sassafras
07-10-2014, 10:59 AM
Hi, so I have had a funeral for a squirrel today. Very unfortunate, but it seems I took too long to get help. I am wondering now what I could have done because all the paralysed squirrel threads couldn't be applied to this case I had.
The squirrel was an adult black squirrel I found on the side of the road crawling with only its front legs. I helped it into the brush but I soon realized it wouldn't survive there so I put it in a box with some cloth, a lid filled with water, rodent bars, and veggies (+apple). It was not bleeding from what I saw, and only had paralysed hips/legs/tail. It degraded over the next few days as so:
The first day it ate some apple, but was very sleepy (and wet and cold from the rain when I picked it up) and it would curl up under the cloth. I kept it in my garage during the night and morning until it warmed up.
http://i62.tinypic.com/2wr1e0w.jpg
(sleepy/in pain, this was at the end of the 2nd day)
The next day I tried force-watering it with an eye dropper, that did little to nothing. Sometimes I noticed it would seemingly swallow, but only 3 or so times. I also tried to force feed it because it still had not eaten anything but the apple the other day. I even crushed up broccoli, carrot, lettuce, and a tums tablet in order to try to get it as close as I could to a liquid. It wouldn't eat that (I don't blame it though. Gross).
Later into the afternoon of the second day I also noticed it had an open fracture on its elbow (note the picture). When observing the squirrel, I also noticed that it would arch its head backwards and look upwards while stretching its arms out. Honestly it seemed like mental retardation to me, but I am only familiar with rats really.
http://i57.tinypic.com/1sfbco.jpg
(the fracture)
http://i61.tinypic.com/30w3w34.jpg
(weird head up position, without the arms stretched)
I realized it was going to be a struggle for it to survive with an open fracture if it wouldn't eat or drink. It still preferred to be put in its box and it would just sleep (presumably in immense pain). This morning it was dead, about 25-50% through rigor mortis, putting its death somewhere early morning.
What could I have done? Did I do something wrong? Vets would not have taken him (not allowed with wildlife), and the rehabs around here only seem to take baby squirrels and release everything at the age of 14 weeks. This was an adult squirrel and because of the condition, I'm pretty sure they would have told me to euthanize. Adding to those excuses, every rehab is out of my driving capacity. I'm done making excuses now.
The squirrel was an adult black squirrel I found on the side of the road crawling with only its front legs. I helped it into the brush but I soon realized it wouldn't survive there so I put it in a box with some cloth, a lid filled with water, rodent bars, and veggies (+apple). It was not bleeding from what I saw, and only had paralysed hips/legs/tail. It degraded over the next few days as so:
The first day it ate some apple, but was very sleepy (and wet and cold from the rain when I picked it up) and it would curl up under the cloth. I kept it in my garage during the night and morning until it warmed up.
http://i62.tinypic.com/2wr1e0w.jpg
(sleepy/in pain, this was at the end of the 2nd day)
The next day I tried force-watering it with an eye dropper, that did little to nothing. Sometimes I noticed it would seemingly swallow, but only 3 or so times. I also tried to force feed it because it still had not eaten anything but the apple the other day. I even crushed up broccoli, carrot, lettuce, and a tums tablet in order to try to get it as close as I could to a liquid. It wouldn't eat that (I don't blame it though. Gross).
Later into the afternoon of the second day I also noticed it had an open fracture on its elbow (note the picture). When observing the squirrel, I also noticed that it would arch its head backwards and look upwards while stretching its arms out. Honestly it seemed like mental retardation to me, but I am only familiar with rats really.
http://i57.tinypic.com/1sfbco.jpg
(the fracture)
http://i61.tinypic.com/30w3w34.jpg
(weird head up position, without the arms stretched)
I realized it was going to be a struggle for it to survive with an open fracture if it wouldn't eat or drink. It still preferred to be put in its box and it would just sleep (presumably in immense pain). This morning it was dead, about 25-50% through rigor mortis, putting its death somewhere early morning.
What could I have done? Did I do something wrong? Vets would not have taken him (not allowed with wildlife), and the rehabs around here only seem to take baby squirrels and release everything at the age of 14 weeks. This was an adult squirrel and because of the condition, I'm pretty sure they would have told me to euthanize. Adding to those excuses, every rehab is out of my driving capacity. I'm done making excuses now.