I came home from work at 7pm to find my 3yr old female glider with a huge hole in the back of her neck. She has a joey who is 4 1/2 wks OOP who is still nursing. I rushed both to the vet, who is operating on mom right now. She said the meds will cross into the baby thru the milk. Is there anything I can or should do? should I pull the baby to hand feed? if so how often do they need to be fed? I work full time in a Dr.s office so very hard for me to take her to work with me. Baby is still with the vet to be with mom when she comes out of anesthesia.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jeanne

I'm so sorry to hear this! I'm by no means experienced in this, but if the meds will be transferred to the baby, I doubt you have a choice but to pull it! I highly suggest visiting Suz's site for information about handraising joeys HERE should this be the case.

Hopefully someone will be here soon to help you out. My thoughts are with you...hoping for the best for mama and baby!!

i personally would pull too! did they say how LONG it will transfer? it could be to where you have to feed for like a day or two, then maybe momma can have her back? please ask your vet how long it will be in mommas system!

The vet said the anesthesia would make her a bit drowsy, but it won't hurt her. The pain meds and antibiotics shouldn't hurt her either. I am mainly afraid due to her age. She said that they would most likely just sleep thru the night rather than be up and about.

Thank you for the link, but it didn't work.

Jeanne

Hmmmmm, the link works for me. Go to http://www.suzsugargliders.com and you'll find the information. That's the link I tried to post.

And if she will be there overnight, you have no choice but to pull the joey. I'm so sorry.

4 1/2 weeks oop is not a terrible age to hand feed. And, you should be able to put him back when mom gets home. I'm not saying it's a cake walk, but he's only 1 1/2 weeks from starting to eat really well on his own. So, a good start. Suz is a good place to get help. Or you can reach out to Val, Jackiechansmom. She will be able to give guidance on mom and baby. She has tons of wound experience, and has hand raised several joeys.

What kind of surgery did she have? Is it just stitches? The wound sounds like a mating wound, so you will have to seperate her from dad. You may have to get dad neutered if this keeps up.

Please let us know if you need more help, or advice.

I agree, if this is, in fact, a mating wound...it might be time to neuter Dad. And Shawna's right, 4.5 weeks isn't too bad but there's still the time until mom comes home. Hopefully she'll be fine and home soon!

Be sure to let us know what meds the vet puts her on. The joey can be supplemented, but should not be pulled from mom (unless indicated by the specific medication given). Mom and joey should be separated from cage mates for the time being.

What kind of surgery is she having? In most cases, we do not advise closing up a wound. There is a lot of wound care information on the Sweet Spot
http://thesweetspot.forumotion.net/wound-care-f9/
You might want to talk with your vet about Quickderm. It dramatically cuts down on wound healing time.

You are welcome to call me any time. Phone number is in my signature.

Any updates?

I just got back from picking them up at the vets. Mom and joey are doing great. She is on 3 meds for 14 days, they are

Meloxicam
Enrofloxacin
Butorphanol

The vet said none of these will harm the baby, she will just not be as active, but she wasn't that active yet anyways.

The wound went from shoulder to shoulder, and you could see all they way into the neck and back area thru the hole. She has a double layer of sutures and a drain. Momma and baby are sleeping now. I had a bugger of a time getting the medicine in her, got more on us than anything.

Does this mean that she can't go back in with her mate at all? will he do this again? the vet said I should have him fixed, but it costs $450...she said they can go back together in 14 days, but I am afraid of this happening again.

Thank you all for your help.
Jeanne

okay thats WAY to much for a neuter! i paid $70 for a local vet to do a pom on neuter!

yup sadly this is why atleast one of my males still is NOT neutered!!!i am not willing to pay the ridiculous prices they are asking by me..im located in southern mississippi/louisiana area and total after surgery is about 3-400!! and they will not give me a dc for multiples either....

thats CRAZY!

Jeanne, just some interesting reading on medication

Whoa, that's a hefty cost for a neuter. Mine is $215 and I think that's pretty reasonable, even expected it would be a bit more but I do think $450 is awfully steep.

I'm so glad to hear that Mom and baby are doing well! Great news!

I'm sorry you and Mama are going through all this. That sounds like a pretty bad wound. I'm no expert on wound care, but have figured out a few ways to make it easier to give meds. You can mix them with a small amount of yogurt and let her lick it off your finger or from a syringe. You can also burrito wrap her and use a syringe to put the meds right inside her cheek, then hold her still until she swallows so she doesn't shake it all out. That is a bit more stressful on her, but effective.

It's best to not put her back in with her mate until the wound is healed and the fur is starting to grow back. He will most likely open the wound back up if they are put together sooner.

Neuter prices vary greatly depending on where you live. That does sound VERY high though! Neuters here are $65 for pom on, antibiotics and pain meds.

Sending healing thoughts for a speedy recovery for your girl!

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Crazy as it is....I was quoted $400 and up by three vets I contacted here....I have a lead on another one that rumor has it is about $120 which to me seems really good. If I can find my price break down they "showed" me wht all the high price was paying for....eek.

Sorry about the momma...glad she is resting and praying for a speedy recovery so she can love on her little one.

Some possibles about the cause of the wound.

We often just assume they are "mating" wounds but that may not always be the case.
These are some ideas my vet has on the topic of "mating" wounds.

Joeys will bite onto mom's back to "piggy back ride". If the joey bites deep enough to break skin, bacteria can enter and begin to fester, causing an abcess. Then either the wound breaks open on its own or the cage mates open it to clean it, making it nasty and larger. If it is not noticed right away, the cage mates can continue to "groom" it until they are opened from shoulder to shoulder.

Another possible cause could be as small as a sharp toenail pricking the skin letting in bacteria.

Because there are other possible causes for these types of wounds, don't automatically think that the gliders have to be permanently separated or that the males have to be neutered right away. They do need to be seperated while she heals and fur starts to grow back. Strict supervised play time together will help reintroductions after she has healed but be very strict that the male doesn't groom the wound.

You'll also have to watch that the joey doesn't bother the wound either or you will have to seperate the joey as well. If that happens, or if you choose to seperate the joey, place him back in with dad and just feed him. Let dad take care of the joey the rest of the time.

Thank you Teresa, for the other ways this could have happened. When I posted this I wanted to get straight to the point, so didn't write a lot of what happened. I have 3 cages of gliders, each of them has 1 male in it with a female or 2. Well a mature male from one of my other cages let himself out of his cage and went to visit Luna and Stitch, we believe that it was pent up frustration towards Mario that Stitch took out on Luna. She is almost completely healed now and baby is almost fully weaned. The vet said that once the baby is weaned, that I can do tent time with Luna and Stitch and see how he does with just her coming back in and if all is ok, they should be fine together. He did not believe it was a mating wound as she had a new joey. I was sold a cream to put on the wound now to help with the itch, it is Heal Avix Soother plus cream, http://www.birdsafestore.com/Products/Avix-Soother-Plus--05oz__AVIX-SO3.aspx it is good for birds, animals, even humans and is very safe. Luna was such a great girl thru this, she only gave me a hard time taking the medicine the first night, after that she opened her mouth to take it as it tasted like apples...

Thank you all for your information and well wishes.
Jeanne