Please help :( (in tears)

[Bluejay]

I really hope somebody can help me.
I found a baby squirrel back in August 2011. She was injured from a dog attack,
about a inch to 1 1/2 inch was missing from her tail and she had a puncture mark on inside of right leg. She was struggling, my friend helped me get a hold of her, and I got her inside. Have a ferret nation cage, so i could give her warmth and aid. I did try to make calls to a few people for help, but got bounced around. After about maybe 2 weeks or so, where that puncture mark was developed what i would say was a abscess, I went to a vet and got a general advice but that's it, since they did not take wildlife.
I asked what I could do as soon as I got home, and was told Epsom salt soak.
By the time i got back, she actually picked at it and released it.
I immediately cleaned her up and gave the soak. The actual site of the puncture mark healed, scab gone, etc. But, now I would say about a week now
she has barely tried to come out of cage. She has been so lively and playful up until this. Now she sleeps way too much and might come out once, and now, that leg that had the puncture, she can barely walk on, compared to even 2 weeks ago. I have put powdered calcium in her water bottle, given her warm soaks, rubs, and electrolytes alternated in her water.
How can she go from great to not so great in a weak after all those months.
I'm very concerned and worried.
Any advice?

[Nancy in New York]

Tell us exactly what her diet is, what she has grown up on. What kind of formula, and what she eats daily.
What kind of squirrel are you talking about?
Do not put calcium in her water bottle. It can clog it up and you have no idea how much she is getting.

[quagmire]

We mix calcium with a little juice in an eye dropper and give to Quagmire and he drinks it all down. Good Luck.

[Orphan Mom]

How old is she? Eyes open?
She needs to be on formula, and might need rodent block depending on her age.
Her diet is not good.

Can you get a picture of her leg? Does it seem swollen? She probably needs antibiotics. Do you have anything on hand?

[Orphan Mom]

I think I might've misread your post about the diet.

Can you tell us what her diet is?

[CritterMom]

OK, let me get this straight...

You got her in Aug 2011 with the leg injury which was successfully treated and has been okay for some time, right?

I assume you fed her some sort of formula as a baby - likely a puppy formula? And then when she stopped eating it, what did you replace it with?

I would bet the bank that she has metabolic bone disease - the timing is about perfect. They get all of the minerals and nutrients they need from the formula, but then when they wean the problems begin. If you asked at pet stores and even some vets, they would tell you what squirrels LIKE to eat - corn, nuts, sunflower seeds... I LIKE to eat cheesecake and potato chips but it would be a lousy diet for me...

She is going to need a massive diet overhaul, I am sure, but the acute issue she has now needs to be dealt with. You are on the right track but we need to tweak your delivery.

Calcium/D/magnesium is really important. A place like Whole Foods will have calcium/D supplements in powder form, which is easier than crushing pills, but you can use regular calcium pill supplements. You can even use Tums - and some like the flavors - as they are pretty much all calcium.

If she is a regular old garden variety pound to pound and a half gray squirrel, I would start the protocol at 500mg per day, split into several doses through the day. It will not dissolve so don't try to put it in the water bottle. Plus, you want to make sure she is getting all of it. You can stir it into juice and syringe it into her, mix it with a little almond butter and offer that as a treat, mash it into avocado - get creative but get it into her. You probably have air conditioning - MBD makes their bones ache, so some supplemental heat is good - a heating pad under her sleeping spot would be appreciated (make sure she can't chew the cord).

Order her some better food - go to www.henryspets.com and look at what is offered. The person who owns the site is a member here - email her or call the number on the site and discuss this with her - she knows her stuff regarding MBD. This is a long term treatment that will involve gradually tapering the calcium down and fixing her diet.

So for now, start getting 500mg of calcium into her per day.
Supplemental heat if possible.
Fix diet.

NO CORN, PEANUTS, PINE NUTS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS especially. You can read about healthy diets later but cut these immediately.

[Mrs Skul]

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.

After you give the initial dose of calcium, give 100 mg calcium every 4 hours. If symptoms return or do not improve, try dosing more often: every 3 hours. Severe cases may need 50 mg calcium every 2 hours.

Your squirrel's symptoms should improve within a few hours; within 1-3 days your squirrel should be alert, active, and eating, with no seizures or paralysis. You should be giving 500-600 mg calcium per day. Keep track of how many doses you give so you can adjust the dosage if needed. You should work with TSB members to do this.

Important!

Any kind of calcium pill is okay for the initial dose. But you must use PLAIN calcium carbonate (without Vit D) from then on.

Many small doses of calcium throughout the day/night are best to keep blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If symptoms worsen or return, give an emergency dose of 100 mg calcium, then consult with TSB members or a rehabber or veterinarian to adjust the dosing schedule. Relapses are very serious and often fatal.

White feces or a white film on dried urine may mean the dosage can be reduced, as this indicates not all of the calcium is being absorbed. It may also mean you need to give smaller doses more often.

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" below.)

More Tips

MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. You should pad the bottom of your squirrel's cage and keep him 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. Squirrels with hind-end paralysis may benefit from gentle massage of the legs and hips.


Long-Term Treatment for MBD

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

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

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found here: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=32046 and on the Henry’s Healthy Pets website (http://www.henryspets.com/pages/Healthy-Diet.html). Your squirrel MUST eat rodent blocks or squirrel blocks every day (either 2 Henry's Healthy Squirrel Blocks per day, or a small handful of commercial rodent block per day). If you choose to feed commercial rodent blocks, which are extremely hard, you should crush them up with peanut butter, yogurt, fruit juice, avocado, baby food, etc., to make them easier to chew and improve the taste.

3. You will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for many weeks. You can use a syringe or spoon, or you can mix the calcium with a small amount of peanut butter, crushed nuts, yogurt, baby food, or any food the squirrel likes. An easy way to dose the calcium is to mix 500 mg of calcium powder with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or other tasty food and roll it into 5 little balls; each ball will contain 100 mg calcium.

Calcium Dosage:

Continue to give 500-600 mg calcium per day for 1 week. Then try reducing the total daily amount by 50 mg. If the squirrel remains stable for 1 week, reduce the daily amount by another 50 mg. Continue this weekly reduction until the squirrel is only getting around 100 mg of extra calcium per day. Continue this for at least another 2 weeks. If at any time symptoms return, give an emergency 100 mg dose, then go back to a higher dosage for 1-2 weeks.

The treatment for each squirrel may be slightly different and you should work with a rehabber or TSB members to tailor the treatment to your squirrel's needs. Depending on the age of the squirrel, severity of disease, and other factors, your squirrel may need extra calcium for many months, perhaps for life.

Important Information
The MBD treatment is a "standardized" treatment that will get most cases on the road to recovery. But every case is different and the treatment should be customized to each squirrel. Severe cases sometimes need more aggressive treatment. There is a limit to how much calcium the body can absorb at one time, so lower doses of calcium given more often is the key with severe cases.

What is MBD?
Calcium is a very important nutrient. It strengthen the bones, but also plays a vital role in all body functions. Every cell in the body contains water plus small amounts of dissolved minerals such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. These minerals allow the cells to transmit small electrical signals. Without this cell-to-cell communication, the organs can't function: your heart can't beat, your nerves can't transmit impulses; in fact, you would die.

When there isn't enough calcium in the diet, the body will dissolve the calcium from the bones and use that instead. This eventually causes the bones to become depleted of calcium. Eventually the bones become so depleted, there isn't enough calcium left to maintain sufficient calcium in the cellular fluids, and the organs can't function properly. This is what causes the symptoms of MBD: loss of appetite, lethargy, muscle pain, paralysis, seizures, and eventually death. Humans don't get this type of severe MBD, partly because our calcium requirement is lower and our bones are much bigger, allowing us to store more calcium.

By giving high doses of calcium orally, you are artificially maintaining your squirrel's blood calcium levels because his bones no longer contain enough calcium to maintain his calcium levels normally.

Once the emergency calcium is given, your squirrel's blood calcium levels should normalize fairly quickly. He should "bounce back" and act normal or almost normal. If you are still seeing symptoms such as seizures, loss of appetite, lethargy, or paralysis, the calcium levels may still be too low. This means the body will try to pull the remaining calcium from the bones, which means the MBD is actually getting worse. So stabilizing blood calcium levels is critical. The next step to actually curing the MBD is rebuilding bone. This is the part that takes a long time.

Stabilizing the blood calcium levels can and must be done quickly. In severe cases, calcium may be needed more often throughout the day and night, as often as every 2 hours.
__________________
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The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations… ~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928

[Mrs Skul]

:goodpost CritterMom :goodpost
:wave123 Hi BlueJay
I posted The Emergency Treatment for MBD! (Metabolic Bone Disease.)
If you post some picture it will help us out a Great Deal. If you have any Pictures when you first found Her With the Injuries, that would be helpful.
Hear is a link to our Nutrition Cite! When you have a Chance, Read About The Squirrels Diets and the Foods They Need. It Will Be Very Helpful. :thumbsup3
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=191 and http://henryspets.com
The last one is a Link where you can Buy some FoxVally Baby Formula, and Other Supplies. 4skwerlz Is a Member and Knows All about the Squirrel Nutrition and How to treat MBD. :thumbsup5
Thank You for helping This Baby. Now Lets get Her on a Better Diet & The MBD Under Control . :grouphug
Like what had been posted by other TSB Members, Any and All Information Will Help Us Better Help You. :thankyou
PS
Please Keep a Heating Pad Half Under the OUT SIDE of the Cage. MBD is PAINFUL! Squirrels Have a Hard time Regulating their Body Heat when MBD is involved.
Also The Heat Help Soothe The Cramping and Pain. Put quite a bit of Fleece on the Bottom of Cage. Place her on the Bottom.
You can give her a Rice Buddy to snuggle up to. Just make sure after you heat it up, Squish The Rice Around in the Sock to even out the Heat. (So not to burn her.)
Has She Started Having SEIZERS Yet? :dono

[Bluejay]

Hi everyone,

I'm so great- full for all replies. In my panic , I left out some important details
pertaining to diet and such. (some of which I slap myself for) (sigh).
I'm working on gathering all that info right now. Thank you for asking for more information.
I will post an update of what I failed to include the first time, shortly
I'm making a list now of what I could have missed.
Can anybody let me know how/if where I can post photos please? Already took some pictures.

Thanks for the recommendation, of no powder in water bottle, taking it out
now , flushing everything with fresh water. Can i put in liquid calcium I just bought?

Please be on lookout for next post.

God bless you guys for giving help and loving these beautiful creatures.

Rosanna - aka Bluejay

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

you can email me the pictures and I can post then for you....elgara53@cfl.rr.com

[Nancy in New York]

This is an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D3. It was recommended by Dr. Emerson a vet from Florida at the gathering in January.
I actually bought it on line and put a pinch on their veggies every morning...just a pinch.

It's called Exo Terra Ca and D3. And it would be just a pinch sprinkled directly on food daily.

That product is affordable and available in lots of stores...

[virgo062]

Trying to catch up...How's the baby?