Mushrooms

[tambot1]

Nutter Butter is a 2 1/2 year old gray and she does not have her back legs. I let her out in the backyard daily and we walk around. She keeps digging up mushrooms and taking off ( she is very fast with just two legs :) ) I take them away from her and she squeals but I am afraid she is not suppose to eat them...is it ok to let her have it. I just worry all of the time about her because she is fragile, no back legs or tail and missing a finger but she moves like the wind. She has been through so much I would hate for a mushroom to make her sick...advise?

Nutters mommy

[djarenspace9]

I would imagine she knows which ones are the GOOD ones! :D

I think we often have a tendency to overprotect our squirrels, but remember she is a wild animal.
You'd probably need to protect her more from the "domestic" foods than the wild ones.
The only thing you may want to look out for is that the area you are walking her in is not treated with pesticides.

I remember once observing newly released raccoons near a creek.
One left his enclosure and IMMEDIATELY went into the water and started digging for snails and gobbling them up.
He'd been hand-raised and never exposed to that environment, but he KNEW right away that was GOOD STUFF for him! :thumbsup

[mugzeezma]

I would imagine she knows which ones are the GOOD ones! :D

I think we often have a tendency to overprotect our squirrels, but remember she is a wild animal.
You'd probably need to protect her more from the "domestic" foods than the wild ones.
The only thing you may want to look out for is that the area you are walking her in is not treated with pesticides.

I remember once observing newly released raccoons near a creek.
One left his enclosure and IMMEDIATELY went into the water and started digging for snails and gobbling them up.
He'd been hand-raised and never exposed to that environment, but he KNEW right away that was GOOD STUFF for him! :thumbsup

98% of wild mushrooms are edible.
I would see what's being eaten successfully and remove any odd mushrooms if it's a big concern.
any signs of stomach distress or vomiting feed activated charcoal immediately or induce vomiting.

[Kat762]

Or you could trick her and take store-bought mushrooms ( washed of course ) and hide them around for her to " find " LOL like an Easter Egg hunt :thinking

What a sweetie, what happenned to her legs ? , or does she have a thread I could read ?

[tambot1]

That sounds like a neat idea on the store bought mushrooms. I actually was afraid to give her those as well. I am very protective because of all we have been through in two in a half years. Not sure how to lead you to the thread but long story short...I found her when she was about two weeks old is my guess. A tropical storm came through here in Florida and blew her nest down. We found her mother dead that day but did not locate her until late that night. My dog actually alerted us to her. She made it through the night so I started feeding her and looking her over the next morning. Her back was broken and she could not move her back legs. After she got a little older she started chewing on her legs because they were in the way. She runs fine with just two.To prevent infection we had both removed. All was good for a while. Just this June she got her finger caught in between the cage wires and pulled a finger off while we were on vacation. It was a travel cage for the trip (she goes everywhere with us) needless to say that cage went into the garbage that day. We rushed her to a vet that we located near our vacation spot and they agreed to do the surgery. While they had her in for observation I guess from stress she chewed her tail partially off so they had to take it as well. She is doing wonderful. She is about 2 1/2 years old now and very healthy. Our only struggle is her tummy. It drags so much that it stays really raw and bleeds a lot. I wrap her daily with surgical wrap but nothing seems to heal it. Other than that Nutter Butter is great. She is a real trooper!!! Love her soooo much! Thanks for asking!

[CritterMom]

Poor little baby. Wash the store bought mushrooms well. I, personally, do not feed the gills of the mushroom because they cannot be cleaned to my satisfaction, but the stems and outside of the caps is okay.

I would not let her make the choices with the outdoor ones. MOST are safe, but...

Do you know anybody who sews? She needs a little vest to protect her tummy. It could velcro on the back to close it.

[Scooterzmom]

Awwww... such a touching story. Poor sweet baby.

For helping her tummy, I've seen somewhere that somebody took what looked like a Dinky toy (like a flatbed or such) and taped it under the squirrel's belly with that sort of sticky tape vets use (the kind that's like a very soft velcro...? I forget the name). Works like a kind of little wheelchair supporting its belly -so it doesn't get all irritated - held with the tape over its back. With that tape it's easy to put it on and take it off.

I think it was a no kill rescue place or such... I think it was on the Oprah show I saw that.

You should see that lil guy go... He doesn't seem to even notice he's laying on a prosthesis.

[Kat762]

Tambot- wow. she's really been through a little war there hasn't she, poor thing :Love_Icon but only us humans notice handicaps, not the critters, they just move on and - adjust :crazy :crazy

Crittermom- what is the gill of the mushroom ?:thinking :thinking :dono

My mushroom prep is first remove the stem, then peel the mushroom, removing all skin including the little rim around the inner circle, then wash.Did I get the gill ? Lol:dono

Scooterzmom the self-stick tape is called vetwrap.You can get it in any petstore. I like the white because it comes in so many crazy colors and wow there is so much dye on it.

I can't sew- who is a seamstress ? Little Nutterbutter needs a corset CMfairy

[tambot1]

You guys are great! Tried the store bought mushrooms...she wouldn't touch it. Thank you sooo much on the name of that tape. When we were on vacation in Orlando and she had to have surgery for her finger and tail they used that. It was wonderful but after I got home I could not find it anywhere. It was less irritating to her. Right now I use the wrap that sticks to itself and then wrap it with paper tape because her body is like a cone so everything slides off. I tried a ferret vest but it snaps around the neck and she goes crazy. It doesn't really cover her tummy. I have begged people around here to come up with something for me but no takers. I even bought material and velcro and tried to sew something but it was terrible. I look all of the time for small doll clothes in stores but haven't really found anything for her. Any ideas would be great. I will try to get you guys some updated photos of Nutter. I think she is in heat...that is my only explianation of what is going on with her this week. She has been biting me the past few days and she never does that and about a week ago she had some blood on her bottom, not much just kind like small deluted drops. I actually thought she was peeing blood but its not from there. And her bottom is swollen and pink...I just don't remember this last year but we were wrapped up in all of her surgeries so I may have missed it then. Thanks guys!! Nutters mommy!!

[Kat762]

Oh wait- the vetWrap IS the tape that sticks to itself ?:thinking

Yeah, Nutter is prbably in heat:devil

The first few years Andi would not only bite me ( she had teeth then ) but chase me to bite me LOL ! It seems they get less crazy with it the older they get.

Maybe you should try starting a new thread asking for help with some sort of padding/clothing for Nutter's belly, something about " help needed for squirrel with no back legs " in the non-life threatening section.Maybe more people would read it there than here in the mushroom thread.There have been so many special needs squirrels, and brilliant ideas people came up with to help them, hopefully someone or two has some ideas.It sounds like she has a very caring and loving parent :Love_Icon :thumbsup

[gs1]

first about the mushrooms ... they have vitamin d and so would help her metabolize calcium .... especially if she's not getting enough direct/outside sun (not through a window pane ).

but i'm sorry i'm unsure if wild mushrooms would be a good idea or not ... i'm sure they're more nutritious than the little white mushrooms we have in stores and yet i'd be worried too .... although i'm pretty sure there are mushroom people on the web who'd be able to help you learn to identify safe mushrooms. or maybe you could grow some yourself????

anyway i kept thinking of paralyzed rabbits with their little carts (and dogs/cats etc) so i've included the information below ....

i'm sure something could be fashioned for her either a cart....

or even some kind of foam blocks/and something like a baby onesie that has a crotch but no legs ... maybe with velcro along the back ....

:grouphug :)



Disabled rabbit with his cart….

http://www.jollyrogersranch.com/scooter.html

I’ve included lots more links ….

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/family/190004/a-wheely-good-idea

http://www.thaiwheelchairsfordogs.com/index_eng.html

an online group for people with disabled rabbits. Amy started the group when her own rabbit, Bijou, became disabled. There are over 250 people on the list


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/disabledrabbits/


companies that make bunny carts …

http://www.hopperhome.com/Disabled%20Rabbit.htm#CARTS_FOR_Disabled_Rabbits

[CritterMom]

Hey! I sent another member with a paralyzed squirrel to look at this thread. Her hubby made a little vest for her squirrel. They have their thinking caps on and are trying to figure something out for you that she will tolerate but will protect her little tummy from dragging.

[Gina]

:wave123 Wild mushrooms can be scary if they eat the wrong ones. I would like to think they know the good ones from the bad but I gave mine wild mushrooms once that looked good but apparently were NOT.:shakehead Wayne gobbled them down no problem but had a bad reaction. After that scare and good advise from TSB members, he recovered fully. Since then I have stuck to store bought and I wipe them off with a paper towel before offering them. They both prefer the mushrooms sold out of the package, the dark colored ones are their favorites :dono how they know the difference I will never figure out.

I am looking forward to seeing some pics of Nutter and seeing what other members come up with to protect her little belly. She sounds absolutely adorable and you must be one heck of a good squamma to have kept her alive and happy:Love_Icon :

[muffinsquirrel]

I bought a mushroom guide at one of the big bookstores. It is called a 'pocket naturalist', Mushrooms - an introduction to familiar north american species - from waterford press and cost $5.95. It's a small, thin 'booklet' type thing - about 8" X 4" - heavy paper with a very gloss finish so it will last better. It lists only the common ones, and they are grouped by color for easier identification. It shows you which are poisonous. I carried it around with me for a while, until I knew the most common ones around here that were OK to eat. My squirrels are crazy about the wild ones, and, although they will eat the store bought ones, they always give me a dirty look like I haven't tried hard enough to find the good ones!

muffinsquirrel