limping wild squirrel - need help!

[kateg]

One of the wild squirrels that regularly comes to our back yard for treats has a problem with his right hind leg. I do not see any sign of external injury but he seems to be in great pain. When he tries to sit on his hind legs to eat he quickly falls over on one side (the side of the injured leg). He has been like this for about a week and does not seem to be getting better :(. He can still climb trees and run around but very unstable and brakes my heart to watching him like this :(. Can he recover by himself?? He is a wild animal so I can not handle him apart from giving him food so he can spend more time resting. Any advise will be greatly appreciated! BTW He is an amazing animal and showing great spirit even now. The other squirrels try to chase him away but he holds his grounds and forces them to stay away. Please tell me squirrels can survive this!!...

[4skwerlz]

One of the wild squirrels that regularly comes to our back yard for treats has a problem with his right hind leg. I do not see any sign of external injury but he seems to be in great pain. When he tries to sit on his hind legs to eat he quickly falls over on one side (the side of the injured leg). He has been like this for about a week and does not seem to be getting better :(. He can still climb trees and run around but very unstable and brakes my heart to watching him like this :(. Can he recover by himself?? He is a wild animal so I can not handle him apart from giving him food so he can spend more time resting. Any advise will be greatly appreciated! BTW He is an amazing animal and showing great spirit even now. The other squirrels try to chase him away but he holds his grounds and forces them to stay away. Please tell me squirrels can survive this!!...

Yes, a wild squirrel can survive a broken leg as long as they can still eat and climb, and as long as there aren't complications, like the bone sticking through the skin. Our alpha female Squirrelette broke a hind leg and it was just dragging for around 2 weeks (she was still eating and climbing though). Then, after a couple of weeks, we saw she was able to pull the leg under her just a little when sitting up; after that, it seemed like every few days it was better and better. Finally, she was completely healed. A little extra food and water placed where he can get to it easily with a minimum of climbing helps. Little peanut butter sandwiches (whole wheat bread spread with peanut butter, a dab of veggie oil, and a dab of vitamins, then cut into 8 pieces) provide easy-to-eat calories and nutrition.

[kateg]

Yes, a wild squirrel can survive a broken leg as long as they can still eat and climb, and as long as there aren't complications, like the bone sticking through the skin. Our alpha female Squirrelette broke a hind leg and it was just dragging for around 2 weeks (she was still eating and climbing though). Then, after a couple of weeks, we saw she was able to pull the leg under her just a little when sitting up; after that, it seemed like every few days it was better and better. Finally, she was completely healed. A little extra food and water placed where he can get to it easily with a minimum of climbing helps. Little peanut butter sandwiches (whole wheat bread spread with peanut butter, a dab of veggie oil, and a dab of vitamins, then cut into 8 pieces) provide easy-to-eat calories and nutrition.

Thank you 4skwerlz! So glad Squirrelette made it. Gives me much needed hope! This is the first time I see a squirrel with leg injury here. He is eating and climbing however it is so painful to watch him struggle :( He is about a year old but very strong and brave (may have something to do with how he got the injury unfotunately...). Should I be giving him any calcium supplement to stimulate bone healing? He is a wild squirrel so he probably doesn't need it as much. This is all new to me so any advice is highly appreciated.
Thanks again!

[astra]

just PMed Squirrelfriend - she is here, in GTA and has tons of experience with injured squirrels. Hopefully, she will be on here soon.
Keep an eye on this little one.

[4skwerlz]

Thank you 4skwerlz! So glad Squirrelette made it. Gives me much needed hope! This is the first time I see a squirrel with leg injury here. He is eating and climbing however it is so painful to watch him struggle :( He is about a year old but very strong and brave (may have something to do with how he got the injury unfotunately...). Should I be giving him any calcium supplement to stimulate bone healing? He is a wild squirrel so he probably doesn't need it as much. This is all new to me so any advice is highly appreciated.
Thanks again!

I don't think you need to give any extra calcium. I know it's so hard to watch, but they do heal fast. Hopefully it's just a break through the thigh or lower leg, and not the hip itself. If he can position the leg under himself a bit (i.e., has some control over the leg) it's probably not the hip. :grouphug Keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get thin or weak.

[squirrelfriend]

Hello, Just got a pm from Astra.

Squirrels can survive an injury like this but they are very vulnerable to predaters during their recovery. they will usually show arthritis in the injury area when they get older. If you feel that he is not able to get around well enough to survive out there. If you can catch him in a have a heart trap I can take him in until he heals. I can put a cast on the leg until it heals if it is not set yet. let me know.

Do keep extra food out there for him every day to make sure he has the strength to recover. Thanks for caring for the little guy.

[kateg]

Thank you squirrelfriend! This morning he was running arround, which is probably a good sign but also bad... How is the leg going to heal when he is trying to behave like a normal healthy squirrel all the time?? If he gets any worse over the next few days I will try to capture him. It won't be easy since we have quite a few wild squirrels visiting. And he is totally fearless (I have seen him make our neighbour's cat retreat) so it won't be easy keeping him in a cage. I do hope he is not planning to challenge the cat in the near future... Thank you again for caring and offering to help, so greatly appreciated!

[astra]

Thank you squirrelfriend! This morning he was running arround, which is probably a good sign but also bad... How is the leg going to heal when he is trying to behave like a normal healthy squirrel all the time?? If he gets any worse over the next few days I will try to capture him. It won't be easy since we have quite a few wild squirrels visiting. And he is totally fearless (I have seen him make our neighbour's cat retreat) so it won't be easy keeping him in a cage. I do hope he is not planning to challenge the cat in the near future... Thank you again for caring and offering to help, so greatly appreciated!
if you think he might need trapping, it might be better to do it sooner than later, because if he does have broken bones, they might end up setting the wrong way. Even if he has only sprained ligaments/tendons and/or torn muscle, rest is the best thing, because if a ligament/tendon/torn muscle doesn't heal well, it will become his permanent weak spot (just like in humans).

He must be one brave squirrel, making a cat retreat ;-).

[kateg]

Thank you Astra! I agree it will be best to capture him and ensure proper healing but I will probably end up capturing every other squirrel (and we have lots of them!) in the backyard before I get him... I even contacted the wildlife hospital here for instructions on how to capture him. On the bright side, he comes for his breakfast and for dinner and totally disappears during the rest of the day so I hope he is somewhere resting while the other squirrels are still roaming around. Really appreciate all the support here!

[Busysqrl]

Hi Kate, here's how I caught my wild squirrel . . .I used a Havahart trap. I tried both the smaller one made for squirrels where both ends of the trap open and the larger one made for coons and cats. The larger one only has one end that's open. I had my success with the larger one. I started out with the smaller trap and left the auto spring in place and caught every squirrel in my yard except the one I wanted, so I went to this technique with the larger trap and it finally worked. I worked for 3 weeks trying to catch my squirrel. So with the larger trap I disabled the spring mechanism so it wouldn't auto spring and catch the wrong squirrel. Then I tied a thin wire about 30 feet long to the trip mechanism. Test it to make sure when you pull on the wire the trap will spring. Then put the trap where you want it. Fill it with goodies, sunflower seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanut butter, grapes, avocado. Make sure to put the food at the far end (by the closed end). I used a chair and placed it about 30 feet from the trap and wrapped the end of the wire around the arm of the chair so it was fairly tight and just a little tug would cause the trap to spring. Make sure and test it from that distance to be sure it will spring with just a little tug. If you leave the wire on the ground and try to pick it up and pull it when you see the squirrel, that might give the squirrel enough time to escape the trap. So now you have the trap set up. Then it's a waiting game. Think of the trap like a feeding station. I left mine set up that way all the time. I feed the squirrels anyway, so I just put all the food I would normally feed inside the feeder. That way the squirrels get used to going in and out of it. Then sit in the chair and wait. Mornings and evenings are your best times to catch a squirrel. When the right squirrel enters the trap, make sure it's in there far enough, tug on the wire and you've got your squirrel. Good luck and please keep us posted. :grouphug

[astra]

Just don't bring him to any wildlife center/hospital/etc - they will put him to sleep.
Speaking from personal experience.
First of, squirrels are 'just squirrels', so no one feels it is necessary to tend to every injured squirrel.
THey are always "understaffed", "don't have enough resources" and "get too many animals than they could take care of", therefore, "just squirrels" are not bothered with.
MOreover, such injuries require too much personal attention (e.g., changing the cast, making sure he doesn't chew it etc etc etc), and very often, such injuries make squirrels non-releasable. ANd if there is even the SLIGHTEST chance that a squirrel can become non-releasable, they will put it to sleep right away.

So, if you capture him, contact Squirrelfriend - she's dealt with similar injuries.

[Busysqrl]

Just don't bring him to any wildlife center/hospital/etc - they will put him to sleep.
Speaking from personal experience.
First of, squirrels are 'just squirrels', so no one feels it is necessary to tend to every injured squirrel.
THey are always "understaffed", "don't have enough resources" and "get too many animals than they could take care of", therefore, "just squirrels" are not bothered with.
MOreover, such injuries require too much personal attention (e.g., changing the cast, making sure he doesn't chew it etc etc etc), and very often, such injuries make squirrels non-releasable. ANd if there is even the SLIGHTEST chance that a squirrel can become non-releasable, they will put it to sleep right away.

So, if you capture him, contact Squirrelfriend - she's dealt with similar injuries.

VERY true!!! :goodpost

[kateg]

Hi Kate, here's how I caught my wild squirrel . . .I used a Havahart trap. I tried both the smaller one made for squirrels where both ends of the trap open and the larger one made for coons and cats. The larger one only has one end that's open. I had my success with the larger one. I started out with the smaller trap and left the auto spring in place and caught every squirrel in my yard except the one I wanted, so I went to this technique with the larger trap and it finally worked. I worked for 3 weeks trying to catch my squirrel. So with the larger trap I disabled the spring mechanism so it wouldn't auto spring and catch the wrong squirrel. Then I tied a thin wire about 30 feet long to the trip mechanism. Test it to make sure when you pull on the wire the trap will spring. Then put the trap where you want it. Fill it with goodies, sunflower seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanut butter, grapes, avocado. Make sure to put the food at the far end (by the closed end). I used a chair and placed it about 30 feet from the trap and wrapped the end of the wire around the arm of the chair so it was fairly tight and just a little tug would cause the trap to spring. Make sure and test it from that distance to be sure it will spring with just a little tug. If you leave the wire on the ground and try to pick it up and pull it when you see the squirrel, that might give the squirrel enough time to escape the trap. So now you have the trap set up. Then it's a waiting game. Think of the trap like a feeding station. I left mine set up that way all the time. I feed the squirrels anyway, so I just put all the food I would normally feed inside the feeder. That way the squirrels get used to going in and out of it. Then sit in the chair and wait. Mornings and evenings are your best times to catch a squirrel. When the right squirrel enters the trap, make sure it's in there far enough, tug on the wire and you've got your squirrel. Good luck and please keep us posted. :grouphug
Thank you Busysqrl! Very good tips indeed. The problem is that he does not want to come to where the food is since the other squirrels gather there and try to chase him forcing him to fight them (since he can't outrun them). It really brakes my heart watching how he bravely tries to defend himself while limping :( So to feed him I have to throw him some food while he is sitting away from the food and other squirrels. This is really a though one to catch... Unfotunately I am at work 9-5 so I only see him mornings and evenings when all other squirrels come as well. I will try again on the weekend. Hopefully he will come alone... In any case, I am so happy every time I see him because he is still alive and moving...:grouphug

[kateg]

Just don't bring him to any wildlife center/hospital/etc - they will put him to sleep.
Speaking from personal experience.
First of, squirrels are 'just squirrels', so no one feels it is necessary to tend to every injured squirrel.
THey are always "understaffed", "don't have enough resources" and "get too many animals than they could take care of", therefore, "just squirrels" are not bothered with.
MOreover, such injuries require too much personal attention (e.g., changing the cast, making sure he doesn't chew it etc etc etc), and very often, such injuries make squirrels non-releasable. ANd if there is even the SLIGHTEST chance that a squirrel can become non-releasable, they will put it to sleep right away.

So, if you capture him, contact Squirrelfriend - she's dealt with similar injuries.
Understood. :thankyou

[Busysqrl]

Thank you Busysqrl! Very good tips indeed. The problem is that he does not want to come to where the food is since the other squirrels gather there and try to chase him forcing him to fight them (since he can't outrun them). It really brakes my heart watching how he bravely tries to defend himself while limping :( So to feed him I have to throw him some food while he is sitting away from the food and other squirrels. This is really a though one to catch... Unfotunately I am at work 9-5 so I only see him mornings and evenings when all other squirrels come as well. I will try again on the weekend. Hopefully he will come alone... In any case, I am so happy every time I see him because he is still alive and moving...:grouphug

Kate, I experienced the same thing with Magnus. It's heartbreaking to watch them get chased away from the feeder. I had to take my antianxiety medication while I was trying to trap Magnus. It was just tearing me up. The injured ones tend to come later in the mornng than the healthy ones. It is a labor of love to catch an injured squirrel because it takes so much time and patience. I would try to set up the trap where you see him most often and leave it stocked with goodies at ALL times. In Magnus case, I knew where his nest was, so I placed this trap so that it was the first 'feeder' he encountered when coming to my area. As I mentioned, it did take 3 weeks to catch him. I too work 9 - 5, so I could only try to catch him in the evenings and weekends. I eventually caught him on a Saturday afternoon about 2:00 in the afternoon. No other squirrels were around. The other thing you could do too is temporarily remove all other food EXCEPT the food in this trap. I know, it's a judgment call. You want to make sure he's getting nutrition and if you do this, he may not be able to get enough if the other squirrels empty the trap/feeder while you're at work. You could just do this technique on the weekends when you're there to make sure the feeder/trap has food in it at all times. Good luck with your baby and please keep us posted. BTW, I put everything but the kitchen sink in there to entice him, grapes, apple, avocado, peanut butter on crackers, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, ALL their favorite things. :grouphug :grouphug

[kateg]

:thankyou ALL!

I just want to let you all know that our limping squirrel is much better now :) Even though he is no longer the alpha male, he is definitely healing and more stable. I am thinking of a proper name for him now... Something that reflects his exceptional resilience...

[squirrelfriend]

Great to hear!:thumbsup