Possible MBD!

[astra]

I am re-posting this for adoptedmother (she posted in Specific Ailment Information http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?p=690685#post690685):


I have a problem. Our squirrel is about 6-7 weeks old. We found him abandoned and almost dead when he was about four or five weeks old. He now only occasionally take more than five ounces of formula. We had kitten formula for our 21 year old cat that we use. He's still on the formula but only takes about 20 ounces a day. He is plump.
We started him on solids too. He won't eat anything but bark, grapes and pecans. I've provided him with dandelion, all types of baby lettuces (sold as boxed salad, green peppers from the garden (totally organic) tender tiny carrots a quarter thick as the size of a thin little finger straight from garden and made a recipe for nut balls that contains calcium, cod liver oil and etc. which I found on the internet.

We don't let him run and he stays in a room by himself because we have two cats. We let him stay out about 25 minutes to play after he eats generally 2 times during the day. He still eats every five hours. He hates going back in the cage and climbs all over and shakes the bars.

Tonight we put him back in the cage and he zipped around, grabbed his tail, laid on his back and rolled around on the floor of the cage. I took him out and he zipped around and almost escaped. When I put him back, he laid on his back rolling around grabbing his tail and shaking. Could he be starting MBD?

It looked like a seizure---or a temper tantrum. He doesn't get much sunlight but I plan to take the cage outside tomorrow for a few minutes. There's nothing wrong with his level of activity. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! I want to return him to the wild but it will be winter here soon and he won't be ready soon enough. I also want to make sure that when we do, he's well prepared.

[CritterMom]

One of the problems with kitten formula is improper formation of the long bones in the body - kittens have very different needs than squirrels. I would very strongly urge you to get this baby on Fox Valley which is formulated for squirrels. I would also STOP the pecans and stuff and replace them with a rodent block and dn't give in and sneak the nuts. He needs the rodent block to AVOID MBD until you release him and if he is introduced first to yummy pecans he will not eat them.

The rolling behavior - squirrel babies play all the time and are very kitten like in their play. This may be what you are seeing.

So technically not MBD but possibly being harmed by the continuing kitten formula. Change formulas, clear out the goodies and replace with block.:thumbsup

[4skwerlz]

kittens have very different needs than squirrels. I would very strongly urge you to get this baby on Fox Valley which is formulated for squirrels. I would also STOP the pecans and stuff and replace them with a rodent block and dn't give in and sneak the nuts. He needs the rodent block to AVOID MBD until you release him and if he is introduced first to yummy pecans he will not eat them.

YES!

We have seen MBD in weaning-age squirrels, especially if not given proper formula, and especially if weaned onto nuts and seeds instead of the healthy diet.

Switch to Fox Valley, remove all nuts/seeds/treats, introduce a block, and I would also give some calcium supplementation until the new formula arrives.

[adoptedmother]

The nut balls I give him are a mixture of various vitamins, calcium, cod liver oil and etc. Here's the recipe: He liked those:
1 cup rice flakes (Heinz or Gerbers' baby rice cereal)
# ½ cup ground-up pecans
# 2/3 cup sesame seeds
# 1 Tablespoon Brewers' Yeast powder.
# 1 Tablespoon Lecithin granules or 1 teaspoon liquid Lecithin
# 1½ to 2 heaping teaspoons KAL brand dolomite powder
# Vitamin C -- 1000 mg.
# 6 - 10 alfalfa tablets, mashed
# 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt
# Cod liver oil (enough for 6000 I.U's Vitamin A and 600 I.U.'s Vitamin D) (Use liquid from bottle.
# Vitamin E 600 I.U.'s.
# 1 to 2 teaspoons salad oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil --
# Choose from any of a combination of the following optional ingredients to make ½ cup liquid:

* Mashed banana
* Applesauce
* Frozen strawberries with syrup or natural juices
* Apple juice concentrate (no water added)
* Fruit cocktail (in heavy syrup -- or natural juices) with maraschino cherries removed
* Canned pears or peaches in heavy syrup or natural juices
* Pure juice (100%) nectar
* Frozen blueberries (or fresh if available)

After reading you can overdose the squirrels on vitamin D and cause the problem, then it concerned me that I did just that. He hasn't acted any different since that incident, but it potentially could be playful behavior due to the circumstances.

We don't allow the cats near him and have made no attempt to litter train, simply because he will be back in the wild and neither of these traits are good for outdoor living. (Although he would be quite easy to litter train due to his potty habits.)

I added a little extra calcium to his milk and went back to feeding him every four hours. There is no local outlet that has squirrel formula.

[4skwerlz]

The nut balls I give him are a mixture of various vitamins, calcium, cod liver oil and etc. Here's the recipe: He liked those:
1 cup rice flakes (Heinz or Gerbers' baby rice cereal)
# ½ cup ground-up pecans
# 2/3 cup sesame seeds
# 1 Tablespoon Brewers' Yeast powder.
# 1 Tablespoon Lecithin granules or 1 teaspoon liquid Lecithin
# 1½ to 2 heaping teaspoons KAL brand dolomite powder
# Vitamin C -- 1000 mg.
# 6 - 10 alfalfa tablets, mashed
# 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt
# Cod liver oil (enough for 6000 I.U's Vitamin A and 600 I.U.'s Vitamin D) (Use liquid from bottle.
# Vitamin E 600 I.U.'s.
# 1 to 2 teaspoons salad oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil --
# Choose from any of a combination of the following optional ingredients to make ½ cup liquid:

* Mashed banana
* Applesauce
* Frozen strawberries with syrup or natural juices
* Apple juice concentrate (no water added)
* Fruit cocktail (in heavy syrup -- or natural juices) with maraschino cherries removed
* Canned pears or peaches in heavy syrup or natural juices
* Pure juice (100%) nectar
* Frozen blueberries (or fresh if available)

After reading you can overdose the squirrels on vitamin D and cause the problem, then it concerned me that I did just that. He hasn't acted any different since that incident, but it potentially could be playful behavior due to the circumstances.

We don't allow the cats near him and have made no attempt to litter train, simply because he will be back in the wild and neither of these traits are good for outdoor living. (Although he would be quite easy to litter train due to his potty habits.)

I added a little extra calcium to his milk and went back to feeding him every four hours. There is no local outlet that has squirrel formula.
OMG. There's your answer. Those nutballs are NOT balanced nutrition. Major overdose of Vitamin D = MBD.

[astra]

order Fox Valley formula at www.foxvalleynutrition.com or from www.henryspets.com. Henryspets also sells Henry's Healthy Block of HHB - a block specifically formulated for squirrels.

In the meantime, follow Emergency Treatment of MBD (as I copied on your initial thread) and post here everything you do and give him.
Make sure you give him amount of Cal as indicated in the Emergency Treatment. Feed with a syringe if needed, but make sure he gets each dose in full, nothing wasted as he needs all that calcium as indicated in order to start getting better.

Please post your every step and follow the Emergency Treatment protocol to the letter and post here how he is doing, reacting etc etc etc.:grouphug