Question re Behavior of Female Squirrel

[SquirrelLady2]

Our female squirrel, Rockie, will be three years old in August. A person I work with found her on the cement after she fell out of a 20-foot palm tree during a wind storm back in 2014. She was completely hairless so we figured she was probably only a few days old. I took her in and my husband and I researched and raised her. She has been such a treat in our home and we absolutely love her. She has a huge critter nation home and when we are home, her cage door is open and she is able to roam freely in our house, except we shut our bedroom and office doors. A month ago on a Saturday, I noticed her acting a bit different as she was squatting like she was having problems urinating and wanting me to hold her more than normal. I noticed her little hoohaa (vulva) was extremely swollen and I felt her lower stomach area looked bigger than normal and I became very concerned she had a blockage. I contacted our vet that Monday, scheduled an appointment and the long story short is we had blood work done and an ultrasound. The vet could not find any stones, her bladder was empty so we could not do a urinalysis, but her blood work all came back as normal. During the ultrasound our vet told us her uterus was firm but he felt that this might be because she had been or was in estrus and this could possibly be her first. It did mentioned the he felt the stomach area was not swollen but the ultrasound showed in that area that she was little fatter than the average squirrel. Since we could not obtain any urine to check for a UTI, we went ahead and put her on Baytril for seven days. She was a trooper and took her medication (via syringe) and it has been approximately three weeks since completing that medication. Within that last two weeks she has become more withdrawn, not wanting me to hold her and love on her as before, and when I go to check on her in her house she gives out a squeal and her squirrel grunts. She is not being aggressive towards me but just vocalizing. She has not been running around the house like her normal self and is not being as adventurous in the house. Normally she finds every new thing in the house and is right there to check it out and/or tear it up. She has been putting herself to bed much earlier than normal and waking up later than normal. I'm worried sick. She has continued to eat and drink but noticed she hasn't touched some of her day-to-day feed. She primary diet consists of pears, watermelon, black walnuts, strawberries, avocados and almond/orange tree limbs with their buds. She has free access to rodent blocks and primate biscuits but not entirely sure she eats them but I do find them hidden away in her hiding spots and discard/replenish every other day. I also provide her with deer antlers and she chews the heck out of them. Maybe it's just me but I was wondering if her recent behavior could be associated with the breeding season as we have never seen her act this way before, ever. Our vet had mentioned we should wait a month or so (the 21st will be a month) to see how it goes. I'm just worried about my little girl and will be contacting my vet again to schedule another appointment and was going to talk with them about possibly getting her spayed. Is this something that can be done? Am I overreacting or should I be concerned? Is this a normal behavior for a female squirrel during the breeding season? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[island rehabber]

Hi and welcome to The Squirrel Board. :Welcome
I read your post about little Rockie twice, and I feel there may be two things going on here.

First: she could be in estrus and sometimes it will last 2-3 weeks. Often female squirrels will have a reduced appetite, a grouchy or even witchy personality, and reclusive behavior. The swollen vulva is a dead giveaway so it's very possible that she's still in heat.

Second: her diet leaves a great deal to be desired. It's high in fruit (sugar, so not good), very low in green vegetables (didn't see any :grin2) and you're going through the motions of giving her blocks but it doesn't sound as if she's eating them. Not good. I am hoping she is not in the early stages of MBD -- Metabolic Bone Disease caused by low blood calcium and high phosphorous -- but if I were you I would treat her for it because it certainly can't hurt and may save her life.

First: go to henryspets.com and buy a bag of the Henry's Healthy Blocks, either Adult or Picky formula. Two per day will give her the calcium she needs and other important nutrients as well. They are wonderful supplements to a healthy diet.
Next: reduce the fruit to one per day. If she gets pears, no watermelon or strawberries. Add one or two of these until you find some she likes: kale, escarole, dandelion greens, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula. Sugar snap peas are a good treat they usually love; 3-4 per day is ok. Avocado is good. You want to lower the ratio of fruit to everything else and raise the amount of calcium-rich foods. The reason I say this is because reclusiveness, squealing when touched, and lack of appetite are also signs of early-stage MBD.

You sound like a loving and caring squirrel mamma, and we would hate to see your Rockie succumb to the #1 crippler and killer of "pet" squirrels, MBD. I'll end with two really good links to all the information here that you need to get her back on track:

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

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

[SquirrelLady2]

[QUOTE=island rehabber;1213313][FONT=comic sans ms][COLOR=#006400]Hi and welcome to The Squirrel Board. :Welcome
I read your post about little Rockie twice, and I feel there may be two things going on here.

First: she could be in estrus and sometimes it will last 2-3 weeks. Often female squirrels will have a reduced appetite, a grouchy or even witchy personality, and reclusive behavior. The swollen vulva is a dead giveaway so it's very possible that she's still in heat.

Second: her diet leaves a great deal to be desired. It's high in fruit (sugar, so not good), very low in green vegetables (didn't see any :grin2) and you're going through the motions of giving her blocks but it doesn't sound as if she's eating them. Not good. I am hoping she is not in the early stages of MBD -- Metabolic Bone Disease caused by low blood calcium and high phosphorous -- but if I were you I would treat her for it because it certainly can't hurt and may save her life.

First: go to henryspets.com and buy a bag of the Henry's Healthy Blocks, either Adult or Picky formula. Two per day will give her the calcium she needs and other important nutrients as well. They are wonderful supplements to a healthy diet.
Next: reduce the fruit to one per day. If she gets pears, no watermelon or strawberries. Add one or two of these until you find some she likes: kale, escarole, dandelion greens, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula. Sugar snap peas are a good treat they usually love; 3-4 per day is ok. Avocado is good. You want to lower the ratio of fruit to everything else and raise the amount of calcium-rich foods. The reason I say this is because reclusiveness, squealing when touched, and lack of appetite are also signs of early-stage MBD.

You sound like a loving and caring squirrel mamma, and we would hate to see your Rockie succumb to the #1 crippler and killer of "pet" squirrels, MBD. I'll end with two really good links to all the information here that you need to get her back on track:

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

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels


She is such a brat when it comes to greens. I offer them but she rarely eats them. I will start the reforming of her diet immediately and go to the links you provide for more information. I'm so glad I found you guys!! Thank you soooo much!!!

[SquirrelLady2]

[QUOTE=island rehabber;1213313][FONT=comic sans ms][COLOR=#006400]Hi and welcome to The Squirrel Board. :Welcome
I read your post about little Rockie twice, and I feel there may be two things going on here.

First: she could be in estrus and sometimes it will last 2-3 weeks. Often female squirrels will have a reduced appetite, a grouchy or even witchy personality, and reclusive behavior. The swollen vulva is a dead giveaway so it's very possible that she's still in heat.

Second: her diet leaves a great deal to be desired. It's high in fruit (sugar, so not good), very low in green vegetables (didn't see any :grin2) and you're going through the motions of giving her blocks but it doesn't sound as if she's eating them. Not good. I am hoping she is not in the early stages of MBD -- Metabolic Bone Disease caused by low blood calcium and high phosphorous -- but if I were you I would treat her for it because it certainly can't hurt and may save her life.

First: go to henryspets.com and buy a bag of the Henry's Healthy Blocks, either Adult or Picky formula. Two per day will give her the calcium she needs and other important nutrients as well. They are wonderful supplements to a healthy diet.
Next: reduce the fruit to one per day. If she gets pears, no watermelon or strawberries. Add one or two of these until you find some she likes: kale, escarole, dandelion greens, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula. Sugar snap peas are a good treat they usually love; 3-4 per day is ok. Avocado is good. You want to lower the ratio of fruit to everything else and raise the amount of calcium-rich foods. The reason I say this is because reclusiveness, squealing when touched, and lack of appetite are also signs of early-stage MBD.

You sound like a loving and caring squirrel mamma, and we would hate to see your Rockie succumb to the #1 crippler and killer of "pet" squirrels, MBD. I'll end with two really good links to all the information here that you need to get her back on track:

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

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels


She is such a brat when it comes to greens. I offer them but she rarely eats them. I will start the reforming of her diet immediately and go to the links you provide for more information. I'm so glad I found you guys!! Thank you soooo much!!!

Again. thank you. I have ordered the MBD kit and the Picky Eater Blocks for my girl. This should arrive with 2 days, however, I am going to pick up some Tums on my way home and get that started asap. I can't thank you enough!!!!! I will keep you posted.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I totally agree that MBD is very high on the differential. The fact that she 'tears up' her antler tells me that she is craving calcium. I have antlers but have never had a squirrel that showed any interest in them at all.

This is a problem we see very often. I just wanted to let you know that Rockie is NOT going to be happy with the diet change. She will pout and possibly even go on a hunger strick. This is where the 'tough love' comes in. You will have to stay strong and not cave in. The Henry's Picky eater block is made with a pecan base so it is usually received much better than other rodent blocks. When you start the MBD protocol, it's very likely that you will see a rapid turn around. It is actually startling how fast some of the symptoms regress. This doesn't mean the treatment is complete, it just means it's working. It takes weeks of calcium supplementation and a diet change to reverse MBD.

Have you noticed her claws 'catching' on things more than usual? That's also a symptom. They get wobbly in the rear end and have a tendency to fall. Of course, falling is dangerous as the bones are brittle.

I really think you will see Rockie improve. You have caught this before some of the more devastating symptoms appear. Let us know how she does. :tilt

[SquirrelLady2]

I have not noticed her claws catching on anything and she does not have any wobbliness. I know it's going to be difficult to change her diet (and I just informed my husband no more treats) but I will be very consistent with her new diet regimen. We gave her one Tums tonight when I got home and she took it (via syringe) but wasn't happy about it. Her new food will arrive within 2 days. I love this little girl so much and want to, again, thank you for helping me figure out what's going on with her. We will do anything and everything in our power to make her well!! I have attached a picture of her in her hammock watching TV with us . . .

[HRT4SQRLS]

Aww, look at that sweet girl. :tilt

Try to spread the dose out over time. It will help to keep the calcium levels up instead fluctuating very high and very low. It will also be easier to get smaller doses into Rockie than a large dose.

[HRT4SQRLS]

.... watching TV. :grin2 I can tell how much you love her. :grouphug

[Mel1959]

This photo made me smile. :grin3

[SquirrelLady2]

Update:

Rockie seemed to be more energetic today and was running down the hallway and ricocheting on the walls and chairs as she rounded the corner. I often wear my sweatshirt and she was all over me this morning digging through my pockets. I was so happy, I actually cried just to have her acting more like herself. I went to the health food store and picked up some assorted veggies for her (Kale, Chayote, cucumber and an artichoke) to start her diet in the right direction. We are awaiting the blocks from Henry's and hope they will be delivered tomorrow. I will keep you posted and believe you have put me on the right track in her care and this board has been such a blessing for me!!

Rockie's mom....:Love_Icon

[HRT4SQRLS]

That's such good news. :grin2 Rockie will be back to her healthy self soon. She has a committed mama. :clap