Need help with a 5 week old fox squirrel

[esty7`]

Hello,
I contacted Birgit about an injured squirrel that I found. She suggested I come here for help.
Here is my first email to her.

Hello,
I have a 5 week old baby fox tree squirrel that I have been nursing back to health. My daughter brought her to me yesterday, she had seen her fall well over 30 feet from the top of a tree. I started by warming her, put her in my shirt for about 20 minuets then followed by re hydrating her sub-q and followed with pedialite. I weighed her at about 11am yesterday, she weighed 75 grams, I then started targeting her feedings at about 3.5 cc, not that she would always take it all in, some would end up on her, but she has not shown any signs of aspiration at all. I weighed her today and she has gained 5 grams (this was after a feeding). She is urinating and having bowel movements regularly, the urine is now clear and the bowel formed. She wakes to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, she will start scratching / digging in my shirt. She did not show any immediate signs of injury but when I first got her she had blood in her urine, now her urine is clear.
My main concern and the reason for me not trying to give her back to her mother is that I belive she may be paralyzed. She does move her back legs at times, but it is more like an uncontrolled move. However when I put her on all fours she drags her back legs. I am not sure if she is just too young to have the motor skills to move her back legs or if she has actually harmed herself in the fall.
I read that you have a paralyzed squirrel, could you please give me some advice.
Esty


My second email with an update on the babies legs...


I have registered but waiting for activation.
I have seen her stretch her legs fully out 2 times, is there hope? Can it be that her legs are so long that she does not know what to do with them?
Also body heat... I am using a heating pad, but it really doesn't seem to work well. She seems to get too hot or if I turn it down then too cold. I have been keeping her in my shirt like I do with sugar gliders but I would really like to get her in a box with the heating pad during the night, do you have any suggestions?
I read that she should be able to maintain her body heat by now, is this correct? I think she is at least 5 weeks old. She has her eyes opened fully, her bottom teeth are in but not the top, she also has hair everywhere with the exception of her lower belly, she only has a light fuzz there.

Sorry about the questions, just want to give her the best chance at making it.
Esty


Well she made it through another night. I made the rice sock like Birgit said, it worked great.
I am still feeding her at night, I figure it would not hurt, she is fed AT 11PM, 3AM and then pick back up feedings every 3-4 hours at 7am. She looks great today, her eyes are wide open and bright, she doesn't look like the sleepy little girl anymore. She stays in my shirt during the day, I figured that would be best because it is what I do with ill or rejected sugar gliders.
She has continued to stretch her legs and curl her toes on her hind legs but she still can not bare weight and just drags them when I let her crawl. One leg defiantly looks stronger than the other. I can not find any signs of a break but I can feel a small gap in her spinal cord just bellow her pelvis, I am not sure if it is an actual gap or if the vertebra is set deeper in the pelvis, the space is about 2 centimeters long.

So my questions are... Get ready, sorry guys.

Do you think she may recover beings she is showing signs of improvement?
Has anyone ever dealt with a case similar to this?
If she does not improve what are my options, euthanization not being one of them?
She is about 5 weeks old, should I start offering her solids?
I have read monkey biscuits followed up with sweet potato, is that ok?
Sugar gliders also require a calcium supplement, can I or should I use the "repcal" that we use with sugar gliders on her?
When?
In the last 48 hours she has gained 10 grams, is this ok?

I think that is all for now, but I am sure I will have more to come.
Thanks guys!!!

[Critter_Queen]

Ok, never had this with a squirrel, but I had a raccoon with spinal damage. He couldn't even move or eat when we brought him home. He partially recovered and then self-released before I could do any more for him. To be honest, I took him to a Rieke (sp?) Master for some wholistic healing and it made him feel SO much better that that was the night he self-released! Would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself!

Otherwise I just worked his legs as much as I felt he could take...walking, light climbing with MAJOR supervision, swimming (wouldn't recommend that with a squirrel, though! :) ), etc.

You could possibly keep her as an educational animal if you are a rehabber...or you could keep her as a pet, but there are pros and cons to that...including that it is illegal in many states...

I think that she is gaining weight appropriately, so that's a good sign.

Yes, I would offer her soft foods such as peeled apple in small chunks (not small enough to fit the whole chunk in her mouth, though) or peeled grapes cut in half. Zeke LOVES his grapes.

I would put her in a smallish container with the heating pad on low half under the container so she can be warm or cool, depending on where she positions herself. Lots of old t-shirts will also help her move on or away from the heat at her leisure. What are you using for heat?

Let me know if I can help any further!

[esty7`]

What are you using for heat?

I am using a sock filled with warm rice. I tried the heating pad but with her hide legs the way they are she was getting too hot or too cold, also my heating pad sucks, it has an automatic shutoff after 1/2 hour.
The sock is holding heat for 3 - 4 hours at night so it works great, I reheat it when I feed her. During the day she is in my shirt for warmth, she seems very happy there.

[Critter_Queen]

Good that the rice sock is lasting 3-4 hours for heat...I've never had luck with those... figures! :)

If you are planning to keep her long-term on heat, I would suggest purchasing a Snuggle Safe for her. They are FANTASTIC and after the first couple of days of use they hold their heat for about 8-10 hours. I bought two at my local Theissen's (a farm supply store) in the pet department for $30 each and I bought another one from Chris's Squirrels and More for $21 plus shipping.

I hope your little girl gets well...Please keep me posted and let me know if I can help you any more.

[esty7`]

I would like to get her off the heat as soon as possible, she just does not quite hold her own yet. I can tell she is retaining her body heat better now but just isn't there quite yet.

At what age would you say they start to retain their own body heat?
She is fully haired except for the fuzz on her belly.

[esty7`]

OK, Git the Suggle Safe, I will use it once it arrives in the mail.

She was baring a bit of weight on one of her hind legs during our last feeding.

Thanks for all of your help!!

[Critter_Queen]

I would say that you should leave the heat source until she spends most of her time away from the heat source...I would say at least eight weeks...but I think it varies from squirrel to squirrel.

Zeke is a little over six weeks old and he still likes the Snuggle Safe...I just don't heat it up as much as I used to and he sleeps a little higher in the bedding I have on top of the disk. He rarely moves off it, though.

Glad to help! :) Hope all goes well from here on out for you both...

[esty7`]

Well we took a step back.

Last time she urinated she had blood again, it had cleared up untill this last time.

I don't know what to think, maybe she was moving too much and reinjured herself.

[Critter_Queen]

are you sure it's blood?

Maybe she has a urinary infection from not being stimulated before you got her? Or from being dehydrated at the time...

Do you have a vet you can get drugs from? A little oral antibiotic should be inexpensive and will hopefully fix it...

[esty7`]

I have oral antibiotics on hand.
Should I start her on some. My vet has me set up with the correct dose according to weight.

I have Baytrl as an antibiotic.
Baytrl is the only antibiotic that can be used on Sugar Gliders because of their sensitive system. Do you think it is safe for the squirrel?

I also have Torbugesic for pain.

Yes I am sure it is blood.
I have been stimulating her after each feeding, you need to do the same with sugar gliders so I am familiar with it. She urinated A LOT after her 11am feeding, then a 2pm she had the blood. First drop looked like pure blood, about the size of a grain of rice. Then after that she had urine colored with the blood.

[Critter_Queen]

Baytril is safe for squirrels. Not sure about the drug you have on hand for pain...

What I meant was that maybe she got an infection that started before you got her...if she laid in the grass for any amount of time she would have been dehydrated and that can cause urinary infections. Could be that you rehydrating her helped for a little while but now the infection has grown and needs treatmenet.

If you know the proper dose of Baytril to give to a squirrel the size of the one you have, I would give it to her...but I wouldn't give it to her based on what you give a sugar glider by weight. But that's because I don't know if that's safe or not.

I so hope you can get this under control for her...and for you.

[esty7`]

Ok, Called my vet. She is working on the dossage.
I will post any updates as they occur. Keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks!!

[Timber]

Yes, it could very well be a urinary infection. Timber is prone to developing cistytus (sp) every time he gets extreemly stressed out. The fall and the inability to move properly could have caused stress in her. Give her the baytril and start her on some liquid ( water , juice ) with cranberry desolved in it. By cranberry I mean go to a natural food store or herb store and buy cranberry capsules. It is pure consentrated cranberry and works much berrter than cranberry juice. Open the capsules and desolve one in the liquid as much as it takes to desolve the granulers, and feed some to the baby. Not the whole dose just about 2 or 3 thenths of a cc. And of course give pain med. I don't know if you have ever had cistytus or not but if you have you know that unless you get that pain under control you can't relax for the medication to work. Oh yes keep giving the cranberry for several days or until she is better and then a couple times a week there after to help promote healthy kidneys.

[Timber]

Oh yes, forgot to mention the fall could have very possibley bruised her lower spinal area and /or kidneys making it painful for her to move her back legs much. And bruised kidneys will produce blood but if it is just bruised with time and proper care they should heal. Inwhich case the cranberry will be useful here also.

[rygel1hardt]

Before you give Baytril I would check with your vet as my vet wont prescribe it for infant squirrels as it can affect their growth plates. Stacey

[esty7`]

My vet told me to give her .08 cc of Bytril 2 x a day for a week. She also said give her .03 of the pain meds when she breaths hard and fast (a sign of distress).
I am still giving her the epslic puppy milk but now also mixing pedialite into it, 1/2 milk and 1/2 pedialite, just to be sure the pain meds do not tax her kidneys.
She feels that it could be several things. From a bruised bladder to a fracture. Basically I need to just keep her from moving her body much so that the fracture or what ever it is can heal.

On the upside... Her urine is clear again. Man she goes a lot. It takes a good 4 or more minuets to empty the bladder. I am used to sugar gliders that just let it pour. This little squirrel dribbles one drop at a time.
Also she was moving / stretching both of her legs and curling her toes on one foot during this last feeding.
She is resting well now, her breathing is normal again and she is fast asleep.

[esty7`]

Well she is still with us.
She is now moving the base of her tail, so she is :thumbsup DEFFINANTLY:thumbsup improving.
Her urine is clear but there is not much of it.

IS THIS NORMAL?
She is only going about 8 to 10 little drips the size of rice, and it is taking a good 5 minuets to get that from her.

Thanks!!!

[Critter_Queen]

Glad you have her on the mend!

She may be dehydrated, but I don't know. You could try giving her a little extra fluids to see if that helps. But sometimes mine only go a little, too...then the next go-round is usually a doozy! LOL!

What are you using to stimulate her? One of mine liked to have a plain old tissue and the other will only go if I use a warm, damp, cottonball.

Keep me posted! You're doing great!

[esty7`]

Thank you for your reply.
I am using several different things.
A q-tip both dry and with warm water, a damp or dry paper tower.
I will try the cotton, sounds more comfortable.

She went a lot more this time.

Also I am still seeing improvement with her hind legs at each feeding, this is really giving me hope.

Man she does not like the Baytril, she is spitting it out, refused to swallow. I mixed it with apple pedialite this time and she still was pretty upset that I was asking her to eat it. The Baytril is mixed with a cherry syrup...maybe it is too sweet.

On a side note, she LOVES to have her cheeks, neck, and upper torso rubbed. She just stretches her arms out so I can get in there really good, looks like she smiles at times.

[Critter_Queen]

Yeah, Baytril is nasty tasting stuff! At least you don't have to give her much...

You mean she lays like this to be scratched? :D This is Weezel after being fed and pottied...

Sorry it's kinda blury...

[esty7`]

LOL, Yes, just like that.

Too cute!

[esty7`]

Well she is still with us. Getting stronger everyday.

I will keep you guys updated.

[esty7`]

Quick update...
Hope is still with us. She is doing great. Her legs are still improving and she is eating like a little hog.

[Critter_Queen]

YAY!! And Hope is a great name for her! :)

I'm very happy that she continues to improve. I am always amazed at the healing ability of a wild animal. Compared to them we humans are FRAGILE beings...we may be bigger but we fall a lot easier.

Thanks for the update!

[esty7`]

Hope weighed in at 90 grams today. All she wants to do is eat. I am only waiting 3 hours between feedings but she still seems like she is just starving.