Male of squirrel pair died 3 days ago (worried about female)

[texansquirrels]

I had a flying squirrel pair Ralph (male 8 years) and Li (female 6 years). Ralph died 2 days ago. I got home from a 10 day out-of-state trip then and my husband had been taking care of them, he fed them blueberries, sweet potatoes, grapes, and the last couple days I was gone, a small handful of pecans. the night before he died he didn't take the pecan half I offered him which I thought was odd, but thought maybe it was cause he had so many recently. He was acting lethargic and didn't climb on the sides of the cage. I found him the next day around 11am and looked like he'd been dead awhile. I checked for diarrhea and his rear was a little wet but no smell. He had always been extremely active. After I had taken Ralph out and had washed my hands I got Li out. She crawled around my shirt slowly and her grip was weak. I checked online to see what might have happened to Ralph, and it seemed it was either infection, calcium deficiency, or a lack of certain nutrients in his diet. I cleaned the cage as well as I could, gave her new bedding, and made sure I saw her eat a good amount of food with calcium on it. She's has no diarrhea and is eating very well but is still acting a little tired. I want to know if there's anything more I should do for her and if I should expect depression, right now she not really doing anything out of the norm besides acting tired.

[4skwerlz]

"Acting tired" can be a symptom of MBD. Since you lost one flyer, best to treat your other flyer immediately.

Emergency Treatment for MBD

Get calcium into the squirrel IMMEDIATELY, not later, not tomorrow, NOW.
Delaying treatment can cause death or permanent paralysis.

You will need:
-Tums, rolaids, or calcium supplement (any kind)
-a syringe or spoon
Crush one pill and add a little water or fruit juice to make a paste. Use the syringe or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. The first day, give a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, spread throughout the day/night to maintain blood calcium levels.

Important!

1. Any kind of calcium pill is okay for the initial dose. But you must use PLAIN calcium pills (without Vit D) from then on.
2. Try to give many small doses of calcium throughout the day/night to keep blood calcium levels as steady as possible.
3. If seizures or paralysis worsen or return, give another emergency dose, and make sure you check back in to TSB for help as relapses can be very serious.

The acute symptoms (weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis) will usually improve within a few hours, but this does not mean the squirrel is cured. It will take many months to rebuild the calcium in the bones. (See the "Long-Term Treatment for MBD" http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=28007)

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel confined to a small cage and away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone.

Heat is very soothing for a squirrel with MBD. A heating pad turned to low and placed so they cannot chew the pad or cord, or a rice buddy (a sock filled with dry rice/beans and microwaved for about 20 seconds) will work.

Be sure to check in with TSB on a regular basis; this is key to avoid relapses.

[pappy1264]

What did you feed them for a source of protein? Flyers need a lot of protein in their diet, and from what you posted, I did not see that. I am very sorry for the loss of your flyer and pray the little girl will be ok.

[Mrs Skul]

:wave123 Hi Texansquirrels :thumbsup Welcome to TSB
How is Little Li doing to day? It would help allot if we knew Exactly what you feed daily?
What Vegatables, Leafy greens, Protean do you offer. (Like WaxWorms, Freeze Dried Chicken) Are you feeding any kind or Block for rodents?
How many nuts a day do you give? Do you offer any kink of wild food? (Acorns, Pin cones, Rose hips,Oak tree limbs with buds on them? This will help us to help you. I am out side of Houston. I will PM my Phone Number call me if you can. Or I can call you. There are several things you can do to help Li.
It needs to be done quick. Her weakness is not a good sine. Is she sleeping more then normal? Is she coming out and then going back to sleep? :dono
Is she just acting depressed? Do you feed any kind of Yogurt? I have some FoxVally I can send you. This would be mixed in with the Vanilla Yogurt.
This is what we recommend as a Maintenance to help with vitamin she does not get daily. :thumbsup3Do you feed any Mushrooms? I hope you will contact me. When a Flying Squirrel gets to this point, They can crash so quickly. I am Praying for Little Li. CM918
With this diet chang. It will help out a lot. Good Luck
Christal

PS
If you could post a picture and her weight. This can help me see exactly what she might be lacking.
Don't give up, your in the right place to get the help she needs. I just was not on the Computer yesterday and am now seeing this post. :D
This is what you will needFoxVally 32/40, and here are 3 cites you can order stuff from.
http://henryspets.com
http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/
http://foxvalleynutrition.com/main/prod.asp
__________________

[Mrs Skul]

Texansquirrels I tried to send you a PM. It would not let it go through. Do you have a E-Mail add I can send the Phone Number? :thumbsup3
This is mine. cmsokla@nctv.com