its jimmie the one with the spinal injury, plz help again

[red reddy]

Hi nancy, sarah, and whomever else is here. just a recap on jimmie. he was found at the base of a fir tree, approx 5 wks old, his lower half was completly gone. by gone i mean all he could do was drag his legs, tail, etc. i got him hydrated and the next day i saw a tinge of his right leg move, so minut, butit moved. so over time he regained his hind quarters completly. his has been in a large cage outside and i let him out and he goes tree climbing. mind you i am there the whole time watching him. it was absoulutly amazing he was like a normal squirrel. well tonight something didn't seem right so i went and got him and brought him in to sit with me. his hind legs seem like they have a sunken in spot, atrophy like, no seizures, no lose of appetite, he just seems like he's losing his rear legs again. his diet is one of a spoiled brat. he gets green leaf vegetables every morning, i.e. romain, parsley, snap peas, celery, avacado, artichoke, cucumber, maples branches and fir limbs with pine cones. and walnuts but not too many. maybe one or two every other day. i have to put peanut butter on his vegies, but very very little, just enough so they smell like peanut butter. could this be mbd, if its not and i gave him the tums treatment will it hurt him. and if he will take the whole tums himself and eat it is that ok? after coming so far i sure hate to see him going backwards. thanks all by the way i have had him for 3 months i would say

peace

[Pam]

Hi red reddy! Sorry to hear that Jimmie is having problems again. You need to bring him inside to a smaller cage or container and provide him with a source of heat. You can either use a heating pad or a rice buddy. Go ahead and give him the tums, it won't hurt him. I don't know whether or not Jimmie has MBD, but I'd start the treatment. Keep checking the board for more information. I'll stay up a while longer to see if you check back in, and I will find you help for Jimmie if he gets worse. Here's the emergency treatment for MBD.

Emergency Treatment for Metabolic Bone Disease (updated 3-31-09)

Get calcium into the squirrel IMMEDIATELY, not later, not tomorrow, NOW. Delaying treatment can cause death or permanent paralysis.

You will need:

--Tums or calcium pills (any kind)
--a syringe, eyedropper, or spoon

Crush one Tums or calcium pill and add a little water or fruit juice. Use the syringe, eyedropper, or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. Feed a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, and spread it out through the day and night to keep his blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If the squirrel is having seizures, weakness, or paralysis, the symptoms will usually improve within a few hours, but this does not mean the squirrel is cured. It will take many months to rebuild the calcium in the bones.

Long-Term Treatment for MBD

The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.

1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at the top of the “Squirrel Nutrition” forum. (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=16093 (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16093)) Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day. If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily. You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.

3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks. Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.

Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day
Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day
Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day

The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels. If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone. Also, if he is in a tall cage, either place him in a smaller cage, or pad the bottom very well.

Heat is very soothing for a squirrel with MBD. A heating pad turned to low and placed so they cannot chew the pad or cord, or a rice buddy (a sock filled with dry rice/beans and microwaved for about 20 seconds) will work.