mbd-treatment and recovery any help appreciated

[Hottiecowgirl]

My 8 month old grey squirrel started having symptoms on easter sunday she could barely walk and was lethargic, I visited this forum and got information that probably saved her life, i started giving tums smashed in water, i also gave her gatoraid 2cc with water 3cc, pulled, she wasnt eating and this is what she basically lived on for 24 hrs, we were giving her fluids every 2 hrs via syringe, bedded her with baby blankets to keep it very soft for her, my vet has a someone who rehabs that is employed there and i spoke with them on tuesday asking about information they could give and asking about vitamin d supplement, knowing it is fat soluble made it scary giving it orally with no parameters, wouldve had taken her to the vet however we have handled our squirrel sparingly due to release sometime this spring, she gets very upset when removed from the cage so we dont do that, however in this situation we have had to hold and cuddle her alot not knowing if she would recover myself and my daughter made a point to love her and cuddle her as much as we could. In saying this we gave cod liver oil which contains vitamin d and tums and offered food continued water/gatoraid as well, and it has been one week she started eating the tums whole and eating well, moving around and doing so much better a few days ago, continues to pass stools and urinate, she is doing 100% better, I appreciate the information we were able to receive from your website, we love this little girl and my daughter and myself are the two caregivers for her. she has a special place in our hearts, we got her at 5 weeks old due to the neighbors cutting down a extremely large tree that housed numerous wild animals, many baby squirrels fell to their death in this event, however our Sandy had her fall broken by her sibling my husband went out to help clean the tree up and to be honest to get the tree people and the neighbors out of our yard, and during this is found her and brought her in to us, we immediately got her warm and calmed her she was in shock, offered her gatoraid and water mix, for 24 hrs while getting her warm, then offered her formula and bought jars of squirrel vitamins from the rehab connection we have, i have never reared an animal other then puppies, pigs, horses, and raccoons, oh and kittens but i just followed what i would do for a puppy. she has been a great member of our family even though we are very upset they cut down her tree and separated her from her mother. We have talked numerous conversations on the release now we talk about how to get her better. She has recovered well but not completely yet. My concern is she is not eating the tums anymore, her appetite is back full force, still havent given any nuts, thinking thats what effected her to begin with, phosp out of balance. She is getting sugar snap peas( her favorite), kale or romaine lettuce or boston lettuce, a carrot, apples, sweet potatoes, her tum (that she isnt eating now), celery leaves if we have them, a slice of orange daily, rodent block, timothy cubes, cod liver oil capsule(cut and drained she drinks the oil out of a medicine cup). We have walnuts and almonds and are waiting to reintroduce them. So my question is what can we do about the tums is there another vitamin supplement i can give to help with calcium? we will take her cage outside in the sun once she is fully recovered scared to much to fast will stroke her out...i have been opening the window and letting the sun in when able due to weather, any advice on vitamins? any advice on foods that i can add or subtract? and how do i get her to drink more seems like she is still not drinking enough? stool is great color dark brown almost black firm pellet like, urine doesnt smell so must not be strong, eyes are clear and moist, gums are pink and moist. and how do we fatten her up she seems so thin..sure due to stress of sickness however i want her to be at optimal health....http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/images/smilies/bty.gif

[farrelli]

If you're still giving Gatorade, STOP. It clogs their kidneys.

Blocks should be the basis of their diet. If you haven't seen the healthy diet chart, it's here:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39275

How long have you been successfully giving the Tums? The general course of the MBD treatment is as follows:

Continue to give 500-600 mg calcium per day (which is less than a full Tums tablet) 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.

If you need another source of calcium, Henry's makes both a calcium and multi-vitamin supplement. Or you can just grind up a calcium pill (with no D, especially seeing that you're already delivering it).

http://www.henryspets.com/categories/Supplements/

If you finish the course of action followed above, supplements should no longer be necessary as long as a healthy diet is followed. Most people here prefer the blocks you can order at Henry's.

[farrelli]

Btw, I see that you're now about 1/4 of the way done with the treatment. So, you might crush up the Tums, or do as stated above with the cal supplement or ordering from Henry's. When cal is crushed up to such a fine powder it's usually pretty easy to administer because it's tasteless. You can just sprinkle it on just about anything.

[stepnstone]

What is the rodent block you are feeding?

Since rodent block is the most important part of the diet it should
be a quality block that includes all the essential daily nutrients.
Block needs to be the first thing eaten before other foods,
even more important since dealing with MBD and the effects of it.
I personally would recommend HHB's (Henry's healthy blocks.) The
formula for these blocks was formulated especially for squirrels and
their nutritional needs. http://www.henryspets.com/

MBD leaches calcium from the bones which can make them weak and fragile.
Even after completing the MBD protocol, even after the squirrel seems to be
acting "normal" again, complete recovery takes even more time.

My girl was apparently worse then what you described when she went down from MBD,
never the less it took a year before I could honestly say she was completely "back to
normal" and able to match the agility of a healthy normal squirrel.

The last thing one would want is a relapse, a quality block is key to diet,
time and patience is key to a successful recovery...

[island rehabber]

:goodpost stepnstone said it all....and he knows. MBD can be reversed, but only with diligence and care. His Annie is now a beautiful, normal squirrel and living proof that the protocol works.

[Hottiecowgirl]

Thanks for the information no i am not giving gatoraid at this point only for first 48 hrs she continued to void with no issues, only doing so to keep her hydrated and keep her electrolytes in balance due to not eating, she is doing much better thanks to the help in on the henrys blocks i ordered the growth blocks today will have them in a day or two. all help is appreciated however i also appreciate if everyone is friendly with advice i am an educated individual that has reared many animals of different species and am also a medical professional, i obviously came to this site for help and have received it but appreciate if everyone is friendly and respectful with their advice, as i would be....

[Hottiecowgirl]

She is doing so much better we got henry blocks today and she is eating them.,..yeah thanks everyone for your help

[island rehabber]

That is wonderful news, HCG. You already know, I'm sure, that for something as serious as MBD you need to stick with the protocol for a long period of time -- well over 6 months -- for the improvements to continue. It took her awhile to develop it, and it takes even longer to cure it. :peace

[Hottiecowgirl]

Yes thank you I will continue to watch her very closely she is eating the blocks so well from henrys and seems to have her appetite back, i do have a question though we never intended to keep her we intended to slowly release her however after this we dont know how thats going to be possible since we have been cuddling her and handling her well more then we had and also i dont want to let her go until she would be in the safe zone for health which at this time we wont be able to know directly. I know a rehabber that has babies all the time she releases them however unless they have a medical condition or she rehabbed one that was blind, would it be to late to get a younger one for her to have as a companion? I feel like she is alone. Whats your thoughts?

[island rehabber]

Sorry to tell you, I have poor luck introducing new squirrels to each other after 8 WEEKS of age, let alone 8 months. I often end up with a dozen squirrels in 11 cages for this reason, instead of in little play groups, because they came in to rehab too old to get along with anyone :shakehead.

To brighten the picture, though, I have often released squirrels who were raised alone by people -- and even a few who were raised as pets and never knew the inside of a cage. I keep them in the outdoor pre-release enclosure a bit longer, and you know what? They wild up just fine. :thumbsup

[Hottiecowgirl]

Thank you you are always so helpful! She is doing so much better however she wants us to hold her now, when she was so ill we thought she wasn't going to make it and we held her and sang to her, we wanted her not to feel alone, now she wants us to hold her. We continue to play with her but trying notebook hold her as much. Thanks for all u advice