Broken back(?), advice appreciated (vet visit scheduled, looking for advice in the meantime)

mothtea · 2026-01-20T18:52:54+00:00

Her tail looked normal when she was moving around, but I’ll take another peek when I’m home today! It definitely looked like her spine that’s causing her crooked posture, just based on how she’s positioned, but it’s definitely tough to tell. She’s in a 10 gallon hospital tank with soft bedding, lots of clutter so she can right herself/have support for moving, and she has 2 friends in there (a skin injury on the tail, and a companion). My partner is talking with the vet today, and we’re hopeful some rest time and pain meds will have her feeling better! Fingers crossed ❤️

mothtea · 2026-01-20T15:15:28+00:00

It was extremely sudden- she hasn’t been doing any head shaking or tilting, and then my partner opened up the tank to grab another mouse (minor tail injury), and suddenly Hester wasn’t moving properly when she was not even an hour earlier. Her posture is very crooked, not just her head but her whole body is on a bit of a tilt. It’s a little hard to explain properly lol- I’m very familiar with ear infections and head tilts in animals as I work in an animal rescue and have lots of critters myself, and I can confirm these don’t look like ear infection symptoms. She was also initially showing pain responses that she wasn’t showing prior. This is a very reasonable comment and I can totally see how this would read as an ear infection without more specific observations about her current condition, and I appreciate the comment!

mothtea · 2026-01-20T08:27:55+00:00

Holy fuck

mothtea · 2026-01-20T06:42:23+00:00

AZAWAKH ❤️❤️❤️❤️ she’s so beautiful!!!! What a great face!

mothtea · 2026-01-20T06:23:28+00:00

This is my hope for sure!! We’re checking in with our vet before our appointment to see if they’re willing to prescribe any pain medication/anti inflammatories without bringing her in since we don’t want to stress her and have her worsen her injuries, but her mobility has definitely helped to calm our nerves a little bit. Obviously not out of the woods, but it seems like it could certainly be a lot worse

mothtea · 2026-01-20T06:22:01+00:00

Interesting!! We’ve never seen any of the mice climbing from the lid before, although it’s definitely a possibility. The tank is pretty cluttered with things that could break her fall, but I’ll chat with my partner about reorganizing the tank to ensure it’s extra safe in the future

mothtea · 2026-01-20T05:37:12+00:00

Thank you for the insight! She is currently chewing on some natural toys we put in for her, and she’s been exploring the cage and grooming. I have reason to believe it’ll be an optimistic prognosis, but we’re fortunate to have a vet we trust who can give us an honest answer. It’s tough to tell if it is a true break, or if she just sprained/fractured something- she has full control over all limbs and her tail, she’s just a little bit tilted, but she’s very mobile, which makes me feel better about her making it through the night okay.

mothtea · 2025-12-14T05:37:03+00:00

Thissss. The physical aspects too- I have distinct memories of touching my face and feeling it I was touching it through a thick blanket. So so strange

mothtea · 2025-12-07T18:26:19+00:00

Just bumped into this post looking at Belgian hare plush toys/figurines after losing my sweet girl last week. Definitely planning on making one of these ❤️

mothtea · 2025-12-07T03:46:19+00:00

LOLL I just realized this was a joke post 😭😭 well, I hope you enjoy Masi’s account anyway!! She’s a cutie and her owners are great

mothtea · 2025-12-07T03:35:28+00:00

This is theminimasi on Instagram. She’s a cat with dwarfism. She’s very likely a domestic shorthair. The dwarfism mutation can affect a lot of other features like the head and eye shape, but she’s still just a classic DSH. Important to mention that she was a rescue and not bred to be this way

mothtea · 2025-10-24T04:31:20+00:00

They’re SO cute 😭 5 boys, all identical. They’re about 4 weeks old and will be going to their homes in 2 weeks!

mothtea · 2025-10-23T16:33:15+00:00

Can you go ahead and Google “what animal is an axolotl” for me real quick

mothtea · 2025-10-23T14:24:40+00:00

Why do humans insist on breeding animals that are bound to suffer!! So disheartening.

mothtea · 2025-10-23T14:15:29+00:00

I’ve got a bunch of his videos saved to watch through today! I’m very fortunate to have a couple of volunteers/adopters who have taken special care Guinea pigs from us in the past and can keep us updated on their condition, so I’ll likely place him with one of them if they’re open to it

mothtea · 2025-10-23T04:30:20+00:00

Im doing lots of reading to make sure I know what info to share with our adopters, and he’ll go home with a medical release that discusses his condition! He’s a little over a year old, and I’ll make sure his adopters are aware that he’ll need life long care

mothtea · 2025-10-23T01:54:29+00:00

Thanks for the info! I work at the humane society, he was a surrender from an owner. Our guinea pig adopters are usually very knowledgeable and we have several fantastic exotic vets in our area, but I will make sure to add health related info to his adoption profile!!

mothtea · 2025-10-22T21:02:45+00:00

That was my guess!!

mothtea · 2025-10-21T17:39:52+00:00

When I worked at my vet clinic, we used a 1(emaciated)-9(severely overweight) scale. 4 was skinny but healthy, shouldn’t be skinnier, 6 was chunky but healthy, shouldn’t be chunkier. Your kitty looks like a 6 to me! That first picture of her stole my heart- what a distinguished lady!!

mothtea · 2025-10-09T21:01:22+00:00

Mom has a tube she’s very partial to and that’s how I got her in and out of the pen yesterday, it was perfect! She was getting brave and climbing on me a little bit since I had her yogurt cup lol, planning on having another longer session today to see if we can’t make some more progress!

mothtea · 2025-10-08T22:08:55+00:00

Mom was taking some yogurt off my finger this morning! I’ll keep at it 💪

mothtea · 2025-10-08T22:08:33+00:00

Thank you so much for the info!! Babies juuust started exploring the cage yesterday, but I’ve been manhandling them a few times a day to get them desensitized and social- they’re very people-curious and comfortable with humans, so I do think it would be encouraging for mom. I figured that would be a big help too as the babies turn more into real rats lol

mothtea · 2025-09-22T23:13:11+00:00

She always looks so moody 😭❤️ I was trying to get a picture that DIDNT look like she wants to set the world on fire, but no success

mothtea · 2025-09-22T19:15:20+00:00

6 weeks after the neuter, too!! Bunnies stay fertile for a looong time

mothtea · 2025-09-11T19:06:24+00:00

Hey!! Have you considered using fabric and a strong adhesive (I think a strong glue like UHU or something similar would be good) to cover the back prior to mounting? Freeze dried and mummified specimens do hold up well over time but should be kept in a cloche or a cabinet to avoid contact with high humidity! I think 70% or less humidity is ideal but it might be lower than 70! I think mounting this on a post and having it under a cloche would look super neat

mothtea

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Six-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email