Seizure then scared and squeaking

[abackwoodsbarbie]

So the day before yesterday my baby squirrel (about 9 -10 weeks old) had what we think was a seizure. Since then she's been acting scared of EVERYTHING! She's normally a little scared of new things but now she won't even play on her favorite chair or any toys she used to love. She hates her cage then once she goes in doesn't wanna leave and is starting to not eat or drink unless we hand feed her and watch her eat. She squeaks and squeals and grunts for no reason. I was wondering if it could be metabolic bone disease?! She doesn't have all the symptoms but has enough to make me consider it and I read it needs to be treated right away but I don't want to pump her with calcium and phosphorus until I'm sure! Any advice?!

[Nancy in New York]

What kind of formula is she on?
If she is already weaned, how old was she?
Is this a grey squirrel?
Do you have pictures?
What is her diet like?
Does she eat Squirrel Blocks?
How long have you had her, and how
did she come to you.
If she is a head trauma baby, they can develop seizures.
Take some molasses or syrup and rub her gums to bring up
the blood sugar levels if you see her actually seizing.

Sorry about so many questions.

[MJS]

HEY BARBIE...WELCOME TO TSB :Welcome AT 9-10 WEEKS, BABIES ARE IN A STAGE WHERE THEY ARE AFRAID OF EVERYTHING. IT'S NOT UNUSUAL. TELL US ABOUT HER DIET. BE SPECIFIC. WHAT FORMULA IS SHE ON? WHAT SOLID FOODS HAS SHE HAD? HAVE YOU BEEN GIVING RODENT BLOCKS? WHAT KIND AND HOW MANY PER DAY? MBD IS UNLIKELY AT THIS AGE, BUT DIET IS CRITICAL. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SEIZURE? SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, BUT THIS INFORMATION IS CRITICAL IN HELPING YOU TO HELP HER. ALSO...CAN YOU POST PICTURES OF HER?
GLAD YOU'RE HERE...THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR SQUIRRELS!!! :thumbsup

[stepnstone]

Been waiting on questions to be answered on this one but
will point out no type of seizure is "normal" and calcium
is the protocol for mbd not phosphorus.

[abackwoodsbarbie]

She is a grey squirrel and is not the first one we've raised but this one had 2 siblings that did not make it for unknown reasons, they fell out of a tree. She has been off formula for a while probably 3 weeks or more and is on complete rodent food (which has a large variety of things such as corn, soybeans wheat alfalfa oats barley the list goes on)as well as some fruits like apples and oranges that she steals from us lol and seeds and peanuts which she seems to pick out more so we've cut back seeds and peanuts when it happened thinking she might not get enough nutrients. The rodent blocks are within the food but I don't see her eat them often. I've had her since she was about 6 weeks old and was very weak with yellow stool but as soon as we got her on puppy milk replacement the stool returned to normal quickly. I don't want to compare her to my last one but she was much different as far as being afraid and the one I have now just over night flipped and became scared and squealing all the time. As far as the seizure my mom said she heard her hit the floor and she was spazzing on her back and then didn't move for a few moments and then kinda started moving again and started to act normal (she's not a squirrel person lol).sorry if I've forgotten to answer any questions I think I posted a pic it kept deleting it

[stepnstone]

Not going to mince words... The diet sucks!
You've had a warning, your lucky, many die without warning
or during seizure.
Start the mbd protocol now!

Emergency Treatment for MBD

Get calcium into the squirrel IMMEDIATELY, not later, not tomorrow, NOW. Delaying treatment can cause death or permanent paralysis.

You will need:

--Tums or calcium pills (any kind)
--a syringe, eyedropper, or spoon

Crush one Tums or calcium pill and add a little water or fruit juice. Use the syringe, eyedropper, or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. Feed a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, and spread it out through the day and night to keep his blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If the squirrel is having seizures, weakness, or paralysis, the symptoms will usually improve within a few hours, but this does not mean the squirrel is cured. It will take many months to rebuild the calcium in the bones.

Long-Term Treatment for MBD

The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.

1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at the top of the “Squirrel Nutrition” forum. (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=16093 (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16093)) Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day. If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily. You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.

3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks. Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.

Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day
Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day
Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day

The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels. If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone. Also, if he is in a tall cage, either place him in a smaller cage, or pad the bottom very well.

Heat is very soothing for a squirrel with MBD. A heating pad turned to low and placed so they cannot chew the pad or cord, or a rice buddy (a sock filled with dry rice/beans and microwaved for about 20 seconds) will work.

[MJS]

BARBIE...PLEASE FOLLOW STEP'S RECOMMENDATIONS RE: THE MBD PROTOCOL. GO TO http://www.henryspets.com/ AND ORDER THE HENRY'S PICKY BLOCKS, THE FOX VALLEY 20/50 FORMULA AND SOME ULTRA BOOST. INCORPORATE THESE INTO HIS DIET. SEE THIS THREAD http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?46010-2-bald-patches-what-s-going-on&p=1009636#post1009636 POST #11 FOR DIET SUGGESTIONS. ALSO http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

SHE'S A VERY CUTE GIRL!!!

[abackwoodsbarbie]

Ok and can you please inform me of a heathy diet? She was on the path of being released until now and she's not going to get rodent blocks which are provided for her now but I'm not home for a couple hours a day so I don't know how much she's eating of them. And she's not weak she's going through phases of running and exploring but everything is scaring her. I'm a little worried the seizure might be due to the fact that she fell out of an 18 ft tree at 6 weeks old. I don't want to over dose her on calcium.


MJS just saw your post thank you

[stepnstone]

I would also advise you to get some liquid infant Ibuprofen.
That scared and squealing is due to pain, mbd is very
painful!
We will need a weight on your little one to be able to
correctly dose the Ib.

[MJS]

THE OFFICIAL HEALTHY DIET IS IN THE THIRD (LAST) LINK OF MY POST. WHAT I GIVE MY SQ IS IN THE SECOND LINK. IF YOU ORDER AND GIVE THE HENRY'S BLOCKS AND THE FOX VALLEY FORMULA YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OVERDOSING HER ON CALCIUM OR ANYTHING ELSE AS SHE WILL BE RECEIVING ALL OF THE NECESSARY NUTRIENTS FOR HER GOOD HEALTH AND SURVIVAL.

[stepnstone]

Ok and can you please inform me of a heathy diet? She was on the path of being released until now and she's not going to get rodent blocks which are provided for her now but I'm not home for a couple hours a day so I don't know how much she's eating of them. And she's not weak she's going through phases of running and exploring but everything is scaring her. I'm a little worried the seizure might be due to the fact that she fell out of an 18 ft tree at 6 weeks old. I don't want to over dose her on calcium.

MJS just saw your post thank you

That "complete rodent chow" that you mentioned maybe ok for rats and mice but it is not substantial for squirrels and contains many of the items that rob squirrels of their much needed calcium.
We can go over diet but first lets get your little on the road to recovery!
The diet alone, with or without the rodent chow points to your baby having mbd. Please do not entertain denial!
The fact that your squirrel may "seem" to be acting normal after an episode is the resilience of a squirrel. It is part of their natural born nature of survival not to show illness or pain to protect themselves against predators by not appearing weak.

[stepnstone]

Another fyi...
Your not going to "overdose" your squirrel on calcium.
Their body will extrude excess and you'll be able to tell
by white poops. If that were to happen then yes, you
back down the dosage.

[farrelli]

Indeed, the diet needs a massive overhaul and she needs the MBD protocol. She's in bad shape. We see it all the time. The most common issue with the people who come here is that they're not feeding a proper diet. Some show up before problems present and we provide corrective action, but many show up after problems occur. Probably the most common cause of the problems we see are diet related.

Would you like us to see if there's someone in your area who could take her?

[Nancy in New York]

Ok and can you please inform me of a heathy diet? She was on the path of being released until now and she's not going to get rodent blocks which are provided for her now but I'm not home for a couple hours a day so I don't know how much she's eating of them. And she's not weak she's going through phases of running and exploring but everything is scaring her. I'm a little worried the seizure might be due to the fact that she fell out of an 18 ft tree at 6 weeks old. I don't want to over dose her on calcium.


MJS just saw your post thank you

Yes, seizures can absolutely occur due to head trauma.

They could be a combination of her head trauma seizure,
and a poor diet.

[island rehabber]

Barbie you've gotten excellent advice here from everyone -- I agree 100%
The sooner you begin the MBD protocol the sooner she will start to recover from this very painful, awful disease.

[grampyngramy]

I know with butters he would spaz out from certain scents. Once we figured them out the seizures were very few almost none. Dog scents and bones was his worst.

[abackwoodsbarbie]

I have started her on the mbd protocol, no I would not like to see if anyone could take her. I've raised many squirrels successfully. This wasn't a slow occurring thing that I just missed all the signs to, this happened over night after she's been playing outside for about 3 hours interacting with other squirrels, then she came in was acting same as always and the next morning she was like that. We have no intentions of keeping her as a house pet. The goal was to nurse her back to heath and let her go when she was ready.

Stepnstone I'm not really sure why you're an administrator, you might know a lot about rehabilitating squirrels, but you have a very rude way of going about it, terrible people skills... Maybe you're not meaning to come off as rude as it seems but when someone's on here asking questions it's because they're trying and they don't know the answer and you shouldn't reply back with such a know it all attitude, you've made me not want to use this site again..

[Nancy in New York]

I'm running out but I'm sure that others will chime in.
She should NOT be outside at this age, honestly it is way
too young to be out. Their mom's keep them much longer and
usually the absolute earliest to do a proper release would be 16 weeks.
Was she outside caged or loose?
Do you have an outdoor release cage?

If you have a weight on her we can dose infant ibuprophen for her
if you believe she is in pain. She could have taken a fall, but her
diet really is really lacking too, so this could be a result of a fall and poor diet.

[stepnstone]

I have started her on the mbd protocol, no I would not like to see if anyone could take her. I've raised many squirrels successfully. This wasn't a slow occurring thing that I just missed all the signs to, this happened over night after she's been playing outside for about 3 hours interacting with other squirrels, then she came in was acting same as always and the next morning she was like that. We have no intentions of keeping her as a house pet. The goal was to nurse her back to heath and let her go when she was ready.

Stepnstone I'm not really sure why you're an administrator, you might know a lot about rehabilitating squirrels, but you have a very rude way of going about it, terrible people skills... Maybe you're not meaning to come off as rude as it seems but when someone's on here asking questions it's because they're trying and they don't know the answer and you shouldn't reply back with such a know it all attitude, you've made me not want to use this site again..

Why is that, because I said the diet sucks?? For that I will apologize for lack of a more appropriate wording.
Outside that I feel I have nothing to apologize for, and certainly not for being direct. Mbd cripples, mbd kills and the sooner that point can get across and treatment started the better chance the squirrel has of survival.
If my being informative and direct is perceived as being rude then I'll have to look at that but I've seen more then my share of mbd squirrels die over bad diet and mbd then you can even imagine. And it's never easy!
If you were offended over my "please do not be in denial" you are still displaying that with your own comment even after I tried to explain in my post how it is a squirrel's nature to hide illness. "This wasn't a slow occurring thing that I just missed all the signs to, this happened over night after she's been playing outside for about 3 hours interacting with other squirrels, then she came in was acting same as always and the next morning she was like that."
Mbd does not have symptoms that show as it progresses, it is a slow progression as calcium is leeched from the bones until it gets to the point it starts taking them down. Often there is no warning, a squirrel can be playing, active and happy one moment and drop down the next. This also has been seen and experienced way too many times!
It was only my intention to be as direct and informative as I could to get the point across, not to be perceived as being rude for doing so. Saving lives is my business as a rehabilitator that I take very seriously and one of the reasons I am an admin.

I will leave your forum so as not to further offend you but I do hope you have reconsidered and stick with TSB. This is one of the best informative sites on the net and where you need to be for continued help with your squirrel.

I wish nothing but the best for you and your squirrel, good luck and improved health.
,

[farrelli]

I think that Step is frustrated, as I'm sure we all are. If you've raised squirrels before, it's hard to imagine why the diet was so very bad, why you're letting her outside, and a host of other issues. The care for this girl has been very lacking, that's why I'm hoping that either you'll let us find someone to take her or really buckle down on proper care. Also, as someone who's raised squirrels before, I hope that you're aware that they do MUCH better on release if they're released with companions that they know, trust, and can possibly live with for a time. It really sounds like she would be better off somewhere else. Are you at least home most of the time?