So, thanks everyone for trying to help me identify what was going on.
We went to the vet Thursday, and its a slipped tendon. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how badly Fletcher was off - I'm used to predators who will show pain more readily than a prey animal who won't - so the only thing that could be done for it was surgery. All of the associated tissues had deteriorated to the point that it was the only recourse. He mentioned that it could be a nutritional deficiency at fault, so I've already started to supplement their feed to try and keep this from happening again.
So, if anyone has any supplementing tips, feel free to share! I've also decided to give fermented feed a try. I'm a huge proponent of fermented foods for humans, so I figured it couldn't hurt to at least soak their food first. I also decided to add alfalfa cubes to their feed since they don't get to forage as much as I'd like.
As for Fletch . . . I really should be putting her in the freezer, but she lucked out. She's one of my favorites aside from Enterprise and Dirty Harry, so she's my pet, and we happen to have just enough on our Care Credit to cover the surgery. She's currently in isolation in my house. Does anyone have any tips to help make it easier on her? Anything we can do to make it less stressful? Could she have a friend with her? I'd really hate to put almost a thousand dollars into her only for her to die of a boredom.
