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KimbleSquible
09-06-2008, 04:41 PM
Hi All. Sorry long time no hear.:wave123
Scribble is now a strapping 5 month old African Tree Squirrel. He loves getting Tummy Tickles and cuddles from his mom and dad.
Will upload some pics and stories of him and his travels soon.

Emergency first- This evening while we were playing with him he jumped onto the couch and went behind me. I put my hand behind me so he could ambush it (great game!) and he jumped into it and started play biting my palm. All of a sudden he shouted at me and did his Attack Scribble Routine (jump at face or other exposed flesh and rake) and ran off. When I eventually coaxed him out from behind the side board he was holding his Right Front Paw up and was grunting and "Zhuup"ing (his "ouch" and "I'm gonna bite you!" sound). Also it sort of folds over (like a chimp standing on his knuckles) when he tries to rest it on the ground
He won't let me look at it and we have put him in his bed cage for the night to try keep him quiet and calm.
Since he was a baby that right front paw has always worried me- he doesn't favour it as such but if he stand on all 4s it is always up and he keeps it clenched-also the fingers are slightly shorter than those of his other hand.
I feel really upset about it and honestly don't know WHAT I did to hurt him like that....:shakehead

Last week we had an accident-my stepsons dog got into our room and pushed and squashed Scribbles bed cage over. Scribbles Back right paw was squished by the cage (we presume) and he escaped under the bed. We took him to the vet who said that it looked like a small fracture on the toe side of his ankle and would heal. He bounced back two days later and seemed perky. Could his front paw have been injured then and was aggrivated tonight?
Please help, am trying not to panic but he's my Sweet Scribble and every groan and Zhuup he makes I feel right through my body.:shakehead :Love_Icon

KimbleSquible
09-06-2008, 06:02 PM
Thanks for your swift reply!
I have a hot water bottle that I will put under his sleeping bag (a fleece elephant that he made a hole in and uses as a nest.) We are in the middle of a major heat wave (its midnight and its still 28 degrees C), his bed cage and the room he is in are fairly warm. Would he run the risk of over heating if I tried to make him to warm?
I'll keep an eye on him through the night just to keep my own self happy..
Thanks! I feel better! Scribble knows that he has you guys to count on!

Abacat
09-06-2008, 08:02 PM
:wave123 KS, long time no "see"...so sorry to hear of Scribble's not feeling well.
Gamma's right restrict his movements as much as you can, to give his paw/leg some time to heal.

:hyper waiting patiently for new pics...:D

KimbleSquible
09-07-2008, 06:56 AM
Hi all!
Scribble a little happier this morning. Rough night last night, I could hear him grunting and zhuuping through the night.
It is all swollen and limp and feels slightly cold to the touch (when I can touch it-he is not very keen on the touching bit..)
I am almost at the stage where I think I should get him to a vet but am loath to do it as these vets have never had anything to do with a Squirrel before.
Are there any drugs that could bring down the swelling and help with the pain. Again, we only have human drugs. Can I give him rescue remedy?

JudyB
09-07-2008, 09:09 AM
Best wishes to Scribble:Love_Icon
I hope he recovers fully :jump

KimbleSquible
09-07-2008, 10:03 AM
Hi. Ok, he finally let me feel his leg (not that he had much choice, I grasped his head with a fleece blanket and held him still long enough to feel. Not a very happy Scrib now though)..
From what I can feel the whole leg is effected. It feels like something to do with his shoulder or between the shoulder and the elbow. There is no movement of his fingers at all and he cant lift the paw up to eat. It is also cooler than his other paws.
I have kept him in his cage and covered it in the hopes that it will encourage him to sleep and not jump around.
He is much smaller than your US Squirrels (if i hold him like a beer can his bum just reaches past my palm. But he's just short of being the average adult size of our Tree Squirrels), I can't imagine him being operated on or bandaged.
He also wasn't keen on the hot water bottle and went off to the other side of the cage.
What now?

KimbleSquible
09-07-2008, 11:20 AM
Scribble is eating and drinking and if he had it his way he would be running around on 3 legs. He ate a moth earlier when I took him out his cage for a cuddle. He can't lift his arm up to grasp the food so I've stuck it through the bars of his cage so that he can just bite. He should probably be eating more though.
I phoned the vet but its after hours and he seemed somewhat irritated to be called. I will have to wait till tomorrow to take him through to town-its 160km to get there on one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Botswana and I can't risk it late in the evening like this.
I'll try the Sock Buddy now. I gave him a dose of rescue remedy which he loved (alcohol content was the draw card me thinks!).
If it is a dislocation, what are the chances of it popping back into place once the muscles relax? I keep trying to massage it every couple of hours to try keep everything relaxed-he likes the attention.

KimbleSquible
09-08-2008, 07:25 AM
He seems quite perky this morning but his leg is even more swollen and he will not let me touch it at all. I have gone into emergancy mode and am sorting out his travelling cage for his trip to the vet. My husband is trying to get off work ( " I need to take off work this afternoon because my Squirrel needs to go to the Vet" was met with a few strange looks).
What do I need to know about vets and Squirrels? What should I ask and what should I veto if necessary?
If it not operable or if the vet is not capable of it, what next? Should he remove it? Or should we keep the foot and hope it mends on its own even if it ends up deformed?
Thanks for the help and info Gamma, his Rice Buddy was put to good use, he chewed through it and then spent the night kicking the rice out his cage! LOL! :crazy At least he had fun!:thumbsup YOU ARE A STAR!

KimbleSquible
09-08-2008, 03:41 PM
Scribble didn't bite the Vet!! Woohoo!:thumbsup
No broken bones, no dislocations and no Kimbles wrestling Dr Evil to the floor! :D Good Stuff!
Scribble has a case of very bad tissue damage-probably from the accident he had with the dog and cage-it was probably bothering him before I played with him and he hurt it more later on.
Thank you again Gamma for your calming "voice":bowdown and thank you to everyone who gave scrib and I support.:multi I told the vet about the forum and he wants to take a look.
Here's to HAPPY SQUIRRELS ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!:jump
Scrib pics up somewhere soon.