“When we got home from work,” explained Mark, “I took him out of his box and placed him on the floor so he could eat. He did eat, though not as much as he did last night, then he just laid there watching everything going on around him.”
In addition to his waning appetite, another sign something was wrong became evident when Gilligan had trouble standing. It appeared his right leg was weak and in pain. He refused to stand on it for long. When he lay on the floor, he leaned his body to the side.
One positive sign that he may be alright is that he continued to preen himself. That glimmer of hope for Gilligan’s health, however, waned this morning when Gilligan refused to eat anything.
Gilligan had shown problems with his leg when he was first rescued and continued to show slight problems after he was brought home from the hospital. There are no physical indications of injury to the leg and the doctor hadn’t mentioned anything about it. Gilligan’s limping wobbliness was blamed on his missing wing setting off his balance.
“But last night he acted like he hurt his leg all over again. The night before, he stood on it for an hour preening himself. Now he has to sit down while preening,” said Mark.
Mark and Keith are hoping that the leg has only become stiff by Gilligan not being able to walk around and use it much. While his pen is being built (scheduled for completion tomorrow), he spends several hours resting in a box. The box is big enough for him to stand up and move around a little, but not big enough to get the exercise Gilligan needs.
This morning, Keith and Mark laid old towels over the entire bathroom floor and let Gilligan have free roam of the room.
“And the bathroom has a baseboard heater that we left on low. That should keep Gilligan’s leg warm while he heals,” added Keith.
Keith and Mark have postponed Gilligan’s public appearance this weekend.
“Let me get his new home built and see how he comes along on that leg, first,” said Mark. “If his leg is just stiff from not getting enough exercise, maybe by Sunday I’ll feel comfortable taking his picture for the public. Right now, I’m worried the flash might scare him and he might end up hurting his leg worse.”
© 2007
Mark Darien
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