Mouse has a broken foot?
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Mouse has a broken foot?
by AdrienneC Tue 01 May 2018, 7:24 pm
My mouse recently got out the cage and in two dfferent days, I almost steped on her and sh was chased by a cat. Now she is walking around the cage with her left leg lifted up and her toes curled up. I wondering if she has a broken foot? Is there anyway to help her at home? Please help 
AdrienneC- New Member
- Join date : 2018-01-16
Posts : 4
Re: Mouse has a broken foot?
by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Wed 02 May 2018, 7:13 am
Is she feeling better this morning? I hope so. But just in case the foot is still wrong ...
While it is possible that the foot or the leg contains one or more broken bones, it would be difficult to diagnose a broken bone without an x-ray, unless it was a compound fracture (bone pierces the skin) or you can see actual displaced deformation at the break point.
When I first brought home my little April, it seemed it would be so easy for her to hurt one of those delicate little feet that, even though I could run her (and I mean RUN, using my own two legs) to the nearest 24-hour animal hospital in less than five minutes, going out the back door and down the alley and over the retaining wall and through some parking lots and across the road, I wanted to know all I could find out about this aspect of pet first aid and care.
What I learned was very common sense, in that it is possible for a veterinarian trained in and/or willing to perform orthopedic surgery on pocket pets to do complicated bone realignment and stabilization operations. But then, post-surgery, the patient realizes something is funky with the operated-on part and may start chewing on the stitches and the injured area.
It is also possible to do external realignments, adding a little customized cast to stabilize the repair, but again the urge to chew off the cast ends up undoing the doctor's good work.
In the end, a lot of bone breaks seem to just take care of themselves, given time and rest. The trick is to not administer pain medication, so the mouse patient will take it easy on the hurting part and give it a chance to heal however it is going to heal. What you can do is to make things a little easier on the little patient by setting up its house so everything is on one level so it doesn't have to climb, and by setting essentials like food and water near the sleeping spot so use of the injured foot can be minimized. Don't try to limit mousie's mobility -- just put essentials nearby in case the foot really hurts. And replacing the bedding piles with flat paper towel to line the floor helps to avoid unnecessary twisting of the affected foot/leg.
As with humans, a sore foot could be a break, but it could also be a sprain or pull or twist or dislocation. Pain could also signify infection or a fresh skin wound. Mousie could even have an internal injury that hurts if she moves that leg. If you know of a veterinarian that knows how to treat small pets, make an appointment. If you don't know of a specialist in small pets, either find a regular cat/dog vet who is willing to work on the occasional exotic, or visit the emergency hospital.
Even if mousie starts acting like the foot is all recovered, remember that mice are very good at hiding their weaknesses and your little friend could still have considerable discomfort. It is better to find out for sure what the problem is, or to rule out for sure what the problem is not, so the proper steps can be taken to care for the little patient.
Get better soon, little mousie.
While it is possible that the foot or the leg contains one or more broken bones, it would be difficult to diagnose a broken bone without an x-ray, unless it was a compound fracture (bone pierces the skin) or you can see actual displaced deformation at the break point.
When I first brought home my little April, it seemed it would be so easy for her to hurt one of those delicate little feet that, even though I could run her (and I mean RUN, using my own two legs) to the nearest 24-hour animal hospital in less than five minutes, going out the back door and down the alley and over the retaining wall and through some parking lots and across the road, I wanted to know all I could find out about this aspect of pet first aid and care.
What I learned was very common sense, in that it is possible for a veterinarian trained in and/or willing to perform orthopedic surgery on pocket pets to do complicated bone realignment and stabilization operations. But then, post-surgery, the patient realizes something is funky with the operated-on part and may start chewing on the stitches and the injured area.
It is also possible to do external realignments, adding a little customized cast to stabilize the repair, but again the urge to chew off the cast ends up undoing the doctor's good work.
In the end, a lot of bone breaks seem to just take care of themselves, given time and rest. The trick is to not administer pain medication, so the mouse patient will take it easy on the hurting part and give it a chance to heal however it is going to heal. What you can do is to make things a little easier on the little patient by setting up its house so everything is on one level so it doesn't have to climb, and by setting essentials like food and water near the sleeping spot so use of the injured foot can be minimized. Don't try to limit mousie's mobility -- just put essentials nearby in case the foot really hurts. And replacing the bedding piles with flat paper towel to line the floor helps to avoid unnecessary twisting of the affected foot/leg.
As with humans, a sore foot could be a break, but it could also be a sprain or pull or twist or dislocation. Pain could also signify infection or a fresh skin wound. Mousie could even have an internal injury that hurts if she moves that leg. If you know of a veterinarian that knows how to treat small pets, make an appointment. If you don't know of a specialist in small pets, either find a regular cat/dog vet who is willing to work on the occasional exotic, or visit the emergency hospital.
Even if mousie starts acting like the foot is all recovered, remember that mice are very good at hiding their weaknesses and your little friend could still have considerable discomfort. It is better to find out for sure what the problem is, or to rule out for sure what the problem is not, so the proper steps can be taken to care for the little patient.
Get better soon, little mousie.
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MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop- Sr Member
- Join date : 2017-10-18
Posts : 380
Re: Mouse has a broken foot?
by AdrienneC Thu 03 May 2018, 7:46 pm
Thank you so much for the information!! She is doing better and is walking around the cage very well, I do notice though that she still is trying not to walk on it. I will rearrange her cage like you said. Your reply was very much appreciated!!
AdrienneC- New Member
- Join date : 2018-01-16
Posts : 4
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