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RobinHolt
10-09-2012, 08:35 PM
Any advice on my little acondroplasia (sp?) guy? He has very severely effected forelimbs. Can't grasp his syringe for feeding or hold food to eat in the normal upright position. He kind of pins his food down on the bottom of his cage and eats that way. Still taking Lots of formula (Fox Vally) as I worry about his mobility impairments keeping him from eating enough. He is a poor climber so I have adapted the fleece hammock to have a bark plank leading up to its opening. I also leave a fleecy piece on the cage floor. I don't feel he has a chance if released...my other 3 will be ready to release right when it's really cold out....will over winter them. Also, two of my normal guys have always been really ratty looking and now have bald patches around the mouth area and inner elbow and tail base. is this a result of poor nutrition early on? They were ALL snotty when I brought them home from the rehab center ( we were trying to get all the sick babies away from the healthy ones) after 7 days on antibiotics everyone was good. That was 3 weeks ago. They came to me with eyes closed.
Thanks-Robin

Rhapsody
10-09-2012, 11:46 PM
Keep pushing the Fox Valley at 5-7% of their body weight every four hours and when they are 7 weeks old you can add hhb squirrel block to their diet --then once they are eating the hhb on a regular basis you can slowly introduce healthy vegetables and wild plants followed by limited fruits and mixed nuts.

HHB Squirrel Blocks:
http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-blocks-growth-formula/

Healthy Squirrel Diet:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

island rehabber
10-10-2012, 12:00 AM
Robin, bless you for giving this baby a chance. Here's what I know about achondroplastic dwarfism in squirrels, if that's what you're talking about....

They don't develop normally, and they can't develop normally. Often they stay on formula for their entire lives with very little solid food intake at all. This is ok...it's best for them. You'll want to keep him on a heat source-- maybe half his cage with a heating pad under it, or a rice buddy at night -- because achons cannot thermoregulate well. The hard truth? These sweet, mellow, happy little babies rarely live beyond one year old. If you can give this little one a happy life for that long, he will give you lots of loving in return. But in my opinion release is not even a remote possibility for one with this handicap. :peace

RobinHolt
10-10-2012, 08:50 AM
Mikey is a acondroplysia dwarf. I keep a heat disk in the bottom of the cage, but he generally hangs out in the hammock with the other babies. He gets fed more often than the other kids but less volume (5cc instead of the 7cc the others get), as his oddly shortened body does not allow for him to eat as much. He is about half the size as the others but the same age. His tail has not developed any real fluff, either. he is sweet and loves a good scratch but seems to lack self control and bites hard! my other kids grab on but dont bite down.
Besides the large head and short forelimbs he has a very narrow chest. His hind limbs are basically normal.
He eats monkey chow and fruit in small amounts as well as zucchini and rose hips. His coat is supper shiny and he seems healthy in every way.
I just want to make sure that if he does have any special needs, like the heat regulation issues, that I meet them.
I'm thinking that hanging hardware cloth in his cage will make climbing around easier for him and that way he will gain some fitness.