Skiddil struggling again!

[SugarBugFerret]

Here we go again. Skiddil is dragging her hind end. I just don't understand it! What am I missing?!? I have tried so hard to do right by her, but I feel like I am failing....again. Just like a typical squirrel, as I have read over and over here on the board, she was fine...great in fact! Being silly and hanging by her hind feet. And now, crippled! WTH? The last time she had a problem, I took her through the MBD protocol with TUMS, and I removed things from her diet that were too high in phosphorus. The only thing different is artichoke. She got some for the first time a few days ago, and she has had some until last night. But it isn't on the "do not feed" list. I am following the posted diet for veggies, and all fruit she gets is dusted with calcium powder from Henry's. She still gets her 2 HHBs and she has HT blocks to free feed on. I did not give her a nut last night. Remember she had a back injury when I got her and couldn't move her hind end, but she recovered from that, just not well enough to be releasable. She has always been wobbly and a bit clumsy. She has also always had what I believe to be a little hump on her back where I believe her original injury was, but it has never bothered her that I could tell. I may be dreaming this...I don't have a healthy squirrel to look at up close for comparison. I left her cage the way it was when I put her through the MBD protocol, so she still doesn't have to go down a full level at once in her Critter Nation cage...just half levels due to the shelves. And I put a ramp in, and everything is covered in fleece. Could she have possibly reinjured herself after all this time, and now swelling is causing the paralysis? I hate feeling like such a bad squirrel mom. She looks at me with such love and trust, and I can't keep her well. :sadness I had thought of maybe trying some infant ibuprofen....weighing her will not be fun, and probably a bit frightening for her, but I will do it if necessary. Any thoughts from the experts?

[island rehabber]

So sorry your girl is having issues again, SBF. First, a dumb question but I gotta ask: are you sure she is dragging her back end, and not marking, or rubbing because she is irritated (possible UTI)? The two can look very similar.
Ibuprofen is not a bad idea; you can dose it on the basic average weight of an adult grey which is 1lb.

[SugarBugFerret]

Thank you IR for taking the time to reply. :hug

[island rehabber]

Hope you got my PM about the ibuprofen -- is she any better?

[SugarBugFerret]

Wow...a post in the emergency (life threatening) section with 59 views, and only IR responded. Thanks for the help TSB. :hello This is exactly why I have become more and more scarce around here. :ignore2 Yes IR, I did get your private message, and yes the ibuprofen is helping. Thank you for your concern and your assistance. Skiddil and I do appreciate it! :Love_Icon

[Shewhosweptforest]

Awww I'm so sorry SugarBugFerret:headbang sometimes I see someone has answered and I assume it's being taken care of :shakehead that's not good :( I also don't worry as much when I see its someone like you ....who I know has experience and knows what they are doing...also, and I'm sure I'm not alone, this back to school stuff is time consuming....just now :dono no good excuses tho....but I am sorry ....I do care about you and Skiddil....I'm glad you're seeing improvement :Love_Icon

[Nancy in New York]

Wow...a post in the emergency (life threatening) section with 59 views, and only IR responded. Thanks for the help TSB. :hello This is exactly why I have become more and more scarce around here. :ignore2 Yes IR, I did get your private message, and yes the ibuprofen is helping. Thank you for your concern and your assistance. Skiddil and I do appreciate it! :Love_Icon

We need all the help we can get around here, so you being scarce
doesn't help.
If people only knew the private messages we get asking for help, the emails we get,
the animals we care for during this season........PLUS our other commitments, perhaps they would be more
forgiving.

We only have a handful of people answering the emegencies, so please
if ANYONE sees an emergency, feel free to step up.

Your post was answered in a little over 2 hours.
It took you over 10 hours to reply to Maura's question. :shakehead

[SugarBugFerret]

Thank you Sweeper. You give me way too much credit! I only know anything about what I am doing because of others like you, who have graciously helped me all this time. I do get the back to school stuff, and everything else. I myself have a son who is a senior in high school this year, and he is the head drum major in band. (This mom is pretty proud of that!) We just had our first football game Friday night. He is also the Senior Patrol Leader of our Boy Scout Troop, and my hubby is the Scoutmaster. I really do "get" being busy. I just really worry when Skiddil has a problem...and I don't really have anyone else to turn to besides my TSB family. It's like when I really just need to talk to my mom, but I can't get her on the phone. You know? :sadness


Awww I'm so sorry SugarBugFerret:headbang sometimes I see someone has answered and I assume it's being taken care of :shakehead that's not good :( I also don't worry as much when I see its someone like you ....who I know has experience and knows what they are doing...also, and I'm sure I'm not alone, this back to school stuff is time consuming....just now :dono no good excuses tho....but I am sorry ....I do care about you and Skiddil....I'm glad you're seeing improvement :Love_Icon

[Shewhosweptforest]

Wow...sounds like your son has got his act together :highfive is he your first to graduate? Oh my gosh....that tore me up when my oldest graduated...and went to college! :boohoo :grin3 well, really it's hard when they all grow up :(

I understand your concern and worry...I worry about Baby all the time...and as you said TSB is our lifeline.....and sometimes the minutes tick by sooo slowly ...just waiting :( I am sorry....I'm glad she's feeling better...it sounds like her diet is great and I'm sure artichoke would not be harmful. Maybe she just hurt herself...and was sore. I would keep a close eye on her....maybe get a video of her :great

You should give yourself more credit...you've learned a lot through the school of hard knocks...like most of us....necessity does become the mother of invention :grin3

[SugarBugFerret]

I would love to be able to help with emergencies, but certainly don't feel qualified when I can't seem to help ONE squirrel live a full healthy life. Also when I have asked questions in order to educate myself from the experts such as yourself (I truly do value your knowledge and opinions!), they have gone unanswered. Or I have gotten conflicting information, so I don't know which answer to give to someone else who may have the same question. I have often felt it best to just keep my newbie mouth shut. One squirrel does not an expert make. I have tried though to assist in simple things that I felt I could answer without completely blundering. I apologize if I sound ungrateful. I know everyone is also busy with their own lives. But there are SO MANY wonderfully educated squeeps here. You are but just one of them! That is just one of the many wonders of TSB...the wealth of knowledge here is HUGE! You yourself have given me good advice and help in the past, and for that I thank you. But when I can see that people are on, lurking, viewing, awake at the same ungodly hour that I am and reading posts, and even posting elsewhere...people who I know would be able to help me....and I am in complete panic mode...:panic Sometimes all I can do is just sit and cry...:boohoo I guess we can all get impatient when it comes to our own babies. As for my response to Maura's original question, we did have a PM exchange as well as what is seen here. Thank you again for the help you have given...I truly do appreciate it as well. :Love_Icon


We need all the help we can get around here, so you being scarce
doesn't help.
If people only knew the private messages we get asking for help, the emails we get,
the animals we care for during this season........PLUS our other commitments, perhaps they would be more
forgiving.

We only have a handful of people answering the emegencies, so please
if ANYONE sees an emergency, feel free to step up.

Your post was answered in a little over 2 hours.
It took you over 10 hours to reply to Maura's question. :shakehead

[SugarBugFerret]

He is the youngest of my two boys, and yes, he has got things under control! I don't know how he does it all...he also is taking all honors core classes. He certainly didn't get this ability from me! My first graduated a few years ago, and moved 3 hours away. :boohoo He was just home last weekend for my birthday though, so I got my fix! He and I were just watching Skiddil act like a total monkey maniac together! I was showing him what a silly nut she was, and now she just looks so pitiful. :Cry The ibuprofen is helping though. She looks almost twisted to me. Heat has also been suggested, so I am going to try to cuddle with her for a little while on a heating pad. I'm not quite sure how that will go though...


Wow...sounds like your son has got his act together :highfive is he your first to graduate? Oh my gosh....that tore me up when my oldest graduated...and went to college! :boohoo :grin3 well, really it's hard when they all grow up :(

I understand your concern and worry...I worry about Baby all the time...and as you said TSB is our lifeline.....and sometimes the minutes tick by sooo slowly ...just waiting :( I am sorry....I'm glad she's feeling better...it sounds like her diet is great and I'm sure artichoke would not be harmful. Maybe she just hurt herself...and was sore. I would keep a close eye on her....maybe get a video of her :great

You should give yourself more credit...you've learned a lot through the school of hard knocks...like most of us....necessity does become the mother of invention :grin3

[Shewhosweptforest]

Oh no....not the baby graduating....well, maybe you'll get lucky and the baby will hang around for awhile...my baby is a girl....and she's back at home...she's 25 and did live one year in an apartment....but she still came home all the time:serene I hope none of my three kids ever lives far away...:shakehead

I'm really baffled about Skiddil:thinking I would try and restrict her movements too...I know that's easier said then done...especially when they own us :Love_Icon I like the heat....I wonder if pred would help...I feel like I jump at pred for everything....but as someone who used it personally for a hurt hip...it worked miracles :klunk

Oh and what you said about seeing people online and no ones noticing your questions...sometimes they really do get overlooked ....especially when there's newbies with issues. I have no problem...and really would like to be reminded that a thread's being overlooked...like you did today:great just sooner...so you're not worried to death and feeling neglected....I really get it....just post :help someone will see it:great :Love_Icon

[Mel1959]

Unfortunately, SBF, a lot of us that may view a thread in the emergency section are not knowledgeable enough to help. I am not qualified to dose meds and rely upon the experts, just like you. For that reason, if there isn't any pertinent information I can share, then I don't. I'm really sorry your Skiddil isn't feeling well. I know how anxious it makes us feel when they're sick. I hope Skiddil is better soon. :grouphug

[SugarBugFerret]

He is planning to stay home and go to community college for at least a year, so I get my baby at home a little longer! I really want him to go to my alma mater, which is less than 2 hours away, so I could handle that if it happens. I can almost make the drive with my eyes closed! I have to admit, he is kind of my mama's boy, and I LOVE it! :grin3


Oh no....not the baby graduating....well, maybe you'll get lucky and the baby will hang around for awhile...my baby is a girl....and she's back at home...she's 25 and did live one year in an apartment....but she still came home all the time:serene I hope none of my three kids ever lives far away...:shakehead

I'm really baffled about Skiddil:thinking I would try and restrict her movements too...I know that's easier said then done...especially when they own us :Love_Icon I like the heat....I wonder if pred would help...I feel like I jump at pred for everything....but as someone who used it personally for a hurt hip...it worked miracles :klunk

Oh and what you said about seeing people online and no ones noticing your questions...sometimes they really do get overlooked ....especially when there's newbies with issues. I have no problem...and really would like to be reminded that a thread's being overlooked...like you did today:great just sooner...so you're not worried to death and feeling neglected....I really get it....just post :help someone will see it:great :Love_Icon

[SammysMom]

I too see that someone like IR has gotten on the case and think that I am not really needed. It seemed that IR had answered what was needed. It sure doesn't mean that you aren't needed on TSB though! Baby season in full swing, I and probably many others are not here as often as we might like to be. Skiddil and you are in my thoughts and prayers though...:Love_Icon

[SugarBugFerret]

UPDATE: I have been giving Skiddil ibuprofen about every 4.5 hours since Saturday night, and she has been noticeably improving. I also managed to wrap her in a piece of fleece and hold her against a small heating pad for about 10 minutes. She wasn't quite sure about it, as she is not really the cuddling type (unless I catch her in the middle of the night when she is pretty much out of it and half asleep), but she did seem to enjoy the warmth. I then massaged her back and hind legs. She is now standing on her feet somewhat...she is still quite wobbly, but she IS doing it. She is stretching her hind legs out again when I scratch her thighs, and I can definitely feel resistance again when I stroke her tail. Her spine also seems to be straightening back out to what is her "normal". I still don't know what happened in the first place, but my novice opinion is that this truly has nothing to do with diet, and everything to do with an injury. A sprain or strain, pulled muscle, muscle spasm, or something else that caused inflammation that in turn caused a pinched nerve or nerves that ultimately caused the temporary paralysis. She could also maybe be developing arthritis in the area where her initial injury was as an infant. Feel free to chime in with other thoughts or ideas, but the bottom line is she IS IMPROVING! I just hope I can get her back to where she was before this happened. This may just be her norm from now on...just like in hoomins (such as myself as I have a bad back). She may just get a little too frisky every so often and knock things out of whack. So then it will be a regimen of anti-inflammatories, confinement to just a portion of her cage, and lots of R and R while she recuperates. I will try not to freak out and lose my mind if and/or when this happens again. I just hate seeing her down like this, and struggling so hard to get back to her normal. :sniff :thankyou everyone.

[Mel1959]

I'm glad to hear Skiddil is improving. Do you think she could have fallen and injured herself? And then felt stiffness and had inflammation? I apologize I don't know the whole history from when she had her initial injury, but if you did the MBD treatment long enough and her diet is good, then I would have to agree it doesn't sound like diet related. I do know that some extra calcium isn't harmful in small amounts, and helps muscles. It sounds like the heat may have helped, too. :grin2

[island rehabber]

UPDATE: I have been giving Skiddil ibuprofen about every 4.5 hours since Saturday night, and she has been noticeably improving. I also managed to wrap her in a piece of fleece and hold her against a small heating pad for about 10 minutes. She wasn't quite sure about it, as she is not really the cuddling type (unless I catch her in the middle of the night when she is pretty much out of it and half asleep), but she did seem to enjoy the warmth. I then massaged her back and hind legs. She is now standing on her feet somewhat...she is still quite wobbly, but she IS doing it. She is stretching her hind legs out again when I scratch her thighs, and I can definitely feel resistance again when I stroke her tail. Her spine also seems to be straightening back out to what is her "normal". I still don't know what happened in the first place, but my novice opinion is that this truly has nothing to do with diet, and everything to do with an injury. A sprain or strain, pulled muscle, muscle spasm, or something else that caused inflammation that in turn caused a pinched nerve or nerves that ultimately caused the temporary paralysis. She could also maybe be developing arthritis in the area where her initial injury was as an infant. Feel free to chime in with other thoughts or ideas, but the bottom line is she IS IMPROVING! I just hope I can get her back to where she was before this happened. This may just be her norm from now on...just like in hoomins (such as myself as I have a bad back). She may just get a little too frisky every so often and knock things out of whack. So then it will be a regimen of anti-inflammatories, confinement to just a portion of her cage, and lots of R and R while she recuperates. I will try not to freak out and lose my mind if and/or when this happens again. I just hate seeing her down like this, and struggling so hard to get back to her normal. :sniff :thankyou everyone.


I am SO glad she is improving :dance. I did not think it could be a relapse of MBD because her diet is good. My thinking is that she was too rambunctious and sprained something, re-aggravating her initial injury. My Owena did something like that about two months ago, and she was really down for almost a week. Barely moving, slept all day, barely ate --- which for Owena is REALLY unusual. However, she recovered completely by just staying quiet for awhile. We can learn a lot from these creatures we love so much. :great

[CritterMom]

Yes, if I recall, the last time she was getting the HHBs but you were also feeding one of the sneaky super high phosphorus foods too, no knowing how high they were (pumpkin seeds maybe?) but nothing you described feeding now falls into that category.

When she is better and back to normal, may I suggest that you get an accurate weight on her so that if this happens again, you aren't just guessing with your dosage? Anything like that you can do while they are well to help in an emergency is a good idea...

[SugarBugFerret]

My guess is that yes, she did something in her cage that caused her to fall, or twist just right, that aggravated something in her back. She came to me 3 years ago as an infant with some sort of spinal issue. She couldn't move her hind legs or tail at all...she just drug them behind her. But she recovered from all of that, and regained most of her mobility...enough to be a happy and spoiled NR. Last December, something happened that caused her to lose some mobility, but she just became a bit more clumsy and uncoordinated, and was struggling to sit up. We didn't know what had happened, but it turned out that I was unwittingly giving her some things that could have thrown off her calcium levels, so the decision at that time was to treat it as MBD. I also removed the things from her diet that she shouldn't have been eating. Again, she recovered. But this time, a few days ago, it was so much more severe. She was back to how she was as an infant...pretty much paralyzed again. But since it didn't seem possible to be a diet issue, we chose the "treat as an injury" route. My thought now is that I am just going to have to watch her for these episodes and treat accordingly when they happen. And hope she doesn't have too much difficulty with arthritis in her spine as she continues to get older.


I'm glad to hear Skiddil is improving. Do you think she could have fallen and injured herself? And then felt stiffness and had inflammation? I apologize I don't know the whole history from when she had her initial injury, but if you did the MBD treatment long enough and her diet is good, then I would have to agree it doesn't sound like diet related. I do know that some extra calcium isn't harmful in small amounts, and helps muscles. It sounds like the heat may have helped, too. :grin2

[SugarBugFerret]

Yes, if I recall, the last time she was getting the HHBs but you were also feeding one of the sneaky super high phosphorus foods too, no knowing how high they were (pumpkin seeds maybe?) but nothing you described feeding now falls into that category.

When she is better and back to normal, may I suggest that you get an accurate weight on her so that if this happens again, you aren't just guessing with your dosage? Anything like that you can do while they are well to help in an emergency is a good idea...

I was giving her worms that we keep for the flyers. :embar But you thankfully set me straight! She hasn't had one since, or any mushrooms either. I will definitely work on getting a good weight for her when she is feeling better. That is a good idea! :great

[Shewhosweptforest]

It would also be nice is you could get your hands on some metacam....that way if there's a next time... you could reduce the inflammation faster:great I'm so relieved she's doing better....please don't apologize about worrying :facepalm I worry about Baby..a lot, I have to "talk myself down" :eek we love them sooo much it makes us paranoid :Love_Icon

[SugarBugFerret]

I actually have some leftover metacam from one of my cats, but that leaves me with 2 questions about it: 1. It expired in May. I know most meds are totally fine for quite a while even after their expiration date, unless maybe if it is something that requires refrigeration. So the question would be, how long until it is just no longer worth keeping and it becomes better to just start with fresh? 2. The tip of this bottle actually went into my cat's mouth, and I know that organisms in cat saliva can wreak havoc on a poor cat bitten squirrel. Would it still not be a good idea to risk cross contamination even when it is being used orally? Logic would tell me not to risk it, but I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. In the future, I believe my vet would willingly prescribe some for me without much fuss, so I'm not too worried about asking her about it.

Skiddil is scooting around a bit more in her cage, and starting to burrow under things again, and throw stuff around in there like I am used to seeing her do...proof that she is continuing to improve and just generally feeling better. :dance


It would also be nice is you could get your hands on some metacam....that way if there's a next time... you could reduce the inflammation faster:great I'm so relieved she's doing better....please don't apologize about worrying :facepalm I worry about Baby..a lot, I have to "talk myself down" :eek we love them sooo much it makes us paranoid :Love_Icon

[Daisey007]

Better safe than sorry... I'd get more.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Yeah....I'm a bit of a germaphobe....I'm not afraid of germs...but I'm afraid of cross contamination. The expiration doesn't frighten me. I'd get fresh too....if I could.:great glad to hear she's taking up housekeeping again:w00t always a good sign :serene

[SugarBugFerret]

Update on Skiddil: She is pretty much back to her normal self! (Thank you Skiddil for scaring the bejeebees out of me! :tap) This girl has amazed me once again. I am thinking this just might be our routine now from time to time, when she gets too rambunctious and strains something in her back. I won't panic quite so much if it does happen again. Thank you to those of you who helped me once again. I don't know what I would do without TSB! :grouphug

Would an admin like to move this thread into non-life threatening, so it doesn't alert others with emails? (I assume that is what happens.) Thank you! :grin3

[Nancy in New York]

Update on Skiddil: She is pretty much back to her normal self! (Thank you Skiddil for scaring the bejeebees out of me! :tap) This girl has amazed me once again. I am thinking this just might be our routine now from time to time, when she gets too rambunctious and strains something in her back. I won't panic quite so much if it does happen again. Thank you to those of you who helped me once again. I don't know what I would do without TSB! :grouphug

Would an admin like to move this thread into non-life threatening, so it doesn't alert others with emails? (I assume that is what happens.) Thank you! :grin3

Perfect update!:w00t
Thanks for letting us know, and I will happily move
Skiddil out of the emergency room. :) :Love_Icon
These little ones will surely age us! :shakehead

[Shewhosweptforest]

I was just coming to check up on Skiddil :serene I'm so glad to see she's doing well :Love_Icon I guess whatever happened to her back as a baby has made her prone to "throwing her back out" :eek I'm also relieved....they really do worry us sick sometimes :grouphug

[SugarBugFerret]

Just one more thing that makes me feel confident, that with the advice of several here that know a whole lot more than me, I made the right decision when I chose to keep her as an NR. "Throwing her back out" in the wild would be a death sentence for sure! She seems a little thinner than I would like her to be, but I think with all that went on with her back this last time, she wasn't eating like she normally does, and she lost just a little bit of weight. I mean, who wants to eat when they don't feel good? So I am working on fattening her up "just a tad". Not too much though, because she doesn't need to carry any extra weight that would make her more likely to continue to have her back issues. And winter is coming, so I imagine the winter weight will be coming as well. Physically though, she still continues to amaze me, acting like nothing has happened, and I am the crazy one for being concerned! :tap Squirrels! Like children, they can drive you crazy! But I wouldn't change it for the world! :Love_Icon
I was just coming to check up on Skiddil :serene I'm so glad to see she's doing well :Love_Icon I guess whatever happened to her back as a baby has made her prone to "throwing her back out" :eek I'm also relieved....they really do worry us sick sometimes :grouphug

[Mel1959]

I'm happy Skiddil is doing so well. :grouphug

[SammysMom]

Well if you're crazy, so are most of us here...:rofl4
:grouphug:Love_IconSkiddil:Love_Icon:grouphug