Does my squirrel have MBD signs?? Please help.

[misadosta]

Hello,
My squirrel is about 10.5 weeks old. He started limping on his left front paw about two days ago and seems to have less energy. He is eating less formula that he is older now. About twice a day 5ml. He also takes carrotts, zucchini, avocado, apples (little). From nutts he loves cashews. I just learned that these are not very good food for him. I withdrew it immediately. He also takes pecans. At this point I am not giving him any until I get some answers. I read about calcium and phosphorus and MBD.
Is it possible that my squirrel is showing signs of MBD by being low in energy (lower than normal, but still active) and limping. There was no injury unless we didn't see him hurting himself playing. There are no visible signs of injury either such as cuts or scratches, no swelling.
Please help. If I need to supply calcium and Vit D, what is the best form and how much do I give him? Is there any animal supplement or do I use human supplement?
Also, several weeks ago, I fed him a small piece of banana. He became lethargic and was dragging his back legs behind him. He didn't eat for about 24hrs, but it all resolved on its own. No more bananas for my squirrel. I blame the banana, but is there any correlation with MBD?
Thank you very much for any advice and help.
M. M.

[pappy1264]

Is he getting any rodent block and what formula did you feed him? NO NUTS. Right now he should be on formula, rodent block and veggies and a couple fruits. Although it is pretty unusual to see MBD symptoms this young, I would not rule anything out. Is it possible he injured himself somehow? What size cage is he in? Bananas would not hurt him. Mine like a little from time to time.

http://www.henryspets.com/healthy-diet-for-pet-squirrels/

[misadosta]

Thank you for your reply pappy1264.
I don't have a rodent block him, but will get one if you recommend a brand.
I have him on Esbilac. He takes it about twice a day now 5ml. As far as treats, I just started giving him Simple Reward by OxBow. I got two kinds, one with Cranberry and one with bell pepper. They are baked treats. He also gets carrotts, zucchini, avocado. Today I started him on broccoli. As far as fruits, I give him red apple, strawberry, watermelon and orange, but he didn't seem to care for the orange and watermelon at that time. I give him one fruit at a time and usually two veggies at a time.
Thank you.
M. M.

[Spanky]

Thank you for your reply pappy1264.
I don't have a rodent block him, but will get one if you recommend a brand.
I have him on Esbilac. He takes it about twice a day now 5ml. As far as treats, I just started giving him Simple Reward by OxBow. I got two kinds, one with Cranberry and one with bell pepper. They are baked treats. He also gets carrotts, zucchini, avocado. Today I started him on broccoli. As far as fruits, I give him red apple, strawberry, watermelon and orange, but he didn't seem to care for the orange and watermelon at that time. I give him one fruit at a time and usually two veggies at a time.
Thank you.
M. M.

Please review the Healthy Pet Squirrel food pyramid in the link above carefully. Bell pepper and other "night shade" family plants are a non-no. :nono Also for the ratio of veggies to fruit.

http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/
I suggest the picky blocks for your squirrel. He should eat 2 - 3 each day, more is not necessary. Store them in the freezer. :thumbsup

[misadosta]

Thank you very much for all information provided.
Any suggestion what to do about the limping?

[Spanky]

Thank you very much for all information provided.
Any suggestion what to do about the limping?

Adjust his diet and follow the healthy squirrel diet. Seems he is getting too much fruit and too many nuts. His diet needs more veggies. Getting 10ml of Esbilac (this is the powdered Esbilac?) for a 10 1/2 week old squirrel is not enough to really matter, so his diet being correct is much more important.

When you hold him to your ear, do you hear a clicking consistent with his breathing?

Get some Tums, but not the kind with Vitamin D, and start this MBD protocol out of caution:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?17680-Emergency-Treatment-for-MBD-(Updated-3-31-09)

[misadosta]

There is no clicking. What would that suggest?
I got him Kaytee brand called "healthy support diet". He is not crazy about it, but I am sure he will get used to it.
The Esbilac I give him is the powdered version.
I am still pretty confused about how long and how much I should be giving him of the formula. The veterinary clinic where I got most info suggests feeding up to 18weeks. At the pet store, they say he should be off of it now.
I reviewed the food pyramid, that was very helpful, thank you for suggesting that site.
Any other suggestions will be helpful especially on how to correctly release him. I already read some info but would appreciate more. Thanks again.

[CritterMom]

Formula is a great hedge against MBD and you should give it to him as long as he will take it. We don't "wean" them - they wean themselves.

It sounds as though he has injured himself. You need to go over the cage carefully. Look for places where the wires are close enough together that a toe can slide in easily - the corners of the cages are where you are most likely to find that. If they slide a toe in and then it doesn't slide right out, they panic and yank and can hurt themselves.

You can give him infant ibuprophen, which is a liquid, for pain. Someone here could dose it for you with his correct weight. I am always a little leery giving pain relievers for injuries like this - it is great, because it doesn't hurt anymore...but if it doesn't hurt anymore, they won't "favor" it and be careful with it and could end up hurting it worse. I usually say to only do it if you can also have him someplace well padded so he won't hurt himself.

[stepnstone]

The Esbilac I give him is the powdered version.
I am still pretty confused about how long and how much I should be giving him of the formula.
You would want to be feeding him between 6-7% of his body weight each feeding.
Do you have a scale to know how much he weighs?

What "animals" does the Kaytee your feeding say it's for on the bag?

[misadosta]

The Kaytee blocks are for mouse, rats, and hamsters. The people at the animal store recommended it. He does not eat the blocks at all. He does pick on the thin sticks. Some are green and some are blue. It makes his poop greenish. I just bought/ordered picky eater blocks from Henry's fresh and healthy foods on line store.
I could probably weight him in my cooking scale. I will adjust his feeding according to the weight as you recommended.
Do you have anything in written on interpretation of their moods and the sounds they make?

Thank you for you help.
M. M.

[misadosta]

Also, is the body weight in kg or lbs for calculation of the feedings?
Thanks

[Spanky]

I could probably weight him in my cooking scale. I will adjust his feeding according to the weight as you recommended. Do you have anything in written on interpretation of their moods and the sounds they make?
Thank you for you help.
M. M.

This may help on interpretting sounds:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/learn-to-speak-squirrel-in-four-easy-lessons/2012/04/09/gIQAV8Jr6S_story.html


Also, is the body weight in kg or lbs for calculation of the feedings?
Thanks

It is in "mg" (each 1000mg = 1kg... just in case :-) ). So a 200 gram squirrel would get between 10ml (5%) and 14ml (7%) of formula per feeding.

[Nancy in New York]

Also, is the body weight in kg or lbs for calculation of the feedings?
Thanks

See if this helps too, it's in grams.


The chart below reflects the "rule of thumb" for feeding formula.
Weigh the squirrel in grams and give ~ 5-7% of their body weight in
formula (mLs/cc's) as reflected on the chart below.



https://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Feeding-Chart/i-JsmjnNr/0/X2/001-X2.jpg

[misadosta]

Thank you all for your suggestions and help.
I am so upset, my baby squirrel is not doing too well.
The dry food that was recommnded to me at the animal store made him sick.
He vomited yesterday, he has blue-green color poop from the dry mix.
He only ate it for two days and picked out those blue and green sticks. I think he got poisoning from that.
He is exhibiting MBD symptoms, no seizures though. He is sleepy and week on his back legs especially. He was so active and fast before.
I started him on Calcium yesterday. He seems slightly better today but still weak and sleepy. I hope that his poop will be normal soon to know that it is out of his system.
I contacted a local rehaber and am waiting for some answers but in the mean time could anyone please help.
Thank you.

[Sara in NW MS]

Do you have a picture of your baby so everyone can see his current size/condition? Maybe a video of his movements?

I haven't had time to catch up on the entire thread but has this little one been drinking water to help flush his system? I know you mentioned he didn't like formula too much but how hydrated is he?

[misadosta]

I have a video but I am not sure how to attach it yet. I am pretty new to this site.
Once I figure it out I will post it.
He actually does not like water yet. He is taking puppy formula a I add the calcium to it. Recently he took less formulabecuasw he ate solids during the day, but I backed out on the solids since he wasn't drinking water.

[CritterMom]

Thank you all for your suggestions and help.
I am so upset, my baby squirrel is not doing too well.
The dry food that was recommnded to me at the animal store made him sick.
He vomited yesterday, he has blue-green color poop from the dry mix.
He only ate it for two days and picked out those blue and green sticks. I think he got poisoning from that.
He is exhibiting MBD symptoms, no seizures though. He is sleepy and week on his back legs especially. He was so active and fast before.
I started him on Calcium yesterday. He seems slightly better today but still weak and sleepy. I hope that his poop will be normal soon to know that it is out of his system.
I contacted a local rehaber and am waiting for some answers but in the mean time could anyone please help.
Thank you.

How much calcium per day are you giving him? Are you spreading the calcium out through the day? What calcium are you using?

We strongly recommend the Henry's blocks for squirrels: http://www.henryspets.com/ They are only available online, but they are designed specifically for squirels and they actually taste good. They are also designed to both prevent and help treat MBD.

[misadosta]

Yes, I already ordered the ones for picky eaters;) can't wait to get them so he can have some great nutritional food.
I gave him Tums yesterday about 300mg total. After that he did not take more. He vomited later and I think that's why he did not want any more.
Today I got powdered plain calcium citrate. He took the first dose 109mg mixed in the formula. Again he only took one dose. The next feeding he refused so I waited another 2hrs. After that he only took 2 out of 5mls.
I called a vet and taking him there tomorrow. They dealt with many squirrels and several of their employees are certified rehabers. The lady I spoke to ready was very sweet. Can't wait to get him there and feel better.
Overall this evening he is walking and alert although wants to sleep a lot. He drags his right foot behind him. Maybe injury, but that does not explain the overall weakness and tiredness. MBD affects all extremities at ones right??
Thank you.