wild squirrel acting oddly???

[puddinpie]

Hi everyone.

I know I have posted before about some of my wilds that may or may not have mange, but I have a question about one of the wilds I feed. This wild does Not have mange, he has no fur missing at all, he looks pretty healthy fur wise. But yesterday after I put out the nuts for them to eat, I noticed this one squirrel who seemed off balance in a sense. When I say off balance, I mean he is able to move around and he is eating just that when he runs around he seems to lean to one side more. Also when he eats, you know how they kind of stand up on their haunches to eat,, well he kind of seems to move from side to side a little. I have nn clue what is wrong with him. He is eating well and I see him digging up nuts in the yard like the others but he definitely has an issue. Yesterday one squirrel was chasing him a little by the food area and he seemes kind of like he was tilting his head to one side more while he was running. Any ideas what this could be???? And why was he wobbbling back and fourth a little when he sits up to eat??

[island rehabber]

There can be quite a number of reasons why squirrels get "wobbly" or tilty:

*head trauma....Squirrels fall out of trees, and a mild concussion may leave them temporarily or permanently wobbly

*Ear infection/parasites

*raccoon roundworm -- fatal and incurable; hoping it's not this

*unknown toxins. A few years ago a large population of fox squirrels in western PA became wobbly. The best squirrel vet I know in this country has yet to figure out the cause. :( :dono

[puddinpie]

Geez, there are so many things it could be then. How would he have gotten racoon roundworm?? Would he have had to get bit by a racoon or been near one? Ughh, I hope it is not that. my dad mentioned that it could be possible he fell out of a tree or off of something too. It is really weird. He does have an appetite though, because I seen him eating a bunch of nuts that were put down earlier. I hope he will be ok.

That is another thing, because we live in the big city, our wilds go through all the garbage cans here and who the heck knows what they eat out of the trash. The garbage cans that the city provides, well the squirrels will knaw right through them so they have access to all the trash in the city. Hoping he did not eat anything poisionous. But I dont think he would still be here and eating if that were the case. I hate seeing these little guys hurt or in trouble, it makes me feel so helpless, which I am at this point :(










There can be quite a number of reasons why squirrels get "wobbly" or tilty:

*head trauma....Squirrels fall out of trees, and a mild concussion may leave them temporarily or permanently wobbly

*Ear infection/parasites

*raccoon roundworm -- fatal and incurable; hoping it's not this

*unknown toxins. A few years ago a large population of fox squirrels in western PA became wobbly. The best squirrel vet I know in this country has yet to figure out the cause. :( :dono

[astra]

they get raccoon rw through ingesting it: raccoons defecate under trees, the round worm ends up mixed with soil. Squirrels dig and stash, get the roundworm eggs on their little hands and ingest it (same as children and dogs)

[puddinpie]

Oh how awful. I hope he does not have that. You would think with all the racoons, more squirrles would get this RW.








they get raccoon rw through ingesting it: raccoons defecate under trees, the round worm ends up mixed with soil. Squirrels dig and stash, get the roundworm eggs on their little hands and ingest it (same as children and dogs)

[astra]

Oh how awful. I hope he does not have that. You would think with all the racoons, more squirrles would get this RW.
as far as i remember reading, unfortunately, a lot of them do get it

[island rehabber]

as far as i remember reading, unfortunately, a lot of them do get it

Sadly, that's true. There have been cases of squirrels getting the roundworm (tech name: baylisascariasis) while still in their release pens. In one case I personally know about, the raccoons were sitting on top of the pen trying to figure out how to get the food inside...and pooping while they were up there. When it rained, raccoon poop ran down into the pens and onto the floor. As the squirrels played down there and buried their nuts, they got the worms on their paws and......all died within a couple of weeks after becoming severely neurological. :(

Let's just say I liked raccoons a whole lot more before I started rehabbing squirrels.....:shakehead

[Garden71]

Let's just say I liked raccoons a whole lot more before I started rehabbing squirrels.....:shakehead[/QUOTE]
:thumbsup
DITTO