Blind in one eye...

[Pilot]

Hi everyone!

My sister raised a few baby squirrels, but left it to me to soft release them since the neighborhood I live in a quiet neighborhood right across from a big patch of woods.

I worry about one, though. He has one eye that we believe he can't see out of. We noticed that when he first opened his eyes the pupil area of one of his eyes was cloudy and white. It is no longer cloudy, but that eye is now only half the size of his other, and his head is always at a slight tilt. If you go to give him a treat you have to make sure his good side is facing you or else he won't notice you at all. I would certainly imagine this would pose a great threat if released in the wild. I am willing to do whatever is best to give him the best life possible. What would you do in this situation?


Also, another quick question...
I have another squirrel that is totally healthy and old enough to be released, but since it is already November, I am wondering if I should wait until Spring? So far it has already been cooler than normal here.

On top of that, is there a way I can instill in him a fear of dogs? My sister mistakenly raised him around her large dog, and during an attempted soft-release at another location we lost this squirrel's brother to a dog because the two squirrels kept chasing it. :( It lasted merely seconds but was nonetheless horrifying and I felt terrible for it happening. I sure don't want to have that happen again. I have two dogs, but have made sure the squirrels have had no contact with them since here...

I have raised and released songbirds, but never a squirrel before. Thanks for any help!

[Pointy Tale]

Pilot—:wave123 Hi and welcome to TSB. :Welcome
I’m Not a rehabber, so I’ll leave the advice to the experts, but I’m so glad you found us, there are many wonderful people here and the rehabbers are excellent! Although, it does sound like your little one may not be releasable, would he be able to have a forever home with you? Thank you so much to you and sister for rescuing and caring for these babies. I'm sorry to read about the dog...:grouphug

[virgo062]

:Welcome Pilot one sure way to know if he is blind in one eye is...Circles.Does he walk in Circles? if so he is non releaseable :( I don't know where you are but I would overwinter them...How old are the babies?

[Kristal]

I read second hand that some vitamin deficiencies can cause the eye to appear milky and blind. I hope someone will have some good info for you.

My squirrels are starting to develop a healthy fear of my dogs because one of them scared them. I am not sure how you could do it other than operant conditioning - ie a scare when they see a dog. But then you run a risk of them getting scared of you... You could do what pavlov did and use something noisy and scary that you can control without them seeing you. He associated the sound of a bell with feeding to stimulate salivation - no reason, just to prove that it could be done.

They are naturally wary, so a single bad experience will start to change their mind about dogs. It must have been just awful to watch that happen with the squirrels. You need to give your sister hell about this so that it does not happen again.:nono

[Tomo]

Not knowing where you live, if it is below 40 degrees at night and the leaves have fallen from the trees, over winter the squirrel(s). Their chances of survival, even with food and water provided, are substantially decreased with colder temperatures and no leaves on trees with which to build dreys.

I don't personally know of any way to re-instill the fear of dogs in a wild animal other than it returning once the animal is under attacked and then it's too late. The squirrels should be released in an area where there are minimal domestic animals to give them time to realize life without dogs, cats, etc. and then maybe, they will regain that fear.

Regarding the blind-in-one-eye squirrel, if the eye and side of the head are not similar to the other squirrels, he could have a birth defect, or have suffered slight head trauma, or something else entirely. Regardless, without having seen him, he does not sound releasable in this condition. This blindness and head tilt will be a detriment and will lead to his imminent death.

If you have a vet that treats exotics, squirrels specifically, you could see what they think of the eye and see if the condition is treatable or permanent. You state that you want to give this squirrel the best possible life. Does that mean giving him a forever home? That is something only you can answer. If the condition is permanent and you decide to keep this squirrel, there is much excellent information on this board to help you with that.

If you have any questions, please PM me and I'll try to help any way I can.

Tomo :)