Set ups for older and sick chams

[Lathelia]

Hi all,

I have a 7 yr old panther, who has been feeling worse in the last few months due to his gout. He has a hard time moving around his cage and recently he started falling off his branches.
I know his time is coming, but before it does, I want to make him as comfortable as possible.

Do you have any experience with comfortable set ups to avoid climbing and falling? I know there are some good threads/posts here, I saw few years ago, but I have no luck finding them
I am thinking of something quick to assemble, but I'm afraid of experimenting, so any help and advice would be highly appreciated!

My boy has been through a lot, loosing his tongue almost two years ago and he's been a fighter ever since. I have to do everything I can to help him, otherwise the guilt would eat me alive.

Emilia

 

[Carlton]

You could create a densely layered "network" of branches and perches so he won't have to reach as far to grasp one, and so he can catch himself in it if he does lose his grip more easily. Create places he can rest more of his weight off his feet and sort of lay on the branches instead of grip them. If you can lower all his climbing area lower in the cage itself it may prevent more serious injury if he does fall. Also means you'll have to adjust the height of the lighting too. Some keepers will put thicker towels under the branches to cushion a fall, but over that short a distance it might not make that much difference. It also has other problems...absorbing too much water creating a poopy mildewy mess. If he's really disabled a smaller more horizontal cage would help...but you'd have to have one on hand.