head trauma but...we're expecting?

[thundersquirrel]

it's that time of the year again. squirrels have been chasing each other around for about a month now, and what do you know.....

we got an adult female fox who was hit by a car in yesterday. well, actually, WE got her.

try chasing a brain-damaged squirrel through woods while the sun's going down and the temp is below freezing for two hours. she went up three trees three different times. on the third tree i actually shook the tree and made her fall out. mom netted her, i toweled her, and we got her. WHOO.

but now the problems begin. we examined her this morning. her right side appears to have the damage. luckily she has no major broken bones or paralysis, but her brain is swelling a little so we gave her steroids and will continue that for a few days.

but then we saw she was bleeding from her uvula (sp?). her nipples are starting to get, well, noticeable, and she's constantly nesting. we're pretty certain that she's pregnant, whether she miscarriages or not.

this happened to us a year ago. i don't know if any of you remember gloria. same situation except gloria had paralysis. she gave birth to four babies and they all died within two days. she didn't take very good care of them.

i don't want that to happen again. has anyone else ever had a pregnant squirrel? we know the gestation is about 45 days, and that the babies will need colostrum (from mom or from us, either way), but other than that we're not sure. any suggestions on cage setup? she's covered in lots of towels right now but then we can't see if she gives birth.

here's a pic of mom (or what she would show me, at least).

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Aww poor sweetheart. Thank goodness you got her.

[Somebody's Mother]

how is her body temp? can she maintain it on her own? do you know if their is any loss of feeling in her body or limbs? does she respond like any other squirrel?
what i am getting at is that i am wondering what part of the brain the damage was in. is it to the back or to the front. i gather her swallowing mechanism is working. how big is she? you know, tummy wise. would the steroids affect the unborn babies?

[Momma Squirrel]

Thundersquirrel, so glad you and your mom are there for her. I wish you the best of luck and will watch the thread but let the experts take over from here. I would think quiet and comfort are the most important until someone can get on here and help you more medically. :grouphug

[Gabe]

Goodness, you do have a delimna sp? don't you? First off, make sure she is eating properly both for her babies nutriton and to check for a broken jaw if she was hit in the head. Second, be brave and check under the towels frequently for any indication that she has babies, you may need to intervene if she is not caring for them properly. Check them for a milkline if you are not sure whether or not she is feeding them. Keep us posted.

[Zelda's Mom]

This is similar to what happened to Zelda, except she was a baby! My sis and the vet just kept her quiet and kept a close watch. Zelda was bleeding through her ear and nose.

Thank goodness you were able to get her! Zelda and I will keep her in our prayers. :grouphug (from Zelda, Pepper, Dinker, Speck and Me)

[thundersquirrel]

ok, i'll try to answer questions first.

as far as temperature, she feels normal to the touch. i know that's not extremely accurate, but we have her in a warm room (MY room, actually :) ) and she's not shivering.

her limbs seem fine. she was definitely favoring her right limbs when we were chasing her, but she was climbing trees, and now she's holding food, digging, and using her back legs pretty well. we got the best experienced rehabber we know to feel her up, and she's pretty certain there are no broken bones.

she's eating fine. i'm pretty sure she was hit on the right side. her left pupil contracts but her right does not. it's bulging a little bit which shows her brain is truly inflamed.

i don't know what the steroids will do to any babies she has. i guess we'll find out. we injected the steroids SQ, on her back, so hopefully it will stay away from the babies altogether. her tummy is of decent size. she's not bulging ridiculously, but she's big, and it seems like the skin beneath her nipples are swollen (milk).

we checked her jaw and didn't see anything wrong. she's eating alright too. as far as nutrition goes, do you have any suggestions on nutrient-rich foods? when my rat was pregnant i gave her bits of chicken with whipped cream, but i don't think that's as good for a squirrel. hehe

i'm willing to check under towels, but it really stresses her out. i feel like that's what killed gloria's babies; she didn't feel safe enough to care for them. i'll never know for sure though. i check her frequently, no sign of any labor but she's nesting a ton.

i'm terribly nervous. biting my nails over here. i don't know what to expect, and i'm not sure how much i should help her. i'll keep you all posted.

[Gabe]

Do you have an outside release cage? perhaps in more natural surroundings she would feel less stressed. She's had a good exam, is eating well. The steroids unfortunately are absorbed into the blood stream no matter where it is injected. How many doeses of steroids will she get?

[xoxkayxox]

I heard brocolli is good for a pregnant chipmunk so maybe its the same for a squirrel??

[LynninIN]

I am posting with experience in humans not squirrels but I'm finding out more & more all mammals are similar.

Like Gabe said all steroids no matter the mode of injection will be systemic. The advantage to SQ is the dosage will reach the blood steam more slowly.

All corticosteroids vary with respect to their ability to cross the placenta; dexamethasone and betamethasone cross the placenta readily while 88% of prednisolone is inactivated as it crosses the placenta. All are used in human pregnancy but the gestation period makes a difference in dosage and type utilized. What type did you inject?

I have a few questions: I understand the right eye in not contracting is there any change now? When you move around the cage does the squirrels right eye follow you? If light is shined in the left eye does the right contract at all. Is the pupil round or irregular shaped? When trying to focus on an object does the right eye stay still or does it deviate to one side or the other? Did the rehabber look in the right ear canal to check for blood?

Happy to hear she's eating and not vomiting it's a very good sign. She will need high calcium foods like the suggested broccoli.

[thundersquirrel]

i'll try the broccoli. thanks. :)

we do have an outdoor release cage, but her head trauma makes her too off-balance to move around well in such a large and tall cage. besides, we need easy access to her for her injections, and catching her every day would be even more stressful.

she weighs two pounds, and we used dexamethasone. we're decreasing the amount we give her daily. her largest was today. tomorrow will be smaller, monday will be smaller, we'll skip tuesday, and wednesday will be the final and smallest dosing.

i can't check her pupils at the moment because she is sleeping with her head tucked firmly beneath her. she does seem to have some issues seeing us, or at least realizing that we're a threat. she was eating as if we were family earlier today, with three humans right outside the cage. and this gal is WILD.

the pupil has a pretty normal, circular shape. a little noticeable lack of movement, and occasionally she'll close her eyes halfway, even when she's walking around. there's no sign of blood in her ears, but we think her nasal passage has some bleeding because she's sneezing a lot.

one thing i should mention, i suppose, is the type of head trauma symptoms. sometimes she stargazes. she'll usually rest her front paws up on something, and her head will slooooowly lean back. other times she'll swing her head back and forth, usually when she's digging and nesting. balance is a problem. when she's really stressed out, she'll turn in circles. all pretty standard head trauma, but still not good.

no sign of babies/labor yet. but of course, i'll let you all know.

[squirrelfriend]

This is simular to my Weebles. She gave birth one week after getting her. She wasn't hit by a car but had this drunken walk thing going with not very good ballance. All 3 babies survived until about 4 or 5 months later. all three seemed very susseptiple (sp?) to seizures and died from them. Mother is still healthy and kicking. Her walk is a lot better but still has trouble when sitting. Hope your poor gal makes it.

Oh, the babies required no help from me. Weebles took very good care of them.

[Somebody's Mother]

didn't mean to stress you. was just trying to think of what questions to ask for the rehabbers to be able to help. i think if you just relax and let her feel safe and loved she can probably take care of the babies. squirrels seem to be pretty good mommies.
remember, no loud music in your room!!! and definitely take down those heavy metal posters. :rotfl

and you will have many prayers coming your way. did i miss her name? doesn't matter God knows which one we are talking about.

[squirrelfriend]

I just thought that I would mention that I have three squirrels that have head trauma. Grumblebee's is the worst, Weebles second and Squeetie Gonzalez is not so bad. Grumbles has that sort of parkinsons head shake no ballance when sitting, sucked to the ground when walking. He is now walking much faster now, his ballance has not changed to much while sitting. same with Weebles. Squeetie has a head tilt and doesn't walk too fast. All three, other than not being releaseable are doing fine and appear quite happy. You might just end up with a permanent resident if that is ok. the babies if they survive and are not effected can be releaseable. There is hope for her.

I didn't feed Weebles anything different while she was pregnant (mainly because I didn't know until I found something extra in the cage). Later I noticed her pacing restlessly then blood shot out of her bottom and she ran up to her box and gave birth to another. she took great care of them. try not to bother her much at all while she is still in the nursing stage. this makes her move them around alot and because they have no or little fur at this point they get scratched and cut with her teeth. So just treat her for her wounds and put her back. Try not to handle the babies at all as long as they are feeding from her.

[thundersquirrel]

bad news.

she gave birth. to only one baby so far. it's dead. i'm not sure if it was stillborn, or died soon after birth. it has a large bruise on it's side. mom is freaking out. i very carefully took out every towel, checking for babies, and put in some new ones. she's still freaking out. she won't let me touch the dead baby, but otherwise she's ignoring it. i don't know if there's more to come, but this certainly doesn't bode well. even if she does have more, and even if they're alive, it's gonna be a chore spotting them and then removing them. she's simply not fit to raise them, i'm certain now.

i don't know why she's so upset. i mean, i can guess. her baby's dead, more could come, and i'm around. but it's gotten to the point where she runs around the cage in circles (very lopsidedly) and then she'll fall backwards, on her side or back, her front arms convulsing and/or cleaning her face. it's really disturbing and depressing. i wish she'd calm down.

we still need to give her the next injection. not sure how that'll work. at this point i feel pretty helpless.

and my pet rat died. :(

[muffinsquirrel]

I am SO sorry. Sometimes we just feel so helpless - we want to do so much, but there is only so much we can do. To watch one die can make you question everything you believe in, and wonder if this is really the way you want to spend the rest of your life. But then we get one that we CAN save, and we know we're doing the right thing. Just hang in there, and fight the depressed feelings. You're doing great things for squirrels, and this momma is lucky to have found, or be found by, you. I hope and pray that the others will be born alive. But no matter what, you have done your best, and although the momma may not seem to, I am sure that on some level she realizes that you are there for her and her babies. Sometimes a soft word of kindness is all that we can do.

muffinsquirrel

[TexanSquirrel]

That is so sad. I wish I could help you.

[Gabe]

That's well said, muffinsquirrel. Such true words, we needed to be reminded of them again and again.
Thundersquirrel, let her mourn her baby. She needs to do that. Don't worry about taking it out of there right away.

[xoxkayxox]

Sorry to hear that thundersquirrel. Any news on anymore babies yet? Fingers crossed for them. Your doing a good job, keep it up. Kay xx

[LynninIN]

Thundersquirrel, I'm so sorry you lost your pet rat.

You've give the pregnant squirrel the best possible and the only chance she had. I don't know how you rehabbers do it.

[thundersquirrel]

Thank you all for your support. I'm feeling a little better, though the situation hasn't changed much.

I took the baby out. She forgot about it, and it was getting dirty and unsanitary. It was a boy. We don't normally name our squirrels, but I named him John. A name was all I could give him. I think I'll call the mother Mary. It seems like a fitting name for a dire situation...yes, I am Catholic. :innocent

We had a conference call with our senior rehabber. She agrees to stop the steroids. We've decided to leave Mary alone as much as possible. If she gives birth again, there's a great chance it will be stillborn, from the accident. If the baby is alive, we'd give her time to take care of it anyway, so it doesn't matter if we don't check very often.

All we can have now is faith.

[Buddy'sMom]

Just wanted to add a brief note of support -- it must be difficult for you to just stand by. But you are doing the very best you can by quietly supporting Mary and letter her do her thing. We will hope for the best. :grouphug

[thundersquirrel]

This is one of the strangest squirrels I've ever had to rehab. I'm witnessing first-hand what happens when severe head trauma and complicated labor come together in a captive wild squirrel. It's not a pretty site.

Mary continues to circle her cage endlessly with frequent seizure-like falls on her back. This has gone beyond head trauma. My mother and I believe she has a baby (or more) that won't come out.

Her pupils still don't contract to a bright flashlight, and it sometimes seems she is blind, but when we offer her grapes she can see enough to come and get one. That's another thing- she runs and runs and falls, but when she has food she sits up and eats ravenously (in a very wobbly, clumsy fashion).

If she is the same tomorrow and has not given birth to any more babies, we're taking her to the vet. It may come down to a C-section.

[Farani]

Poor little thing. I wish people would be careful and not completely apathetic to these little creatures. Thank you for caring. I wish you the best of luck :thankyou.

[Squirrelly]

TS, I'm very sorry to hear about your pet rat who has passed..I remember you mentioning him/her before, and age was catching up.:sad

I'm sorry to hear of your squirrel friends' dilemna. Please let us know how she makes out, no matter the outcome, alright? It looks like it'll be a long night for you...:shakehead

[squirrelfriend]

Sorry to hear that she is having difficulty. Hopefully the other babies are ok. It could also have a lot to do with their possition within the mommy when she was hit. the one that was still born might have been on the side that was hit. It didn't stand a chance. Hopefully the others were not directly hit and are ok. Poor mother though. If she has broken ribs that could explain her freaking out. Broken ribs hurt when moved even the slightest. Can you imagin going through contractions with broken ribs? A C section might be kind for her. Make it a lot easier on her. As for the seizures, keep her in a dark calm area. any stress makes the seizures worse. I really hope she does well. I can totally relate to head trauma cases. It is very sad to see. Thank you for your kindness and helping her through this very difficult time. I hope her and the remaining babies do ok.

[island rehabber]

Many prayers coming your way from here, TS -- for Mary and her babies. Mother nature sure sends you and your mom some tough cases. She must have a lot of faith in you. :bowdown :grouphug

[Gabe]

TS, hope all went well throughout the night. Glad you have a willing vet to help out. Good luck today.

[Buddy'sMom]

Something occurred to me about squirrel births as I was watching our troops chase each other through the trees this morning. I recall reading that a female mates with several males so that a litter may not all have the same father. But that means they all would not be the same age either, as in human multiples. Does that ALSO mean that the litter might not normally be born at the same time like human multiples?? If so, that could explain why only one was born (plus, of course, that the trauma could have precipitated labor for that baby). Just thought I'd throw that out in case it makes sense to anyone with more knowledge of these things. Nevertheless, it does seem that a C section might be a kindness for this mom. [I don't mean to hijack the thread with a side discussion, so if I'm offbase on this, just a brief "no" will be fine]

Hope the moms (squirrel and human) are doing OK today. :grouphug

[thundersquirrel]

Thanks again. This site is a comfort. :)

I've been told that squirrels mate with several partners at a time, but I've also been told about the wax plug. Apparently after a male mates, he'll leave a wax plug down there so that no sperm falls out. However, I suppose once the plug falls out, she could continue to mate.

Checked the cage this morning, no babies. Mary was actually quite calm and almost acting normally (though still having her falling fits). I heard her squeal once in the night, but I immediately checked on her and nothing seemed different. I keep checking the towels for babies, too.

But now she's starting to get restless again, going in circles. This is around the time it started yesterday. My mother is secretly faxing our vet at work (her boss just HATES our squirrels :shakehead ). If Mary doesn't calm down, or if she gets worse, we'll definitely take her in tonight.

In the meantime, I'm going to research cat and dog births. There is NO information on the internet about captive squirrel labor and what to do. I'll come back later.

[Somebody's Mother]

poor thing. so glad she has you ts. i shudder to think of her fate if she had been left in the wild.

[thundersquirrel]

here are some pictures, since she's up and about.

the first one was taken less than a minute before the next two. she was just kinda sitting still.

the second one was right after the fell. straight back, didn't bother to lie down, just lost her balance backwards.

the third picture is her in her "paralysis" state. she does not move AT ALL in this position. i will sit there and talk to her, move around, even touch her, but she remains in the position, just breathing.

after this process she usually rolls upright in a dizzy way, and goes back to eating or pacing.

[Somebody's Mother]

poor thing. do you think you can get her to the vet tonight?

[squirrelfriend]

poor gal. souds like seizures. when she is "paralized" is she stiff or limp?

[Gabe]

I'm not sure I would stop her steroids. She may be in horrible pain. Are you making any progress with the vet?

[thundersquirrel]

she's stiff when she's "paralyzed". very tense. as if she's waiting for something.

i told my mom we should take her to the vet tonight. i haven't spoken with her since but hopefully she made an appointment. i'm really sick of not knowing what's going on inside our mama. she needs a professional examination.

i gave her some food, so she's happy. every time i feed her, i let my hand stray closer to her. she hasn't attacked me yet, which is good because we'll have to give her more steroids.

crossing fingers.

[xoxkayxox]

aww i really hope shes ok Thundersquirrel. Please get her to a vet and let us know what she said. Ill keep everything crossed for her, poor girl.

[Kathy56]

Good Luck TS, hope all goes well with her. She is lucky to have you and your Mom.

[LynninIN]

Hang in there Thundersquirrel.

[TexanSquirrel]

That's really sad. I hope the vet can help her.

[squirrelfriend]

If she is stiff when "paralized" I would guess that to be a seizure. true paralsis would be limp I think. When mine had seizures they went really stiff. when she is like this keep her real calm. turn off the lights and be really quiet. Upseting or startling her will make sthe seizures worse.

I would diffinitly take her to a vet to see if there are any other babies in her. If they are dead this can cause real problems for her if they are not taken out.

[Buddy'sMom]

thundersquirrel, I'm sensing that your silence may mean the trip to the vet last night was a difficult one and there may be no happy ending here. Our thoughts are with you all -- certainly you have given Mary and her babies whatever chance possible. Give us an update when you can. :grouphug

[thundersquirrel]

We actually went to see the vet today. I wanted to wait until I had something to tell you all.

Last night around midnight she was squealing intermittently. When I looked in, she was vomiting. There was nothing I could really do in the middle of the night, and she was bright alert responsive, so I just let it happen. She was squealing again at 5 AM but I didn't get up to look in (I figured the same thing was happening).

Our squirrel mentor says that squirrels don't vomit, but I know what I saw. Not sure what that means, but she seems "normal" now.

The vet was not the nice older man that we usually see (he wasn't in today). It was a young woman. We didn't like her. She was nice, but didn't help us much. She was afraid to touch the squirrel.

One thing is certain though- we can't knock her out to do anything, which means no X-rays or ultra-sound. The gas would damage her brain further, possibly throw her into seizures. So we still don't know if she has more babies. It's possible that she had one dead premature baby and more living ones could come, though.

We're seeing OUR vet tomorrow. The nice one. He'll help us for sure. Until then wish us luck on restraining Mary enough to give her a shot. She's very strong, even with head trauma. If she wasn't injured, she'd be magnificently ferocious. :D

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for giving us an update. Mary's lucky to have you by her side, even if there isn't a lot you can do but offer quiet support. Too bad about the vet visit. It may well be that squirrels GENERALLY don't vomit, but others here on TSB have reported vomiting -- and, anyway, you saw what you saw. Hopefully, your regular vet will be more helpful tomorrow. It seems like a good sign that Mary seems alert and responsive ....

Hope you have a quiet night with her. :grouphug

[squirrelfriend]

my head trauma guys are very strong too. I hope she does well. Best of luck

[LynninIN]

Thanks for the update. I've checked this thread several times today to see how Mary was. Please let us know how tonight and the visit goes tomorrow with the vet that's not afraid of squirrels. You've done a great job! Ever consider becoming a vet yourself?

[Buddy'sMom]

Any news???

[thundersquirrel]

Hey, sorry I didn't post until now.

The vet was very kind. He felt Mary up a bit, and he believes there is at least one more baby inside her. There's no way to tell if it's alive or dead. Because of Mary's condition, we decided we should continue the steroids and just hope for the baby. It (or they) are so far along that hopefully the steroids won't create many problems.

Mary is still ravenous, and in love with almonds. She's even willing to take them from my hand. She does seem a bit more alert than before, even though she's stilling falling backwards and circling. This morning she attacked my mother's hand. The progress was worth the scratch. :)

That baby will have to come eventually though, dead or alive. And when that happens, you all will be the first outsiders to know. ;)

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for the update! And keep those almonds coming!!

[Kathy56]

TS, she is in good hands. Hope all goes well with her. Hopefully the baby will be ok. You and your mom are good people and I am glad to know that you are on this board. Aww heck I'm just glad to know you.:D :grouphug

[squirrelfriend]

I really hope she and her babies will be fine. My squirrels and I are rooting for them. Keep us updated.

[thundersquirrel]

Here's an update.

No sign of babies yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Other than that I believe she is improving. We'll give her the last steroid shot today or tomorrow. Her circling has decreased and I see her fall backwards less often. She's also quieted down, which makes me think she's stopped vomiting. Her pupils still won't contract, and that worries me a bit.

After a week of rehab, she's made progress. I have a lot of hope for her, even though she's still kind of crazy. I just wish the babies would come....that would stop me worrying about them.

If she gives birth or relapses, I'll let you guys know. ;)

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for the update. We will keep hoping for improvement -- and babies. :)

[squirrelfriend]

Thundersquirrel, How is she doing? Or is it a they by now? I really hope she is ok. I have a soft spot for these weebly tilty squirrels.

[thundersquirrel]

she's pretty much the same, to be honest. i'm frustrated by the lack of babies, but i can't be in there constantly checking for them.

i suppose it's possible that she's not pregnant. the doc said he felt one in there, but he could be wrong. i suppose it might just be dead, but if so we haven't seen any discharge or smelled anything out of the normal.

as far as Mary goes, i'm hoping time will heal her mind. she's still tipsy and doesn't behave as an adult wild squirrel should. there are moments of clarity where she'll hide from or attack us, but right after she'll go back to eating or whatever like nothing happened. :thinking

we're gonna clean her cage tomorrow, and if anything happens i'll post it here. :)

[Somebody's Mother]

poor little thing. i hope she gets better.

[squirrelfriend]

I have 4 with ballance problems. A couple have improved a little. Weebles can walk much better and faster. Grumblebee, when I first got him sucked to the floor whenever he walked. Almost like he was walking on his side too. Now he can get around quickly and up on his legs more normally. Both tip over when sitting though.

[thundersquirrel]

oi vay. we need to get her better or she'll be euthanized. that's just the way it is out here. we can always give her time, but not a lifetime.

the strange thing, i think, is that she has no broken bones. there has been no paralysis, no bleeding, no scratches or burns, no skin problems. we assumed she was hit by a car since she's terrified of them, but i'm not so sure anymore.

the only bad things with her have been the lack of balance, the sluggishness, the comfort with humans being around, her pupils not contracting, the vomiting and squealing, her stillborn baby, etc.. clearly she has brain damage, but i can't say for certain from what.

does anyone have information on brain damage in general? could she have been poisoned, or sick with some disease? i know she wasn't born this way. she would've died in a day if she was born this way.

[TexanSquirrel]

Poor little thing. Please keep us posted.

[squirrelfriend]

I have had lots of problems with brain damaged squirrels here. I don't know what goes on in our parks but it isn't too uncomon. I have yet to figure it out. Right now I have 4 with a simular condition. None have ever vomited though. They can live a happy life in your care or any rehabber that will take her. She doesn't have to be put down because of brain damage. We wouldn't do that to a human that had it. If I wasn't across the border from you I would take her into my little clan. She coult tilt all she wanted with the rest of them. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase don't put her down. I beg you. As I have said before I have seen some improvement in them here.

[Somebody's Mother]

bring her down here i will take her. just tell me what to do. it isn't her fault she is brain damaged.

[Pam]

Maybe her brain damage is just a brain injury instead. Maybe she fell from a tree. How long has it been? Maybe once the swelling in her brain goes down she will improve. Vomiting goes with head injuries. So does dilated pupils. Maybe the baby died from the injury to the mother. Hasn't it been less than a month?

[thundersquirrel]

yes, it's been almost a month. i'm sorry if i scared you all about the euthanization thing. i assure you, we won't seriously consider that until we've had her for a while with no sign of improvement. and she HAS been improving.

i guess i'm just worried that this won't go away. my pet rat from 5 years ago had an inner ear infection that made her tilt. we killed the infection with antibiotic, but she always had a tilt, and she was always a little nutty.

i'm tempted to put Mary into a very large cage, just to see how well she climbs and jumps. i think she'd appreciate the extra space, too. it's possible that the stress of captivity is keeping her from recovering.

the options we have are not the options most of you have. we represent an organization that the DNR allows only because it follows the rules. keeping a squirrel as a pet puts the org. in jeopardy, and if the org. were to be shut down then a lot of animals would be left out there to die.

don't worry about Mary. i have faith in her. there's no law against keeping a sick squirrel for a long time.

[Pam]

:thumbsup

[TexanSquirrel]

DNR? Do not resuscitate? :dono

[thundersquirrel]

^ department of natural resources. they control everything wild in michigan, basically.

i've got an update. it's surprising, but not major. we switched Mary's cages today (instead of cleaning the same one we rotate between two cages). actually it was about 20 minutes ago.

anyway, everything went fine until we put Mary into the clean cage. blood immediately started to appear beneath her. SHE, however, was acting like nothing was happening. in fact, she was quite content fattening herself with nuts. she kept bleeding for about a minute, not gushing blood, more like leaking blood, but it left a stain about two inches long and one inch thick.

at first we thought it was from her genitals, but then we realized it was coming from her toes on her back left foot. she was holding it rather gingerly as she looked for nuts. also, we noticed her tail has been chewed on a good deal about three inches from the tip. that also looked rather raw.

we don't know how she got these injuries. we believe she chewed her tail herself, but we don't think it's dead tissue. as far as her foot goes, she hasn't been near anything sharp except her own claws. has anyone had a wild squirrel commit self-mutilation out of stress? i wouldn't be surprised if she was terribly frightened on a sub-conscious level but too confused to react accordingly.

the puzzle for us now is how to get some ointment on those wounds before they get infected.....

[TexanSquirrel]

Oh no. That is not good. Maybe you could use some of those really long Q-tips like doctors have.

[Gabe]

Thundersquirrel, it may take up to 6 months for Mary to fully recover. I have kept wildlife that long with poor results in the end. Is it possible to give her a longer course of steroids? I have seen self mutilation but more often it is the result of pain. The steroids will help somewhat with pain also.

[thundersquirrel]

we'd be willing to keep her that long. we have a red squirrel that we've had since october.

we'll ask the senior rehabber about the steroids. other than that, though, what do you suggest to kill the pain? friends of wildlife won't give us a lot of money for painkillers.

[LynninIN]

oi vay. we need to get her better or she'll be euthanized. that's just the way it is out here. we can always give her time, but not a lifetime.

the strange thing, i think, is that she has no broken bones. there has been no paralysis, no bleeding, no scratches or burns, no skin problems. we assumed she was hit by a car since she's terrified of them, but i'm not so sure anymore.

the only bad things with her have been the lack of balance, the sluggishness, the comfort with humans being around, her pupils not contracting, the vomiting and squealing, her stillborn baby, etc.. clearly she has brain damage, but i can't say for certain from what.

does anyone have information on brain damage in general? could she have been poisoned, or sick with some disease? i know she wasn't born this way. she would've died in a day if she was born this way.
Poison could cause brain injury but would be unlikely to respond to steroids. Brain injuries from internal injuries would be aneurysm, stroke or brain tumor also unlikely to respond to steroid. Mary sounds like she has a traumatic closed brain injury. There is no skull fracture and little pain other than headache. I've no idea how to assess a squirrel for headache. A closed brain injury is when the brain swells and has no place to expand causing an increase in intracranial pressure. As the brain swells it causes the brain tissue to compress and causes further injury. This is were steroids help. As the brain swells it may expand through any cavity like the eye socket this results in dysfunction in the optic cranial nerve and makes the pupil dilate. So, a dilated pupil is a sign of increased intracranial pressure.

Signs of closed brain injury in humans that probably apply to squirrels:
spinal fluid (clear) coming out ears or nose
dilated or unequal size of pupils
vision changes in one or both eyes; blindness, decreased eye movement, sensitivity to light, decreased vision.
balance problems, poor coordination
difficulty breathing
decreased pulse
paralysis
weakness
vomiting
sleepiness, fatigue
deceased hearing
slowed response
personality changes
difficulty swallowing
loss of bladder or bowel function

If Mary is responding to the steroids as the brain swelling goes down she may start to feel pain. I'm not sure about why it's were she's having it but the brain controls all pain signals or she may have experienced swelling in her spinal cord after the injury too that is reducing.

[thundersquirrel]

ok, update.

mary still has had no babies, so i was beginning to doubt that she had any left. however, he belly is starting to get rather large. nothing else on her is big- just her tummy. you know how a woman looks when she's about 3/4 through her pregnancy? that's what it looks like.

but there's no way she's pregnant! we've had her since february, she gave birth to one pup two days after. i counted- it's been exactly 39 days since we got her, so 37 days since her last baby (and he was well developed).

so what could this be? i really hope it's not a tumor, i don't think it is cause it's so big. i suppose it's possible she's just getting fat, but her tummy is the only place where she's fat. any ideas?

[TexanSquirrel]

Not a clue. Glad to hear you're still taking care of her though!

[squirrelfriend]

can you have her checked again to see if there are any dead babies in there? How about worms? tape worms etc. How is the rest of her body? Is it filled out too? Maybe she just hasn't gotten her figure back since the pregnancy?:D

How is her wobbliness? Is her ballance getting better? I really hope she does well. she's a sweety.

[thundersquirrel]

mmm this bloating is a bit recent.

the problem is that she's still very wild. brain damaged, yes, but wild. the brain damage actually makes her even more unpredictable.

she really is getting better. i saw her jump for the first time today. good aim, landing was a little rough, but she likes her new space and now she can exercise. i haven't seen her going in circles in her new cage either. hopefully it was just a pacing habit from her smaller cage.

the problem at this point is her awareness and bravery. she's not always "there". sometimes she'll sit there with her head near the floor, just waiting for something.....eyes vacant.....other times she'll come when we make noise and beg for nuts. if she keeps improving, though, we can release her right in our backyard and keep an eye on her.

keep your fingers crossed. :peace

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for the update on Mary -- I think about her a lot. It's good that you are seeing improvement. (a JUMP -- that's good! no circling -- that seems very good also) We will continue to send good thoughts your way for her recovery.

[thundersquirrel]

thank you. i'm just happy to have her improving at all!

[TexanSquirrel]

thank you. i'm just happy to have her improving at all!

So are we!