Vomiting, help!

[Maddie]

Hello,

I posted almost a week ago about odd behavior and a possible urinary tract infection; this is the link http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?48786-Odd-bathroom-behavior-Should-I-be-worried .

She seemed to be her normal self in the following days, lots of energy, cuddly, eating a lot, drinking water, playful. Unfortunately she threw up a milky substance about 30 minutes ago. This is the first time I've seen her throw up that wasn't spit up (when little) from excitement. She isn't on formula or anything of this color. I'm not sure what to do or what happened. Her stomach has been slightly bigger today, but the bathroom issues have cleared up. I'm not sure what this is and I'm extremely worried!

Sometimes she spits up when she sleeps on her back and has eaten before sleeping, but it is just a very very tiny bit. This time it was full on throw up and 2 - 3 gags since. When she seemed settled we gave her pedialyte with water, I'm just not sure what to do.

[Nancy in New York]

Hello,

I posted almost a week ago about odd behavior and a possible urinary tract infection; this is the link http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?48786-Odd-bathroom-behavior-Should-I-be-worried .

She seemed to be her normal self in the following days, lots of energy, cuddly, eating a lot, drinking water, playful. Unfortunately she threw up a milky substance about 30 minutes ago. This is the first time I've seen her throw up that wasn't spit up (when little) from excitement. She isn't on formula or anything of this color. I'm not sure what to do or what happened. Her stomach has been slightly bigger today, but the bathroom issues have cleared up. I'm not sure what this is and I'm extremely worried!

Sometimes she spits up when she sleeps on her back and has eaten before sleeping, but it is just a very very tiny bit. This time it was full on throw up and 2 - 3 gags since. When she seemed settled we gave her pedialyte with water, I'm just not sure what to do.

Can you give some background.
What type of squirrel is this.
What is the age?
Does she have free roam at any time?
Is there anything that she could have gotten into?
Have you given her ANY nuts in the shell yesterday, or the day
before?
What exactly did she eat yesterday?
Can you post a photo of the vomit, and
can you post one of Ziggy.
You mention her stomach being bloated, I am wondering
if she has some sort of worms. Can you get a fecal
exam done on her?

[Maddie]

I'll copy over everything from the other poster about her:

"About Her: She is just under 5 months, female grey squirrel from southern Louisiana.

About her health background: She has a large outside cage that she is in a minimal of 4 hours a day and a maximum of 8 where she runs/plays and gets her energy out. I think she is a bit on the chubby side, but she's a little small for her age body wise. I'm almost positive this is due to her state when I first took her into my care at a younger age. She was very under weight, very dehydrated, and very lethargic, but that changed with in a few days time. Sometimes, when she spends a long time outside her eyes get a little red almost like allergies, but this is normal for her.

Her diet: She eats a healthy diet of mostly fresh vegetables and fortified rodent block: broccoli, carrots, snap peas, green beans, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, red lettuce, asian purple lettuce, green lettuce, and garden greens, rarely cauliflower. She receives a very very small tangerine (smaller than a chicken egg) or cumquat or small piece of pomegranate once a day. Every other day she'll receive a 'all natural rodent apple triscuit' that contains a good amount of calcium and no vitamin D/corn/seeds/or peanuts, this came recommended by a veternarian professor specializing in small mammals. I switched to these about two weeks ago. I give her one of these triscuits if and only if she receives a nut to counter the phosphate in take. She has access to water at her leisure via bottle. The amount she drinks fluctuates. When she seems to be stressed or constipated, I add a very small amount of pedialyte to her outside water to help. "

She free roams around the house when I can keep an eye on her, other than that she has a large outside cage and sleep cage she'll be in. She might've gotten into christmas stuff that I was wrapping, but it seemed she was just playing with the scraps.
Yesterday she ate snap peas, rodent block, some red lettuce, purple lettuce, a tomato, a cumquat, a hazelnut, and a high protein squirrel triscuit (to balance out the nut).Her stomach was only bloated the 2nd half of yesterday.

I'll post a picture of the vomit. She just vomited more, it looks like some of her food. The first was white and foaming, this looks like semi-digested. She threw up three times 15 minutes ago. She was sleeping and it woke her up, she immediately isolated herself to throw up. After she was done, I cleaned her up and she took some more pedialyte with water. She's back asleep now.

This is the most recent picture of her ( a few hours old), she was half a sleep when I took it. She is more puffed up now.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Two additional comments.
(1) Do you have poinsettias in your home now? Just wanted to rule that out because they are poisonous.

(2) I read your other thread and noted that you added a 'rodent apple triscuit' to the diet two weeks ago. On the 12th she was having urinary issues and now vomiting. Just to be on the safe side I would discontinue this. It might not be related but I would definitely want to rule that out also. :thumbsup

I hope your baby gets better soon. :grouphug

[Maddie]

I don't think I can get a fecal matter exam done until Monday at the earliest because I would have to bring her/find a vet. Do you think there's something I can do in the mean time?

[Maddie]

Her poops seem normal, her pee (as posted in the last thread) was a little strange a few days ago. That has me worried. She is acting more normal now.

[Maddie]

I'll stop the triscuits and no poinsettias anywhere, but will definitely steer clear. Thank you for the good wishes.

This is her half a sleep right now.

[Maddie]

This was a few days ago when she was having the urine issue.

[island rehabber]

The way most of what she threw up seems undigested, I am concerned about a blockage of some type. Parasites (tapeworms, etc) can actually cause this -- one of our beloved squirrels here on TSB, lenny, had this problem for quite awhile before an excellent vet figured it out. Look for segments of worms in her vomit and her poop.....
Keeping her hydrated is very important because of her nausea....I would even just give her water with a tiny bit of sugar or honey instead of the Pedialyte, because it has sodium and she doesn't really need that right now.

If we can hook you up with a squirrel-friendly vet, a fecal sample might be the best thing. Unfortunately, and unlike dogs and cats who barf whenever they feel like it, squirrels do not vomit unless something is quite wrong.


EDIT: I was typing as you posted her pic -- she is gorgeous! :D

[Nancy in New York]

I'll copy over everything from the other poster about her:

"About Her: She is just under 5 months, female grey squirrel from southern Louisiana.

About her health background: She has a large outside cage that she is in a minimal of 4 hours a day and a maximum of 8 where she runs/plays and gets her energy out. I think she is a bit on the chubby side, but she's a little small for her age body wise. I'm almost positive this is due to her state when I first took her into my care at a younger age. She was very under weight, very dehydrated, and very lethargic, but that changed with in a few days time. Sometimes, when she spends a long time outside her eyes get a little red almost like allergies, but this is normal for her.

Her diet: She eats a healthy diet of mostly fresh vegetables and fortified rodent block: broccoli, carrots, snap peas, green beans, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, red lettuce, asian purple lettuce, green lettuce, and garden greens, rarely cauliflower. She receives a very very small tangerine (smaller than a chicken egg) or cumquat or small piece of pomegranate once a day. Every other day she'll receive a 'all natural rodent apple triscuit' that contains a good amount of calcium and no vitamin D/corn/seeds/or peanuts, this came recommended by a veternarian professor specializing in small mammals. I switched to these about two weeks ago. I give her one of these triscuits if and only if she receives a nut to counter the phosphate in take. She has access to water at her leisure via bottle. The amount she drinks fluctuates. When she seems to be stressed or constipated, I add a very small amount of pedialyte to her outside water to help. "

She free roams around the house when I can keep an eye on her, other than that she has a large outside cage and sleep cage she'll be in. She might've gotten into christmas stuff that I was wrapping, but it seemed she was just playing with the scraps.
Yesterday she ate snap peas, rodent block, some red lettuce, purple lettuce, a tomato, a cumquat, a hazelnut, and a high protein squirrel triscuit (to balance out the nut).Her stomach was only bloated the 2nd half of yesterday.

I'll post a picture of the vomit. She just vomited more, it looks like some of her food. The first was white and foaming, this looks like semi-digested. She threw up three times 15 minutes ago. She was sleeping and it woke her up, she immediately isolated herself to throw up. After she was done, I cleaned her up and she took some more pedialyte with water. She's back asleep now.

This is the most recent picture of her ( a few hours old), she was half a sleep when I took it. She is more puffed up now.

Sorry, I reread your whole thread after I wrote this.
But it's good to have all her info in one place.

THIS is NOT normal for a squirrel to throw up.
We have a rehabber who actually went back into a lot of threads
on the board, about squirrels throwing up, and one thing that struck him
was that if they were put on abs. they seemed to get better.
Before I suggest that, I want to reread what he wrote to refresh myself.
HRT4SQRLS gave excellent advice.
Your little one looks like an angel.
The picture clearly looks like food, I do wonder if something
is just not agreeing with her for whatever reason. :dono

We also have another little squirrel on the board that started gagging, and
eventually throwing up, after many fecals, it was narrowed down to hook worms. :shakehead

edit: I just read island rehabber's post, looks like we are thinking the same thing.

[island rehabber]

We also have another little squirrel on the board that started gagging, and
eventually throwing up, after many fecals, it was narrowed down to hook worms. :shakehead


yep, that's the "lenny" I mentioned earlier :)

[Maddie]

Oh no. :( I hope it isn't parasitic. I will make an appointment for her asap! Her poops are pretty normal and don't seem any different. I'm so incredibly worried now. Is there a chance that this is a UTI that has gotten terrible? I'll be on the look out for worms. She doesn't usually come in contact with any soil, but has an abundance of leaves in her nesting box.

Thank you for the compliments, she's very picky about being clean and likes to wipe her face on my hair when ever she gets the chance -_-.


Thank you all so much for your help!

[Maddie]

Does anyone know of squirrel friendly vets in the Baton Rouge area? I live next to the vet school and have heard mixed things about the clinic. Some people tell me to steer clear of the clinic because they will take her and give her to a vet student to take care of, others tell me that they're very understanding and it's worth a try. I'm not to keen on taking chances with my squirrel baby.

[Nancy in New York]

yep, that's the "lenny" I mentioned earlier :)

I think I was typing at the same time, you are much faster than me. :tap

[Nancy in New York]

Does anyone know of squirrel friendly vets in the Baton Rouge area? I live next to the vet school and have heard mixed things about the clinic. Some people tell me to steer clear of the clinic because they will take her and give her to a vet student to take care of, others tell me that they're very understanding and it's worth a try. I'm not to keen on taking chances with my squirrel baby.

Please hold tight and don't take her anywhere yet.
We will try to find some place trustworthy and close by,
or put you in contact with a member who may be able to help.

[Maddie]

I had a feeling that I should go check in her sleep cage to see if she had gotten into/hording anything. She some how got a hershey's kiss in there! It was almost half eaten! The only hershey's kisses we keep are behind closed doors and in a drawer! I don't know how this could've happened.

Is chocolate poisonous for squirrels? Is there anything I can do? Will it kill her? How can I help her?

[magna]

I would stop the rodent biscuit for a while and see if that changes things being it is new. Limit the diet at her age, her body is still growing and adapting and needs to be introduced to new foods a little at a time. We supplement our guys with Zupreem fruit and vegetable avian food occasionally and have run into something similar before. We had a Sherman last year that when he ate the veggie mix he would regurgitate what looked like foam or shaving cream, then parts of whatever he ate. Stopped the Zupreem and the vomiting stopped. Prior to this he had GI issues and had been through a period of vomiting blood, spent a few days in ICU then came home and was sensitive to some foods from then on, this just happened to be one of them. When he came to us he had been savaged pretty good and had maggots under his arm and a lot of skin sheared away, so much we couldn't close him up. He grew up healthy and beautiful and is free today. Some chocolate shouldn't hurt but I wouldn't give it regularly, we occasionally give ours a half of a calcium supplement wafer that is like a Nestle Crunch bar.

[Nancy in New York]

I am running late.
I found this pertaining to rats, read the last part.
Again, this is pertaining to rats.

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/ratchoc.htm

[Maddie]

Thank you so much. I've been reading things on rats and chocolate, so far no squirrels.

Ziggy is up and about now grooming and chewing on a branch. She's still pretty fluffed up, but she usually is in the mornings. Should I try some food? Where do I go from here?

[magna]

If she wants to eat it should be fine, if she feels bad she may not be up to it. Remember they are just like people they sometimes have upset tummies too. I would give her a whole seedless grape or strawberry or some fresh or dried cranberries they are not acidic, relatively easy on them and provide some hydration. The cranberries are great for them just like us.

[CritterMom]

If she wants to eat it should be fine, if she feels bad she may not be up to it. Remember they are just like people they sometimes have upset tummies too. I would give her a whole seedless grape or strawberry or some fresh or dried cranberries they are not acidic, relatively easy on them and provide some hydration. The cranberries are great for them just like us.

Be careful with the grapes especially if she is having gagging issues, the little part in the middle that would have seeds if they produced them can be a choking hazard as can the peel. I always peel and pit grapes. The moisture in them is great now though.

I would do a top to bottom hunt everywhere. If she is free range it is very possible she ingested something and it could even be an old nut from one of her stashes. You need to crash the place...

[Nancy in New York]

I just this second heard on the Today Show........watch your animals during the holiday.
FOIL can cause blockage.
Did you find the wrapping from the Hershey Kiss?

[CritterMom]

You earlier said her poops were normal. Have you seen her poop since the vomiting started? Can you hunt for fresh ones if not? If you have poop AND vomiting it is not as likely to be a blockage, since you have things coming out both ends. Vomiting with NO poop is indicative of a blockage issue, as the food will only go down so far and then if it is stopped, it begins to "back up" as vomit.

[SammysMom]

I don't have much to add to the great advice you are getting. I will just say that where there is vomiting there is dehydration. The fact that she looks more "fluffy" may mean she is dehydrated. Offer her water often and if it helps to add a tiny bit of sugar that won't hurt. She obviously likes sugar, what with the Hershey's kiss and all. Many prayers for her recovery. What are the "triscuits" you mention?

[Nancy in New York]

CritterMom and SammysMom are BOTH excellent rehabbers and give great advice.
Just wanted to throw this out, not to cause alarm.
Yes hydration is key when vomiting is present, good catch!
This came from another member a while back.


a complete blockage you will see no poop.
surgery would be required.

if you see poops, there may be a partial blockage,
but you will be able to give oral liquids because we know it is not adding to the issue of being blocked/backed up.

[Maddie]

It's possible she ingested foil. She had chewed through the wrapper instead of pulling it off. However, she pooped right before or during the first vomit. I'll be on the look out for more poops. I checked her for dehydration, no tenting. We're giving water with a little honey.

What would we do if the foil is blocking her digestive tract?


I feel absolutely horrible about this, I don't want her to be in pain. Especially if it's something that could've been prevented.

[CritterMom]

I would actually be more afraid of her eating tinsel or the foil wrapping paper which is really made of plastic. Real foil like on a hershey's kiss crumbles and flattens down and would be a lot more likely to be pooped out than that stuff tinsel and wrapping paper are made of now.

Is she still vomiting?

Unfortunately the only way to relieve a blockage is surgically, so let's hope this is passing - literally.

[Maddie]

She's been eating. I gave her a tomato, she ate two blocks, and 2 snap pea pods. She hasn't thrown up since the last post. She seems her normal self, but she seems like the squirrel that won't act sick unless she's very sick. Her stomach bloat is gone. We're still waiting to see if any new poops have arrived. We just cleaned her cage because we were having a hard time telling if there were old poops or new. So we will be able to tell shortly, hopefully.

Thank you all so much for your help. I feel very supported here and it really helps so much knowing that other people are here for us and Ziggy. It means so so much. Thank you.

[Maddie]

We have poop! I have never been so happy to see a poop in all my life!!

:w00t:w00t:w00t

[CritterMom]

LOL!

It sounds like she is beginning to feel better. My vote is that she ate something she shouldn't. One would think they wouldn't eat rancid, bad food, but unfortunately that isn't necessarily so. Considering the fact they my squirrel would rather eat the buttons on the TV remote than anything else in the world, I am no longer surprised at this. As I said before, crash her environment, and make sure she doesn't have the opportunity to build food stashes that can go bad.

[Maddie]

LOL!

It sounds like she is beginning to feel better. My vote is that she ate something she shouldn't. One would think they wouldn't eat rancid, bad food, but unfortunately that isn't necessarily so. Considering the fact they my squirrel would rather eat the buttons on the TV remote than anything else in the world, I am no longer surprised at this. As I said before, crash her environment, and make sure she doesn't have the opportunity to build food stashes that can go bad.

I know how that is, this one ate an eraser I posted about a while back. To her dismay, she watched us ransack her sleep and outdoor cage. She attempted to get back by peeing on Ben, her papa squirrel.

Hopefully this means the end of the vomiting, but if it continues I will get a fecal float test done. I will just make sure that I bring the sample and not the squirrel. I have been checking her poop for pin worms, tape worm segments, and hook worms, but haven't seen any yet.

[TubeDriver]

That is great news! Was the size, appearance and quantity of the poop all normal? At the very least, we can rule out COMPLETE blockage since this has been going on for over 36 hours. :thumbsup


Continue to keep her hydrated. I would not think that a small amount of chocolate would lead to this type of vomiting.

If she was able to get into a drawer for the Herseys Kiss, she could have gotten into other stuff nearby. I would check the surrounding area and look for chew marks on things like soap, and containers, etc etc.

She is a cutie, I hope she gets over this fast.




We have poop! I have never been so happy to see a poop in all my life!!

:w00t:w00t:w00t

[Maddie]

It seemed normal, not as dark as normal, but she didn't have too much to eat this morning and lots of liquids.

I agree, I think that she might've gotten into my roommate's plants while she was on holiday and just not made a mess. This is also where the hershey's kisses were. So a parasite is now a bigger possibility. I'll continue to monitor and hydrate. We just went to the store and got new veggies in case the old ones were making her ill for some reason. We just cleaned both water bottles and are about to wash her nesting blankets. We're going to be incredibly thorough.

I'll keep y'all updated and most likely ask oodles of more questions.

Once again, thank you all so much. :Love_Icon

[SammysMom]

Ah yes...I remember the eraser! :grin3 Sammy has stolen more chocolate than I care to admit and lived to tell the tale. You really want to see what kind of plants your roommate has. MANY houseplants are toxic to squirrels. So very happy that the little garbage disposal is feeling better...:rofl4

[CritterMom]

It seemed normal, not as dark as normal, but she didn't have too much to eat this morning and lots of liquids.

I agree, I think that she might've gotten into my roommate's plants while she was on holiday and just not made a mess. This is also where the hershey's kisses were. So a parasite is now a bigger possibility. I'll continue to monitor and hydrate. We just went to the store and got new veggies in case the old ones were making her ill for some reason. We just cleaned both water bottles and are about to wash her nesting blankets. We're going to be incredibly thorough.

I'll keep y'all updated and most likely ask oodles of more questions.

Once again, thank you all so much. :Love_Icon


I am a plant person - you can barely hack your way through my house - and I have studied them for decades. The VAST MAJORITY of the plants that are sold as houseplants are toxic to some degree. Some cause what you saw, some cause death. To survive indoors, plants need to be from the tropics because we cannot provide them the temperature fluctuations they would need to survive inside. Tropical plants use toxicity as protection almost universally.

[Maddie]

Update **Warning I will post a couple poop pictures**

So far no more throw up. She's been eating and very very happy to be receiving more fruit than usual. We gave her cranberries and raspberries. She goes threw periods of normal hyperactive and slow I'm tired and want to cuddle. I've launched a poop investigation and have pictures (sorry everyone). I can't tell if what I'm seeing is worm segments or raspberry seeds. Also, the quantity and size are much different than her previous poops, I'm not sure if that's do to the increase of fruit or not.

The pile on the right happened all with in a couple minutes and spread out, the one on the left is her usual pile that we picked up (with gloves) from her outside cage while cleaning.

If anyone has dealt with intestinal parasites before and could tell me if there are signs here, please do!

[Maddie]

Once again, I'm sorry about the content of these photos.

[Annabelle's papa]

We have poop! I have never been so happy to see a poop in all my life!!

:w00t:w00t:w00t

I can't give an Experienced Authoritative reply, but (except for what appears to be some small Foreign specks,) that "sample" looks great. And I know you're relieved to see something from your little fuzzer. I keep up with all of my animals eliminations, it is a very good way to keep up with their Health. Especially our little Flyer, Annabelle!

[TubeDriver]

Not sure what those white specks are? They could be something she ate or tapeworm segments.

The best way to find out would be to do a fecal test. If it is just something she ate, those white specs should not appear again. If she has has these specs in her poops fairly regularly than it could be a parasite.

In the short term, frequent poops, urinating and eating without any vomiting is what we want.

It that happens, then the next step might be a fecal exam or at least keep an eye on her poops.