Gerbil stop using right hind leg?

[ralliart12]

Hi folks. 1 of my gerbils suddenly stopped using her rear right leg. When she moves around she doesn’t seem to place weight on it/use it to step on surfaces. There is no weird exterior wounds/protrusions/blood traces in the bedding.She lives by herself in a tank with no major heights to fall from. She is still drinking & feeding okay. 3Y7M old as of today.

Vet visit has been scheduled for this coming Saturday.

But I will like to mentally prepare myself for what may happen, i.e. no surgery due to old age, necrosis due to no usage of leg muscle, etc.?

Does anybody have the unfortunate simile experience, to share the outcome?

Some reference videos & photo:
imgur.com/gallery/ANaVIVd

[betty]

It doesn't look like she is isn't using her LEG - it looks like she can't use the tendons or nerves in her toes. Her foot bends down at the toe when she goes to use it so I think she is tilting up her 'heel' to counter it.

Not sure what would have caused that specifically, but a slip, tear or trip could have - especially if she is old. Good news so far is that she doesn't appear to be chewing it which is good as it is hurts or goes numb - sometimes the gerbils will over groom it doing themselves more harm.

In some of the shots though she looks like her tummy is a bit rounded and solid - so there may be something else going on too in there. Hopefully the vet can suss it out while watching her more closely - I would certainly take her there in that clear carrier so the vet can watch her move without having to hold her. If it IS something damaged or further up the leg/spine - then holding her could aggravate it.

Hmm...

[Markpd]

Didn't notice the rounded tummy until you mentioned it betty, to me it looks like her left side is more rounded too (or is that what you meant in the 1st place?).

[LilyandDaisy]

I forgot about it until now, but when one of my past gerbils had an ovarian cyst, she also intermittently limped on one of her back legs. The vet couldn't think of any causal link, but both issues appeared at the same time.

[Markpd]

The vet didn't say anything about the cyst possibly pinching some nerves to her leg?

[LilyandDaisy]

Mar 24, 2021 11:30:28 GMT -8 Markpd said:

The vet didn't say anything about the cyst possibly pinching some nerves to her leg?

I think I did ask the vet about that but I can't remember what she said. The problem was, she wasn't limping the day she saw the vet and her leg looked normal, so there wasn't really anything for her to examine other than the abdominal swelling. She asked me to send some footage of her limping, but the gerbil died before I was able to do that.

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows, just some update:
Took the gerbil to the vet yesterday, surprised to hear the cause was a fracture (her enclosure is pretty dull so I dunno where she got the fracture from).
Vet injected pentosan polysulfate & chondroitin for anti-inflammatory purposes, and to boost re-build of cartilage. Informed me that the fracture should be able to heal.
I raised the possibility of cysts to the vet but the vet said can only confirm if we go for ultrasound, & even then, at 3Y8MTH, invasive surgery is a no-no.

[betty]

Ah, ok. Well she could easily have broken it due to her age rather than an extreme environment. Older bodies don't always process the usual things the usual ways (including calcium balance) so bones can becomes weaker even though the same amount of calcium is actually being eaten (sort of a secondary defiency - or metabolistic change).

Poor thing. Gerbils do tend to heal well from breaks - but again - it would depend on whether an issue with the bones was the cause for the break in the first place.

I suppose the fact that she isn't in pain is good for now - and you can work with the vet to perhaps discuss possible causes.

[Markpd]

Oh, sorry to hear that, I hope the leg heals well.

[catnut]

i hope she will be okay, glad they thought to try an injection, most just give metacam for pain, fingers crossed she will heal with time and be okay.

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows, just wanna update that Hokkaido (the gerbil’s name)’s leg is definitely healing steadily.

You know how sometimes gerbils will lift their forearms & use their rear legs to do this rapid-scratching move? I saw her did that with her formerly-injured leg yesterday.

Plus in any case, I saw her putting weight on both rear legs when ambling around the tank.

Can’t do anything for her abnormally-plumb figure though. In all honesty I suspect some tumour/cyst is growing inside but as mentioned, at her age, invasive surgery is a no-go.

She’s less than a month from overtaking my oldest female gerbil (who was 3Y10M old)

[catnut]

glad her leg is healing well so at least she can move around like she was before her injury.

[Markpd]

Good to hear she's healing nicely, amazing healing for an elderly gerbil!
I hope she makes her 4th birthday!

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows, I am very sorry to share the news that our Hokkaido left us a few hours ago. She is 3 years, 9 months, 7 day-old at this moment.

Between the labored, hastened breathing, and the worrying bloating of her body, I guessed life has grander plans for her spirit. I still recall the day I adopted her despite her tail being "shortened" by a tank mate (during a fight, I was told). I'm happy her foot is fixed, though it was for a couple of weeks...anyway,here's a fond photo I have of her:

[catnut]

RIP Hokkaido, take care and know you gave her a good life and she lived a long time for a little one.