Max helping me email
Max has been doing great out in the wilds and comes by every few days for a hello and a nut. But just when I thought I wouldn't have to worry about Max anymore, he turned up limping. A toe appeared badly broken. I kept an eye on him for a few days every time he came to visit. The foot was getting more swollen and after a few days he wasn't even using it. I lured him into a carrier and took him to the vet, this is what they found...
3 crushed toes
... 3 crushed toes!
With lots of swollen soft tissue surrounding the joints.
Ouch!!
This is a really weird injury. What could have snapped/crushed off the ends of 3 toes?? All 3 toes had to be amputated. As you know, squirrels really need their back toes to go down trees (plus they love to hang on by their back legs and stretch!). I hope, hope, HOPE that this won't impede Max living in the wild. He has to stay with me for at least 2-3 weeks, and I hope that both Max and I won't go crazy. Even though he grew up with me, he is wild and gives very hard bites when he gets unexpectedly annoyed and even in "play." Meanwhile Runt is so happy he's back, but they can't play together yet. So, lots of very pissed off energy in the animal room at Wild Things at present!
And then there is sweet Peter the Opossum (named by my Dad, seen here with Peter at Thanksgiving). Peter has been at Wild Things for over 2 months. He was hit by a car, suffered a terribly displaced fracture of the leg that was not reset well by the initial vet, several cracked teeth, and now is dealing with various skin sores. All the while he has been such a good, sweet patient and seems very happy at Wild Things, where he is allowed to walk around as much as he wants for physical therapy (though usually he likes to walk over to the stacks of towels and blankets and find a good place to go to sleep!).
November 2009, 2 views initial Xrays
Slightly reset, 2nd Xrays
January 2010, 3rd set Xrays
As you can see, the leg kinda realigned, but basically the tibia appears to have fused with the fibula and then a whole callous is forming around the whole area. In the meantime, he's had his bad teeth pulled and now we are dealing with his tummy sores. Egad! But he is so energetic and loves sticking his nose near the crack in the door to smell the wild that is waiting for him. Once he heals (and I hope he does) he will be returned to the area where he came, up by Syracuse, but only once it is warmer.
hello!
Finally, a hello from one of the wild visitors, a 1st year White tailed deer, from the Wild Things woods!
