Mystery Illness

[JJJ]

Hello I have a ground squirrel that is missing hair on the lower part of his body in patches. I thought that it could possibly be mange. It is not red and there is no skin exposed and he is not itching. About a month ago my other ground squirrel died from the same thing. They were not in the same enclosure and I leave them outside. The squirrel that died never itched but she did lose a lot of weight and got a little red in the balding areas but she never looked like the pictures that I have seen of mange. She lasted about 2 weeks and died. I am afraid that he has the same thing. I noticed it on him about 4 days ago. Please help I don't want to lose my squirrel. No one has been able to help me.
Thank you.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Is there anyway you could post a picture of your guy?

[Apple Corps]

Can you post some pics? What is the diet you are feeding them? Any chance of insecticide exposure?

[JJJ]

They do spray in the yard but I keep him on the porch. Would that effect him at all. They have been spraying the yard once a month for 6 months now. I feed them ground squirrel food from exotic nutition company. I will try to take some pictures as soon as possible. Thank you.

[JJJ]

These show the beginning stages of the illness. I am triing to get a jump on this because my other squirrel died within 2 weeks of noticing hair loss. The loss of hair is in the same exact spot as the other squirrel. Thank you.

[4skwerlz]

Can you be more specific about the food? What is the brand and the name of the food? Also, does he get some time outdoors, or in an outdoor cage?

[JJJ]

I get his food from exoticnutrition.com it is specifically for Richardson's ground squirrels. It has a mixture of pellets, pine nuts and dried fruit. I also give him yogurt drops and a mixture of dried fruit from the same company. Also fresh fruits and veggies. I have been giving him the same food for 2 years. I keep him outside in a large cage on the porch. I also take in the sun for sunlight. I put him inside 2 days ago because it is really hot during the day.

[4skwerlz]

I don't know anything about Richardson's ground squirrels, but Exotic Nutrition also recommends their "Squirrel Diet" for grey squirrels; and for a grey squirrel it is too high in protein, too low in fat, and appears to be deficient in calcium. The pine nuts listed as an ingredient would cancel out what little calcium is in the food--pine nuts are very unhealthy for squirrels. Squirrels in general are very prone to calcium deficiency, which can be fatal.

Since you already had one squirrel die while being fed this diet--even though you can't be sure it was the food--the safest bet is to switch. Since ground squirrels seem to have a similar diet to grey squirrels, you could try the Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels that Gammas Baby posted, including a good quality rodent block such as one of those listed in the Diet.

For now, you might try giving him a daily vitamin--any brand that is for rats and mice. Plus, you can give him a plain calcium pill or a cuttlebone to gnaw on if he wants to. Also, since that diet is so low-fat, see if he would like some avocado, which is high in fat and healthy too. These foods would help correct any deficiency.

Also, does your squirrel get time outdoors every day? They need sunlight to metabolize their food properly.

[JJJ]

Thank you so much for this information. I just printed all of it. I will start him on a new diet tomorrow. Hopefully this is the issue which is an easy fix. It is just unfortunate about my other squirrel. Thanks again.

[4skwerlz]

Please keep us posted on how your squirrel is doing. I hope the little guy makes a full recovery.

And by the way, :Welcome to TSB!

[JJJ]

I will definatley keep you posted. Thanks

[tatcat]

hey JJJ :Welcome the lil one is so cute...keep us posted on him