Ligament damage, any ideas?

[Pompompoms]

I'd noticed my robo The Cloud over the last week or so had started to lose a lot of fur on one side, all around his right back leg and hip. He has also been sleeping a lot, as in most of the time, and not really running which is favorite thing normally. Yesterday I could see his skin underneath was a very dark purple colour, and although still mobile, there is a definite change in his walking style.

Having realised it's not just an old age thing and he's injured himself, we went off to the vet today, and the upshot is he's got a severely damaged leg around his knee (possibly cruciate ligament) with the bruising from it spreading up all over his hip and back. The vet said the only things to do were manage the pain for the rest of his life, or cut off his leg!!! Given that he has just turned two, I don't really feel amputation is an option for him. He may well not survive the operation, and even if he does, recovery would be difficult.

I suspect he may have sustained the injury dive bombing from the top of his house. It's one of his favorite activities, and I always make sure there is a lot of padding for landing, but my guess is something went wrong.

He's on enforced rest, no wheel, no spinner, and the house has come out to stop him aggrivating the injury more. Has anyone had experience of this before, is there anything else I can do for him? I was thinking oil possibly for the joint to keep it supple, is there anything that can ease inflamation?

[shazzy]

My Daisy has a permanently damaged front leg - she damaged her elbow and couldnt walk on it for weeks, but it is now fused and stable and she can walk normally.

She's been on a small dose of metacam since October - this definitely helps with the pain and swelling - we tried her without it for a couple of weeks and the legs got gradually worse again.

Did the vet suggest Metacam at all?

[RachK]

Oh no poor The Cloud. Not another hammie with a bad leg. I haven't got any suggestions as to what you can do for him. So sorry.

I hope The Cloud copes with his enforced rest.

[Pompompoms]

Ah, no she didn't suggest anything, she wanted to see what he does over the next few days and then see him next week to look at the bruising and the joint again. Poor little one, I'm not sure he's going to be too impressed with his lack of wheel and diving board when he wakes up!

[shazzy]

Might be worth mentioning the metacam. Some vets are a bit iffy about it as it's unlicensed and they worry about long term affects, but if it helps them to be comfortable and pain free then it's worth trying it. Daisy has 0.05ml a day to keep her ticking over. X

[fluffymunchkins]

oh gosh, poor Cloud
Hes such a silly guy i hope he starts feeling better soon x

[souffle]

We had a syrian with a huge bruise from leaping from the top of a Gabber Although it was quite extensive it did actually resolve quite quickly and within about 10 days he was back to normal and we did just the same as you with strict rest and no climbing etc.
Hope Cloud is better soon. x

[starrylight99]

I second what Shazzy said about the Metacam. It can be very effective at managing pain, but like any NSAID, it could have some side effects with long-term use. It might be worth asking your vet about.

I hope The Cloud gets to feeling better soon, and isn't too upset at his lack of a diving board

[Pompompoms]

I will definitely mention the Metacam when we go in next. I'm having a bit of a problem with the enforced rest though. He spent the whole evening tonight jumping at the sides of his house franticly as he has no wheel, in the end I decided he was doing himself more damage everytime he landed and put the wheel back in but not the spinner. At least in the wheel his body is aligned, and he has a short gentle run then goes back to sleep. Not ideal at all, but like I say he was making it far worse not having it

[Iluvhamsters]

I hope The Cloud's leg gets better soon.