Won't stop chewing on his injured foot....

[Kjander]

My little buddy needs help! About 7 weeks ago, my 9 yr old squirrel chewed his toe off on his rear left leg. I thought he was going to bleed to death. but we managed to get it stopped. But i couldn't keep him from chewing on it. He has now chewed off most of his toes on that foot. I consulted with a squirrel rehabilitator, who said it sounded like metabolic bone disease. She gave me some liquid calcium & some very helpful diet tips, etc. Well, Rocky, (my little buddy), is doing much, much better. However, he keeps pulling the bandage off & will chew on it again. It's getting harder & harder every day to bandage it up, which is good cuz it tells me he's getting stronger. i just don't know what else to do to keep him from chewing on it. I'm afraid on of these mornings I'll get up & he won't be with me anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would so grateful. Thank you

[Shewhosweptforest]

:Welcome kjander and Rocky:Love_Icon this is horrible and once started I believe is hard to stop....we have a few members here who have made vests, that stop some of the squirrels mobility so he can't reach his lower extremities ....I'll see if I can find their threads and post them for you :grin3 is he on any pain meds...could his foot be hurting him? Hang tight there's lots of people here with some great ideas :thumbsup

[Shewhosweptforest]

Here's one thread that shows a vest Charlie chuckles made for her Charlie Chuckles
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?40232-Squirrel-with-a-paralyzed-leg-need-amputated-Pro-s-Con-s/page2&highlight=lilly

And here's the other...they use a wrist bandage in this one :thumbsup

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?43761-Keep-up-the-TSB-Vibes-for-little-GIO!!!!-bad-MBD-!!! Go to page 27... To see what they did on this thread.

[farrelli]

Can you tell us what her diet is and was? Diet is really key. Here is our guide:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?191-Squirrel-Nutrition

Also, I think that just a single shot of calcium isn't going to cut it. She probably needs to be on our MBD protocol if her diet was bad for a long time. Here it is:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?34495-Emergency-Treatment-of-Metabolic-Bone-Disease-(MBD)

It takes a long time to build those bones back up, and MBD is pretty painful. Do you have her on heat? Gentle heat can soothe the pain.

Also, I think that it might be a good idea to give her some pain meds for awhile. If others agree, you might want to put her on some infant ibuprophen. If you give us a weight, we can tel you how much to give.

Oh, some people have also used cones to stop chewing. Here's a thread:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?35890-Moose

I know there's instructions about how to do a cone, possibly in that thread, but if you PM Weedot, I'm sure she'd be happy to help you.

[Shewhosweptforest]

:bump kjander :wave123 pics would be good, too. :grin3 I would love to see Rocky...9 years is quite impressive :bowdown :Love_Icon

[Chickenlegs]

The chewing needs to be stopped NOW. The vest or wrist wrap used by one member should keep your baby from reaching those toes. Wonder if a dose of yuk would dissuade a chewer tho you don't want it on raw skin. Those MBD protocols work but it does take time and perseverance. Farrelli already gave you the links. Good luck.

[CritterMom]

Please pay attention to the links you were sent, particularly the MBD protocol. The liquid calcium usually has actually very little elemental calcium in it - so you would have to give really large quantities to get the calcium your little one needs right now. Please switch to either the Tums or you can either purchase plain calcium carbonate without Vitamin D from www.henryspets.com (and while you are there you need to buy some of the squirrel food - 2 blocks a day) or you can google "NOW calcium carbonate powder" and purchase some that way. The Tums will work as well. Do NOT use human calcium supplements with Vitamin D - the amounts of D in those are too high for your squirrel.

I am hoping with a higher dose of calcium, your little one will regain feeling in the foot he is chewing and stop chewing it, so raising the daily calcium dose is very important. Until that time, however, you need to physically block him from chewing. I think the "wrist bandage" around his chest and midsection would likely work best - think of trying to bend over to tie your shoe while wearing a corset - almost impossible.

[Kjander]

I am so grateful for everyone's help. I just love that little guy so darn much! He's like one of my children. I will definitely be putting a "corset" on him. Where would I get non-human Tums?

Here's a picture of my Rocky. He is such a special creature!

238377

[Shewhosweptforest]

Oh my gosh ....he's sooo cuuute! :Love_Icon You can give him human tums...they say they like the fruit/berry flavored ones...that way you can try a few different berry favors and see what he likes:thumbsup :grouphug

Edit: CritterMom means that you don't want human calcium with vitamin D added :grin3 plain tums are fine! :thumbsup

[farrelli]

So cute! Do you take him outside? We STRONGLY recommend that you don't. We've seen it go horribly wrong so very many times.

[sandycheeks]

Come on rocky get better soon! :grouphug

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

here is what the wrist band looks like.......... Tighter around the back hips and looser around the chest, snug feels good to them.