Please help me!

[Squirrellady]

My Sweety just fell from where she was sitting up high, I ran to get her and she was stiff, her back legs where straight, it is aweful what have I done???
Is it her sunlight? I have what I thought was the right kind of fs bulb, oh my I am really freaking out!!!!! I cant catch her she will not come to me. She was doing fine earlier!!! Help!

[Squirrellady]

She acts like she doesn't know me now! she is making that chuk chuk noise and purring sound and running from me!

[myflyer]

If she fell, give her some time to calm down. She could have fallen asleep and fell and just gotten freaked out. If your trying to catch her you will just freak her out more.
If you are worried about the light and MDS make sure your bulbs are still good-alot of people get the fixture setup and as long as the buld is burning think it should be working, but in actuallity bulbs loose their original spectrum over time-how long depends on the type of bulb.
Also in addition to the light, what are you feeding? Is there a source of calcium in her diet, ie cuttlebone, vitamin supplements, etc.

[Squirrellady]

ok i finally got her to let me hold her, this is terrible, What have I done?? This is to much!! She is acting ok right now but does not want to be touched. what is my next step????

[island rehabber]

Squirrellady, take a deep breath and look her all over very closely. Is she moving her back legs? Does she squeak with pain when you touch her anywhere? Do her eyes look OK or glazed or wild? Do you see blood anywhere? Don't worry about any quick breathing because she obviously got very scared. As Mars always says here, "I need your eyes to see for me",,,,,,

[Squirrellady]

no blood, she doesn't make any noise when held, yes her eyes did look wild.

[Squirrellady]

she is moving better now, she wants to be up high away from us, thank you for answering

[Squirrellady]

myflyer: She eats pretty good Kale, sweet potato, brocolli, carrots, sugar snap peas, but she does not have any vitiam supplement sorry bad sp, and she doesn't touch her cuttle bone, she has deer antlers, but doesn't mess with them alot, my dh reminded me of her mineral block.
She seemed to be having a seizer(sp) to me. I dont know!

[island rehabber]

What exactly made you think she was having a seizure? Can you describe what she did right after she fell?

[island rehabber]

Note to all: I'm continuing to try to help Squirrellady and Sweety thru PM's....

[Squirrellady]

Thank you so much IR for your help, Sweety is back in her nesting box, she seems to be doing ok, just shakin up a bit as Myself and my DH. We are trying to get her to a vet in our town where we live, there is someone here but they are in surgery all day, I maybe able to get an appt. for Friday! I will let every know how she is doing, I pray all works out well! Thank you very much again for your help and kindness!!!!

[Squirrellady]

Just a quick update: Sweety has a Doctors Appt. Friday!! That is the soonest they could see her, I hope that is not to far away.
Is there anything I can do for her to help her be comfortable until then! She seems to be ok at the moment, wanting to rest! I will keep everyone updated. :thankyou

[Mrs. Jack]

I'll be thinking about you and Sweety, Squirrellady. Keep in mind that often many of us will stay out of these threads to give the rehabbers room to help without distraction, but we're watching and hoping all will be well. :grouphug

[island rehabber]

Part of my last PM from Squirrellady, after I recommended she bring Sweety to the vet just in case:

My dh is calling the vet. now, but he just caught them off guard, they have never treated a squirrel before, but they are giving him a number to a vet that does!! Thank you so much for your help! TSB RULES!!!!!!

We'll keep hoping and praying for Sweety and please keep us posted. :peace

[Squirrellady]

Just a quick question, is it ok for the vet. to sedate(sp) a squirrel, to check them out?? Cuz, the lady at the vets. office said they might have to sedate her so she could be examined. Sweety doesn't like to be held, not unless it is what she wants you to do.

[island rehabber]

Just a quick question, is it ok for the vet. to sedate(sp) a squirrel, to check them out?? Cuz, the lady at the vets. office said they might have to sedate her so she could be examined. Sweety doesn't like to be held, not unless it is what she wants you to do.

So long as this vet has had experience with squirrels, or at least rodents and small mammals, I would think the sedation would not be a problem and will enable the vet to make a more thorough diagnosis. Where you want to be careful is when you bring a squirrel to your basic cat-dog&parrot vet and they are not knowledgeable about wildlife dosages. Wildlife veterinary medicine is a specialty; most vets don't go anywhere near it, which is why you were referred to this particular one. :)

[squirrelfriend]

To me it sounds like a seizure due to the fall. I suppose it might be from shock? Don't know on that one, just a guess. The freaked out ness afterwards was probably just from the fall. she is not angree with you. They calm down after a while. A calm, safe quite place for a while ought to make her feel better. Make sure your light is FULL spectrum and giver calcium supplements. Prime from a petstore will do. It is a bird vitamin. A liquid calcium from your local drug store will do as well. Just make sure that it only contains calcium, no other vitamins. Taking her to a vet just in case is good. I think she will be fine. just make sure she gets her supplements and sunshine. Good luck to you both. keep us updated on your littlw sweety.

[susanw]

Did she fall and land on something hard? Like cement? Watch and make sure you don't see any blood in her urine or stools. Watch and see if she starts just laying around. Lot's of luck!

[Squirrellady]

Thank you all for caring!! I cannot Thank you enough!
Sweety has been resting in her nesting box since the incident, I check on her every 30mins. She seems tired, but this is the time she usually naps, but normally if I pick her up she will want to run around instead she lets me pet her and then I put her right back inside her bed, she is definately not acting like her old self... About her poo, she did that right after her fall, haven't seen anything since. Friday seems so far away!! I will call tomorrow to see if they have any cancellation. That little Squirrel has me and her Daddy wrapped around her little paw, Man this is tough! I will probably be up all night just checking on her!!!

[TexanSquirrel]

Poor baby! Tell us how it goes!

[muffinsquirrel]

Try giving her some yogurt to help with the calcium. I usually use Dannon LaCreme, but there are others just as good. Just make sure it has live cultures in it - it will say on the container. And any flavor is fine - right now mine are on a 'lime yogurt' kick, which is the last thing I ever thought they'd go for!

muffinsquirrel

[island rehabber]

muffinsquirrel, I always forget to ask you this: what do you put the yogurt in, for them? I know when I put some in a little bowl they ran thru it, flipped it over and I had yogurt-covered squirrels. :D

[muffinsquirrel]

Hehehe - Yeah, you just haven't lived until you've seen a lime green yogurt covered squirrel!! I have gathered up some very small bowls with very heavy bottoms over the years, and this keeps most of the mess down. Or you can nail, or glue, a plastic lid (2 liter soda bottle or such) to a good sized piece of wood.

muffinsquirrel

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Good luck with Sweetie! I hope she is just scared from the fall.

[Bobo's Mom]

I give Bojangles his yogurt in 2 or 3oz ceramic crocks. He can't tip them over. Besides, he hates to be messy so I don't have to worry about him bathing in it, lol.

[Squirrellady]

Here is Sweety at 9:30 pm. Thought I would give a quick update before bedtime. She has been eating very good. Sweet Potato, cherries, drank some water but her balance isn't normal. But I am glad she is eating.

[LynninIN]

Yes, please keep us updated. Glad Sweety is feeling better :) .

[island rehabber]

Here is Sweety at 9:30 pm. Thought I would give a quick update before bedtime. She has been eating very good. Sweet Potato, cherries, drank some water but her balance isn't normal. But I am glad she is eating.

Squirrellady, watch her very carefully tomorrow so you can help the vet when you take her on Friday. See if her balance issues are just 'out of the blue' tipsyness or does she seem to be favoring one leg, or not putting weight on a hip? I had a squirrel dislocate his hip last summer and he sort of ran lopsided for a week or so...then he was fine. The more you can observe about her abnormalities the better you can help her. Please keep us posted -- we're all in this with you.

[Squirrellady]

Thank you Everyone for being there!!!!:grouphug

Sweety is doing Much Better this am, she seems to be back to her Old Sweety Self!!!!!
She has been looking for her nuts that she buried in the house, but I already found them and put them up!!! She had more Sweet Potato this morning, and her balance seems normal. They are so precious!! I even got nose kisses this am!!! She is still going to the Doctor tomorrow!! I have a question about her visit tomorrow, does she need to get any shots??? Like rabies or anything??? I just want to make sure she doesn't get something she don't need or visa versa! If someone could answer that I would appreciate it very much!! I have to go take care of the Grandkids this am, but will be back, with another update! I really do appreciate your Help, IR!!!! And to everyone in the background, praying and being there for us and Sweety!! Sweety says Thank you also!! Have a Super Day!!!!!!

[myflyer]

She was probably freaked out and unsure. If I fell from 2 stories up or so I would be freaked out.

[Momma Squirrel]

So glad to hear Sweety is doing much better and that you will still take her to the vet tomorrow. Never hurts to be safe. Didn't want to step in while our experts were doing there thing, but watching in the background and praying everything would work out, keep us posted after her visit. :grouphug

[Twirly Squirly Squirrel]

I don't have any advice, as I'm just a lover of them and not an expert, but just wanted to let you know that I, too am waiting in the wings and praying for Sweety!

[island rehabber]

I have a question about her visit tomorrow, does she need to get any shots??? Like rabies or anything??? I just want to make sure she doesn't get something she don't need or visa versa! If someone could answer that I would appreciate it very much!! I have to go take care of the Grandkids this am, but will be back, with another update! I really do appreciate your Help, IR!!!! And to everyone in the background, praying and being there for us and Sweety!! Sweety says Thank you also!! Have a Super Day!!!!!!

So glad she's doing better. No, she doesn't need any shots at all, especially not rabies because squirrels almost never, ever get rabies. (Most rodents don't). Just let the vet make sure nothing's broken or dislocated, because critters like squirrels who are "prey" animals will do their best to hide anything that's wrong with them...they don't want to look vulnerable. Give her a nose kiss for me, OK? :)

[C*ndy]

Hats off to all of you on this case for the last few days!! :bowdown
Sweety has been "in good hands" until she gets to the vet!!!
I hope she gets a clean bill of health!!!:Love_Icon

[susanw]

I'm so happy she seems to be doing better, must of just stunned or scared her. Good luck with the vet, and Sweety be more careful.:)

[Squirrellady]

Sweety is still running strong!!!! She is on the back of my chair as I type!! Nothing seems to be broken!! Thanks IR, for the info. about the shots and being there when we needed you!! Thank you everyone for your prayers!!

And again, TSB is AWESOME!!!! The PEOPLE here are AWESOME!!!!:wott :thankyou :grouphug

I will update tomorrow after the Doctor Visit!!

By the way my name is Darla, Just wanted to let you all know my real name!
Take Care! & Stay Safe!!

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

:wahoo :wahoo You go Sweety girl!! :Love_Icon :flash3 Glad to hear you are feeling better, keeping Mom on her toes.