shaq
01-19-2011, 11:18 PM
I found my little Shaq dead on Monday afternoon, and I really have no idea what happened. He was about a year and a half, so it's not age-related. He was perfectly fine just the night before.
I posted over a year ago when he had a calcium deficiency, but since then his diet was adjusted and always monitored closely. He hadn't been acting any differently lately, he was as active and vocal as always, and his coat was still glossy.
When I saw his cage, I noticed that a lot of his bedding was thrown out of his little box, and instead was on the floor of the cage. Does this mean he could have gotten a fever or something? His water was also empty, but is it even possible to dehydrate to the point of death overnight?
The only thing I can think that was different is that I got him a new cage recently. However, even that is the same brand/materials as his old cage, and he's been in it for a few weeks. He looked quite peaceful when I found him, so I assume he had some disease with no symptoms. I don't know much about flying squirrel diseases, but there are no apparent injuries and again, he looked very peaceful.
Can anyone possibly explain what happened? Could he have just been sick for a while without acting it? I never expected that night would be the last time I'd be able to play with him, I'm still so shocked over it. Any possible explanations would be so appreciated. Thanks very much.
I posted over a year ago when he had a calcium deficiency, but since then his diet was adjusted and always monitored closely. He hadn't been acting any differently lately, he was as active and vocal as always, and his coat was still glossy.
When I saw his cage, I noticed that a lot of his bedding was thrown out of his little box, and instead was on the floor of the cage. Does this mean he could have gotten a fever or something? His water was also empty, but is it even possible to dehydrate to the point of death overnight?
The only thing I can think that was different is that I got him a new cage recently. However, even that is the same brand/materials as his old cage, and he's been in it for a few weeks. He looked quite peaceful when I found him, so I assume he had some disease with no symptoms. I don't know much about flying squirrel diseases, but there are no apparent injuries and again, he looked very peaceful.
Can anyone possibly explain what happened? Could he have just been sick for a while without acting it? I never expected that night would be the last time I'd be able to play with him, I'm still so shocked over it. Any possible explanations would be so appreciated. Thanks very much.