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View Full Version : Possibly hit by a car



nknossos
06-01-2009, 07:33 PM
A full-grown squirrel has been prone in my front yard since, we think, noon (it's 7:30 here now). I just found out about it. My parents think it was hit by a car, but as far as I can see there is no blood. It also leaped away from passing dog-walkers and me when I approached it about fifteen minutes ago. Just a moment ago, though, I approached again and it stayed kind of curled into a half-ball on its side, looking straight ahead, breathing quickly but otherwise not moving.

Flies seem somewhat attracted to it already.

I can't tell if its legs are broken or if there is internal damage or spine damage or what. I'll try to take pictures after posting this.

I live in Northeastern Ohio and we have scores of squirrels all around us at home, but this is a first. I'd much rather nurse it back to health, or try, before any other options are considered. My parents, on the other hand, think it's best to smack it over the head with a shovel and bury it in the woods out back (at night, of course, when no one can see). My mother called her friend, who is a secretary at a vet's, and she said leave it alone.

I'm prepared to make homemade pedialyte if necessary but I have no means of feeding it to the squirrel. I have no animal carriers and nothing to provide warmth. I guess a "rice buddy" is possible, though.

I fear the worst for the little guy but if it's possible to help him I'd like to. Let me know.

Thanks.

nknossos
06-01-2009, 07:46 PM
Okay, so this might be a false alarm... In the time it took to post the above, the squirrel climbed a quarter of the way up a nearby tree. I took pictures anyway:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2951/squirrel012.th.jpg (http://img195.imageshack.us/my.php?image=squirrel012.jpg)

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9254/squirrel014.th.jpg (http://img195.imageshack.us/my.php?image=squirrel014.jpg)

Sorry for the bad quality. Was the best I could do before he began climbing a little higher and I couldn't really get any pictures. Ostensibly then he seems fine, but on the tree he was moving a lot more slowly than squirrels typically do around here. And he was still stationary in the front yard for almost eight hours today. Any ideas?

My apologies for the (probably) false alarm. Thanks for any help, also. Hopefully it'll be fine.

atlantasquirrelgirl
06-01-2009, 07:46 PM
I'm sure we can find a rehabber to help this little squirrel, or help coach you through recovery if your willing to host it. First things first, you must bring it into a safe location rather than leave it vulnerable to predators overnight. Can you catch it with a net, and then put it in a cage/cat carrier, or something similar?

EDIT - see your post that it is mobile. If you think it can evade a predator overnight, that's good. Keep an eye on it, and if it looks injured and needs help, a Havaheart trap can be baited to catch it. If it's attracting flies, you probably will be needing to intervene soon and get it to a rehabber.

Thanks for looking out for this guy.

Ontario Rehabber
06-02-2009, 07:55 PM
How is this little one doing?