Ideas to entertain Squirtle

[SquirtleSquirt]

Hey guys! So last night I noticed that my little boy was walking a little funny, so I took him to the vet today. Turns out he slightly dislocated his upper left leg. He's put on meloxicam and his wheel is temporarily taken out until he can properly walk again. I was wondering what kind of fun, hedgie-safe things can I put in place of the wheel while he recovers? He already has a tunnel, tent, dig box, and solid balls to push around. Any other ideas?

[Yukidama's mama]

Aww poor little guy, I hope he recovers soon! ♡
Sounds like he already has some good toys ~ how about hiding food treats around his cage so he can look for them and forage? Ive got a big pompom made of fleece strips I purchased from an Etsy seller with other fleece goods and my boy will carry it from one side of his cage to the other (to form part of his nest he's made!).

[SquirtleSquirt]

Thank you so much! I started panicking really hard when I noticed his walking was off.

I've gotta look into that fleece pompom. Thank you for the idea! (:

[Yukidama's mama]

Yeah I would too! Do you know how he managed to do it? Just from running on his wheel? They're pretty delicate little things aren't they >.<. Yuki had a URI a few weeks ago. For some reason his cage temp dropped just a little too low even though his thermostat is set high, so I panicked and checked on him and he had a blob of clear snot run out of his nose as I was holding him! Seems to be ok now after a course of antibiotics.

Yep, it was just an add on item the seller did for like $1 so thought I'd get one. Yuki didn't really do much with it at first but now it's winter he seems to like moving his fleece strips and mini blankets around his cage, including the pompom!

[SquirtleSquirt]

That's the strange part. I'm trying to think of ways that could of possibly dislocated his leg, but I can't think of anything. The most plausible explanation would be the wheel though. He might have ran on it too hard or suddenly stopped too fast and got it injured that way. If he doesn't get better within a week I'm going to have to bring him back to the vet.

Oh I'm sorry to hear Yuki had a URI! It's good to hear that he's doing well after antibiotics.

I ordered some pompoms can't wait to try them out (:

[Yukidama's mama]

Hmm is there anyway he climbed up on something? Otherwise yeah it could have been the wheel... Sometimes I hear Yuki during the night running on his CSBW and he's super fast on it! I do worry if he ever skids and slips on all his poop and pee as he's running lol?! ><

Ah glad you found some! Hope they help keep him entertained and his leg heals soon! ♡

[SquirtleSquirt]

There's no way he could've gotten it from climbing, unless it's from climbing me >_<

I really hope it does get better. He seems to be bending that leg a lot...

[SquirtleSquirt]

Update: It's been a week and his leg is not better. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait until Wednesday since they're booked with appointments already ): They said they'll try to fit me in on Monday, but not guaranteed. He's going to continue his medication until then!

[Yukidama's mama]

Sorry to hear that
Hope you manage to get an appointment sooner! Keep us posted on his recovery ♡

[SquirtleSquirt]

Update: X-rays show that all his bones are perfectly fine. Prescribed a different medicine for the next 2-3 weeks since he may heal within that time. If he doesn't we're going back. He won't be having his wheel until his leg gets better >_<