Flying Squirrel

[dds_95]

Hi, my flying squirrel Quasi has a red hairless streak down her underside. I have been online since last night trying to find out what it may be to no avail. My vet said if I was to bring her in they would keep her as it's illegal in MS to own wild life...didn't know that. I saved the little critter and just didn't feel safe for her to put her back in the wild. I have had her 10 years and this is the first episode of anything wrong. I'm attaching a pic in hopes someone might can help identify what is going on and what I need to do

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 dds_95

:Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

Wow, Quasi is 10 years years old. That's great! I have heard of flying squirrels that are 15 years old.
The first question that we have to ask is about the diet. What has Quasi been eating? That's a good place to start. :grin2

[dds_95]

Yea I've been impressed she's lived this long. She has always had a diet of parrot food Kaytee brand from Petsmart and I'll buy a bag of dried fruits to mix with it. Every once in a while I'll feed her some yogurt (she loves yogurt) and there's a salt wheel.

[HRT4SQRLS]

dds_95
More than likely Quasi is overgrooming her chest/stomach and pulling her own hair out. Flyers tend to be OCD and won't stop when this starts. We always have to ask about the diet because dietary deficiencies are MANY times the cause. The good news is that it can usually be corrected. :thumbsup

I hope to hear from you soon. :tilt

[dds_95]

Here she is and other than her underneath she looks and acts fine.

[dds_95]

dds_95
More than likely Quasi is overgrooming her chest/stomach and pulling her own hair out. Flyers tend to be OCD and won't stop when this starts. We always have to ask about the diet because dietary deficiencies are MANY times the cause. The good news is that it can usually be corrected. :thumbsup

I hope to hear from you soon. :tilt

Is there anyhing I need to do to help? Have you ever seen or heard of this before? Any suggestions?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Oh my, I think her problem is diet related.

More than likely she has a condition called Metabolic Bone Disease due to calcium deficiency. The yogurt is VERY good for her. I would definitely give her yogurt.

MBD is caused by a calcium deficiency. The body attempts to balance the calcium by leeching calcium from the bones. MBD causes pain so therefore flyers will begin chewing on themselves or over grooming and pulling hair out. The last stages of MBD are hind end paralysis, seizures and death. The good news is that it is reversible but it takes time.

Flyers also need extra protein as they are omnivores. In the wild they eat plants and insects. Captive flyers diet must include a protein source. The easiest source is mealworms or WaxWorms.

Flyers need a rodent block that provides the vitamins and minerals that they require. They also eat fresh veggies. Fruit should be limited as it is high in sugar. Nuts should be very limited and given only as treats.

Let me go find the Flyer diet and post the link for you. brb

Edit: YES, we have seen this MANY times.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Here is the link for flying squirrel diet. Scroll back to post #1 of this thread for detailed information.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?37700-HEALTHY-DIET-for-PET-Flying-Squirrels/page3

[dds_95]

Thank you. That would be very much appreciated. I'm surprised that she's been on this diet 10 years and this is the first episode :( I feel like a bad mommy

[dds_95]

Here is the link for flying squirrel diet. Scroll back to post #1 of this thread for detailed information.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?37700-HEALTHY-DIET-for-PET-Flying-Squirrels/page3

Thank you again. I will go tomorrow and start her on some of these. Feeling better :)

[HRT4SQRLS]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?32122-MBD-Treatment

OK, let start here. Because Quasi is 10 years old we need to do this gradually.
The link above is for treating MBD in grey and fox squirrels. They are much larger so the amounts of calcium are greater for them than flyers.
We will scale that back for a flyer. We will NOT be doing the 500mg per day.
Do you have Tums? That is what is recommended. You do NOT want a calcium supplement with added Vit.D. I would try to get 200 mg of calcium in her every day for a couple weeks. Check the mg of the Tums that you have or get. I believe they come in 500 mg or 750 mg. It would be approximately 1/2 of a 500mg tablet. You want to crush it. If she likes yogurt that would be a good way to get it in her. You want to space it out over 24 hrs so that her calcium levels stay up.

I would start this as soon as possible.
You also need to get some mealworms or WaxWorms. I would give her a few a day.
I am reluctant to change her diet 100% NOW due to her age. We need to take this slow and steady but her diet MUST change.
She needs a rodent block. I would recommend that you go to Henry's Pets online and purchase some flyer blocks. I will post a link. They are made specifically for flyers.

Let me go get that link. brb

[HRT4SQRLS]

Here is the link for the flyer blocks.
http://www.henryspets.com/hi-protein-blocks/

I would highly recommend these because they are balanced. They are considered a supplement so she only needs one per day.

Henry's will be closing for the holidays on 12/15 so you would need to order now.

[HRT4SQRLS]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels
Here is another link about diet. It is the healthy diet for grey/fox squirrels. The reason I am posting this link is because it contains a lot of good information that applies to flyers also.
You can see that the block is a major component of the diet. Healthy veggies would be next in importance. In the case of flyers, the protein source (mealworms,WaxWorms, baked chicken, eggs) would also be very important. The top of the pyramid is treats. This would include nuts and fruit. These should be very limited.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I KNOW this is a LOT of information to take in tonight. I'm sure it's overwhelming but you can do this.

The reason she is pulling her hair/over grooming is due to a tingling sensation and/or pain from the early stages of MBD. You have to be VERY careful with this. Flyers sometimes won't stop a destructive behavior and will actually destroy their body. We have seen flyers become obsessed with something like this and not stop. Very, very sad.

I probably should summarize this as it is a lot to take in.

(1) Start the MBD treatment. Try to get 200mg of calcium (Tums)in her everyday for a few weeks spread out through the day. I would sprinkle it on her yogurt.

(2) I would order the Henry's Flyer blocks.

(3) I would start offering her healthy vegetables.

(4) I would buy mealworms or WaxWorms.

(5) No more dried fruit.

(6) I am reluctant to say discontinue the parrot food now as this had been a staple of her diet for 10 years. I would slowly start transitioning to the healthy diet.

I hope this helps. I am happy to help in any way that I can. I have 3 flyers and I sure do love them.:tilt

You're right, (other than the tummy) she does look good. She is a cutie and I'm sure she has your heart. They do that. :)

[HRT4SQRLS]

:embar Sorry it's me again. :)

I forgot something. We give them mushrooms for Vitamin D. Because they are nocturnal they don't make Vitamin D from sunlight so they get it from the diet.

I want to emphasis again, because Quasi seems OK other than the loss of hair, I would transition the diet slowly. I don't think it would be wise to 'trash' her diet and introduce a completely new diet from one day to the next ... due to her age. We don't want to completely throw her body into a tailspin. She is a senior lady, so let's go slow. She does need the calcium though.