Time to start exercising?

[Hoolia]

My oldest, Jackson, has been in a recovery cage since suffering a leg injury last month. He couldn’t balance on it very well and I was afraid of him tipping forward into his water bowl and drowning while i was out of the room. I’ve seen him accidentally get stuck in a water bowl before and I know it’s happened more than once but luckily he’s come out okay because then he was able to get himself out. While his leg was hurting, he couldn’t get up on his own if he fell over. So he’s been in a cage with a water bottle and a CareFresh bedding for when he inevitably soils himself.
But now sweet Jackson seems to be pretty mobile and has been feeling much better so I’m thinking it’s time to start letting him get some exercise for a few hours a day in a bigger run to stretch his legs and get some strength back in them. I’m still concerned about him falling in a water bowl so I dont want him in a run all the time. The other thing is that the CareFresh bedding does a wonderful job of keeping his bottom dry. He’s super duper old and goes wherever he is and doesnt lift too much anymore to urinate, so his bottom gets very sloppy very quickly.
How much time out of his cage do you think he should get for the time being?

 

[majorv]

I would start out slow on giving him more room to move around. When he hurt his leg did you have a vet look at it? I ask because if a bone was broken it can take 4-6 weeks for it to heal well. It might take longer depending on his age.

 

[Hoolia]

I would start out slow on giving him more room to move around. When he hurt his leg did you have a vet look at it? I ask because if a bone was broken it can take 4-6 weeks for it to heal well. It might take longer depending on his age.

I did take him to the vet right away and they took some x-rays, they didn’t see any breaks but there was some swelling on the leg that had been the most tangled. To me, it feels like the swelling has gone away especially after i groomed his little feet. He just started moving strangely again today; curling to the right, falling over again (but at least he can pick himself back up now.) I also attached his cage to his friend’s run so he can hop around a little without ruining our carpet with cecals and urine. He has a followup vet appointment on Thursday to also get his eyes and teeth checked because his teeth are clearly in poor condition (i’ve never been able to get him to consistently eat hay in all his years) and his weight concerns me.