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[tmiller]

I have an eight year old squirrel named chippy ( full name is princess booboo berry luvbugs)who has blood in her urin. she is a black squirrel/grey squirrel. I know they com in heat. but i never saw this before. I am looking for a rehabber or someone with knowledge about what medication to give her. while waiting to get approval to get on here I want to pet meds. com and got some cranberry powder I figure i could put it in her water.

her deit consist of birdseed, peanuts,nuts like wallnuts , brazil nuts pecan nuts. also eats spinich , bread and loves mealworms.

not sure what she weighs but shes a tad chunky.

any help would surely be appreciated.

[SammysMom]

:Welcometo TSB!!! Congrats on an 8 year old squirrel. Has she had any acorns recently? That can make the urine look red as can beets. However, barring those things, blood in urine is likely a UTI and will require antibiotics. Do you have access to a vet or is there anyone who might have a human antibiotic called Cipro? DO NOT dose the Cipro without someone helping you to break it down and dose it. PLEASE look at the link below for the healthy diet. It will help your baby to live even longer because it will ensure her strength and healthy body and bones.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

[tmiller]

thanks for the warm welcome and the advice. I'm from ohio the wooster area by the way.

[SammysMom]

Ohio seems to be quite well mentioned here today. You can also offer cranberries. I give dried ones to my guys as treats. They help with UTIs.

[tmiller]

ack! spinach she gets that everyday....she'll eat that before peanuts..

[farrelli]

No offense, but that's a pretty bad diet. Diet is our number one issue around here because squirrels can seem fine for years and then suddenly one day are paralyzed, having seizures, or are dead. It's the result of a diet low in calcium and high in phosphorous. It's a condition called Metabolic Bone Disease, and we see it probably more than any other issue, save pneumonia in babies. You will probably have a very hard time getting her to eat healthy, but it will provide her with the longest, healthiest life. Please pay attention to the thread SM gave you. You will notice that virtually everything in your current diet is in the avoid list because it's all low in calcium and high in phosphorous. The best blocks can be found here, and I'd suggest the Picky Eaters for your girl because she's probably pretty spoiled at this point:

http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

A bag lasts a month and is what most people here swear by.

You may even consider buying some additional calcium from them:

http://www.henryspets.com/calcium-carbonate-powder/

Or follow a modified form of our MBD protocol:

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

Her bones might be relatively brittle by now and calcium absorption becomes less efficient with age.

Stay around. The people here are really great and eager to help. Welcome!

[grampyngramy]

Uroporphryin may be the culprit. Which is normal.

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 tmiller
:Welcometo The Squirrel Board

That's great to have a 8 year old squirrel. Welcome Chippy!

Blood in the urine can be caused by different reasons. I would think UTI would be the most common. In Chippy's case, it is possible that this could be kidney stones.
Chippy's diet really needs some work. I really think you need to eliminate the spinach. Sorry about that. Could you try kale instead. The reason for eliminating the spinach is because it is high in oxalates. Oxalate rich foods can lead to kidney stones, especially in combination with a calcium-low diet. The other foods that you mentioned are very low in calcium and high in phosphate. The best foods are 2:1 Calcium/Phosphate.

Spinach does have a perfect calcium/phosphate ratio but it is high in oxalates which can cause kidney stones.

This is a link from your states renowned Cleveland Clinic about oxalate kidney stones.
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/urology-kidney/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones-oxalate-controlled-diet.aspx

This is the link for Calcium/Phosphate ratios in food.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=67967&d=1232419601

You will notice that seeds and nuts have very high phosphates and low calcium. Nuts should only be given for treat. Squirrels require calcium rich diets to prevent Metabolic Bone Disease which is a devastating disease caused by diet that leads to seizures, paralysis and death. We sure don't want Chippy to get this. It is one of the most common ailments that bring people to TSB.

[tmiller]

she had.greenbeans from the garden for breakfast, dried cranberries sunflower seed, for snack. later to day shell get mushrooms (a couple slices) and broccoli.
I oredered henrys squirrel blocks and peanut sticks ..so there on their way.

plus i oredered thiis: Cranberry Relief:
Active Ingredients (per 1 cc scoop) Amount
Cran-Max (Cranberry Extract) 210 mg
Echinacea Purpurea 105 mg
Calcium Ascorbate (from Ester-CŪ) 34 mg
Oregon Grape Root 34 mg
Other Ingredients (per 1 cc scoop):
Fish Digest, Natural Flavoring, Non-Fat Dry Milk and Silica Aerogel.
from pet smart.
let me know what you think.

[farrelli]

Glad you're getting the Henry's stuff (we call it HHBs). The only bad thing I see there is the sunflower seeds. Basically nuts and seeds are to be treats only. I think your girl is going to get a lot healthier in the future.

Have you considered offering supplemental calcium? If her bones are depleted, it will take some while to rebuild them.

[anniedancer]

Hello, and welcome to a wonderful forum! Its great she is 8 years old. I am no expert - plenty of others here are, though. I knew someone would mention the diet issue....Glad to read she's getting green beans and spinach. I didn't know about this, either. (I feed wild squirrels every day-) . Its a learning process.
As an RN, I can tell you that cranberries wont help a UTI. Basically, that is sort of a myth - at least in humans. It was thought the berries acidify urine, but you'd have to eat a LOT to do that! But it wont hurt, although again, I am new to squirrel health issues. Please follow the advice about antibiotics. I don't know what the laws in Ohio are about pet rodents - someone here will - But I know that if its a problem, you can tell the vet it is for a pet rat (I believe that's allowed in most places.) Or maybe a kitten. Someone will need to know the animals weight to dose correctly.
Good luck, and keep posting your questions.
Annie

[farrelli]

I think that cranberries actually do help. I work at a medical school and a number of hospitals, and all I've ever heard is that there is strong evidence that they help but the mechanics of how they do so is somewhat unknown. The thinking now is that the cranberries contain a substance which makes it hard for the infection to attach to the urinary tract.

http://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/womens-guide/cranberries-for-uti-protection

[anniedancer]

No offense meant, but WebMD isn't known to be a reliable source. What the heck....cranberries are good for you anyway, and who knows...maybe they acidfy urine enough. Research in the last 5 years disproved it but researchers don't know everything.
Annie

[farrelli]

WebMD isn't that bad, but what they say is backed up with the people that I work with, and I work at Harvard Medical School, so these folks are fairly reliable.

[anniedancer]

To each his own...opinion. I worked for 9 years in a Harvard teaching hospital.....and you know what? The interns and residents weren't as good as the people I worked with in Washington DC from Howard U! Those guys dealt with some weird and rare diseases in people who had not had decent medical care. It was a good learning experience for them, and me, too. I saw things that most medical people only read about.
I personally have caught WebMD giving out some very questionable information, plus they contradict themselves in the same newsletter. Its not a resource I personally would use. But like I said, to each his own, and Im not here to start an argument....by any means.
So, in the interest of peace and harmony, I am not going to make any more comments on this subject. Its all just opinions.
Annie (sweating in Florida)

[tmiller]

anniedancer.. thanks for your concern..and your probably right about antibiotics. I'm real leary of giving her something that a vet should give her. so i'll try the cranberry for now. potential good news is we found a rehabilater and will see him sunday. my honey found a injured bat she has been nursing it back to health. but it won't fly away so i can ask him if he will take a look at chippy.

the reason I'm leary is a couple of mounths ago my girl took a cat to the vet for a infection . to days later it went into culvulsions and died. i looked up the shot they gave it and that was one of the dangers of the medication.

[anniedancer]

I don't blame you. Id be leary, too. I have run into a couple not-so-good vets myself. But most were okay.
Glad you've found someone to help!!!!
Annie

[tmiller]

well not yet.... rehabbers here in ohio have to go thrue the ohio department of wildlife. they don't think much of squirrels he just might say put her to sleep. plus its illegal to keep wildlife ..sooooo i dunno.

thanks for the info farrilli.....

[grampyngramy]

My concern is it may just be uroporphryin. If it is no meds are needed. Is the urine blood red or just tinted orangish or reddish?

[Monipenny]

tmiller, you're not too far from me. I have a vet who treats my squirrels, you can give him a call. Bill at Sigler Animal Hospital 330-724-9019 at 295 E. Waterloo rd. Akron, Ohio. Please let me know when you write this information down so I can remove this post. I don't want to risk putting him in jeopardy.

[tmiller]

gran....most times it tinted red . what got me lookin for help one time it was bright red.

so i got the HBb today...won't do much good if she won't eat them.

[farrelli]

You'll have to make her eat them. Sometimes they need tough love and should be fed nothing until they eat them. Also try different preparations. You just have to try and try all kinds of things to find out how he'll take it. Some like it warm, cold, sliced up, ground up and mixed with applesauce, covered in blueberry juice, ground up and mixed with almond butter, etc. People just have to try a million things.

[Mommaluvy]

thanks for the warm welcome and the advice. I'm from ohio the wooster area by the way.

I am a tad bit south of you near Cincy . And :Welcome. You have come to the right place.

Btw .. If your wanting to become a Rehabber the ODOW will be offering their mandatory training this fall/ winter. This may help you in the future if you want to rehab squirrels legally AND cover your bum when looking for vet care for your baby.

Hope she gets well soon.

[Mommaluvy]

See if you can get a sample of the urine.. Yeah .. I know lol but ..

How to get an adult squirrel to pee in a hat :)

There may also be strips sold OTC to detect blood I the urine. Not sure.. But I think my mom uses them. She has mild kidney disease and she gets uti often.

Maybe call your pharmacy or stop in at a chain. I think I have seen them at meijers but dunno if you have one up there. You might try a Kroger also.