squirrel update

[prettynmeanmom]

has anyone ever heard of a squirrel having epilepsy?i called sarvey where i took my squirrel hes still alive they have him quarentined and on meds hes eating and drinking but hes having seizuers.

[squirrelfriend]

epilepsy no but seizures are a common problem with squirrels. usually a lack of calcium and or sunlight (to give vitamin D to absorb the calcium). what is this guys condition other than that?

[prettynmeanmom]

he seemed stuck on his side hes had a problem with his head going up when he would try to eat for over a year he started to get worse my daughter found him lying in the road twitching and i took him in for 2 days then took him to sarvey wildlife he was having siezuers they said he still is they have had him 3 days know hes still eating and drinking .hes had a brother or sister hang out with him the last year they are never far from each other the momma seems very healthyshe hangs out alot in our yard.

[Mrs. Jack]

Do you think it's possible he got into something? What do your neighbors think of squirrels? What do you think of Sarvey? I think that's where I'd take one if I needed to, I do like what I've heard about them. :Welcome btw.

[squirrelfriend]

ok, being that he is an outside squirrel you can probably nix the calcium sunshine thing. Is there any sign of trauma? scars, breaks, scabs etc?

[Timber]

More than likely it is some kind of trama but I would not rule out epilepsy. Just because we have never seen one with it doesn't mean it can't happen. Infact back in 1999 I had a white Peking Duck that drowned in her little pool when she had an "Epileptic Seziure". Never heard of a duck drowning before then and never heard of one with epilepsy before then or since but she had it.

[prettynmeanmom]

Do you think it's possible he got into something? What do your neighbors think of squirrels? What do you think of Sarvey? I think that's where I'd take one if I needed to, I do like what I've heard about them. :Welcome btw.
my nieghbors are squirrel lovers too they have a pretty sucure little area around here we all feed them, all kinds of nuts and fruits there pretty content i think sarvey is awsome !!!!!!!becoming a life long donater .

[Gabe]

My best guess is that the seizures are related to his imbalance. It is neuroligical. From what? Head trauma, poisoning, parasites. The seizures are a symptom, of an underlying problem.

Are squirrels a dead end host for raccoon roundworm? Does anybody know?

[squirrelfriend]

My vet gave me some meds for it for Weebles a while back so perhaps not a dead end?

[squirrelfriend]

Fenbendazole is the med that they gave me for the raccoon roundworm. If I remember correctly she said that it would kill the parasites. It does not reverse the damage but will stop it in its tracks and the symptoms will not get worse than they already are.

[Gabe]

Raccoon roundworm is passed through the intestinal tract. The eggs can live 10 years on the ground. It is very difficult to remove from cages, therefore rehabbers worm raccoons on admission. It is carried in approx 95% of juveniles and in less than 10% in adults. We don't understand why.

As the roundworm passes through it's stages of development it is shed from the raccoon and sometimes eggs are on the fur, those contagious to humans who kiss their raccoons or do not wear gloves when handling. Raccoons are not a dead end host because they shed the roundworm.

Grazers and browsers such as rabbits, deer, woodchuck, are dead end hosts. A dead end host will pick up the egg while eating, the egg deveops into larva which enter the central nervous system eventually traveling to the brain and causing damage. The animal never sheds the roundworm, thus it is called a dead end host. It can travel to a humans brain, but I have heard of only one instance. That was a child with a pet raccoon.

The medication your vet gave you should have killed any roundworm in the squirrel, and yes, the damage cannot be reversed. Were there any fecals done to confirm whether he had roundworm? If he did, it would be very important to decontaminate any cage he was in.

[squirrelfriend]

No, no fecals were done. I couldn't afford any more treatments at that time and had to get the bare minimum. I did get the meds though. I don't think that was Weebles problem though. What are the symptoms for that in a squirrel?

[Gabe]

The symptoms are precisely what Weebles symptoms are. Lack of balance, seizures, generally neurological, some animals circle, some appear tame for no reason, it depends on what part of the brain is affected. I'm basing this on obsevations I have made on rabbits and woodchucks.