Broken hind legs? Unsure...

[SquirrelLove]

I released my boys in March of 2010 and they have been having a great time and they come back every day for food and water, and come back to sleep in the house when their nest falls (Fallen out of the tree twice now)

Today I noticed one of the boys who hasn't come around much at all is much thinner than the other 2 and his hind legs seem to have been broken? He isn't walking right and he's not sitting up like a normal squirrel would to eat. His hind legs seem to jut outward and he sits on his butt without putting pressure on his back legs. He is also scooting his butt on the ground / deck a lot. Is this something I can help him with? He didn't want to come in today, but did take food from me.
Joanne in jax

[SquirrelLove]

doesn't ANYONE have some advice?

[Legomom]

The only way to know anything for sure is to get hold of him & examine him.
Short of that, maybe you can get video of him in the yard & post it for the rehabbers to see? :thinking

[mugzeezma]

Unless you can get a hold of him to examine him there is not much you can do. Pictures may help the rehabbers.
You said that the nest fell a couple of times? Perhaps an injury?
Dunno...

[island rehabber]

Just seeing this now -- I was offline yesterday.
I agree that trapping this poor guy and examining him is all you can really do. If he's not moving well then he's in danger from predators and should be taken in. He may be 'scooting' as males do to mark territory...but if he's doing it all the time something is up. A back injury from a fall may be the reason, but trapping & examining is the only way to find out.

[CritterMom]

He is one of your babies, right? Can't you talk him inside with something outrageous like peanut butter smeared on a pecan so you can examine him and intervene if need be?

[mugzeezma]

He is one of your babies, right? Can't you talk him inside with something outrageous like peanut butter smeared on a pecan so you can examine him and intervene if need be?
...and a bucket of rescue remedy in hand? It may require repeated attempts but you never know. I had a cottontail that I had raised from an infant litter that came back and let me handle her after she had been injured...she actually came to me for help...disappeared after I fixed her up and she was well but that's the idea I think.

Try to coax the baby onto your shoulder and walk him into the house or release cage without grabbing if you can.
If you can get him to follow a teaser treat onto your arm , slowly walk to where you need to go.

[SquirrelLove]

I haven't seen him in the last 24 hours or more, but he lets me get up nice and close so if he comes back I'll see if I can't get him in the house. I'm not sure if he's one of my boys. He just seems so much smaller than my boys but he's so friendly that I think I must have lost my mind and don't remember what my boys look like grr. My boys are bigger, this seems to be a younger boy but very trusting. I'll give it a try if I see him again. Maybe his legs were not broken but just really sore or something and a good rest helped. I get up early every morning for the squirrel buffet on my back deck / porch area and that's usually when he comes up to get a free peanut :-)
Thank you for the advice,:thankyou

[astra]

Any news ?

[SquirrelLove]

He hasn't been back since I seen him suffering with his legs. If he does come back I'll check him out and offer him to come in the house where I can care for him and take him to a vet. I hope he's ok :-(