Hind Leg Paralysis By Suz Enyedy Special Thanks are given t Burbn, Teresa (Dancing), Chris (glidrz5), and Jen (Xfilefan) fr their assistance t me in cmpiling infrmatin fr this article. Als knwn as HLP, secndary metablic bne disease, hypcalcemia, r calcium deficiency, hind leg paralysis is the bdy's inability t prperly synthesize calcium, resulting in the bnes nt getting enugh calcium. In severe cases, the calcium is als leached frm the muscles, causing paralysis f the hind legs. Althugh a diagnsis f HLP used t be cnsidered an autmatic death sentence, if caught early and treated prperly, HLP can be healed and the sugar glider can cntinue t lead a lng and prductive life. Symptms: Pika's rear leg is unusually angled at 90º because f HLP. If yu lk clsely, yu can als see that her knuckles are swllen. Severe shaking Apparent dizziness Lack f crdinatin Lethargy Limping Weakness Lss f use f hind legs (dragging ne r bth legs) Swllen tes and/r fingers Sudden brken bnes with n apparent cause Jint stiffness Sudden, inexplicable weight lss www.thegliderinitiative.rg
These pictures shw Pika's swllen fingers and tes - ur first indicatin that smething was wrng with her. Please nte that many f these symptms listed can als be indicative f ther serius health issues. Self-diagnsis f any medical cnditin can be harmful t yur glider. Make sure that if yu see any f these symptms in yur glider, immediate veterinary care is btained fr prper diagnsis and treatment. Causes: Primary bacterial r parasitic infectin Nt enugh calcium in the diet Mineral imbalance in the diet T much prtein in the diet The cmplete diet f the glider shuld be evaluated t determine whether it might be the cause f HLP. Make sure that yur glider is being given a nutritinally cmplete diet with a balanced calcium-t-phsphrus rati f 2:1, and that all cmpnents f the diet are being eaten. If a glider is picking and chsing its fds and nt eating ne f the cmpnents, the nutritinal balance can be thrwn ff. This was the case with Pika. She wuld nly eat the prteins being prvided and did nt eat her fruits and vegetables very much. This verbalance f prtein in her diet actually inhibited her bdy's ability t synthesize the calcium s that althugh her bld level f calcium was elevated abve the nrmal level, her bnes were nt receiving that calcium and HLP was the result. The calcium-t-phsphrus rati f the diet is nt the nly cncern. Many vitamins can react adversely with each ther. Sme will prevent the absrptin f certain minerals and vice versa. T much Vitamin C, fr example, will prevent the absrptin f calcium. In additin, it shuld be nted that t much calcium is just as harmful as nt enugh. When t much calcium is given t a sugar glider, the result can be kidney stnes, crystals in the urine, gallstnes and/r calcium depsits n the bnes, jints, muscles, and rgans. www.thegliderinitiative.rg
There are several prven diets available. These diets have been devised in cnsultatin with veterinarians and nutritinists t ensure verall nutritinal and mineral balances fr the cmplete health f sugar gliders. Any f the prven diets shuld be fllwed exactly and yu shuld nt "pick & chse" frm the varius diets and cmbine them because this will thrw ff the nutritinal balance f the diet. Sme f the prven diets available fr sugar gliders include: Back t Basics BML (Burbn's Mdified Leadbeater's Mix) Darcy's Diet HPW (High Prtein Wambar) Diet PML (Pcket's Mdified Leadbeater's) Suncast Diet The Sugar Glider Extic Diet Diagnsis: Veterinary diagnsis is needed t determine whether a glider des r des nt have HLP. A number f tests need t be run at the time f the veterinary examinatin. The mst imprtant tests include: X-ray t lk fr calcificatin f the jints r weak jints. In a glider with HLP, the jints will appear cludy and indistinct as shwn in this x-ray f Pika. This Xray was taken f Pika during her fllw up appintment fr HLP in January, 2006. The utlined areas shw key areas f cncern. Nte that the tp f the image is her left side and the bttm is her right side. Starting with her tail, and then prceeding clckwise, the cncerns were: www.thegliderinitiative.rg
Disjinted vertebrae in tail Cludiness f jints in right ft, indicative f deteriratin f jints Bne spur n right shin, indicative f pssible previus break that did nt heal prperly Extreme cludiness f right knee, indicative f advanced deteriratin f jint and bne matter Cludiness f right elbw, indicative f deteriratin f jint Cludiness f right shulder, indicative f deteriratin f jint Cludiness f left elbw, indicative f deteriratin f jint Cludiness f jints in left ft, indicative f deteriratin f jints Urinalysis t determine whether a urinary tract infectin (UTI) is present, which culd be the underlying cause. Fecal flat and smear t determine whether a parasitic infectin is present, which culd be the underlying cause. Anther test that may be run is a cmplete bld analysis. One f the things that the veterinarian will evaluate frm the results is the verall calcium-t-phsphrus rati. Bld testing can be difficult with gliders, because a maximum f 1% f the ttal glider's mass can be safely withdrawn, s fr a 100-gram glider, nly 1 gram f bld can be taken. Gliders ften lse weight quickly after the nset f HLP, and if the glider is nt heavy enugh, it is pssible that nt enugh bld will be btained fr the tests t be run. In additin, because f this weight lss, smetimes the arteries will cllapse as the veterinarian tries t withdraw bld frm the nrmal areas; in that situatin, the veterinarian may attempt t withdraw bld directly frm the vena cava (the main artery t the heart), which is a very risky prcedure. The nset time f the symptms nticed can be indicative f the cause f the HLP. If the symptms set in gradually, then the HLP is related t the diet. If the nset f symptms is immediate (vernight), then it is imperative that ther things are checked, such as x-rays fr injury and testing fr bacterial r parasitic infectin. Als, if the nset is immediate, then bld tests will be incnclusive because the mass infectin r parasite will inhibit the nutrients frm being absrbed int the system as needed. The bld test results will then shw a serius deficiency, giving a false indicatin f diet being the cause f the HLP. When immediate nset symptms are exhibited, a bacterial culture and sensitivity (C&S) shuld be run with an antibitic (Baytril ) and an antiparasitic (Metr ) being administered until the test results cme in. Please nte, hwever, that all tests MUST be run befre antibitics are administered. If the antibitics are administered befre the bacterial C&S, the results f the test will be skewed and it may never be determined what type f bacteria was present and which meds are the crrect nes t be administered. Treatment: Gliders that have been diagnsed as having HLP shuld be treated with an ral calcium supplement, such as Necalglucn (nly available thrugh a licensed veterinarian). The actual amunt administered is determined by the veterinarian and is based n the glider's weight. Nrmal curse f treatment with ral calcium supplement is tw weeks, althugh this time may be extended in severe cases. In sme cases, the veterinarian will administer an injectin f calcium t jump-start the healing prcess. www.thegliderinitiative.rg
In additin, an antibitic shuld be prescribed. If a specific infectin has been fund during veterinary examinatin, an apprpriate antibitic will be prescribed accrdingly. If n infectin can be fund, a brad-spectrum antibitic (such as Baytril, SMZ-TMP r Clavamx ) shuld still be prescribed as a prphylactic fr a curse f 7-10 days, because primary infectin is the leading cause f HLP in sugar gliders. Again, the veterinarian will determine the dsage based n the glider's weight. Alng with the antibitic, an antiparasitic shuld be prescribed (such as Metr ) in case the infectin is parasitic rather than bacterial. The veterinarian will cntinue t examine the glider regularly t mnitr its prgress. All appintments fr fllw-up care shuld be kept. Fllw-up x-rays shuld be perfrmed 2-3 mnths frm the beginning f treatment t analyze the prgress f treatment. Other diagnstic prcedures may als be perfrmed at the recmmendatin f the treating veterinarian. Pika is pictured here at Thanksgiving, 2006, just a year after her initial diagnsis f HLP. Althugh her mbility was limited by the permanent damage t her hind legs, she did very well in getting arund. Pika passed away n March 12, 2007, frm an unrelated neurlgical prblem. I will frever miss her and her gentle, lving nature. This article was written as a tribute t my beautiful Pika. If yu feel yur glider is sick, please seek immediate veterinary assistance. The infrmatin n this page and in the crrelating articles is fr general educatinal purpses and is nt intended t replace prper vet care. Please d nt try t self-diagnse r self-treat yur glider. All material, including phtgraphs are prtected by cpyright Suz Sugar Gliders, published with permissin by Suz Enyedy. www.thegliderinitiative.rg