My 5 week old baby suddenly has a leg issue!?

[SmartySquirrel80]

I have been rehabbing squirrels for 9 years and have had about a 90% success rate. However i have ran into some trouble with the little guy i have now. Ive had him for about two weeks now and everything has been great! He eats very well, is responsive to touch & sound, and his eyes are about to open any day now.

BUT, i fed him last night around 12 midnight and everything was good as usual, when i woke up this morning to feed him again, his left leg wasnt working and he was crying in pain when i touched it! He still ate like a champ and went pee & poop as normal. All his other limbs and tail have mobility and have no pain. He is kept in a very deep well padded small box in a safe dark area of my bedroom. There is no way he can fall out or injure himself. He hasnt developed his "jumping legs" (as i call them) yet and for as long as i had him has never even tried to climb out of his box. So i cant understand how something like that can happen within 5 hours!

He seems to cry & respond to pain more when i touch around the hip or knee area. Is there a way i can tell the difference if his leg is broken or dislocated? My vet said they cant x-ray him because he is a wild animal & the rehabber said if its a hip or knee problem they wont be able to splint it anyway. Out of all the squirrels i have raised in my 9 years i have never had a problem like this so it is new to me, i usually know how to heal or fix any squirrel aliment.

What should i do? Does anyone know what the heck could of happened in 5 hours to cause such an injury, if he cant get out or even know how to jump yet???...I know limiting his movement is better, i added more padding to the box so its even softer and it made the area he can move in even smaller. i was also thinking of getting infants advil, i have used it in the past for pain and swelling for a temporarily paralyzed squirrel with great results since it has a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in it.

Thanks in advance for all help and suggestions!

[Nancy in New York]

Did anybody else have access to the baby. Do you have children that handle the squirrel?
If not, this is just really a curious thing as to what happened.
You can use INFANT ibuprophen for the pain. Do you have a weight on the little one, I will dose it for you.
He didn't get his leg temporarily wrapped in anything did he?:dono
Can you post a photo?

[jo_schmoe]

I have been rehabbing squirrels for 9 years and have had about a 90% success rate. However i have ran into some trouble with the little guy i have now. Ive had him for about two weeks now and everything has been great! He eats very well, is responsive to touch & sound, and his eyes are about to open any day now.

BUT, i fed him last night around 12 midnight and everything was good as usual, when i woke up this morning to feed him again, his left leg wasnt working and he was crying in pain when i touched it! He still ate like a champ and went pee & poop as normal. All his other limbs and tail have mobility and have no pain. He is kept in a very deep well padded small box in a safe dark area of my bedroom. There is no way he can fall out or injure himself. He hasnt developed his "jumping legs" (as i call them) yet and for as long as i had him has never even tried to climb out of his box. So i cant understand how something like that can happen within 5 hours!

He seems to cry & respond to pain more when i touch around the hip or knee area. Is there a way i can tell the difference if his leg is broken or dislocated? My vet said they cant x-ray him because he is a wild animal & the rehabber said if its a hip or knee problem they wont be able to splint it anyway. Out of all the squirrels i have raised in my 9 years i have never had a problem like this so it is new to me, i usually know how to heal or fix any squirrel aliment.

What should i do? Does anyone know what the heck could of happened in 5 hours to cause such an injury, if he cant get out or even know how to jump yet???...I know limiting his movement is better, i added more padding to the box so its even softer and it made the area he can move in even smaller. i was also thinking of getting infants advil, i have used it in the past for pain and swelling for a temporarily paralyzed squirrel with great results since it has a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in it.

Thanks in advance for all help and suggestions!
Any chance he/she got something wrapped around the leg?? It doesnt mean they didnt get out of it before you saw. It happened to me....and Im always so careful. I only use fleece....and search for any loose strings after its washed and before it goes in. Well.....I missed ONE tiny string. One of my reds managed to get a this tiny piece of string wrapped around his front shoulder and paw....and he was sore for a day or so.....and would cry when I moved it. I dont know if this is possible in your case....but I didn't think it was in mine either.

[Nancy in New York]

Any chance he/she got something wrapped around the leg?? It doesnt mean they didnt get out of it before you saw. It happened to me....and Im always so careful. I only use fleece....and search for any loose strings after its washed and before it goes in. Well.....I missed ONE tiny string. One of my reds managed to get a this tiny piece of string wrapped around his front shoulder and paw....and he was sore for a day or so.....and would cry when I moved it. I dont know if this is possible in your case....but I didn't think it was in mine either.

Great minds....:D

He didn't get his leg temporarily wrapped in anything did he?:dono
Can you post a photo?
:jump :jump :jump

[jo_schmoe]

Great minds....:D

:jump :jump :jump
So much so Nan.....that I was just posting the same thing you just did...AGAIN....:thumbsup
I erased mine. LOL :grouphug

[Nancy in New York]

So much so Nan.....that I was just posting the same thing you just did...AGAIN....:thumbsup
I erased mine. LOL :grouphug

Too funny, I didn't see that one....Is there a full moon????:rotfl :rotfl

[crazysquirrels]

How do the muscles in the leg feel? Maybe a bad cramp during the night. If so they may be tight still.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

could it be a bite from something, bad buggy,
I have found spiders in my house:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
don't know how, cuz I am the terminated when it comes to buggies, all nature but deadly to them any how

[SmartySquirrel80]

I do not have any other pets and i dont have any children. I am the only one who has access to him. I checked him over for bug bites and any bruising but i dont see anything. There arent any lose strings in the bedding, i always check after washing it as well. Ive always use cut up cotton t shirts & fleece that i cut up from fabric i get at the craft store, never had any probs. I am hoping its not a break or a dislocation, i would think that would take a lot of push, pull and/or pressure for him to get an injury like that. But would a sprain not make him able to move it? or maybe its that its too painful to move?

He is 5 weeks old and always has been very strong and hearty since i got him 2 weeks ago. He eats like a horse at every feeding even today with the injury so far.

I also did the toe squeeze test that i learned to do when a squirrel is paralyzed to see if the nerves endings still respond, they usually will pull their leg back like a reflex. He doesnt tug his leg away but he cries when i do the toe test. when i touch anywhere near his knee or higher he cries even louder.

This is such a mystery and it breaks my heart, i hate seeing him in pain but today is the first day of the injury so i dont want to give up on him. im doing everything i can do and im hoping that the infant ibprofan will at least help with the pain and any unseen swelling. Please let this be just a sprain or pull muscle! ::Crossing Fingers::

at the next feeding i will take some pictures of the leg, not that u can really see a difference but maybe someone will see something i dont.

[Nancy in New York]

Yes, sometimes people will spot things that we never even notice, so hopefully some pictures will help...this is just such a mystery. If you have a weight on him, I will dose the ibuprophen for you. Is this a little grey?

[SmartySquirrel80]

ok, attached is the picture i promised. it was taken literally 5 minutes ago. Now, i have noticed that there is some visible swelling starting which wasnt there this morning. The redness is just from me touching it to feel the muscle & the bones at the knee. The muscle feels hard, maybe stiff would be a better word but i think that may be from the swelling?? he doesnt feel any pain when i touch his foot or turn his ankle side to side. and he doesnt feel any pain when i feel along his lower spine or hip area. so it seems to be just the knee area. The bone in the knee doesnt feel separated or look out of place. I gave him the infant ibprofan (dose as per his weight of course, i have a chart that i use that i received from another rehabber friend years ago, its been such a saving grace! ) so i hope that helps with swelling & pain!

take a look at the pic and let me know what u think, broke or sprain??? its obviously the swollen leg on the right of the photo (his left leg)

[Nancy in New York]

Is that a tiny little bump where I put the arrow?
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/nancym518/TSB%20photos/leg-1.jpg

[SmartySquirrel80]

:osnap Nancy, good catch! I didnt notice a little bimp when i took that pic but on the next feeding i will check it out and let you know! im trying to only disturb him for feeding since it takes so long for him to calm down and get comfortable again so he can sleep. :(

Do you think it is a bug bite??? I havent seen any creepy crawlers in my apt yet, but im usually sleeping when they come out to play, thankfully! i am not a bug fan lol! We dont get a lot of bugs but since i do live in an apt we get the thousand leggers and the occasional spiders. Never even thought of them crawling into the squirrels nest box!

Ill def take a closer look to see if that is a bump or just the way his skin is in the photo!

[Jackie in Tampa]

:lurking
:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[Nancy in New York]

IF it is a bug bite that would explain everything....Do you have benedryl?

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

could be a bite? like I said before.

[SmartySquirrel80]

Upon closer inspection, there is no bump and not even a bite mark or any redness where the suspected bump was. skin is regular peachy pink color and smooth as can be. this is frustrating, I was hoping it was gonna be a bug bite so i could relax knowing his leg would be ok & just let benedryl do its thing, Ugh!

on a brighter note, the swelling looks like it has gone down just a tiny tad, the muscle doesnt feel as tight. and when i was feeding him he still couldnt move his leg but he was curling his toes over my finger. I took that as a good sign! and he wasnt crying in pain when i touched the knee or flexed it. He showed signs of discomfort & little squeaks but thats a huge change from the whining & crying from earlier. Whatever is going on, the ibuprofen must be helping.

ill keep updating and ill post another picture later too, after all he still is an adorable lil baby squirrel and who doesnt wanna see pics of that?! lol Please keep your fingers crossed that he gets better!!! :Love_Icon

[Nancy in New York]

Upon closer inspection, there is no bump and not even a bite mark or any redness where the suspected bump was. skin is regular peachy pink color and smooth as can be. this is frustrating, I was hoping it was gonna be a bug bite so i could relax knowing his leg would be ok & just let benedryl do its thing, Ugh!

on a brighter note, the swelling looks like it has gone down just a tiny tad, the muscle doesnt feel as tight. and when i was feeding him he still couldnt move his leg but he was curling his toes over my finger. I took that as a good sign! and he wasnt crying in pain when i touched the knee or flexed it. He showed signs of discomfort & little squeaks but thats a huge change from the whining & crying from earlier. Whatever is going on, the ibuprofen must be helping.

ill keep updating and ill post another picture later too, after all he still is an adorable lil baby squirrel and who doesnt wanna see pics of that?! lol Please keep your fingers crossed that he gets better!!! :Love_Icon

I too was hoping for a bug bite....BUT if he is feeling even a little better that's a plus.
Oh you KNOW we love pictures....so post away!!!:D

[SmartySquirrel80]

I am happy to report that the swelling has gone down a lot by this morning! He is moving it a little bit and hasn't cried or whimpered from pain when he moves it or when i touch it! There is still a slight bit of swelling just at his knee but when i felt the joint and compared it to the other knee, it felt exactly the same. I'm thinking maybe its just a pulled muscle? Below is a super cute pic of him falling asleep in my hand after his feeding. :Love_Icon

[Nancy in New York]

Best update today!
OMG that picture is just precious....:Love_Icon

[Jackie in Tampa]

:thumbsup
good news!

[jo_schmoe]

:jump go little baby go!!!:jump
Great pic....so content...and so beautiful!

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

they are a mystery arent they
So glad he is feeling better.

[SmartySquirrel80]

UPDATE: Its been 4 days since the leg issue and i can say he isnt in as much pain thanx to the ibuprofen & most of the swelling is gone. However he still cant really use the leg. The knee joint area is still bulbous, based on feeling the joints on both legs to compare, it doesnt feel any different except a little bigger and it has the same movements & limitations as the good leg.

Its not paralyzed, he can still flex his toes to curl them and spread them apart, but he doesnt really put any weight on the leg and tucks it up so that he can crawl with the other 3 legs, just using the foot for balance and support. when i pick him up he will let the leg hang straight out like his good leg but as soon as he feels me putting him down he will tuck it back up. He doesnt move it much or use it really other than that.

If im not diligent with giving him the medicine every 8 hours like it says on the bottle, the leg does seem to be sore. I hope as he grows this will get better, he hasnt discovered climbing or jumping yet, He is still in the crawling state and he still just eats & sleeps which at this point is prob best for the healing process of whatever is going on with that leg. He is a good sport tho, he still eats like a champ and goes to the potty with no problem. It hasnt changed the way he acts at all. Ive learn thru the years, Squirrels are pretty darn resilient!