Buddy sick

[Buddys mom]

Please help, Buddy is a gray she hurt her paw 2 weeks ago cut the top hurt her nail in the cage. It healed she was doing great after limping for a week. Yesterday she started getting lathogic today she won't get up. I want to give her an antibiodic in case their is an infection. Please advise I'm worried sick.

[TubeDriver]

Do you have any antibiotics? A single pill is all you need.

Can you tell us a little bit more about Buddy? What is her diet like?




Please help, Buddy is a gray she hurt her paw 2 weeks ago cut the top hurt her nail in the cage. It healed she was doing great after limping for a week. Yesterday she started getting lathogic today she won't get up. I want to give her an antibiodic in case their is an infection. Please advise I'm worried sick.

[Buddys mom]

She is almost a year old have had her since 8 weeks old her mom was hit by car. She is spoiled she eats kale, collard greens, squash, cucumber, apple, grapes, nuts pecan, walnuts, dandelions when available, pear tree branches. She has three cages all connected and she is very very active she will go from cage to cage with flips all day. This is not her I am so worried.

[Buddys mom]

Sorry forgot she has Henrys blocks, bird calcium, and have sunlight. I have read everything on squirrels and try very hard to do what it says to keep her healthy which she was been until now.

[Buddys mom]

I have amoxicillin 500 mg. How much should I give her and how

[Nancy in New York]

She has three cages all connected and she is very very active she will go from cage to cage with flips all day.


I fear that if she is doing flips, she is bored. Is there any reason why you are still keeping her?
Are you planning release? Does she get out of the cage time?
Can you post a photo of her paw, and do you smell any infection?
We can dose this drug, however, not sure if this is really necessary. :dono

[Nancy in New York]

One other thing, does she actually EAT her blocks and does she get any sun?
Could she have taken a fall and hurt herself?

[UDoWhat]

Are you sure she is eating 2 Henry's blocks a day and not just storing them? This sounds like MBD even though her diet is very good or seems to be. Has she eaten anything that could be suspect like an old nut she may have hidden or anything else that might have spoiled? What is the calcium supplement and how much does she get?

If you think her diet is suspect at all and she eats more nuts than the other foods you listed you may want to at least read this treatment for MDB.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?17680-Emergency-Treatment-for-MBD-(Updated-3-31-09)

Is her paw swollen or is she still limping on it? Is it hot to the touch?

[Nancy in New York]

Are you sure she is eating 2 Henry's blocks a day and not just storing them? This sounds like MBD even though her diet is very good or seems to be. Has she eaten anything that could be suspect like an old nut she may have hidden or anything else that might have spoiled? What is the calcium supplement and how much does she get?

If you think her diet is suspect at all and she eats more nuts than the other foods you listed you may want to at least read this treatment for MDB.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?17680-Emergency-Treatment-for-MBD-(Updated-3-31-09)

Is her paw swollen or is she still limping on it? Is it hot to the touch?

I agree UDoWhat, this does have the signs of MBD.
I'm also wondering if she caught her nail a few weeks back and that's
what hurt her foot. I've heard that squirrels with MBD often catch their nails
in material, because they don't actually pick their feet up well. :dono

[TubeDriver]

BuddysMom, you have two VERY experienced squirrel people above who have asked some questions that will help us determine what will help Buddy.


Please do not give her any meds until we get a weight and can calculate the proper dose.

We will need her weight, do you have a scale?


Can you post a picture of her and also of her injured paw?

[Nancy in New York]

BuddysMom, you have two VERY experienced squirrel people above who have asked some questions that will help us determine what will help Buddy.


Please do not give her any meds until we get a weight and can calculate the proper dose.

We will need her weight, do you have a scale?


Can you post a picture of her and also of her injured paw?

Good post!
Yes please do NOT give her any drugs without us helping you to dose.
Amoxicillin is very hard on their tummies and can cause gastric upset.
You would need to get a good probiotic and faithfully give it 2 hours before
or 2 hours after the medicine.

We are here to help. We just need to get to the cause of her problem.

[TubeDriver]

Nancy and UDoWhat,I heard from Buddy's mom that she will be stuck at work and may not be able to answer till TOMORROW night.


BuddysMom, before you go to work, can you give Buddy some calcium/tums?

[UDoWhat]

Thanks TD. In that case I would start the MBD treatment tonight until we can figure this out.
Nancy, I have also heard that same thing about dragging their feet and the nails getting caught. Many times their toes get broken due to the bones being so brittle. It makes perfect sense and would be a very subtle sign that might be overlooked.
Hope we hear from Buddy's Mom soon.

[Buddys mom]

Trying to get videos posted sorry will answer questions in a minute

[Nancy in New York]

Trying to get videos posted sorry will answer questions in a minute

If you want to post videos, first you have to put them into another photo site, ie photobucket or smugmug.
IF you can email videos, send them to me, and I will see if I can post them.

[Buddys mom]

I am so not good at this. Buddy is up she is doing her regular routine wish I could figure how to get pictures and videos posted they are on my phone. Any suggestions will help. I am nervous and have no patience right now. Have called work and told them will be late.

[Buddys mom]

Don't even know how I got this pic on. This is her paw 3 days after she did it.

[TubeDriver]

That worked. I can see the swelling on Buddy's left paw. Does it still look like this (any bigger or smaller)?



Don't even know how I got this pic on. This is her paw 3 days after she did it.

[TubeDriver]

That boo boo on her finger does not look bad enough to be causing all the behavioral changes you see in Buddy. I think starting the MBD protocol is a good idea and if this is what happening, you should see some improvement in the next 1-2 days (more energy, more activity).

If that finger swelling gets larger or any worse, we can provide dose. I'll defer to Nancy and UDoWhat to determine if AB should be started but I might hold off to see if it heals in the next couple days on its own.

[Buddys mom]

Sent video of Buddy now she is up.

[Nancy in New York]

Sent video of Buddy now she is up.

If you sent this to me it did not come through.
Can you resend?

[Buddys mom]

Ok answers to questions she has a lamp for sun, she doesn't eat her blocks like she should will start tums, she is still limping a bit, she does love her nuts, no sign of her dragging feet. I am planning on keeping her in so afraid she will get killed. I look at toe and it seems that the whole problem could be the toenail on that toe, it seems to bend not be stiff. Would that make her want to stay in her bed.

[Buddys mom]

Sent video again

[Nancy in New York]

Sent video again

OK I got it this may take while to get it onto photobucket, but I will post as soon as I do.

[Buddys mom]

257741

She went back to bed. Did you get video

[Buddys mom]

Nancy thank you so much for everything I need to go to work. I will give tums before I leave and going to try and get sunlight over her bed. Will keep in touch from work. I love this little girl and it hurts to see her not feeling good

[Nancy in New York]

257741

She went back to bed. Did you get video

:thumbsup It's loading now on photobucket.........that takes a while. :)

[Nancy in New York]

Here's the video.
I will be back on in a little while.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/nancym518/Bronx%20Babies%202012/Bronx%20Babies%20%20part%202%20%202012/The%20View%202012/th_20150515_165644.mp4 (http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/nancym518/Bronx%20Babies%202012/Bronx%20Babies%20%20part%202%20%202012/The%20View%202012/20150515_165644.mp4)

[stepnstone]

I can not tell if the toe is "just" swollen or swollen with infection, looks to be pretty painful either way.
I don't see any hesitation in her gate at all, she sure don't move around like one could expect to see with mbd. :dono

[Nancy in New York]

Does Buddy have a water bottle in there?
I keep their food in the cage all day long. Squirrels like to snack throughout the day,
so I typically put the hard veggies in, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas, mushroom, etc.
This is typically what I put in for one squirrel in the morning. AFTER their HHB.
http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/photos/i-sQX8XJR/0/L/i-sQX8XJR-L.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Other/TSB-resizing-2/n-GmzqZ/i-sQX8XJR/A)
Later they get a green salad with a different variety of lettuces, chickory, kale, dandelion and raddichio, whatever I've picked up that week, sometimes everything goes in. I also give another HHB, and when the salad and block are gone they get a hard nut or two.

http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Squirrel-Food-Dishes/i-PBWzLcL/0/L/2015-04-17%20012-L.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Squirrel-Food-Dishes/i-PBWzLcL/A)

Is there any reason that your squirrel is not released?

I think your little one is bored. They need to have the opportunity to live their lives as they are meant to live.
Your cages are grand, but they have bars, and that stops her from living her life.

A squirrel in captivity that is perfectly healthy, NEEDS to explore and WANTS to explore. They should at least given a shot at freedom. They need to feel the natural sun on their fur, the grass on their feet, the smell of the fresh outdoors. They need to climb a tree and look down at their kingdom, and chew on leaves, and twigs and bugs and have nothing stopping them.

I had two overwinters a couple of years ago. In February, one of the girls started doing back flips, I knew what she was trying to tell me. She had her sister in with her, yet she wanted her freedom. I remember feeling so sorry for her, and telling her that in a few months she would get her wish. It absolutely broke my heart watching her repeatedly back flip. I was tempted to start the soft release process too early, but I was beside myself with guilt for overwintering thinking perhaps I should have let them go "too young" in the fall.
She outgrew that about a month later, and was successfully released and living the best life possible with no desire to come back inside.

When I first started rehab, I told every single squirrel I released, that they can come back inside and live the good life if they don't want to leave. Seriously, they had toys, mountains of fleece, food served to them day and night.

They had "The Good Life", but NOT THEIR good life, it was my vision of what a squirrel would want. NONE of them ever came back in the house to live. (OK we will not talk about Fluffer :grin2) They stuck around and let me feed them for a while, and then chose their own destiny, I didn't make that decision for them.

When given the choice, of what we call the "good life" or returning to nature, they chose nature.

We have to always give them a chance, otherwise they just become our prisoners. :sadness

I know you love your little one, I just hope you love her enough to let HER choose.

:hug:Love_Icon:hug

[Buddys mom]

Hi, at work I will try on Sunday to get pics of under toe nail will she be all right until then if it is an infection? My gut tells me it's infected. If you think she needs antibiotic I will go home to give her. Thanks so much for all your time.

[Nancy in New York]

We need a weight on your squirrel in order for you to dose.
ALSO and this is VERY important, you need to get her on probiotics when giving antibiotics.
Pick up some capsule ones from a drug store that you can pull apart. Give her about 1/4 the size of a top of an eraser.
Sprinkle this on some food that she loves, or syringe it to her in a little bit of water.
This needs to be done 2 hours prior or 2 hours after giving antibiotics.

[Buddys mom]

Nancy yes Buddy does have a water bottle and she has fresh vegetables to graze all day.

[UDoWhat]

Hi I am at the Vet now. I will view this when I get home. I definitely would start the MBD protocol tonight. Will look at paw pic too. What do others think?

[Buddys mom]

Have no scale she will be year in July

[UDoWhat]

I would start the MBD protocol tonight. Since you feel like she might not eat her block as well as the other items this seems like the way to go. In the picture of her toe and toenail at 3 days it does look like the toe and nail might be infected. It is hard to tell from the photo. In the video it still looks red but better maybe. :thinking I think the antibiotic would not hurt if administered as Nancy has advised. If I had to guess her weight I might go with a pound (454 gm - 500 gm). I would rather not guess but this weight seems probable. I think Nancy will dose the amox. for you.

[Nancy in New York]

I will send dosing instructions for the amox. @ 1 pound squirrel.
Please pick up a scale. This is probably a "conservative" estimate, and we want to make sure that
we get the correct amount into her.

I harp on this ALL the time. You need to get probiotics and dose 2 hours prior or 2 hours after giving any
antibiotic, but the cillians are particularly hard on their tummies.

I will send you a pm with dosing.
Let me know Buddy's actual weight so this can be adjusted.
This is only to start her off in case there is infection, the sooner the
better. BUT we also want to give her the accurate dosage.

[Kristi S]

I see no sign of MBD or any reason to start treatment for it.

I agree with Nancy regarding release.

[Grinderhead]

Not knowing if the squirrel eats its correct food. The MBD protocol WILL NOT hurt your squirrel. You see this squirrel everyday you will be able to tell if there's a change. I do believe I would stick with the with the years of experience that is helping you that has had squirrels.

[Nancy in New York]

I see no sign of MBD or any reason to start treatment for it.



Kristi, I know you just started volunteer work at a wildlife center.

I know they have no squirrels that get pneumonia when fed with a 10 cc syringe.
I know they have no squirrels with diarrhea.

I know you have never raised a squirrel, yet you THINK you know so much more than ALL of us combined.

I am NOT debating you, or discussing anything with you, nor are other respected members that are trying to help this poster.

I have asked you repeatedly to STOP confusing the poster, and if you have questions, to post them out of the emergency thread.

I am NOW asking you on open board to stop undermining/contradicting suggestions that are given by respected members with YEARS of experience.
There is NO reason not to start the MBD protocol, especially when this is a suggestion that is SO benign yet could be so helpful!




I work with squirrels 100 g and over, and was trained to use a 10 cc syringe. I've only had a couple squirrels sneeze formula out their nose (of about 50 fed), and it's been when they sucked it too fast, not because I was pressing the plunger. Considering all the volunteers that are feeding these guys with 10 cc syringes (50-100 squirrels on any given day at the center), Diarrhea is very uncommon, too - in fact, though many are on meds and have suffered various kinds of trauma, they generally seem remarkably healthy.

[Nancy in New York]

One other thing that was pointed out to me.
I read where you are giving bird calcium.
If it has vitamin D, that could be a problem.
Excess vitamin D can cause MBD.

[Squirlgirl]

MBD protocol is never a bad thing, especially Tums/tums water. During times of stress (flipping and injury) Calcium becomes depleted. Its mating season and if Buddy is not a neuro kid, her baby clock is ringing and flipping is a stress sign. Calcium will benefit her. Buddy's Mom are we sure that she is a girl?:grouphug

[Annabelle's papa]

Hi, at work I will try on Sunday to get pics of under toe nail will she be all right until then if it is an infection? My gut tells me it's infected. If you think she needs antibiotic I will go home to give her. Thanks so much for all your time.

:) Hi Buddys mom, were you still going to post a few photos of Buddy today, I will be more than happy to post some for you if you can email them; atpat1963@gmail.com

[TubeDriver]

Any updates on Buddy?

[Nancy in New York]

Yes Buddy's mom contacted me and is starting the Amox. for his foot.
She had a hectic work schedule and hopefully will be on later with a first hand
update! :)

[Buddys mom]

:) Hi Buddys mom, were you still going to post a few photos of Buddy today, I will be more than happy to post some for you if you can email them; atpat1963@gmail.com

Good Morning I am just getting up after my last long shift I am off for the summer......yea.....:dance I took a good look at the top of Buddy's nail and I want everyone to see so later I will take the pics and send them to you to post. I'm not usually so dumb with computers I will get it, I think I was so nervous on Friday I couldn't think. Thank you all for being so kind.

[TubeDriver]

:thumbsup



Good Morning I am just getting up after my last long shift I am off for the summer......yea.....:dance I took a good look at the top of Buddy's nail and I want everyone to see so later I will take the pics and send them to you to post. I'm not usually so dumb with computers I will get it, I think I was so nervous on Friday I couldn't think. Thank you all for being so kind.

[Buddys mom]

MBD protocol is never a bad thing, especially Tums/tums water. During times of stress (flipping and injury) Calcium becomes depleted. Its mating season and if Buddy is not a neuro kid, her baby clock is ringing and flipping is a stress sign. Calcium will benefit her. Buddy's Mom are we sure that she is a girl?:grouphug

Pretty sure she is girl there are no parts that stick out :grin2.

[stepnstone]

Pretty sure she is girl there are no parts that stick out :grin2.

Often with someone new to (baby) squirrels, girls are often mistaken for boys due to their slight "protrusion."
Boys are a bit more obvious. Sexing these babies is like reading a real estate add,
location, location, location... http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/laughing/giggle.gif
257906

[Squirlgirl]

Ehanx Step. Buddy's Mom, how is Buddie doing?:Love_Icon