Calcium as Glubionate and Lactobionate

[alexor]

Hello to all lovers of squirrels
My little squirrel have MBD symptom's
I have human calcium Syrup with this info's:
Each measure (5ml) Contains:
Calcium Glubionate 1.437 g
Calcium Lactobionate 0.295 g
(5ml eq to 110mg Elemental Calcium)
Can i use this type of calcium?
(I have limited option's because of my location. i have access only to human calcium types not animals)
any advice would be great, or if anyone knows of an alternative i would be very greatful.
<<-sorry for my bad english->>

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

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" )



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 - squish the sock to distribute rice evenly inside to avoid hot spots.


Long-Term Treatment for MBD



The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.



1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.


2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at www.henryspets.com
Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day.
If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily.
You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.


3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks.
Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.


Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day

Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day

Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day



The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels.
If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

Experts will be on here - so , please keep checking.

[CritterMom]

What type of squirrel? Where are you located? Do you know her weight?

The problem with these sources of calcium is that there is very little elemental calcium in it. For a 1 pound squirrel, the beginning of MBD treatment would require about 500mg per day broken into many small doses. Your calcium sources would take 25ml to accomplish that - that is a LOT of volume for very little calcium.

Antacids are commonly made entirely of calcium - just regular human antacids. The brand everyone knows in the US is Tums, but you can read the label to see what is in them.

Human calcium supplements - the vitamin pills - can also be crushed and used.

So you can use the glubionate if need be but you will have to get a lot of it into your squirrel.

[astra]

Hi alexor, (CrM beat me to it ;))

An expert will be able to evaluate the calcium info you provided.

In the meantime,
You are saying "syrup" - so it is a liquid form?
As far as I know, liquid calcium is less effective compared to a tablet.

If you have nothing else right now, except for this syrup, I guess, you could give the syrup.
But do look for a tablet - just make sure it's plain calcium (with no Vit D added).
It can be human grade, as long as it is plain.

Are you in North America or in some other country/continent?
Knowing where you are will help our experts to make suggestions or substitutions.

What kind of squirrel do you have? Is it an eastern grey, american red, fox squirrel, eurasian red, flying squirrel, or some other species? - this is very important as the treatment might have to be adjusted.

How much does your squirrel weigh?

What does it eat daily and in what amounts?

Please, answer the above questions in red - your answers will help our experts make suggestions and help you.


Here is the Emergency MBD Treatment:

Emergency Treatment for Metabolic Bone Disease

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

You will need:

--Tums or calcium pills (any kind)
--a syringe, eyedropper, or spoon

Crush one Tums or calcium pill and add a little water or fruit juice. Use the syringe, eyedropper, or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. Feed a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, and spread it out through the day and night to keep his blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If the squirrel is having seizures, weakness, or paralysis, the symptoms 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.

Long-Term Treatment for MBD

The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.

1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at the top of the “Squirrel Nutrition” forum. (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=16093) Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day. If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily. You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.

3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks. Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.

Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day
Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day
Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day

The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels. If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone. Also, if he is in a tall cage, either place him in a smaller cage, or pad the bottom very well.

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.

[alexor]

Thank's for replies

What type of squirrel? Where are you located? Do you know her weight?
He is fox squirrel
I am in Middle East
His weight about 300gr ~ 400gr (I don't know exactly)
I think he is 2.5~3.5 month old

You are saying "syrup" - so it is a liquid form?
Yes exactly

What does it eat daily and in what amounts?
He eat (heavily Walnut, Pistachio), Carrots, Lettuce, Apple. but from today i remove all nut's and other things and add spinach, orange, borocolli to his diet
I am newbie, thanks for your helps.

[astra]

Ok, so you are in the Middle East and might not have the same calcium pills, BUT:

1. do check your pharmacies for plain calcium tablets with no vit. D added.
Do your pharmacies carry TUMs? It's a very common variety of cal. supplement in NOrth America, but if you don't have that, see what you can find. Again, you need plain calcium.

2. Follow the Emergency MBD treatment as outlined in the above posts.
If something is not clear - please do not hesitate to ask questions. Every detail is very important.:grouphug
So, you will need to get cal. pills/tablets and crush them, add just a bit of water to make a paste and feed that either using a syringe or a spoon (but carefully and gently).
You will need a 1cc (or 1ml)syringe for that.
If you do not have those, check your local pharmacies.
Here, in North America, you could come and tell them that you have kittens to feed (as CrM once suggested and it worked) and they will give you some.

I do not know if you can do that where you are. But try.
You need a 1cc, which is a 1ml syringe.

Otherwise, you will need to use a spoon and be firm, but gentle.

Since your squirrel has MBD, its bones and teeth can be very fragile and breakable. So, if you have to force-feed your squirrel, make sure you hold it, if needed, gently (but firmly).

Keep it in a low cage, so that it cannot jump and break bones accidentally.

2. You will need rodent block.
Could you check your pets stores for rodent block?... you need a rodent block for rats and mice (not for hamsters, not for ferrets, not for rabbits).
So, it has to be for rats and mice.
Check all your pet stores and see what you have available.
Then, you can post here what you have and expert people here will help you choose the right product.

Your squirrel needs rodent block and a great variety of veggies.
Nuts - as a treat only, maybe, one or two per day, but that only after MBD is cured. For now - no nuts is best.

Also, MBD takes a long time to recover from.
Even though symptoms may disappear, do not be deceived. That does not mean that MBD is gone.
MBD does a lot of damage internally, in the bones and other tissues.
For that damage to repair it takes a long time.
So, after the Emergency MBD Treatment, you will need to follow the long-term MBD treatment.
Sometimes, it takes up to a year for a squirrel to recover from MBD completely.
But it can be done and a lot of squirrels recovered completely.
BUT do follow the treatment to the letter.

Also, please post here daily updates - monitor how your squirrel reacts to the treatment, post how you give her calcium and how much - in other words, post everything.
This will allow experts here to monitor your squirrel and adjust treatment if need be.

1) So, for now - check your pharmacies for what calcium supplements are available. Get plain calcium (no vit D or any other minerals or vitamins)

2) Start Emergency MBD Treatment

3)Check your local pet stores for rodent block for rats and mice.

4) Please post back.

Also, could you give us some background on your squirrel?... How you found it?... how old was it when you found it?.... what formula did you feed it?...
Did you wean it, or did it wean itself?

Please read the Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels at http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

This site www.henryspets.com sells great rodent block Henrys Healthy blocks, and syringes, but I don't know if they ship to the Middle East and it will probably be expensive.
So, check your local pet stores, too.

[alexor]

Ok.
I'll do these steps a.s.a.p
And post back here
Thank's for great information's

[island rehabber]

alexor you have already gotten perfect advice on saving your squirrel. I am not sure you have full access to the board yet, so I will go fix that now. :)
I am also moving your thread to Emergency Life-Threatening, so all of us here can help you more quickly!

[alexor]

Thanks admin
Today i found a calcium in pharmacies
It's have this info's:
Calcium Carbonate
Each tablet contains:
Calcium(as carbonate) 500mg
Then i powder it and put 100mg of it on Lettuce and my little boy eat completely
Is that ok?
Can i do this with apple?
I can't find any rodent block in pet store's in my location
Can i replace this block's manually with natural food's?
I'm waiting for your grateful advice's

[astra]

Hi Alex,

Sounds like you found the right calcium.
As long as he eats it all calcium - lettuce is fine and apple should, probably, be ok, too.
Now, that he ate the initial dose, make sure you spread out calcium throughout the day: say, 100mg every couple of hours or so.
Spreading out the daily dose of 500mg throughout the day will help maintain his blood cal. levels even.

As for the rodent block,

Someone very experienced and knowledgeable provided the following information for you:

1) There are a number of large online pet stores "over the pond". They carry acceptable rat diets and the shipping shouldn't be too bad.
So, check online pet stores.

2) Also, HenrysPets - at www.henryspets.com - can and does ship HHBs all over the world. Shipping usually runs $17-$25 depending on the location.

3) A couple links to give you an idea what to look for:

Supreme Science Selective Rat Diet (from Pet Supermarket UK):
http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Supreme-Science-Selective-Rat_3833.htm

Kaytee Forti-Diet (from a petstore in Dubai, UAE). It's the muesli kind but better than nothing:
http://www.dubaipetstore.com/KAYTEE-Forti-Diet-Pro-Health-Hamster---Gerbil-62-1521-427-p.aspx

[Anne]

:goodpost :grouphug :grouphug

[alexor]

Thanks for your sensitivity
Today my little boy healthy than 3 day's ago :thumbsup
Unfortunately there is no any rodent block but i try to find again
Is there a formula for manually make rodent block like this products?

[astra]

Thanks for your sensitivity
Today my little boy healthy than 3 day's ago :thumbsup
Unfortunately there is no any rodent block but i try to find again
Is there a formula for manually make rodent block like this products?
Hi Alex,

Did you try those links that I gave you in my last post # 10 (the post numbers are in the upper right corner)?

As for the rodent block,

Someone very experienced and knowledgeable provided the following information for you:

1) There are a number of large online pet stores "over the pond". They carry acceptable rat diets and the shipping shouldn't be too bad.
So, check online pet stores.

2) Also, HenrysPets - at www.henryspets.com - can and does ship HHBs all over the world. Shipping usually runs $17-$25 depending on the location.

3) A couple links to give you an idea what to look for:

Supreme Science Selective Rat Diet (from Pet Supermarket UK):
http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/pro...e-Rat_3833.htm

Kaytee Forti-Diet (from a petstore in Dubai, UAE). It's the muesli kind but better than nothing:
http://www.dubaipetstore.com/KAYTEE-...521-427-p.aspx

[astra]

Hi Alex,

I sent you a private message with some helpful information - make sure you check your private messages.

[alexor]

Hi, Thanks astra
PM info's is wonderful
I seen links but here doesn't exist any rodent block like this and if exist it made from very Low-quality materials.
Then i follow steps of your pm. :bowdown :thumbsup

[astra]

Hi Alex,

Here is the link on how to deal with Picky Eaters:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31473

Please feel free to browse Squirrel Nutrition forum for more useful info!

[alexor]

I want to thanks all squirrel lovers and who help to my little boy, specially astra and this forum founder's:grouphug :thankyou

[astra]

Hi Alex,

Here is another link, this Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

just be careful with wild foods - first, make sure they are 100% safe before giving them (this is, actually, true for all foods that you are not sure about - make sure they are safe first):grouphug

[Jackie in Tampa]

What type of squirrel? Where are you located? Do you know her weight?

The problem with these sources of calcium is that there is very little elemental calcium in it. For a 1 pound squirrel, the beginning of MBD treatment would require about 500mg per day broken into many small doses. Your calcium sources would take 25ml to accomplish that - that is a LOT of volume for very little calcium.

Antacids are commonly made entirely of calcium - just regular human antacids. The brand everyone knows in the US is Tums, but you can read the label to see what is in them.

Human calcium supplements - the vitamin pills - can also be crushed and used.

So you can use the glubionate if need be but you will have to get a lot of it into your squirrel.and too much sugar!
:nono
agree with others...tums or PLAIN CALCIUM tablets without Vitamin D {the ratios are wrong for sqs in human D supplimented calcium tablets}