New and need help! :)

[corear1014]

Hello,

I am new to the squirrel community. About 5 ½ weeks ago we found a baby squirrel (Eastern Grey) in our yard. My neighbor had all of their trees cut down (about 20) and thought maybe that’s where she came from. I looked in our trees for a nest or other siblings and didn’t see any. It was getting dark and she started following me around. My neighbor’s also have a cat and I knew if I left her outside she would have become dinner. I decided to put her in our dog crate and called my Vet to see what I needed to do. We went to Petsmart and bought Kitten formula. I dropper fed her for about 2 wks until she no longer seemed interested. Also, bought a ferret cage (which is by a window) to give her room to play. She has been doing great, playing, eating ,etc. I thought I had done enough research on what to feed, etc. Just wanted to say , that I am SO glad I found this website.

Yesterday, I had her out of the cage playing with her (which she LOVES to do.. PLAY! LOL!). I left for a moment to let my dogs in from outside , which I’ve done in the past. She’ll play on top of her cage and jump to my office chair. When I came back in , she seemed startled (shaking) .. She calmed down and started playing again, but she kept licking her hand and I noticed her arm and hand twitching. She was acting fine, continued playing and I fed her some sunflower seeds (Which I know now are no no’s!).. After she ate them, she started having a seizure. Scared me to death! She has never done that before and I thought maybe it was from her being startled. I called my vet and a local person that rehab squirrels, also got online which led me to this website ( Thank goodness).. I read about the MBD and realized I was not doing things the correct way. I would hate to be the cause of this!

She is acting like her old self again - very active.. Spunky and playful.

Things I did prior to this website:
She ate mainly pecans, walnuts, fruit (watermelon, dried strawberries and banana’s), veggies broccoli and baby carrots, cherrios , Yummy drops with yogurt Berrry Flavor (Multiphase - for hamsters and gerbils) and I introduced bird sunflower seeds about a week ago. Which she LOVES and I noticed that’s all she’s been eating. She also has tree branches to chew on and the chew blocks for rabbits, water bowl and a water dropper on her cage - She drinks from both.

Things I started yesterday
Bought Rodent Blocks (Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Rodent Blocks) and Rep-Cal Calcium with Vit.D3 - Is this the correct Calcium to use? I’ve sprinkled it over her veggies (Broccoli, carrots and mushrooms). I’ve removed all sunflower seeds and only have given her pumpkin seeds (3) and walnut (1). I took her cage outside for the natural sunlight (she hasn’t been getting that, I thought being by the window was ok.. Boy was I wrong!). It seemed to stress her out so I brought her back in. I placed my Reptile light (Repti Glo 2.0 Compact Full Spectrum Terrarium Lamp 26 W) on top of her cage and left it on until night.

She seems to be doing great, playing, eating and drinking (She loves the rodent blocks).. I don’t want to witness another seizure and want to do things the correct way. Any advise is appreciated.. She is the sweetest thing ever.. Oh and her name is Pip :)

Thank you in advance!

[Wonkawillie]

see if she will eat Tums. It is calcium carbonate. She may just chew it and eat it right up. otherwisem crush it up and put it in something she likes. Maybe a teaspoon of applesause.

[corear1014]

I have both and will try. I was concerned about the Rep-Cal that I purchased. Thanks so much for your help!

[corear1014]

Just an update: Pip seems to be doing great, she acting like her normal self. If someone could give advice on how much calicum I should give and for how long (if Rep-cal Calcium with Vit.D is good) and if the light I am using is correct. Also, she is eating some of the rodent blocks but not 2 that is required. She loves her veggies (Broccoli & Carrots), fruit (Watermelon), pumpkin seeds and walnuts/pecans. I do have tums both Adult and Children. I put ½ of the childrens in her bowl and she only nibbled on it. Thanks again! Any advice is appreciated! :)

[Nancy in New York]

Can you post a picture of Pip? Yes, her diet was all wrong, so I'm glad that you came here too!:thumbsup
She does not have contact with the dogs does she? This is a VERY big issue here. Over the past year we have had several member's dogs kill their squirrels, and this is something that can be avoided. What kind of dogs and how many do you have? There was a member here that had dogs, and her squirrels were in their cage, she left for a while, came home to the cages turned over and all of the squirrels killed.
NEVER NEVER NEVER trust a dog around a squirrel EVER. If you think it is safe, it NEVER is. If you have the squirrel in a cage, DO NOT have that cage in the same room as your dogs....please
OK now onto the diet, and the possible MBD symptoms.
Here is a link that you should follow to the letter.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32122

This is not a one shot deal where the squirrel is better today, so no need for further treatment. It took a long time to get to this point, and it will take a long time to correct.
Is this squirrel going to be release or are you keeping it?

I know that you are saying that the little one is so much better today, and this is when people get complacent....You MUST follow this protocol for weeks to come, or there will be a relapse.

DO NOT give calcium with Vitamin D. Any kind of calcium pill is okay for the initial dose, when treating MBD. But you must use PLAIN calcium carbonate (without Vit D) from then on.

I would get the HHB's blocks from a member of this board, specifically made for squirrels. If your squirrel eats two of these a day, along with a healthy diet, you are set. Right now, I would get the picky eater ones, as I know that a squirrel that is used to nuts will most likely turn his nose up to other blocks, and these have some more nuts in them. Actually you could get the growth formula ones and the picky eater ones, and give one of each.

I am also sending you a link to the healthy diet. It shows what foods are good and which ones to avoid.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218
http://henryspets.com

I am so glad that you found us, and we will help you through this with your baby....:grouphug

Edit, if you put her out in the sun, it should never be in direct sun with no shade. You will need to watch that she has shade available at all times. The lights are really of no value because they have to be so close to the squirrel and have her sit right there in order to achieve any benefits.

[lizharrell1]

What you said about her licking her paw and her paw and leg shaking made me wonder about something too: Any possibility she might have gotten shocked by an electrical cord or outlet? I only ask because a few years I had a baby Sophia, that got shocked. She never seized, but she kept licking her paw and rubbing her mouth, kind of like what you described. Just a thought. But all the info you got regarding diet is spot on! Also, Nancy's advice about dogs is correct. Welcome!

[corear1014]

Hi!

Thanks for replying!

Pip does not have contact with my dog. I have 3, 2 of which stay inside - a Schnauzer and Poodle and our Lab only comes in at night and during bad weather. We have her in our office and the doors are closed at all times.

About keeping her, I’m torn on what to do. I know setting her free is the right thing to do, but I’m so attached to her already. We live in a neighborhood and I’m afraid of cats and if she’ll go up to my neighbors looking for food.

Can you tell me where to buy the calcium and HHB blocks?

Today she is bouncing off the walls, like she’s had sugar.. Is that normal? :D LOL! She’s always had energy, but she’s had double the amount today.

The light is directly over (sitting on top) of her cage. I will post a picture of her cage (light isn’t in the picture).

Hope the attachments come through. The one with my finger is when we first found her...
Thanks again for the help!:)

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 corear1014
:Welcome to TSB.

Cute baby Pip:thumbsup

I noticed in the picture you have a puppy pad in the bottom of your cage. You definitely want to get that out as the absorbent material inside is toxic to squirrels. Get some fleece from the fabric store or T shirt material for the bottom of the cage. You want material that doesn't have loops (like towels). Loopy material can injure their nails and toes. I'll look for the post about puppy pads and post it for you.

Nice cage set up you have there.:thumbsup

[corear1014]

Just found the HHB website you posted and the calcium info...

[HRT4SQRLS]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30460

:thumbsup Again, welcome to TSB. You will find everything you need to know about your Baby Pip here.

[corear1014]

Thanks HRT4SQRLS! So glad I found this group!

lizharrell1 - I thought about that as well.. I guess it's possible. She is in our office. She didn't or I don't think she has the classic MBD signs other than the seizure, but after reading, I know I wasn't doing the proper diet or sunlight, so thought maybe it is MBD..

Thanks again for all the helpful info! :)

[Nancy in New York]

OMG she is just too adorable. I can see why you can got so attached. How old is she now?
Did you see Liz's question?


What you said about her licking her paw and her paw and leg shaking made me wonder about something too: Any possibility she might have gotten shocked by an electrical cord or outlet? I only ask because a few years I had a baby Sophia, that got shocked. She never seized, but she kept licking her paw and rubbing her mouth, kind of like what you described. Just a thought. But all the info you got regarding diet is spot on! Also, Nancy's advice about dogs is correct. Welcome!


You can get the squirrel blocks here along with the calcium. However, once she is eating a healthy diet and eating her block there will be no need for additional calcium.:thumbsup But it's good to have on hand.
http://henryspets.com

Her cage is really nice. What I do is get some cheap bathroom rugs with the rubber backing, cut them to size and put them on the shelves they don't slip around and the squirrels like that so much better on their little feet.:D

Also is that a puppy pad in the bottom of her cage? If so, take that out....some of them can be deadly to squirrels due to chemicals that are used in them. I use carefresh bedding...I get the white kind, it goes a long way, and absorbs everything. I put newspaper under and then that on top.

Do you have a cube for your little one and lots of fleece? I am a fleece bug....:D I have tons of it in the cages for them to bury things in....much cleaner/neater than dirt....:rotfl

That cord that is behind her cage, can she pull that in? I once had my cage too close to my curtains....:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl ONCE.
I never knew their little paws could stretch that far to get something into their cage. I will look for the picture.:D

Seriously, your little one is adorable....and we LOVE pictures!:grouphug :grouphug

Edit:
Sorry I'm a slow typer and had to feed some little mouffs....:D when I was in the middle of responding...But I see that you answered some of the things I asked....:thumbsup

[corear1014]

I removed the puppy pad and placed a fleece blanket on the bottom.
The picture of the cage is when we first put it together and was in our livingroom. We moved it that night to our office (because of the dogs, She tore their nerves up! LOL!):D. Her cage is now in front of a window with no cords in reach.

I'm not sure of her age.. We thought maybe 6-8 (maybe a little older.. just by looking at pictures online) when we found her. I'm totally a "newby" at all of this . I'm a huge animal lover and have rescued many dogs... I just knew I couldn't leave her out there...

:thankyou again! :) :)

[Nancy in New York]

I removed the puppy pad and placed a fleece blanket on the bottom.
The picture of the cage is when we first put it together and was in our livingroom. We moved it that night to our office (because of the dogs, She tore their nerves up! LOL!):D. Her cage is now in front of a window with no cords in reach.

I'm not sure of her age.. We thought maybe 6-8 (maybe a little older.. just by looking at pictures online) when we found her. I'm totally a "newby" at all of this . I'm a huge animal lover and have rescued many dogs... I just knew I couldn't leave her out there...

:thankyou again! :) :)


Again, so glad that you found us....:Love_Icon

[TheAngryMother]

beautiful girl there :)

[corear1014]

Thank you! :) :) :)

[corear1014]

Quick Pip update:

She is doing great on her new diet. The only way I can get her to eat the 2 Rodent Blocks is to mix w/ applesauce. It’s doing the trick... I’ve ordered the HHB blocks and should be getting those today, YAY! :D

I’m hoping her little episode was just a fluke, maybe she did get shocked, I guess it’s possible. The good thing is she is on the right track now and is eating the proper diet. Thanks again for all the wonderful advice.

I will be adding another post about a Squirrel Sitter.. If you guys know of anyone in South Carolina, Please let me know. We are going on Vacation July 7th- 15th and would like someone with squirrel experience. Thought this would be the best place to ask.

Thanks again!