MunchieMunchkin
10-10-2011, 04:18 PM
Hi everyone,
This is Jeff & Sean, we're owned by Munchie Munchkin, who introduced herself in the welcome forum yesterday. Apologies in advance for the long posting here, but we want to make sure we're getting it right.
Munchie is about 10 weeks old, and was orphaned or abandoned after a severe storm passed through about 5 weeks ago. We took her to a rehabber who was already swamped with about 30 other orphans. She was satisfied we were able to care for Munchie, so we took her back home with us.
We've maintained good contact and rapport with the rehabber, and in subsequent conversations, she's agreed with us that Munchie may have a mild case of Squirrel Down's Syndrome, and is most likely unreleasable. Before we were even aware that a similar condition existed with squirrels, we were commenting to each other that something about Munchie reminded us of humans with Down's. We are willing, able, and happy to care for her for the rest of her natural life.
Munchie has a slightly "squashed-in" face and a chunkier body, but does not have any other physical deformities that we can see. Her gait is at times halting, and she has occasional balance/support problems when walking on our arms or making small jumps between us. The behavioral symptoms are clearer. She is not overly active - sleeping most of the day in the cage (when she is active in the cage, it almost seems like separation anxiety: as soon as we open the cage and take her out, she usually finds one of our hands and curls up). She spends a lot of time licking our palms, fingers, and faces when we hold her - it can literally go on for an hour before she falls asleep. Temperamentally she is generally very sweet and calm, though she is an aggressive eater (fortunately!).
So... given all of that, we are trying to chart our way through the sometimes contradictory information out there and put together a plan to care for her, especially around nutrition.
Currently we are feeding her JustBorn milk replacer (for puppies), 5CCs/feeding, 3 feedings/day, with some probiotics mixed in. Feeding her milk by hand is a real pleasure, and since she won't be released, we haven't felt great urgency to wean her, but obviously we want to do what's best for her. About a week ago, we started offering her some rodent block and monkey chow the rehabber had generously given us, but the results were not great. She became extremely agitated, jittery, and distressed - like she was on a severe sugar high. We were genuinely concerned for her well-being, her stress was so clear. Obviously we stopped that right away, and returned to an all-milk diet. It took several days, but her behavior has returned to normal, and we've gone back to the drawing board.
The current plan is to start offering her 1 Henry's Health Blocks (squirrel growth formula) in place of her morning meal, and then bits of fresh organic veggies (starting with broccoli) throughout the day, keeping her afternoon & evening milk feedings going for the time being. The HHB should be here in a day or so.
So, given her condition and situation, does this seem like a reasonable plan? How quickly should we be replacing her remaining 2 meals with HHB? Does caring for a squirrel with Down's differ in any other ways from caring for a "regular" squirrel? This evening we'll be delving into the nutrition threads on this board. We want to give her the best possible care, so we welcome any and all suggestions.
Thanks!
This is Jeff & Sean, we're owned by Munchie Munchkin, who introduced herself in the welcome forum yesterday. Apologies in advance for the long posting here, but we want to make sure we're getting it right.
Munchie is about 10 weeks old, and was orphaned or abandoned after a severe storm passed through about 5 weeks ago. We took her to a rehabber who was already swamped with about 30 other orphans. She was satisfied we were able to care for Munchie, so we took her back home with us.
We've maintained good contact and rapport with the rehabber, and in subsequent conversations, she's agreed with us that Munchie may have a mild case of Squirrel Down's Syndrome, and is most likely unreleasable. Before we were even aware that a similar condition existed with squirrels, we were commenting to each other that something about Munchie reminded us of humans with Down's. We are willing, able, and happy to care for her for the rest of her natural life.
Munchie has a slightly "squashed-in" face and a chunkier body, but does not have any other physical deformities that we can see. Her gait is at times halting, and she has occasional balance/support problems when walking on our arms or making small jumps between us. The behavioral symptoms are clearer. She is not overly active - sleeping most of the day in the cage (when she is active in the cage, it almost seems like separation anxiety: as soon as we open the cage and take her out, she usually finds one of our hands and curls up). She spends a lot of time licking our palms, fingers, and faces when we hold her - it can literally go on for an hour before she falls asleep. Temperamentally she is generally very sweet and calm, though she is an aggressive eater (fortunately!).
So... given all of that, we are trying to chart our way through the sometimes contradictory information out there and put together a plan to care for her, especially around nutrition.
Currently we are feeding her JustBorn milk replacer (for puppies), 5CCs/feeding, 3 feedings/day, with some probiotics mixed in. Feeding her milk by hand is a real pleasure, and since she won't be released, we haven't felt great urgency to wean her, but obviously we want to do what's best for her. About a week ago, we started offering her some rodent block and monkey chow the rehabber had generously given us, but the results were not great. She became extremely agitated, jittery, and distressed - like she was on a severe sugar high. We were genuinely concerned for her well-being, her stress was so clear. Obviously we stopped that right away, and returned to an all-milk diet. It took several days, but her behavior has returned to normal, and we've gone back to the drawing board.
The current plan is to start offering her 1 Henry's Health Blocks (squirrel growth formula) in place of her morning meal, and then bits of fresh organic veggies (starting with broccoli) throughout the day, keeping her afternoon & evening milk feedings going for the time being. The HHB should be here in a day or so.
So, given her condition and situation, does this seem like a reasonable plan? How quickly should we be replacing her remaining 2 meals with HHB? Does caring for a squirrel with Down's differ in any other ways from caring for a "regular" squirrel? This evening we'll be delving into the nutrition threads on this board. We want to give her the best possible care, so we welcome any and all suggestions.
Thanks!