PM
Go ahead and put a wheel in. You may even want to set him in it and see what he does. Because of his weight, he likely won't move fast-but excercise actually helps to strengthen bone density. I'd say it should be fine at this point. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
And thank you for the update-I've been wondering/worrying about the little dude. You're doing a great job with him, Ed! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yelclap.gif" alt="" />
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Special "K"
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#112645 08/03/0605:44 PM08/03/0605:44 PM
Ok Everyone I need some help!! Special "K" has very strange nails I believe due to his condition. Has anyone expierenced a glider who's nail are thick and curled up tight against thier finger? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nixweiss.gif" alt="" /> I can't figure out how to cut his thumb nail without hurting him! Any idea's? Also as his diet improves and he starts getting better will his nails thin out and become more glider like? I will try and snap a picture tonight to give you all a better idea.
Last edited by Osinn; 08/10/0607:23 PM.
Re: Special "K"
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#112647 08/10/0609:12 PM08/10/0609:12 PM
[:"green"]I have seen nails like that on gliders before - usually it's due to not being trimmed often enough. Since he's a rescue, I would imagine that is very likely the cause. The best way to trim them is to get a Cuticle Trimmer (available at WalMart) made by LaCrosse (see attached picture). The angled tip makes it easier to control where you are trimming. Keep some styptic powder close by because it is very likely that you will cut into the quick while trimming since the quick seems to get longer into the nail as the nail grows out more... Trim off a small amount at a time every few days until the nail gets back to normal length again. HTH
Ed...it's bad diet and age, and they won't go back. We have several with severely messed up nails, and are rather used to trimming them. I don't know that I could describe how, my husband might be able to. Or if you want to come up we can help out. Unfortunately, once they're like that, they only seem to get worse, not better.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Special "K"
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#112649 08/11/0602:26 PM08/11/0602:26 PM
Suz...Jen Thanks for the advice. I will try the cuticle trimmer tonight. I'm not to worried about the quik...it's the posibilty of actually cutting him. (I will try agin to post a picture) Little guy wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken last night. I do not have any styptic powder. Where can I get that from?? Jen if I can't figure it out maybe we will come pay you a visit. I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two.