Please help.... Baby in bad shape need advice

[wdlady59]

My grandchildren rescued a baby squirrel from a cat and brought it to me...

You all helped me save Tosha last year, and I pray that you can help this lil guy too...

I took him to my vet after hours which was over two hundred dollars by the time it was over... He gave lil Boris a steroid shot but I can't remember name, plus antibiotic... He said the lil guy had been bit on back of neck, possibly head which has made him lose his equilibrium. His head is leaning to one side...

He opened his eyes for the first time a while ago and he is about 2 weeks old the vet said...

The vet don't think he will make it through the night, but I refuse to give up... He sent me home with kitten formula but the poor lil guy isn't trying to drink it from a dropped so I have been dropping it in every 1/2 hour or so..

I bought a nice heating pad and have it on low with him wrapped in fleece one layer...

I think he has either been having seizures or else when he wakes up/warms up he starts tripping out on me... yet it also could be he is scared...

Plz offer advice...

[Kristal]

One thing to be careful of is feeding with sick babies... It is very easy to aspirate them, especially with how often you are doing it. You might even be doing more harm than good because of that fact.

Here is a good thread on what to do. First is quiet and soothe, warm and hydrate.... THEN feed

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11782

A dropper is really far from ideal for feeding, too, as she can easily suck it all down and aspirate herself when her strength comes back. You should get an oral feeding syringe from either a vet or pharmacy ASAP.

This is almost certainly not a two week old squirrel since the eyes are open. As far as I know, they don't open until about 4 weeks of age, at the earliest. If you post a picture it will be easier to know how old she is.

Put her in a box for her tremors... you don't want her falling off of anything or off of the pad in the night. It is very important she be warm, and squirrels feel more secure when they have an enclosed space to sleep in. Just a shoe box or similar sized box will do. Put it half on, half off of the heating blanket. Fill it with some soft cloth but nothing with strings hanging off of it as she could choke herself.

For the dizziness and such... I think it is impossible to know what is what until the swelling, fever and infection that follows a cat bite goes down. It could just be swelling in her inner ear that will subside as she heals.

So hydrate her and don't worry about food until tomorrow, at the earliest. Get a proper oral syringe, too. 1 cc size is easiest for most people to control. I hope the vet gave a heavy blast of ABs to start with as cat bites are as vicious and nasty as could possibly be when it comes to complications and infection... And keep her warm, above all.

Someone more knowledgeable should be on in the morning. That is all I have, but I wish you the absolute best, possible luck.

[wdlady59]

i think the vet gave her dexamethasone and an antibiotic.. He s also gave me a shot for her in the morning... I am using a 1ml syringe and I am being very careful not to aspirate her... I graduate LVN in December so I am using what I know to kind of help her... I don't have any pedialyte only the kitten formula the vet gave me... She is definetly having seizures I think... I have been holding him as he seems to be calmer when I do... Is there anything I can do forn the seizures, and are they a sure sign he is going to die?

[Kristal]

From that thread I posted before:

*If you can’t find Pedialyte at the store, here is a recipe for homemade Pedialyte:

1 tsp salt (teaspoon)
3 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)
1 quart warm water
Mix all ingredients in warm water. Store in refrigerator.

How to Prepare the Pedialyte
Use a plastic syringe (with or without a nipple). Never use pet nursers or doll bottles. They will choke the baby. Fill a coffee mug with hot water. Fill the syringe with Pedialyte and place it in the mug for a couple of minutes. Squirt a drop on the inside of your wrist to make sure the liquid isn’t too hot. It should feel barely warm on your skin. etc

There is a lot of good info there if you have time to read it. For the seizures and loss of balance, I don't know, and I don't think anyone can know how it is all going to turn out. But the homemade pedialyte will get some electrolytes and glucose into him, and that will help very much if any of the symptoms are due to dehydration or hypoglycemia. Please don't dwell on the worst right now, just do your best. That is all you can do. Thank you for caring so much for this little one. My thoughts are with you. :Love_Icon

[Kristal]

Oh, and the esbilac is awful now, just so you know. The best formula for squirrels is this one:

http://foxvalleynutrition.com/prod/details.asp?CID=1&PLID=1

[wdlady59]

I am not about to give up on this poor lil baby! I will not sleep as long as he continues to fight... Thank you so much for your posts... I am going to make the pedialyte right now..... I have him in a box with the lid propped open a little... It is a boot box... When he goes into his seizures he seems to be calmer if I pick him up and stroke his head... I sure hope I am not making it worse...

[Skul]

You still there?
If you can, call (see PM)

Baby is well over two weeks.

[lookmomchickens]

Skul,

I'm up. Call me if I can do anything to help. Posting from the iPhone because the kittens ate my laptop power cord.

[Mrs Skul]

Please don't feed kitten formula! You are better off feeding Goats milk. Follow Jackie recipe. You can order some FoxVally. http://foxvalleynutrition.com/main/prod.asp
Visit the Henry's Healthy Pets website: http://henryspets.com
http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/
(877)717-7748
(860)749-1129
Chris's Squirrels and More

[Jackie in Tampa]

Hi, glad he fell into your hands:grouphug
You are getting great advise, and it sounds like you are doing everything that can be done at this time.
The dex is to help with swelling of the brain and the ABs are for the cat bite. If dex is given soon after injury, it sometimes does help. The ABs are 100% needed, as cat bites {saliva} are supposed to be deadly to a sq.

Keep the little one hydrated and warm, make him feel secure. Best to not allow him to burn any calories keeping himself warm.

Head tilt can be permanent or not. Time will tell what damage has been done, but for now, love and nutrition are best.:Love_Icon

Do you have a grey sq? or a foxer?
Eyes open at 4.5 weeks in general.
Please order the Fox Valley formula that was advised. In the mean time until it comes, you can add heavy cream to the KMR or make a goats milk formula
1 cup goats milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dannon all natural vanilla yogurt
fresh GMilk is best{found in dairy section} but canned will work but needs to be diluted and will only last 72 hours in fridge . It can be frozen into cubes and thawed as needed. Canned is found near evaporated and condensed milk.

Feeding very slow is key and so is warmth.
I will post a link that will give you mucho info, just in case you need a refresher!:)
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11782

thank you for helping the baby, I wish the dang vets would be a wee bite more generous when it comes to wild life and wallets...:shakehead
thank you!:grouphug

[Jackie in Tampa]

if he appears to be holding his body temp, or if he appears to have a temp from cat bite, do not over heat him.
Talked to mrs skul just now, and explained my opinions...she will reiterate to you via phone.
:Love_Icon good luck sweet lady, you are doing great!
good vibes to you both:grouphug

[wdlady59]

I want to thank everyone who has been helping me with"Rocky"...

He chose his own name by the incredible fight he is making at living...

Unbelievably he is still alive and hanging in there. Yesterday about 7pm I had given up because his little tongue was white and he kept having seizures. I stopped feeding him and laid him on my chest and cried myself to sleep. At midnight he looked so pitiful I just knew he was going anytime. I went back to sleep holding him next to my cheek. I woke up at 4am and he had fell off my bed onto my hardwood floor. I just knew I was picking up a dead baby. To my surprise he was breathing. I jumped up and promised him that since he was such a fighter I'd stand by him. I warmed him up, gave him pedialyte, then goats milk, and molasses. He peed light pale yellow, and took everything I offered voraciously. His little tongue is pink, his resperations even, he no longer has head tilt, and hasn't had even one seizure since 4am. I am amazed to say the least!

So I want to ask all of you to pray for my little guy... He is such a fighter and I believe he might actually make it. I realize we're not out of the woods, but as hard as he is fighting if any squirrel coulld pull through it will be him...:jump

[Kristal]

Wow, that is absolutely fantastic news. I am so glad to hear that Rocky is still with us, thanks to your loving ministrations :)

[wdlady59]

Okay, not sure what is going on but his little head is tilting back again... Is it swelling back up I wonder? I just called the vet back again and waiting on his return call... The little toot ate 3 1/2 cc's of the goat milk recipe after I added the heavy cream and yogurt... I am already so attached ya'll...

Has anyone ever heard of a squirrel who had this condition and survived? Will he be able to stand and walk this way? I need to know... Surely if he was holding his little head straight yesterday he will be able to again.....

Anyways, I would appreciate any info anyone can share...:thankyou

[Ronda]

I am keeping him in my prayers.. as you probably know-alot of times the very ill will seem to rally, before things go badly..so keep yourself prepared:grouphug
as to prognosis.. just wait and watch, as long as he is functional and not in pain..he can have a happy life with the right caregiver - and it is obvious you love and care enough to be that person :)

[wdlady59]

Oh my, I hadn't thought about him rallying to die... I sure hope that's not the case... He sure is behaving a lot better than he had since he came to me... In fact I brought him out to straighten his box out and laid him on the bed... He squirmed around a minute and then pooped a nice soft long poopy...
No blood, black yada yada, just a medium brown...
He still hasn't had any seizures all day either...

I guess time will tell... So he could live with a slightly bent neck? Just the same, there is a cool exotic vet an hour away from me and if it can be repaired with surgery don't think I won't have it done... I don't care about money when it comes to my animal friends... I have went without just to protect them...:crazy

Thanks for the reply Rhonda!!

[wdlady59]

For anyone that is interested I have posted Rocky's Story in the infirmary...

:thankyou for all ya'lls help!!!

[Jackie in Tampa]

going to read updates now! :thumbsup

[deborah.k]

You are doing a wonderful job. I think the toughest thing I have to realize with trying to help these little ones is that I am doing a good job regardless of whether they totally recover for release or whether they have comfort and warmth for the time they are here.