Femur Break

[Claudette]

Looking for advice. I have a 115g Rock Squirrel [juvenile], eating solids.
Dog caught with a break just above the knee on the femur...straight through.

Any one with this kind of problem before....did the leg set relatively well on it's own? I can't think of a wrap or splint that will hold in that area on this size of squirrel...not to mention she'll take it off. The break is seven days old, feels like it's still floating....not attached...or stitching.

Any prognosis out there? She's up, active and doing well. In a confined enclosure with one sibling [this one had a break on one arm - healing].

Thank you for any info.

Claudette

[Squirrelly1]

That is a tough one - a femur break is one of the toughest to set and heal. I could only recommend that you take her to a vet and see what they can do. If it has been 7 days and it still hasn't set, then it probably won't, and having a fracture like that is possibly causing lots of damage to internal tissues and nerves around the break - not to mention being EXTREMELY painful.

[Secret Squirrel]

Hi Claudette!!
Bless you for taking in and caring for these lil guys..you are an OAK!!!:thumbsup

Yes, the vet sounds like the best place or a rehabber in your area may be the ticket too. I would call around to the local vets to see who or if any vets in your area will work on wildlife. Some do, some don't!!
Even if they can't fix the bone break they may have to amputate the lower leg. Of course you are now looking at raising a non-releasable squirrel. Which is totally OK to do ...if you want to go the distance with a NR ...lots of care and lots of time is required in keeping a NR. :bowdown You probley know all this I am just rambeling!!!!
We do have members on board that would be happy foster your lil gal once she is stable....FYI!!:grouphug

[thundersquirrel]

how well does she use the leg? does it seem to cause her pain? i'm sure there's something you could do....some kind of wrap, at least. damn me, i took this training thing once, but i've mostly forgotten how to wrap a squirrel. i haven't had to use my knowledge since then.

at least it's better than amputation. i would think that's a last resort. give her a some tries and some time, see how she does. lemme know what you think.

good luck. :D

[Claudette]

Hello,
I wanted to thank you all for your good advice. I ended up just keeping her confined in small enclosure until the bone stiched...just did a "wait-and-see" approach.

She had too much energy for a wrap, she would of taken it off in a few seconds flat.

So far she's using the leg and scrambles around well, I have her in a very large mostly vertical cage now, with branches going up as well as horizontal...and thus far I haven't seen her move up, but it's only been a week. She's with 2 others that are the same age....we'll see giving it a few more weeks...I'll keep you posted.

Thank you again,
Claudette

[Momma Squirrel]

Good news, glad it seems to be healing on it's own. Please keep us posted, it is great how mother nature can heal especially when you are young :)