Rescue Glider Pics

[Something_To_Believe_In]

how long you had him, what you suspect happened, what his cage is like, the things he can/cant do, everything. he is gorgeous!

Oh boy.   Let's see.............

I have had Jackie Chan just about 2 years now.  When he came to me, he was weak and the sweetest thing ever.  From his initial x-ray, it looks like something fell on him and broke his spine.  My vets suspect that he also had early onset HLP, and that is why the spine was able to be broken without further internal damage. 

After getting him home, I put him on a good diet and started massage and ROM (Range Of Motion) with him daily.  He began to have some calcification of his spine and then his nerves began to re-grow.  So, he now has some movement of his back feet, but it is not really purposeful and he certainly cannot coordinate the movement of them for walking or anything.  He does, though, feel deep pressure on his back feet.

The risk of falling is very high with a paralyzed glider.  So, Jackie Chan's cages are no more than 2 feet high.  I say "cages" because he has several - I'm still trying to get my act together enough to build him the most perfect cage.  He has two small cages that are used for short times here at home.  In these, he tends to get little abrasions on his feet, so he and his cage mate stay in this cage for no more than one week at a time.  Here is a picture of one:


It looks crowded because he has to have something to catch himself on no matter where he is in the cage.  So, lots of vines and hammocks.  Last summer, I was inspired to make Jackie Chan a better travel cage, and in so doing stumbled upon the perfect living cage for Jackie and Melee.  It is larger than either of their wire cages, and is completely made of fleece and pet screen inside, with a slightly elevated and padded floor, so it is safe if he should fall.  Here is Jackie Chan's safe house:


Jackie can do just about everthing another glider can do - somethings just have to be modified.  He has very over-developed shoulder muscles and upper body strength, and amazes me all the time with what he learns to do.  He can climb and run - he is the fastest of all of my gliders!  Recently, he has taught himself to jump short distances by pushing off with is front feet!  :sg: AMAZING.   :sg:  He runs in a wheel, but it must have a solid track and an enclosed front cause he runs so fast he will throw himself right out of the thing!

What he can NOT do - well, he cannot control his bowel or bladder.  So, he looses overflow.  He cannot feel everything below the break in his spine, so he sometimes gets hurt and doesn't know it.  He cannot use both hands to hold something because he is always using one to hold himself up, so he requires tiny bite size pieces of fruit and veggies and such.  He does hold things with two hands if you will hold him cupped in your hand.     He cannot clean his own butt.  He is getting better at it and he gets so excited when he is able to roll up enough to clean himself good that he starts chirping with joy!      No worries, though - his cage mate keeps him good and clean.   And, he Cannot NOT be adorable!  hehe.

If I could ever learn how to upload video (and get a video camera - guess that would be first) then I would upload video so everyone could see how amazing he is. 

[Maranwe]

Oooh poor little critters! 
This is very upsetting.. But I am glad you show these things as this is the reality of bad ownership.
I have read each story and I am glad to hear they are all on the mend and that they are in the hands of people who are willing to love and treat them properly.
How people can abuse their animals is beyond me, how can they live with the guilt of knowing they caused suffering to a tiny speechlies animal?  :mad

[Rhianna]

some people arnt as human as me and you. (and most people on this forum)

[Amalthea]

Some "people" (I use the term loosely) find great enjoyment out of the pain of creatures weaker than themselves and then others are just ignorant...  And apparently, ignorance is bliss... *sigh*

[Maranwe]

there need to be more laws about Animal Cruelty though. There isn't enough being done to prevent it. I know there are people in the world who dedicate their entire lives to defending Animal rights but others don't seem to take the point. My aunty Bridget being one of those people. (she's a bit of a loon, but her heart is in the right place.) She is always campaigning for animal rights and some day I'm going to try and do something drastic about it too.

poor little beasties can't even do anything about being abused.. 

[tuppence]

i am crying here i cannot abide any creuelty to any animal, i feel privelegded that marie is allowing me to take charge of of 2 of her babies i feel i should sign a pledge or somthing, i promise to love my snuggies, to give cuddles and to spoil them rotten

[Rhianna]

basically, jackie chan is just a normal glider, with some tiny exceptions. amazing! i cant believe he has learned to jump. what a little character!

i have one glider (Holly)  who has never glided before in her life, wont even jump very far, she is a very lazy girl. and your jackie has physical problems and he has learned to jump! shame on Holly! lol

[Usha77]

Hey, there's a couple of my heroes!  Val, how did I not know about Dulce's injury?  Poor guy - he's been through so much!  *hugs* 

I have one little guy, Toffee, who is a tripod - left arm amputated at the shoulder (he came to me like that).  And then Lan had some SM issues and he only has about an inch of tail left... 

Toffee's story from Teresa (Dancing on the US forums) - who I got him from:  "Anita Totty got a phone call from her vet. Toffee had been rescued by the vet. His previous owner allowed Toffee's hand to get bitten by another glider (cages too close) and then did not seek medical treatment for a month and only after his hand was completely black. It was amputated at the wrist. The owner then took the glider home and when he self mutilated it, she wrapped it up and left it that way for another month. This time it was amputated at the shoulder. ANOTHER month of being wrapped up she took it back to the vet and told the vet to just kill it. She wasn't going to pay for another useless surgery. The vet had her sign the glider over, did the surgery and then called Anita. He had surgery on a Saturday morning and Anita picked him up that after noon. She gave him pain meds Sat. night and again on Sunday. He had no further meds and healed up perfectly with no self mutilation. He came to my home about 8 days post surgery."

Some pics (click on the pic to see bigger):

Lan shortly after tail amputation (which happened less than a week after he came to me.)




Toffee







 

[Rhianna]

poor little thing. you know, its not hard to prevent something like that. a bit of basic care doesnt hurt.

[loulou]

How does he cope with a lost front limb? I know they cope very well with a lost back but does it hinder them with a missing front at all

[Usha77]

Well, like Val's Jackie Chan, he needs small pieces of food so he can hold them one handed.  He also needs to be in a reptarium or a cage with very small spacing, almost like little squares, so he can manuever around well.  Other than that, he acts like he's not even missing anything!  He jumps, he runs, he tries to glide, he climbs all over me and anything he can get to, just like a normal bodied glider.  He does have a kind of funny/wobbly gait, but he does very well for himself. 

[loulou]

bless him sounds like they do adapt quite well then as long as we are willing to adapt as well to help not hinder them

[Marie]

You know I was wondering about losing front limbs not so long ago!!  But it CAN be done, that's brilliant news!

[lilyofthedamned]

Poor little babies!

Their are a lot of people where I live that abuse animals. No one seems to do anything about it here. It makes me so made when they talk about it at school. When people find out that I have suggies they always see the pics and say "I want one". My friends that say that I would trust them with a suggie but all the others I always give them the bad details to make them not want one. People around here would get tired of them and release them in the woods or eat them. Most people think suggies are squirls and since people around here eat squirl I wouldn't put it past them.

The people that I would trust with suggies, I tell them that they need at least a 6 ft tall cage, and I tell them the food diet that I learned on here. I pretty much tell them everything you guys taught me. I always tell my friends to go on this site!

[roxyandboys]

oh my god.  I am shocked and really really upset at this.  I truly truly hope and prey that the UK does not see abuse like this, although, i am disgustingly confident that it'll only be a matter of time.

I truly applause you for your long struggle to help these little ones.  Well done, you deserve a medal.