Concerned about Judie

[Sara in NW MS]

When it rains it pours. There is something wrong with Judie. I noticed 2 weeks ago she had a couple bald spots on her arm. They are larger but the skin looks fine and I don't see any bites or anything. She's losing weight really fast. I couldn't get a pic of her yesterday but she looks like a bag of bones! She's getting her block about 3 days a week and eats treats out of the feeders a lot. We also gave her some fruit and sweet potato when she came running when we were feeding Toby.

I'm not sure what to do, she is so skinny right now it's concerning. I believe she has babies right now and they are nursing on her but she has never looked like this before while nursing.

Here are some pics of the bald spots before they got bigger. I'm going to see if I can get a pic of her body so you can see how skinny she has gotten.

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[DarkLies212]

Oh no! :(
I wonder if giving her some extra fatty foods (avocado, etc) would help until you determine the cause?

[ALittleNutty]

Notice any lumps? My James has warbles(bot fly larvae) this year. It's caused him to lose weight and they started out as small lumps that got bigger. First pic is from last week and the rest from this week.

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[Sara in NW MS]

Notice any lumps? My James has warbles(bot fly larvae) this year. It's caused him to lose weight and they started out as small lumps that got bigger. First pic is from last week and the rest from this week.


I've never seen bots here but I know it's possible. I checked her when she climbed up me and there is nothing in those bald spots. No scaly skin, no redness, no holes, no blood or oozing fluids. She just has these weird bald spots. It started out as one then the other one showed up on her elbow. They have grown in size but there isn't a lump or anything under them. I'll have to see if she has any new bald spots, ugh.

[ALittleNutty]

I've never seen bots here but I know it's possible. I checked her when she climbed up me and there is nothing in those bald spots. No scaly skin, no redness, no holes, no blood or oozing fluids. She just has these weird bald spots. It started out as one then the other one showed up on her elbow. They have grown in size but there isn't a lump or anything under them. I'll have to see if she has any new bald spots, ugh.

I guess for now just beef up her nutrition and keep a close watch. This is the first year I have seen bots here. Nasty little suckers!!! At first I thought James had been fighting with one of the wilds but it progressed until we could finally tell it was bots. Hope you get it figured out soon. :grouphug

[Nancy in New York]

Sara, do you want me to move these posts pertaining to Judie to the emergency or non emergency section to get more eyes on this?

[Sara in NW MS]

Sara, do you want me to move these posts pertaining to Judie to the emergency or non emergency section to get more eyes on this?

That would be great. I feel like a loser for not having recent pics so I can show you guys what I'm talking about. I'll try to take some when I get home IF I see her. The bald spots might not be connected with the weight loss and that's the most concerning thing right now.

I've been leaving avocado in her RC but she's not eating it. She's eating her block and a little fruit when it's offered.

Thank you Nancy!

[Nancy in New York]

Yeah, pictures would help.
Poor little Judie, I hope she feels better soon. :(

[JLM27]

They look like wounds. Fur recedes around a wound. Watch for infection. Looks like a hawk tried to grab her and failed.

[Shewhosweptforest]

I know this is a no, no for NR squirrels...but could you give her more nuts....even some fresh corn to fatten her up :dono now that she's been in the wild I wouldn't think it could hurt...it is the season they'd be raiding gardens :eek I sure hope sweet Judie perks up....maybe those children are wearing her out :crazy1 she's so lucky to have you looking out for her :Love_Icon

[Sara in NW MS]

I used to see Judie every day but lately she's been coming around every few days or so. I spotted her on top of her nest box tonight so I grabbed a block and went up the hill. She came down and started eating her block but it looked like she choked. I got her some water and she did the same thing while drinking and made this weird squeal I've never heard her make before. She's definitely nursing but I think she's sick. Her eyes look watery and she sneezed several times. It doesn't look like she's lost more weight but she's still very thin.

[Spanky]

Providing fresh water in a safe place where she can get to it is a great idea. Mommies usually get very territorial... just wondering if those might be minor wounds from her running off some unwelcome visitors to her family's territory?

[SammysMom]

I wonder if she might be having a tooth issue. I'm so sorry to see that Judie is having a problem. She is one of my favorites on TSB...:grouphug
Maybe eating and drinking hurts? :dono

[Sara in NW MS]

Thanks Spanky and SammysMom. I've always made sure she has fresh water in her RC just under her nest box. I used to leave food for her in there but other squirrels were eating it so I hand feed her unless it's close to sunset and I haven't seen her, then I leave it in her cage.
I wondered about her teeth but she's never had issues like that before. I'm going to set the game camera up on her tree and see if I can get some pics of her. Maybe I'll get lucky and we can see something. The bald spots have hair growing in, maybe it was some sort of injury. Who knows. Maybe she's losing weight because she's nursing but she's never lost weight like this before with her other litters.
I'll leave some avocado and grapes up there in the morning and hopefully she will eat them.
I have this sinking feeling in my gut. I really hope she's okay. Is there something I can add to her water that's safe for her to drink right now? Some sort of immune booster?

[lennysmom]

I'm so sorry to hear Judie is sick Sara.:( I have used immune boosters in Lenny's water before when he was sick and I do think they helped. I know there is a pill form you can crush up and then also a liquid that I have used before I ordered off Amazon. I will see if I can find the names of them for you if someone else doesn't chime in on it. I do wonder about parasites though as her behavior when eating reminds me somewhat of when Lenny was so sick - have you ever seen her vomiting? I will be praying that it's nothing serious and that little Judie will feel better soon.:grouphug:grouphug

[lennysmom]

Here is the liquid stuff I have used before -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBAWOY/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_7OMVxbDSTM7FB

You simply add a few drops of it to their drinking water. I know there are other kinds that members here have mentioned that may be better, but for some reason I am having trouble locating them on the board.

[Sara in NW MS]

Thanks LM. I'm going to order some of that today and give it a shot. I hope it helps!

[CritterMom]

Make her some calcium bombs - grind up some HHBs, mix with peanut butter and add calcium powder, roll into balls. The females can go downhill fast from the milk drain of babies - it takes a lot of calcium to produce milk which is constantly being sucked out of them. Farmers used to call it "milk fever" in their livestock - it is basically short term / fast onset MBD. Big litters, or even just smallish young mamas are prone...

[Sara in NW MS]

Milk fever... yikes that sounds scary! I'll have Lauri make some calcium bombs today since she's there and I'm at work. She did say she got Judie to come down and take some water but she wasn't interested in eating anything. She said Judie moved real slow, almost like she was doing the army man crawl. Lauri is really concerned about her now, she said she looked like she could barely climb back up the tree.

:boohoo I don't know what we should do. Is she so sick right now that the calcium bombs won't work? What if we can't get her to leave her box and eat them?

I'm almost tempted to close the box up and take it off the tree when I get home. I can move the box into the release cage and close the cage to keep her in it. Is that too extreme? Should we wait and see if she eats the calcium bombs and give her a couple of days? I cannot let my baby die up there in that box and not know it.

[CritterMom]

You can make them out of awful junk - I suggested peanut butter because most squirrels like it, but if there is anything you know she likes better...use that to tempt he to eat them. Do you know how big the babies are? It would be nice if she would eat them - I worry about how she might react if she AND the babies were relocated. If she was done nursing I wouldn't have the concerns.

The heat and caring for babies really can take it out of them. What I WISH you could do is bring her INSIDE for some A/C, rest, and top quality chow...

[Sara in NW MS]

You can make them out of awful junk - I suggested peanut butter because most squirrels like it, but if there is anything you know she likes better...use that to tempt he to eat them. Do you know how big the babies are? It would be nice if she would eat them - I worry about how she might react if she AND the babies were relocated. If she was done nursing I wouldn't have the concerns.

The heat and caring for babies really can take it out of them. What I WISH you could do is bring her INSIDE for some A/C, rest, and top quality chow...

Three weeks ago it didn't look like she was being nursed on but now it's obvious. We never knew she was pregnant, she never got fat or anything. So I have no clue how old they are.
I would like to bring her box inside so she could enjoy the cooler temps but I'm not sure if that is a good idea with little ones in the box with her. Not to mention I don't have an extra cage to put her in since Frankie is using it right now.
I could order another cage and have it shipped as fast as they can ship it but would it be safe for her babies to move all of them inside? She's not going to panic and hurt them possibly?

[CritterMom]

Three weeks ago it didn't look like she was being nursed on but now it's obvious. We never knew she was pregnant, she never got fat or anything. So I have no clue how old they are.
I would like to bring her box inside so she could enjoy the cooler temps but I'm not sure if that is a good idea with little ones in the box with her. Not to mention I don't have an extra cage to put her in since Frankie is using it right now.
I could order another cage and have it shipped as fast as they can ship it but would it be safe for her babies to move all of them inside? She's not going to panic and hurt them possibly?

That is what I am concerned about... It is impossible to tell how she will react. I wish we knew their age - I take it you haven't seen them?

[Sara in NW MS]

That is what I am concerned about... It is impossible to tell how she will react. I wish we knew their age - I take it you haven't seen them?

No, I haven't seen her babies. If I had to guess their age I would say she had them 4 to 5 weeks ago because that's when she stopped coming around every day. She ALWAYS comes to the house looking for a treat every single day. The only time she doesn't do this is when she has babies. Maybe when the babies are young (newborn to 2/3 weeks old) there isn't much of a sign that she's nursing? Her nipples looked more prominent back then but the hair around them didn't look wet or matted like it does now.

[Sara in NW MS]

I'm teetering on the verge of pure panic. Judie was spotted yesterday morning and hasn't been seen since. I walked up to her tree when I got home yesterday and called and called her. No movement in her box, no movement in the trees, nothing.
I walked up there this morning and checked her food I left for her in the RC and it was untouched. I put sand on the shelf of her water bowl last night so I could see footprints in it this morning and she's hasn't had anything to drink either. Lauri is keeping an eye out for her to come out of her box but nothing so far. She checked the sand again a little while ago and still no footprints.
Yesterday when I was thinking about getting her nestbox out of the tree I was thinking about the old box. She has a new box, one of those huge condos that weighs a ton and it has two entry/exit holes. How am I supposed to get up to that box and block the holes up fast enough before she comes tearing out of there and rips me to pieces? She's never been aggressive towards me but I'm sure she will be when I get close to that box full of babies. What a nightmare, I'm not sure what to do to help her.

Older pic, taken July 7th. My sweet baby girl...

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[PennyCash]

I wish that I knew something brilliant to help...
Just know that I'm praying :grouphug

[Mel1959]

Sara, I'm so sorry you are having to go through this with Judy. It sounds like you might have to access the box just to determine if something happened to her or to retrieve babies. I don't know how high the box is, but if someone mounted it then there must be someway to access it, maybe a scissor type mobile vehicle or very tall ladder. If you knew a tree trimmer or telephone repairman they have special shoes that might enable them to climb up there. Such a worry. I hope your little girl is ok and you find a way to access the box. It doesn't sound like she will be blasting out of there, though. She sounds like she's not feeling well enough to. Please keep us posted and I will be praying for you both.

[DaSquirrelMom]

Try to remove it when she's less likely to be awake. She may nap during the hottest part of the day.

You're going to need a brave friend and two ladders to shove thick towels in the entrance holes at the same time.

I had to remove a nest box with a sick squirrel last spring. It was very difficult to unscrew the 4 long screws that went into the tree, so my husband used a small dremel tool to cut through them quickly.

I wish you the best of luck.

[Sara in NW MS]

If I decide to take her box down I'll have my work cut out for me. I only have one ladder, so I'll be the person up there blocking the holes and getting the box down. I might see if I can get a rope around it and toss that over a branch so I can lower it to someone on the ground so I don't break my neck trying to go down a ladder carrying a box that weighs a ton.

I'd say her box is almost 30' up the tree. We hung the first box last year but I had someone remove it and hang the bigger box this year. Don't think I'll be able to find someone to help me, especially since the threat of being attacked is very possible.

I'm worried about destroying the bond I have with her or losing her trust. Lots of things to consider with this. Ugh.

[lukaslolamaus]

I wished I had some good advice, but I'll be praying for you, Judie and the babies :grouphug:grouphug:grouphug:Love_Icon

[BCChins]

Can you lure her into a Hav-A-Heart trap then go up and take the box down?

Put some yummy irresistible goodies in it for her and see if she will go in it.

[lukaslolamaus]

Any news on Judie?

[Sara in NW MS]

I tried and I failed. Ugh. We snuck up to her tree with a ladder late last night and halfway up the ladder she was on me like white on rice. Note to self... Wear a knight suit of armor when attempting to get a momma squirrel with babies! I couldn't get down that ladder fast enough and my arms and the top of my head prove it. Climbing down didn't work so I ended up sliding down (ungracefully) to get away from her.
Now I have peanut butter and almonds in the RC in the hopes that she will come down and I can close the portal. Then I can see if it's a tooth issue and trim them then release her. If it's not obvious I'll keep her in the RC then climb back up the tree to get the box with the babies.
I don't know how I'm going to do this if it's not something as simple as trimming a tooth. I can attach the havaheart trap to the portal in the hopes that she will enter it and i can gain access to the RC long enough to hang her box in there. If something else is going on with her I'm going to need help figuring out what to do and what we can treat her with that won't harm the babies.
For now we are dying in this heat watching her box and the RC cage for her to come down. I'll be out here until she does. Pray I am able to catch her and get her all fixed up fast and easy!

[Sara in NW MS]

I trapped Judie in the RC. She's looking better today than she has for the last few days. I gave her a calcium bomb and she ate it right up. While she was looking for a way out she found a hidden peanut and proceeded to eat it. Eyes still look watery and her nose was running. She was stressed and looking for a way out, does stress make their nose run?
I'm not hearing any hacking or choking sounds while she eats or drinks. Wth? Is it possible she's better already? She's gone downhill for days.
Now what do I do??

[Gardentoes11]

I don't think I have any helpful advice, but I'm glad you were able to catch her & observe her more closely. Sounds positive that she seems to be feeling better. Are you still planning to get the box/babies down? If so, I second the rope over a branch method....

[lennysmom]

I'm glad she's looking better Sara. Was she able to eat ok that you can tell? Have you given her anything hard like a shelled nut to see if she can crack it ok? If it is a severe teeth issue, I would think she would struggle a little more to open a shelled nut. I wonder if perhaps she has a cold? I wish I knew what to tell you for sure - and with her having babies in the box, it does make the situation much more difficult. I know you don't want to put her through any more stress then necessary. Hopefully others will chime in soon with their opinion. Praying you will make the right decision for Judie.:grouphug

[PennyCash]

Gosh, I'm torn between saying keep her there and bring the babies but then I'm worried about to much stress. I so hope that there's someone whose been there done that in a situation such as this. The eyes and runny nose of course concern me :grouphug

[DaSquirrelMom]

Her runny nose and eyes are very likely a symptom of infection. It's respiratory. I have no idea what antibiotics are safe to give to a nursing squirrel mom, but others on this site will know.

[Sara in NW MS]

I let Judie out of the RC. She ate a little bit of food and drank some water. I watched her closely and saw no signs of any issues with her mouth. The bald spots on her arm aren't as bald and I saw no injuries. The only thing that was off was the runny nose but it's possible she got that from being stressed. I have her an almond but she buried it instead of cracking the shell. Once I let her out she checked my hands for more treats and went on her merry way empty handed. I just couldn't take her babies out of the tree if I couldn't find anything wrong with her. Now that I know she's eating I'll leave a wide variety of food up there for her so she can pick and choose what she needs. I'll help bump her calcium intake for the next couple weeks to see if that helps any.

[Shewhosweptforest]

I believe you made the right choice:great we've seen some horror stories here concerning stressed moms and their babies :shakehead is it possible that there's dust or some other foreign material in the box...that's irritating her nose....I know if Baby goes snooping around the squirrel room..sometimes she'll sniffle because she's gotten dust up her nose :dono I know they bring lots of dried materials into their nests:Love_Icon

[Shewhosweptforest]

I hope Judie is doing ok:please and her sweet babies too :serene

[Sara in NW MS]

I hope Judie is doing ok:please and her sweet babies too :serene

I saw Judie long enough for her to take a block from me this morning and she took off. She was acting skittish and I'm not really sure why.

I'm pretty sure she moved her babies from the nestbox. I think she did that a couple days after we trapped her in the RC. I've seen her move her babies this time of year since the box is so hot, so maybe that's why. I'd hate to think I scared her enough to make her move the babies.

I haven't been able to see her much but Lauri has seen her a few times since we caught her. She usually comes down towards the house after I leave for work. She is gaining some weight and looking better! I just got lucky this morning and spotted her out there and had enough time to go get her and block and run it out to her.

[Shewhosweptforest]

That's good news:great I'm glad she's putting on weight....I agree that she may have left the nest box due to heat. It doesn't appear that any of my nestboxes are in use right now :tap

Hopefully Judie will bring them around in a few weeks :please :Love_Icon