Wild squirrels with balance problems

[afrancis]

Hello,
I'm new here and have been noticing in our wild squirrel population for the last few years that more and more individuals are showing balance problems. We had one squirrel who could only eat lying on it's side, but after several weeks of feeding it Squirrel Wild Bites (sounds like a testimonial!) it could finally sit up and eat with just a hint of a wobble. But now his condition is worsening and we are seeing the condition in more squirrels.
When we first noticed it several years ago, the squirrel was badly infected with what appeared to be abscesses on its face and body, and emaciated. It died within a couple of weeks.
Does anyone know what this mystery condition could be? The affected squirrels at present don't seem to have any skin condition besides a bit of mange.
Thanks!
Ailsa

[Hannah]

Welcome, afrancis. :Welcome

Do the squirrels slowly lean more and more to one side while standing, periodically rightening themselves vertically, and other times leaning until they fall on their side?

I don't know what the mystery condition is -- I don't know much about squirrel health problems -- but I saw a gray squirrel in Virginia with those symptoms.

Hopefully someone knows what's going on.

[4skwerlz]

Do you have a lot of raccoons in your area? Squirrels can become infected with raccoon roundworm, and that can cause neurological problems. Mange can cause a generalized weakness, but this sounds more like a "balance" problem rather than weakness. You can treat the mange BTW, with Ivermectin.

[afrancis]

Thanks for the welcome Peter, and yes, you describe it perfectly. It makes running along the tops of fences pretty treacherous and because of their condition, they usually defer to healthier squirrels.
4skwerlz, yes we do have lots of raccoons but I don't know where they're nesting or latrine-ing. I was reading about raccoon roundworm and perhaps that is the cause. Is there any way we can treat it? The squirrels come regularly for food but they are still pretty skittish.
:thankyou
Ailsa

[squirrelfriend]

We have lots of those here in the Toronto area. Other than the raccoon round worms I think that head trauma and or toxins can be a culprit. I have been studying these wobbly squirrels for a few years now and it is difficult to figure out what causes it.

[afrancis]

We have lots of those here in the Toronto area. Other than the raccoon round worms I think that head trauma and or toxins can be a culprit. I have been studying these wobbly squirrels for a few years now and it is difficult to figure out what causes it.

This is interesting.
1. More raccoons and more roundworm in urban areas, so more squirrels becoming infected;
2. Bigger populations of squirrels in cities, so more competition for food and perhaps more accidents while competing, not to mention cat predators (hence more falls and head trauma), poisonings and other urban threats.

I'd love to know what your findings have shown since you've been studying these 'wobblies' squirrelfriend. And is there is treatment for squirrels who might have roundworm, is it always fatal, and can it sometimes just go away by itself?
Ailsa

[Eileen Fay]

Yes, I have had one or two wobbly squirrels in my yard, too (or maybe more, not sure if I am seeing same ones or more). I thought when I first saw one that it had had a stroke and so could not control the right side of its body, but I had no idea what caused it really.

My tipsy squirrels are like this: they sit on their haunches like all the others do as they hold the sunflower seed or peanut or whatever and nibble at it. But they keep falling off to their right side. You can see it happening slowly sometimes, that they lean to right and then fall over on their right side. They get right up again and continue eating, but it happens over and over. When they run away it seems they can get around fairly well, but I wonder how it is when they are going up a tree or fence, and I worry for them. I hoped it might be some condition that would go away eventually, but of course I have no idea. I see on this forum that people have suggested raccoon roundworm or other possible causes. Toxins, etc. Thank you.

It is a constant sadness to me that we humans have done so much harm to the soil, air, and water all over the world that no doubt many of the maladies in wildlife are caused by us. And our various government agencies that call themselves "wildlife" or "environmental" agencies (DECs, DNRs, USDA, etc.) seem to have declared a war on wildlife, killing, poiioning, slaughtering them every which way they can. I hate those people! They ruin the world for animals and those of us who love animals. We need to fight against it and let our elected reps know we do not want our tax money spent on killing wild animals!

Well, thank you for the squirrel balance idea, other people here. I wish all your squirrels good luck.

[island rehabber]

:Welcome Eileen, to TSB. This is a very old thread (the dates are on the top left corner), but wobbly squirrel issues are always with us, it seems. They certainly are not all due to raccoon roundworm, but we're just not certain what else causes it.
Glad to have you with us.

[Eileen Fay]

:Welcome Eileen, to TSB. This is a very old thread (the dates are on the top left corner), but wobbly squirrel issues are always with us, it seems. They certainly are not all due to raccoon roundworm, but we're just not certain what else causes it.
Glad to have you with us.

Thank you for the welcome, Island Rehabber. Yes, I saw that it was an old thread, but it is still interesting, of course. Like some others here, I am hoping the condition will improve in my particular squirrels. At least, they are getting enough to eat and water that I keep available, too.

[tree-queen]

Since it was drug back up, I'll add a bit of info.

My vet has told me that wobbling/neuro symptoms can also be related to west nile virus. Usually the squirrel will die.

Wobbling of course can also be head trauma (my Tim is that way) and can be related to ear infections, and other illness. But west nile is another consideration.

[island rehabber]

Since it was drug back up, I'll add a bit of info.

My vet has told me that wobbling/neuro symptoms can also be related to west nile virus. Usually the squirrel will die.

Wobbling of course can also be head trauma (my Tim is that way) and can be related to ear infections, and other illness. But west nile is another consideration.

I know I've posted this before, so forgive me if you remember, but sometime around 2008-2009 a woman in western PA, who had an inordinate number of wobbly fox squirrels in her yard, actually trapped about 10 of them and, with another squirrel-lover's help, transported them to NYC to one of the best squirrel vets around. He took blood samples and saliva samples and necropsied those who died. The squirrels did not go back to western PA; they stayed in a suburb of NYC so that they could go back and forth to this vet.

NOTHING was discovered that was in any way definitive. We still don't know why this population of foxers was wobbly. (It wasn't raccoon roundworm). We may never know. :dono

[JLM27]

I have a little guy with EXACTLY these symptoms right now. He falls over to the side, the right side, when trying to eat. He has balance problems, but gets around the tree OK, especially when in motion. We may have one raccoon around here, but they are rarely seen.

I feel that I am going to go through the Shaky story again (the squirrel that died this winter, unable in the end to eat at all.) Of course Shaky had a bad wound on his forehead that I never understood, but he had these balance problems from the beginning. They got better, then worse. I am dreading watching another one go down, but without visible injury, I don't know what to do. Any advice?

My guys do NOT approve of my trapping them, and Jimmy, the squirrel king, believes that defective squirrels in his realm should die, the sooner the better.

[Wembley]

I came looking today for answers as to why one of the little squirrels that visit my feeders daily has issues with balance.
He can hardly climb into the feeder (lantern shaped) which is only a foot above the porch railing -- it is all he can do to hang on with his back feet while digging for the peanuts from the feeder itself. He actually fell from the feeder once, bounced off the porch and then down on to the ground.

It breaks my heart to see him struggle to get around. After reading all the posts here about similar scenarios, I suspect he might have the raccoon parasite as he doesn't have any physical marks that would indicate he had been in a scuffle with another animal or a car, etc.

He visits each morning around 9:30 so I make sure there are enough peanuts already loose in the feeder for him so he doesn't have to dig. I doubt he will survive winter. :( I don't know what I can do to make things easier for him that won't benefit the friggin' pigeons that have discovered my feeders. (another problem I'm facing this winter's bird feeding season).

Any suggestions?

[farrelli]

How long has this been going on? The coon virus tends to kill them quickly.

Any video?

Could he be taken in?

[Wembley]

He seems to be getting worse by the day. :( He is very skittish and I doubt I would be able to capture him by any method. He managed to keep his hold on the feeder this afternoon for a good 30 minutes before being chased away by another squirrel.

I wonder if what he has can be transferred to other visitors to my squirrel feeders or if I should take all three feeders down . . . ? The squirrels don't touch the other bird feeders.

[astra]

there is someone in Mississauga that might be able to take him in (will have to be checked)
But this person is in Mississauga, which on an average day will make about 2hr drive from where you are.

IF this person might be able to take him, will you be able to drive at least half the way?

As for the "friggin pigeons" - lol, I understand your "pain" ;)
This is what you can do:

get those clear large plastic storage bins - Walmart or any other store of that sort.

Remove lids.

Now turn the bin upside down - where the sides touch the ground you want to make entrance holes.
This way not only will it protect against pigeons, but also against elements.

The bin becomes like a little feeding house.
You make a couple of entrance holes, put food inside.

Just make sure that the holes are not too big because "friggin pigeons" will figure it out and WILL get inside.

So, the holes need to be just big enough for a squirrel to get in.
But don't make them too small because the plastic edges can be kind of on a harsh side and if the hole is too small, squirrels may end up rubbing against it.
You can always sand/smth like that the edges, too.
You can also wrap the edges in duck tape - works very well.

As for what to use to cut plastic - you can get a few knives at Home Depot. some of them will be ok, some won't.
As you cut the plastic, it will chip, and it will crack, and most likely, half of it will be cut and half of it you will just kind of break off.
Just keep your face away because as it chips and cracks bits and pieces may fly.

Make 2 entrances (one on the wide side, one - on the narrow side).

Also, get two bins.
Having all sqs crowd one bin will result in fights.
So, having two or even three bins will best.

It may sound like a lot to do when you read it, but it really isn't.

Hope this helps.

[Wembley]

I certainly don't mind driving ANY distance if this little guy could get help -- but how am I to capture him? [keep in mind I'm an old broad - 62 - and far past my running days!! :)] There are roughly 6 or 7 squirrels who visit my feeders daily and they sometimes come in 3s or 4s and wait their turn. As soon as I open the front door they scatter to the trees on the lawn. The little sick one flees as well.

Thanks for the idea with the bins! The pigeons are crafty little boogs - I wouldn't mind throwing out ground seed for them but they try and flap their way onto the feeders which there are potentially 6 (3 are squirrel dedicated) out front they can access. (the others are silos and suet and they don't even try) And the poop! I am at my wits end with them. I figure my only option is to totally remove all feeders for however long until they go hang out permanently somewhere else. :(

[farrelli]

You could get a Have-a-Heart trap. With patience, it may work. I think they're $20-40 at Home Depot and such, and some rescues will rent them by the day.