Broken Spine? What can I do??

[chachasushi]

I have a 4 month old hatchling that was dropped (she jumped from my sister's hands) and fell about 4 feet to the carpeted floor of the reptile room.

She immediately started spasming/wriggling/thrashing around with her tail shuddering violently. After a few moments she started to drag herself across the floor with her back legs limp and her tail still twitching slightly.

I let her drag herself into a tupperware hide and lifted the whole thing into an empty tub in my reptile rack.

I am assuming her back is broken and she is paralyzed. I have no idea what to do for her. I am completely beside myself over how something so stupid and preventable has injured my hatchling so horribly. It all just happened and I immediately though to come here where people might have seen this thing before. Please advise me what I should do for her!

 

[robin]

he should be euthanized if he has a broken back

 

[goReptiles]

Have a vet xray the gecko and go from there. If it is broken, euthanize

 

[chachasushi]

My husband suggested that her back is not broken because her tail is still twitching... He thinks her legs are broken.

 

[chachasushi]

Got through to the vet, discussing a plan now.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Assuming is not good.

The poor thing She's so very stressed right now, and in pain. There may be some bruising or swelling that shows up soon, or there could be internal injuries Don't try to handle her but keep her warm. Unless you take her to the vet for x-rays there isn't much you can do right away but keep her comfortable and stress free and see how she is in a few days. I hope she pulls thru. She might not If it is too much for her it's better to do the humane thing.

 

[chachasushi]

Okay, so here's where we stand...

She has an appointment for the vet tomorrow morning. I haven't handled her at all and I don't intend to do so. She is not showing any signs of swelling, bruising, etc. She is active and alert and can now move her legs. She is moving around now and definitely holding some weight on her back legs and moving them on her own.

 

[Mel&Keith]

So scary! Good luck at the vet tomorrow. Hopefully it was something temporary and nothing broken.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That's fantastic! It sure knocked her for a loop. Hopefully she will recover

 

[BrilliantEraser]

So glad to hear that she is now moving around. I hope that it was nothing major, and that she just scared herself from the fall. Let us know how the vet visit goes.

 

[chachasushi]

Thanks for the well wishes, we're hoping for the best. She's just chilling right now looking at me through the front of her tub.

 

[chachasushi]

BIG UPDATE!!

She has fully recovered and shows no signs of any lasting damage. She had a seizure and entered a postictal state - OR - she had soft tissue damage and lost feeling in her lower extremities. Either way, the leg dragging was not a broken spine and she is now completely normal again. She didn't even drop her tail... what a trooper!

I opted not to do x-rays at the vet since she was moving around slightly when I took her in so her spine was clearly intact. They poked and prodded her, charged me $54 and sent me on my way. But better safe than sorry.

 

[prettyinpink]

Grats! Poor thing though. It's nice to hear she pulled through I'm glad you did the responsible thing and took her to the vet to be sure!

I know what you mean about the vet. I had to take my parrot to the vet numerous times and two different doctors... and they did nothing. All they did is make his legs swollen, give him pain meds, pull on his legs and back at it the next day. I was basically paying for them to cause pain to my boy :main_no:

 

[bzlizzy]

Grats! Poor thing though. It's nice to hear she pulled through I'm glad you did the responsible thing and took her to the vet to be sure!

I know what you mean about the vet. I had to take my parrot to the vet numerous times and two different doctors... and they did nothing. All they did is make his legs swollen, give him pain meds, pull on his legs and back at it the next day. I was basically paying for them to cause pain to my boy :main_no:

haha my little parrot broke his leg as well. and i was sooo worried because i read that broken legs in a parrot might cause death. i took off from school the next day and brought him to a vet! and he got well in a few days :main_rolleyes:

i hope your gecko is doing better now! :main_thumbsup:

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That's great news! Thanks for the update Rachel