14 month old squirrel

[squirrelbaby1966]

Hello...I have a 14 month old squirrel that fell last week :( He can't move his back legs. He doesn't seem like he's in any pain, at first I thought that it was MBD but now, I think that he is paralyzed. I changed his diet and started giving him calcium but he hasn't gotten any better. He is alert and seems ok other than not being able to move his back legs.. Any suggestions on how to keep him happy?

[jo_schmoe]

Hello and welcome!
Much more info is needed in order to help you.
What is his diet? How far was the fall? What sort of calcium are you using? are you noticing any bloating since he has been paralyzed??

People with more knowledge will be here soon.....just hang in there.
:thinking wondering if this shouldn't be in the ER section.....

[squirrelbaby1966]

thank you :) I really wasn't sure where to post it cause it's my very first time

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

I am going to post this in Em so it will get more attention

[Nancy in New York]

I am going to post this in Em so it will get more attention

Sweet Simon's Mommy, thank you for posting the link in the emergency section. I moved this whole thread to get more attention, and deleted your alert. Thank you...:bowdown

[squirrelbaby1966]

thank you so much ...It's much appreciated....I am giving him 800 mg tums, and I switched him to fruits and veggies...NO MORE snacks!! He is not bloating, he is peeing and pooping, and bathe him several times a day so he doesn't get urine scold

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

ok I see what you did Thank you!!

First please answer some questions so we can help you.

Is this an inside squirrel or an outside wild squirrel?
If inside does she have issuses as to why you kept her?
What is the the diet??
How far did she fall on onto what?
What have you done for her so far?? small cage or box , so she can not injure herself more ?
Does she have a heating pad under 1/2 of the container ?
What meds did you give her for pain?

[squirrelbaby1966]

I am not really sure how far he fell, he was on the bottom of his cage when I got up Monday morning, but his cage is only about 2 1/2 to 3 ft tall

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

ok I see you wrote " no more snacks"
What WAS his diet before the fall??

[squirrelbaby1966]

He is an inside squirrel
he was abandoned and I got him from a friend that found him
Sweet potatoes, apples, broccoli, kale, spinach, , bananas, carrots,
the only thing in the bottom of his cage is the tray
the cage is about 2 1/2 to 3 ft tall
yes I have the heating pad
i switched him to a smaller cage, with fleece blankets
the only thing that i have is Traulmeel, and baby aspirin...he doesn't seem to be in any pain

[squirrelbaby1966]

his diet before was mostly nuts, corn, fruits and veggies...but I have a 5yr old and she would ALWAYS sneak and give him cookies and candy...yes, her and I have had that discussion, so it will not happen again

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Please read the nutrition thread for the proper diet
and
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.
__________________
Henry's Healthy Pets
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Sweet Simon's Mommy

[jo_schmoe]

his diet before was mostly nuts, corn, fruits and veggies...but I have a 5yr old and she would ALWAYS sneak and give him cookies and candy...yes, her and I have had that discussion, so it will not happen again
Nobodys going to brow beat you. :grouphug
We all make mistakes....now...lets fix them.

The diet screams MBD....( and Im not one to come to that conclusion easily).
He probably fell because he was too weak to hang on....thats what MBD does.
Its not too late....keep up with the tums...and get this kid on a good diet.
Others will be by to help you with the initial MBD protocol.

[CritterMom]

You are on the right track thinking this is MBD - the diet he was on is severely deficient in calcium and way too high in phosphorus - the exact opposite of what it needs to be.

This baby needs to be on the MBD protocol. I would also giive him supplemental heat with a heating pad if you can - MBD bad enough to cause paralysis hurts.

You need to get the calcium into him - 800mg is a bit much, 500mg is better, and you want to break it up into multiple small doses rather than one large one daily. Diet needs to be addressed and he needs to be eating a rat block of some kind as his STAPLE food.

[squirrelbaby1966]

going to get calcium carbonate RIGHT NOW...thank you so much

[squirrelbaby1966]

ok, I went to walgreens to buy calcium citrate...all they had was calcium citrate with vitamin d? where else should I try? any suggestions?

[CritterMom]

That is fine for now. Straight calcium is sort of hard to find - places like Whole Foods and good quality health food stores have it. Even Tum will work in a pinch.

[squirrelbaby1966]

so it would be ok to give it to him for now right?? God knows that I don't want to give him anything that will harm him :)

[jo_schmoe]

so it would be ok to give it to him for now right?? God knows that I don't want to give him anything that will harm him :)
Im a believer that the vit D will also help MBD.....
Yes....dose him up!!

Also....don't forget to get him on some heat....it will help sooth his muscles.

[squirrelbaby1966]

thank you :) I just gave him some in a smashed banana, he won't touch peanut butter...I think that I have the pickiest squirrel on the planet, lol....I do have him on heat and I am praying that this helps him. I hate to see him like this. Don't get me wrong, he's spunky but I am so used to seeing him running around like a nut :) thank you so much...everyone has been so very helpful and I really appreciate it

[squirrelbaby1966]

Hello, I posted yesterday about my baby boy....I have been giving him the calcium and today he kind of fluffed his tail when I went to bathe him....was just wondering if that is a good sign?

[jo_schmoe]

Hello, I posted yesterday about my baby boy....I have been giving him the calcium and today he kind of fluffed his tail when I went to bathe him....was just wondering if that is a good sign?
Yep.....that means he's alert and aware or his surroundings.
Keep up the good work!!! :grouphug

[squirrelbaby1966]

woohoo he's been really alert since this has happened, I was just thrilled to see him fluff...I wasn't sure if it might just have been reflex or if he was actually doing it himself...I am glad to hear that it's a good sign

[Kikiboo]

woohoo he's been really alert since this has happened, I was just thrilled to see him fluff...I wasn't sure if it might just have been reflex or if he was actually doing it himself...I am glad to hear that it's a good sign

Hi, just thought I'd pop in to say I'm praying the wee fuzzle will perk up.... so sad, poor dear. Keep up the great work... listen to these senior members.. they KNOW what they are talking about. Push, push, PUSH that calcium!!

:D Kiki. :D

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Hi squirrel baby.....how is he doing and also how are you doing??
Keep up the good work !!!

[Pashen]

Call pharmacies around you. I had to ask my pharmacist for the calcium without the vitamin d.

Rugby is the brand that I have. I crushed it up and had to remove the paper-like outer coating. Then I would stick it in avocado. Just one piece so that she'd be sure to eat it.