Last month, the team at Vet Rehab Ni was thrilled to assist little Finn, the African Pygmy hedgehog. Finn is particularly special because he has albinism. His parents reached out to us for help after rescuing him and providing excellent care. However, they noticed that he was struggling with his back legs at home.
Finn has neurological weakness and ataxia in his hind limbs, which means he is not very strong and sometimes drags his legs behind him. His family cleaned him up, adapted his environment to help him move more easily, and used massage and heat therapy to improve his leg function.
They contacted us for additional support and came in early December to see what we could do. Finn is a happy, bright, and friendly little hedgehog, and he responded incredibly well during his consultation. We decided to treat him with acupuncture and laser therapy, both of which should help address some of the neurological issues affecting his hind legs.
We also discussed exercises with his owner, focusing on special activities to improve neurological feedback in Finn’s legs and build strength. His owners will create a tactile sensory awareness mat to stimulate his feet, and we talked about using walking aids to help him move more freely during his exercises.
One of our hydrotherapists came to advise on how to introduce Finn to hydrotherapy using a baby bath as his pool. His owners are enthusiastic about this plan and will begin hydrotherapy at home under our guidance and supervision.
Finn returned for a follow-up appointment the following week, and we were pleased to see that he was doing really well. We will check in with him again soon. Thank you for allowing us to care for this lovely little boy.