Emergency Fallen Gray Squirrel Can't move back legs

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Oh, shoot. WineSquirrel just called me. One of our squirrel kids is injured!

He heard a crash in the bathroom, and the squirrel fell within the ceiling somehow, and he heard it scream. I'm not clear on on the details.

He's called a Chicago area rehabber already, and left a message

7-8 weeks
- can drag itself on side, can't move back legs at all right now
- shaking constantly
- was able to drag itself to WineSquirrel, and is chewing on his shirt
- seemed to get calmer as he got wrapped up in something (dunno what)

Any and all advice welcome! Help! Sorry to have to report bad news....

***Oh, yes, WineSquirrel's got our kid resting in a box as well, and is comforting it...

[drakkonia]

Oh no! And this happening so soon after the events of the other day. Sounds like a broken back? My prayers go out to you, WineSquirrel, and your little squirrel family.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Oh, dear. I hope not! Thanks, drakkonia! I may have to cut out of work to help WineSquirrel transport our friend to the rehabber.

Fortunately, the little guy or gal knows him, and calmed down a bit.

Oh, shoot shoot shoot! Thanks for being here, tho.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Talking to WineSquirrel right now...


No sign of bloody nose or internal injuries.

It managed to run around for a little bit initially. Not an instant break, it could run around and move it's back paws at first...

He's got it in a box and it tries to escape if he lifts the lid, but WineSquirrel's not sure if it's using it's back legs as well as it's front paws...

Got off phone again, so he can hear back from the rehabber (we use the phone line for the 'net, so WineSquirrel had to ask me to post from work)

You people are awesome. I'll letcha know what's up as we have more info.

[drakkonia]

That's great that you were able to contact a rehabber so quickly, and that WS was there to help and comfort him. Here's hoping your little squirrel was more shocked by the fall than hurt.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Oh, thank you. Gawd, I hope so!

WineSquirrel's such a gentle guy. I hope the rehabber gets in touch with him soon so we can see what's what.

Thanks once again! I really love this community, it's so friendly/nice. :thankyou

[Momma Squirrel]

I sure hope for the best, I am no expert here but I would think that no signs of bleeding would be a good sign. we had one of ours fall out of tree, dragging its hind legs and freaking out. Once he was calmed down it was simply a case of shock and the lil guy was just fine. I sure hope that is the case here.

Please keep us posted.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Nother quick question -

Could the shaking be a sign of shock?

He had it in the box for awhile, it seemed to be getting colder, and fell asleep.

So, WineSquirrel has it wrapped in a shirt, and holding it close to his heart, and is trying to keep it warm. He says it seems content. and napping

Let him know if this is on the right track, if there's anything else he should be doing? Or if it should go back in the box.

OK, it looked up at him, it's not alarmed b/c it knows us.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Thanks, Gamma's baby - sounds like the critter is resting in WineSquirrel's arms (and a shirt) right now.

What is Hardware Cloth? I'm a nincompoop about that...

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Do you have a heating pad you could put it on? Or how about a rice buddy? Fill a sock with rice, and warm it up in the microwave. Not too warm though.

Oooh! Good idea, thank you. I'll wait a few mins, and call WineSquirrel back with the idea for the Rice Buddy. We have an electric blanket, but I think it's too dusty from non-use, and I think it'd get too warm.

***Edit: He says the squirrel's resting comfortably, and seems to like the beating of his heart. I just quick let WineSquirrel know that he's on the right track with keeping the critter warm.

Will keep you posted as I hear more!

[ShimShamSquirrel]

hee! I'll have to figure that out. I have some old sheets we can string up. It's like the WWE with the wrestling up there. dang. :rotfl

[ShimShamSquirrel]

I sure hope for the best, I am no expert here but I would think that no signs of bleeding would be a good sign. we had one of ours fall out of tree, dragging its hind legs and freaking out. Once he was calmed down it was simply a case of shock and the lil guy was just fine. I sure hope that is the case here.

Please keep us posted.

Forgot to :thankyou for this, Momma Squirrel! This gives me hope! :-D

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

http://www.twpinc.com/images/products/detail/002X002D0410W48T.jpg
Hardware cloth, can be purchased at Lowes.

In case of injury keep the baby as quiet as possible.

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Thanks, rippie! That makes sense.

OK, WineSquirrel said the place he called has the people in their Barrington location today, and now he's checking into other rehabbers in our area. We may make a trip tonite.

Turns out she/he hurt herself in the ceiling, and crawled towards the edge to kinda ask WineSquirrel for help.

She seemed to be able to move around a bit, and turn over to go to sleep again.

WineSquirrel's lookin up some other rehabbers now, and will call around. So far she/he seems pretty stable.

Will keep you folks updated. xooxo ShimShamSquirrel

[ShimShamSquirrel]

OK, update - got a hold of a rehabber, who's actually surprisingly close to us.

1) I'm pickin up a heating pad at Walgreen's on the way home.

2) the rehabber said to see how he/she is when he/she wakes up. The rehabber's open till six, but is open tomorrow am, and the squirrel kid shouldn't get dehydrated till then.

3) If the squirrel is, in fact, OK, we can put him/her up with the mom again.

4) WHEW!

5) The Squirrel Board ROCKS! :thumbsup

[drakkonia]

Got hurt in the ceiling, huh? Geez. :shakehead That reminds me of how my old cat used to go up in the ceiling in the basement of the house where I grew up. I always worried that she would get hurt. Poor critter.

EDIT: Hey that's great news!

[Abacat]

Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you guys and the Baby...Good Luck, keep us posted...

[WineSquirrel]

The little boy (I think that's a penis I see) is still sleeping. I've noticed one bit of rapid twitching in a front leg. Not sure if that's the continuation of a seisure or just dreaming. It was chewing in its sleep at the same time, so I hope it's a dream.

I've felt all four limbs (deep sleeper) and don't feel any breaks. No signs of blood anywhere including the nose, so I'm hoping for no internal injuries.

I'm trying a wait-and-see approach right now. One theory is that the kid had some kind of seisure (possibly fear-induced) and then went into shock. Maybe he almost fell and nearly scared the fur off of himself.

The rehabber said that sometimes with some heat and rest, a kid can be back to its normal self. I want to give the little guy a chance to show me that's the case so I can reunite him with mom. Otherwise, I'll have to take this one to foster care with the nearby rehabber. Considering that I know mom has been taking care of them, she doesn't expect it to get dehydrated or starve by tomorrow morning.

Edit: One further update... the little guy can move his tail in his sleep, so I don't think he has a broken back.

[drakkonia]

Now I'm no rehabber, but from what I gather, squirrels are very active and twitchy in their sleep. So he's probably just sleeping off the stress of the day. Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!

[Secret Squirrel]

Sorry your baby is injured...get the hardware cloth over that hole right away...( lowes & homedepot) don't wait for another one to fall. You can even close up the hole with more sheet rock or an old board..or cardboard will work.....just keep them safe :grouphug
Both of you are caring people and I know how upset you are over this trauma. You can tack the wire up on the sheetrock and open and close it when you need to.....but you need to keep the babies safe.

This injured baby may be the one that fell initially. He may have swelling as a result from the fall and the swelling could be pressing on some nerves...and could be why he is "down in the rear".
If the rehaber you are dealing with can get an xray to be sure of no breaks. I am glad you have a rehaber that will work with you.
God bless and good luck...keep us posted....we care about you and the basbies!:grouphug

[WineSquirrel]

You THINK it's a penis you see?

Well, I had Guinea Pigs when I was a kid, and I remember that people could easily make a mistake with Guinea Pig anatomy. I'm pretty sure this squirrel is a boy, but I'm allowing for the possibility of a mistake.

Happy news. When the little guy finally woke up he was a bit startled by his new surroundings and proved that he could move around quite well. :crazy However, it wasn't to hard to catch a slightly groggy squirrel.

I put him back up in his home. He promptly started munching on two of his mom's cashews and simultaneously threatening me to stay away. He then sprawled out and went back to sleep. I think everything will be okay.

:wahoo

Rehabbers are great (including those on this board and the two local ones who helped me on the phone), but I know we all agree that a squirrel kid is better off with mom when possible.

[LynninIN]

This injured baby may be the one that fell initially. He may have swelling as a result from the fall and the swelling could be pressing on some nerves...and could be why he is "down in the rear".

That's what I was thinking as well. Sometimes it takes 24 hours for an injury to show, when the tissue starts to swell. Hopefully with a little TLC from such caring people he will recover and be reunited with his momma.

[LynninIN]

Well, I had Guinea Pigs when I was a kid, and I remember that people could easily make a mistake with Guinea Pig anatomy. I'm pretty sure this squirrel is a boy, but I'm allowing for the possibility of a mistake.

Happy news. When the little guy finally woke up he was a bit startled by his new surroundings and proved that he could move around quite well. :crazy However, it wasn't to hard to catch a slightly groggy squirrel.

I put him back up in his home. He promptly started munching on two of his mom's cashews and simultaneously threatening me to stay away. He then sprawled out and went back to sleep. I think everything will be okay.

:wahoo

Rehabbers are great (including those on this board and the two local ones who helped me on the phone), but I know we all agree that a squirrel kid is better off with mom when possible.
:wahoo Perhaps the little tyke just likes WineSquirrel's attention. :dono

[WineSquirrel]

Secret Squirrel:

We'll get something up over the hole ASAP. I'm not sure cardboard is a good option, though. I think these three will notice the change and start investigating it...and by investigating I mean chewing it to pieces.

The rehaber didn't suggest X-rays. It sounded like it the choices were reunite with mom tonight or I bring the squirrel in for a couple days of observation. In the latter case, she said reunion with mom would be nearly impossible.

The idea that today's problem could be swelling related sounds reasonable. However, I can't check now that he's back home. In any case, he seems to be doing fine now.

[Secret Squirrel]

yeah...the card board was just an idea "in a pinch" only as a quick fix. Some folks don't have a homedepot or lowes close by.
Good thing the baby is back with momma. Keep us posted and thank your rehaber for me....you got the situation under control.:thumbsup

[TexanSquirrel]

Great job Squirrel Board!

[Buddy'sMom]

Glad he was moving more normally when he woke up. You have done a great job with them (or him, if it was the same adventurous sibling both times :D )!! :thumbsup Hope your adventures are over -- at least for tonite!

[Kathy56]

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

[island rehabber]

I was out tonight so I'm just catching up on this thread -- GOOD WORK, ShimSham and Winesquirrel and everybody here on TSB who helped. One more example of the Squirrel Board at its finest. :thumbsup

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Pic of WineSquirrel with our squirrelly friend. Er, immediately after this shot, this is when our friend got a bit spooked, and we put him back up with his mom and siblings.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/213/503162414_e7ae03fb10.jpg

(Hope it was OK to post this shot, WineSquirrel! I couldn't help it, sleeping squirrels are just tooo precious!)

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Ahhh, how sweet!! :Love_Icon :Love_Icon Either it's the angle of the pic, or the new bifocals aren't doing the trick, :shakehead but s/he looks like a good sized baby! :dono Winesquirrel shouldn't be too upset, after all, you didn't show his face! :D Thanks for the pic!! :thumbsup

You're welcome! He is a pretty decent sized squirrel. Mom should be taking the whole family outside exploring pretty soon. :)

[Buddy'sMom]

:) :) :) :) :) :)

[Pam]

Sweet picture! I hope baby is okay today!

[ShimShamSquirrel]

OK - related question.

We were wondering if the critter somehow had a bug or spider bite, which sent it into convulsions.

Also, I'm really super-good at googling stuff, and I'm wondering if anyone's ever dealt with strychnine poisoning in their squirrels? I actually cried a little bit, b/c the symptoms that WineSquirrel described to me (agitation, then intense convulsions) sounded very sadly familiar as I read up about strychnine. Once WineSquirrel's woken up, I'll run this theory by him. He was there for the convulsions and symptoms, by the time I got home our boy was resting.

We're not 100% sure if we saw our kid yesterday. with 3 kids it's hard to tell. I'm thinking out loud, but I'm hoping if it was strychnine, it was not enough to kill the little dear.

I think if people thought about how poison hurts, they wouldn't do it. :soapbox

Thanks again, and thanks for your squirrelly prayers as well!

[Buddy'sMom]

Hopefully you are just worrying needlessly and it wasn't any of those at all. (Good and bad with Internet searches -- lots of info -- lots of reasons to worry!)

It would help to know exactly HOW the squirrel really acted. If it was actually convulsing. Or was just shaking from fear and/or cold? Or really was just in "frozen" mode? Squirrels do this ("frozen") when they are scared and people sometimes think they are paralyzed -- they are quite good at faking :shakehead .

So let us know how things seem up in the ceiling this morning. And more exactly how the little one acted yesterday. Then the rehabbers can better figure out if you have reason to be worried. Hopefully not. :thumbsup :grouphug

[Buddy'sMom]

Good idea, GB. Actually, at their age, they probably haven't wandered very far from their nest (except for the occasional foray into the bathroom!:D ), so if you can't see any type of poison up in the ceiling area or know already that none is up there, you can probably relax a little bit.

Do you have reason to suspect that any sort of rat poison has been used in your building?

[ShimShamSquirrel]

WineSquirrel can better answer some of these questions, because he was there when all of this was going on. By the time I got home, the little guy was sleeping comfortably Chicago has a rat task force that puts out rat poison and rat baits, I know. I'm not sure how our building's handling it.

One thing WineSquirrel told me was that, when he put the kid in an empty wine box, with a t-shirt for comfort, at first the kid was shaking so much the box was actually vibrating. I don't know if a squirrel can shake that much when it's frightened, but that's awfully scary to hear about.

I am a worry-wart, too, tho. :D

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Gee, I don't have any idea, but I sure hope that's not the case!! Is there any way you can climb on something, and look in the ceiling with a flashlight, and see if you can spot all of them? Do you think there's poison in the ceiling? I'm just thinking if one would get into it, there's a good chance, they all will, if it would taste good to them. :dono

WineSquirrel's been on the stepladder and taken a couple of peeks. Usually we can't see all 3 of the squirrels in the litter at once, because the nest is built in the ceiling of the next room. So, if 2 are playing, one might be hanging out or napping in the nest.

:thankyou once again, and I'll try hard not to be a nervous nellie. :Squirrel Oh, look! Squirrel smiley, cool! hehee!

[MaiThiJade]

What an emotional rollercoaster, Glad to see all is well.

[WineSquirrel]

It would help to know exactly HOW the squirrel really acted. If it was actually convulsing. Or was just shaking from fear and/or cold? Or really was just in "frozen" mode? Squirrels do this ("frozen") when they are scared and people sometimes think they are paralyzed -- they are quite good at faking :shakehead .

So let us know how things seem up in the ceiling this morning. And more exactly how the little one acted yesterday. Then the rehabbers can better figure out if you have reason to be worried. Hopefully not. :thumbsup :grouphug

Last night I caught a rather large roach-like bug in the bathroom and the idea of spider bite or insect bite hit me and made a lot of sense, especially if the bug has some sort of neurotoxin. Here's a rather detailed description of the Thursday's symptoms followed by a brief update:

*** WARNING: Includes graphic discriptions of a squirrel in distress. ***
*** If that bothers you, skip until you see another message like this ***

I heard a loud pain/alarm scream and a squirrel go "thud" against the ceiling nearly simultaneously. I recognize the scream as the same thing I heard several years ago when I saw a hawk take a squirrel. :( I can't tell whether the squirrel screamed because of the fall or screamed and then fell/jumped (fall onto our ceiling, not through it).

The squirrel ran around and acted very agitated for several minutes. It then seemed to lay down or hide some distance from the hole in the ceiling. For a couple of minutes it was still and vocalizing with a moan/whine. At this point, I was thinking "Good squirrel, if you're upset just stay there until mom gets back."

Then the squirrel started trying to move around intermittantly. Although I couldn't see what was going on, it sounded like the squirrel was having trouble moving. It sounded like flopping limbs and the squirrel falling over several times. At this point, I started getting concerned.

The sounds changed to lots of scratching with little progress (I could hear where in the ceiling the scratching came from). At this point I started piling some books under the foot of my step ladder so I could get a better look. This took what seemed like forever in my worried state. Each time I added another book under each leg, I tried in vain to get up high enough until I had three or four thick books under each one.

When I finally got high enough to get my eyes above ceiling level, I could see the squirrel laying partially on its side. At this point, the squirrel started crawling toward me with a lot of effort. It took a couple of minutes to get a foot or two. The squirrel was on its side and moved diagonally toward a floor joist and then slid with its side along that until it got close enough to me. Locomotion seemed to involve mostly just one of the front legs, although I couldn't see the back legs as clearly.

I put on my winter gloves for safety and tried to get the squirrel. At that point the squirrel seemed to get a sudden burst of adrenaline and it climbed over the floor joist through a hole where a pipe runs across. While the squirrel knows my appearance and smell (especially of my hands), I think the gloves smelled foreign and scary (synthetic fabric and rubber or plastic grips).

Once across to the other side, it again started moving toward me at the same slow pace. I didn't have a clear line of sight to this area or nearly as good of an access. It eventually got close enough that I could pull it down through a small opening. The squirrel put up little resistance and made no noise. In fact, I think the only resistance may have been due to the squirrel's body barely fitting through the opening on this side.

I wrapped the squirrel in a shirt that I wore the previous day and put it right in a wine box I had ready. The squirrel attempted to move around in the box for a bit, but couldn't get out. Seeing the squirrel kids' normal abilities at this age, I know it would have jumped out if everything was okay.

I closed the lid, called a rehabber and left a message when the answering machine picked up. I also called Shimsham to let her know the situation and ask her to get some info from all of you. At this point (2:20), the timeline becomes much more exact because of Shimsham's posts.

The squirrel went to sleep or passed out and somewhere around 2:40, it started shaking violently. When I say violently, I mean enough that I could see the whole box shake. The squirrel also felt colder than what I thought would be typical rodent temperature (based on my experince with pet guinea pigs and the occasional squirrel sitting on my lap outside). I wasn't certain of this at the time, but the squirrel was also had shallow breathing compared to later on; in fact I could barely tell if it was alive. My mind raced back to my first aid unit from jr. high school health class and I thought "shock; must keep warm." I picked up the shaking, sleeping/passed out squirrel and held it close to my chest.

*** End of graphic descriptions of a squirrel in distress ***
*** If you've been skipping, it's now safe to start reading ***

By 2:50 the squirrel felt warmer, stopped shaking, and seemed to be resting comfortably. Without a heating pad or any rice in the apartment, I decided to keep holding it. The squirrel also seemed to be comforted by the rhythm of my heartbeat (even though it is a different pace than a squirrel mom). At some point, the squirrel rolled so that it was less covered by the shirt. I think it was getting too warm and was having a natural squirrel reaction to maintain a proper temperature.

By 3:30 the first rehabber called me back. She could take the squirrel, but suggested I look for someone closer from a list on her website. I got online, and after some work, found the correct contact information for a rehabber very close by. The squirrel was still resting comfortably, and was breathing more deeply in what I assume is the normal fashion for a sleeping squirrel.

When I called the second rehabber, we talked and concluded that there was a chance that the squirrel might recover on its own and that it might be possible to put the squirrel back in the nest. We decided that I would see how the squirrel was when it finally woke up. If it still needed attention, I could bring it in by 6:00 that day or at 9:00 the next morning.

The squirrel was a deep sleeper, but seemed to dream several times (limb movement, chewing, etc.) On two occasions, it sneezed repeatedly and then cleaned its face. Shimsham came home with a heating pad that we plugged in and put under half of the wine box.

While we were waiting for the heating pad to warm up (at around 5:45) the squirrel woke and was startled by its unfamiliar surroundings. It amply demonstrated that it was now capable of moving as it ran around the room. Fortunately, a newly-awakened, groggy squirrel is a bit easier to catch than a fully-awake squirrel.

I retrieved the squirrel with a shirt and put it back up in the ceiling. I observed the squirrel eating two cashews from mom's stash while it bluff-threatened me to stay back. After two cashews, the squirrel went back to sleep and was still asleep in the same spot when mom stopped by for some snacks at 8:00. Mom didn't seem alarmed. Her reaction was more like, "Oh, my kid's tired out; I'll just get some snacks before he wakes up and wants something." Sometime before 9:30, the squirrel was no longer sleeping where I had placed it. Presumably it went back to its usual spot in the nest.

I have not seen/heard all three squirrels at the same time, so I can't be sure that they're all okay. However, this morning one squirrel reacted to my presence in the bathroom with a brief alarm call before getting more curious. I'm assuming this is the squirrel that I took care of based on its reaction.

---

Summary of Symptoms: Initial pain of unknown origin, brief period of agitation and disorientation, progressively increasing paralysis, probable inability to maintain body temperature, uncrontrolled shaking for about 10 minutes, condition improved with warmth, breathing deepened about one hour after the shaking had started, substantial recovery after three hours of sleep.

Based on the scream from initial incident, the progressive onset of symptoms, and the gradual recovery, I think poisioning from a spider or insect bite is a resonable possibility. The initial reaction would be the pain/shock of the bite and the gradual symptoms would be the effects of the poison injected by the bug.

Anyone see any other possibilities that I should be on the lookout for? While I know that rat poison is common in both buildings and city-placed outdoor bait stations, we seem to have a stable population of healthy squirrels. From what I understand, the bait doesn't smell very good to rodents and they only eat it when other options aren't available. There's not much I can do about it other than ensure the squirrels have plenty of tasty alternatives to the bait stations.

[Buddy'sMom]

How is the squirrel family doing?

WineSquirrel, you have done an awesome job taking care of this squirrel -- and also describing everything to us. Quite an afternoon! You handled it so well -- and must have been SO relieved when he finally woke up and moved around! :thumbsup It's nice that you have local rehabber back-up --your squirrel family seems a bit high-maintenance :D and it's good to have a phone number handy.

I'm not a rehabber, and am curious what our rehabbers will have to say, but the spider bite theory seems reasonable. Hopefully there will be no lasting effects, whatever it was.

Rat poisons are very nasty for squirrels (we recently learned quite a lot about them in preparing to comment on EPA proposals to restrict their usage -- there is a thread under General Discussion that you might want to check out if you're interested in finding out more -- "Squirrels, Pesticides & the EPA" (the public comment period ended yesterday, however)). While the later symptoms of your squirrel might have been similar, it does not seem likely for your squirrel. Partly because it seems like there was some initial trauma that started the whole thing with your guy. And also it doesn't seem really likely that there would be accessible poison above your ceiling. The babies aren't going that far from their nest yet. And sick (poisoned) squirrel would be more likely to hide than cry out for help.

I hope everything is settled down now and you all have a quiet weekend! :) :grouphug

[Buddy'sMom]

Any squirrel sightings today, ShimShamSquirrel and WineSquirrel?? Or is everyone just having a quiet, uneventful Sunday? :) :grouphug

[ShimShamSquirrel]

Just wanted to touch base, and say that all squirrels appear to be healthy and accounted for. We now think there are 2 kids, one mom. They kind of move around a lot, so it's hard to tell. They should go out exploring sometime really soon, because I saw a young squirrel outside exploring yesterday. :Love_Icon