stepnstone
12-15-2010, 01:28 PM
Hello members. I'll start off by apologizing for the length of this but in the end hope that I'll get some insight as to what may have happened and what expectations I can have.
On a rainy evening walk with my dog I found a baby squirrel crawling on the sidewalk, rushed her home, dried her and put her on a heating pad. Went back out to see where she could have come from. Discovered a collapsed nest, a deceased one (w/rigor) at the curb and after shifting through the grass, another live one.
I first tried to contact several rehabilitators. Only reply to phone calls or emails was one from a squirrel rescue that said: This time of year many baby squirrels are orphaned and if you do not receive a reply it may be because they (rehabilitators) are filled up. Knowing I was not going to allow them to simply die, I went on line and assessed every piece of information I could find. I placed their ages between 4-5 weeks, both females. Started syringe feeding them Esbilac per guidelines, graduated them to bottle feedings, then the dish. Gave them bits of fruit & veggies when suggested then the soft nuts and up to their cracking and eating hard shelled nuts. Provided them with a large (inside) cage complete with food & water station, nesting box, branches for climbing top to bottom and sideways. Also built large outside cage complete with all of the above and would let them out there on warmer sunny days. (Stopped that when the weather turned cold.) I Sterilized eating stations everyday, cleaned cage bottoms everyday, total cage and bedding every 3rd day. They were fat, healthy, very active and progressing in everyway according to their growth charts. Now somewhere between 12-13 weeks of age, my desire was to graduate them to a (soft) release come spring. Although they were "forging" and burying nuts in the bottom of their cage, I didn't feel they would have developed the skills needed to survive being set out at first winter.
The night before, both were active, eating and playing as usual. Came down in the morning and found one of my babies dead in her nesting box, I was devastated to say the least! I looked for signs of injury, swelling, choking. I could find nothing to explain it. The house is quiet at night, none of my other animals (cats/dogs) come in or allowed contact with the squirrels and are closed in with us upstairs at night. I buried her along side her deceased sibling.
The following morning I came down to check on my surviving baby. She came right out of her nesting box to great me as usual, as I watched her she went to her food dish, grabbed a nut and started to crack it. All of a sudden she stretched out, stiffened up and fell from the branch. I immediately reached in and took her out and laid her on the counter. She was stiff as a board, eyes wide open, her body had a slight tremor. I started rubbing and massaging her, she went limp and her body "relieved" itself, I couldn't feel a heart beat. I started light compressions to her chest, still massaging her. After what seemed like forever, her eyes slowly blinked, her heart was racing. I kept massaging her until it slowed it's pace then I wrapped her in a towel, held her close to my body for warmth. I held her for six hours, she licked water from my fingers. When she started to move around I put her in a pet carrier to keep her safe, level and quiet.
1st day- Sleeping, not eating, I made her take water by bottle. She would swallow with no problem. 2nd day- Sleeping, still not eating, put her back on Esbilac to get some nourishment in her. 3rd day- Moving around a little, Esbilic & hand fed fruit, 4th day- More active, starting to eat soft nuts on her own. 5th day- After reconstructing her cage, nesting box with larger branches and platforms I moved her back in so she can exercise her limbs. She responded very well, getting more active with movement. Eating, drinking, grooms herself, still sleeps a lot.
In the beginning after her "accident" her front hands/paws were clinched/balled. They have straightened out but it don't appear the fingers have completely. (Kind of looks like mine with arthritis.) She is able to hold nuts and other things. Her hind quarters or legs also appear to be compromised or weak. When she walks she does a little hopping motion kind of like a raccoon does. She does climb up and down the branches but not with the agility or speed as before. It's only been 6 days but I'm hoping for more improvement with time. I do realize if she does not make a full recovery a total release will not be possible for her survival, I'm prepared for that and will continue to care for her. I feel as if she had some sort of heart attack/stroke. What I can't wrap my head around is why something happened to both of the girls within a day of each other. I'm open to suggestions and or input.
Thanks for reading. ~stepnstone~
On a rainy evening walk with my dog I found a baby squirrel crawling on the sidewalk, rushed her home, dried her and put her on a heating pad. Went back out to see where she could have come from. Discovered a collapsed nest, a deceased one (w/rigor) at the curb and after shifting through the grass, another live one.
I first tried to contact several rehabilitators. Only reply to phone calls or emails was one from a squirrel rescue that said: This time of year many baby squirrels are orphaned and if you do not receive a reply it may be because they (rehabilitators) are filled up. Knowing I was not going to allow them to simply die, I went on line and assessed every piece of information I could find. I placed their ages between 4-5 weeks, both females. Started syringe feeding them Esbilac per guidelines, graduated them to bottle feedings, then the dish. Gave them bits of fruit & veggies when suggested then the soft nuts and up to their cracking and eating hard shelled nuts. Provided them with a large (inside) cage complete with food & water station, nesting box, branches for climbing top to bottom and sideways. Also built large outside cage complete with all of the above and would let them out there on warmer sunny days. (Stopped that when the weather turned cold.) I Sterilized eating stations everyday, cleaned cage bottoms everyday, total cage and bedding every 3rd day. They were fat, healthy, very active and progressing in everyway according to their growth charts. Now somewhere between 12-13 weeks of age, my desire was to graduate them to a (soft) release come spring. Although they were "forging" and burying nuts in the bottom of their cage, I didn't feel they would have developed the skills needed to survive being set out at first winter.
The night before, both were active, eating and playing as usual. Came down in the morning and found one of my babies dead in her nesting box, I was devastated to say the least! I looked for signs of injury, swelling, choking. I could find nothing to explain it. The house is quiet at night, none of my other animals (cats/dogs) come in or allowed contact with the squirrels and are closed in with us upstairs at night. I buried her along side her deceased sibling.
The following morning I came down to check on my surviving baby. She came right out of her nesting box to great me as usual, as I watched her she went to her food dish, grabbed a nut and started to crack it. All of a sudden she stretched out, stiffened up and fell from the branch. I immediately reached in and took her out and laid her on the counter. She was stiff as a board, eyes wide open, her body had a slight tremor. I started rubbing and massaging her, she went limp and her body "relieved" itself, I couldn't feel a heart beat. I started light compressions to her chest, still massaging her. After what seemed like forever, her eyes slowly blinked, her heart was racing. I kept massaging her until it slowed it's pace then I wrapped her in a towel, held her close to my body for warmth. I held her for six hours, she licked water from my fingers. When she started to move around I put her in a pet carrier to keep her safe, level and quiet.
1st day- Sleeping, not eating, I made her take water by bottle. She would swallow with no problem. 2nd day- Sleeping, still not eating, put her back on Esbilac to get some nourishment in her. 3rd day- Moving around a little, Esbilic & hand fed fruit, 4th day- More active, starting to eat soft nuts on her own. 5th day- After reconstructing her cage, nesting box with larger branches and platforms I moved her back in so she can exercise her limbs. She responded very well, getting more active with movement. Eating, drinking, grooms herself, still sleeps a lot.
In the beginning after her "accident" her front hands/paws were clinched/balled. They have straightened out but it don't appear the fingers have completely. (Kind of looks like mine with arthritis.) She is able to hold nuts and other things. Her hind quarters or legs also appear to be compromised or weak. When she walks she does a little hopping motion kind of like a raccoon does. She does climb up and down the branches but not with the agility or speed as before. It's only been 6 days but I'm hoping for more improvement with time. I do realize if she does not make a full recovery a total release will not be possible for her survival, I'm prepared for that and will continue to care for her. I feel as if she had some sort of heart attack/stroke. What I can't wrap my head around is why something happened to both of the girls within a day of each other. I'm open to suggestions and or input.
Thanks for reading. ~stepnstone~