injured adult, possible paralysis

[thundersquirrel]

hey everyone

got an adult squirrel in tonight, which is rather rare for my mother and i (we're baby squirrel people). anyway, her name is princess (we THINK it's a she, the woman who found her named her that) and she's badly hurt. it's the first night, and we're hoping that if we give her some time she'll get better, but right now she's in bad shape.

we're positive of some brain damage. her head tilts to the left. the front half of her body seems bunched up or swollen, almost like she's hunchbacked. the worst thing is that she has no or little use of her back half/legs. we're not sure if she's literally paralyzed or if she's just favoring it. she has no open wounds that we can see, and she's very alert (and angry- yikes!). we think she got hit by a car.

the woman who found her said that it started with just an injured front, though, and then later her back legs gave out. i wonder if she got injured in the front, then fell out of a tree as a result and hurt her spinal cord. i'm not sure.

i'll post again tomorrow, when (hopefully) the cause of her injuries will be more apparent. any advice would be nice though, considering that my mother and i don't handle adults as often.

:thankyou

[BuckeyeSqrl]

Thunder,

I would start out with steroids; preferably Dex, to help reduce any swelling that may be present. Swelling could be putting pressure on the spine and be causing the paralysis.

Do you have access to a X-ray machine? If so, get them ASAP so you can rule out any breaks.

Give her some time and steroids and hope for the best. Also, wear heavy gloves. Angry adult squirrels can be quite vicious and their bites are quite painful (unfortunately, I can attest to that).

Kristi

[Momma Squirrel]

TS sorry to hear about Princess but glad she has you guys to help. I can't give any advice except patience, love and a vet. Buckeye is right about the gloves, we had one like that not quite as bad and I always had to have something on my arms to protect me. If you can put something over the gloves maybe like long tube socks so it will be more personable (sp) instead of just cold rubber gloves. Just a thought, probably very scared and if she can tell that she is loved it might help. Yelp I am a romantic :crazy Please keep us posted.

[Secret Squirrel]

TS how is Princess today?
Let us know what you gave her as far as meds...inquireing minds!!

Heavy gloves not rubber gloves....squirrels teeth go right through the rubber ones too!!! Been there!! OUCH!!!

[thundersquirrel]

not much has changed since last night. thanks for responding. ;)
i think my mother and i will have to give her to another rehabber. we don't have the welder's gloves (they cost fifty or sixty bucks, i guess) and since we don't have a personal license, we're unlikely to get the discount on x-rays and meds that rehabbers with a personal license often get. we talked to our dispatcher about getting meds, but she wants another rehabber to handle it. :dono

i feel bad for Princess, she's very brave! here she is, swollen and probably paralyzed, but she doesn't let her guard down for one second. some good news is that i observed her legs today; while it's unnerving that she has them out behind her and paw pad up, i did notice some minimal movement in her right leg. that means it's probably not total paralysis.

thanks for the tip about the steroids. if this other rehabber doesn't come through (and i'm kinda hoping she doesn't, cause she can be mean sometimes) i will urge my mother to get some tonight. poor Princess must be in pain. :(

[Squirrelly1]

Another thing to consider while waiting for help is finding a local vet to get some pain medication for her. Buprenex (buprenorphine) is an awesome pain reliever, and it will help settle her down and get her to relax. It can be given orally - it absorbs buccally (under the tongue) so it works quickly! Usual dose is .03 -.04 mg/ml - and make sure the vet doses it correctly - I once had a vet dose it at 0.2 and that one little decimal point is a HUGE difference when it comes to something so tiny! Just a suggestion so that she isn't suffering. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you!

[thundersquirrel]

well, she'll probably have to be euthanized. that's the latest. i want to give her a chance, but every other rehabber we've spoken to, along with my mother, thinks it's best to put her down. i don't know what's best anymore. oh well. :shakehead :Cry :(

[Momma Squirrel]

TS I don't know what to say, I feel so bad for you and Princess. What ever choice is made both you and your mom has done what you can to help her, thank you for being there and having to shoulder all this hurt and responsibility. I know Princess can feel that from both of you and that is very comforting to a hurt animal. Please keep us posted and I wish you guys and Princess the best outcome possible.

[island rehabber]

Same here, TS....it's so hard, isn't it? Princess sounds as if she has more than one serious thing going against her, and she may be really suffering. I know in the end you and your mom will do the right thing, whatever that shows itself to be. We're all with you, hoping for the best for Princess.

[thundersquirrel]

my mother and i are gonna give her another week or so to see how she does. we don't think a vet can do much for her....an x-ray might show us what the problem is, but without extensive surgery there's not much a vet could do. and if she doesn't need surgery, that means there's nothing an x-ray would show us to help us figure stuff out. Princess will have to find a way to heal herself. :dono all we can do is feed her and wait.

[BuckeyeSqrl]

I'm hoping for the best for her. If you can get ahold of some Dex (dexamethazone), that would give her a better chance of recovery. It is given IM two times daily based on her weight. A vet would be able to calculate it for you.

[Squirrelly1]

So sorry to hear that there isn't much of a change.....
I know that you feel awful, but just know that you have done everything you could and that she has known and felt your love! Still praying for you though!!!!