Vomitting

[Betsy]

I have a six and a half year old gray squirrel who has vomited twice today. When he is done he acts as normal as can be eating and playing so I am not sure if it is because of molting. Any ideas? It worries me to see him heaving and squeaking when he is doing this. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you, Betsy

[Nancy in New York]

I have a six and a half year old gray squirrel who has vomited twice today. When he is done he acts as normal as can be eating and playing so I am not sure if it is because of molting. Any ideas? It worries me to see him heaving and squeaking when he is doing this. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you, Betsy

Vomiting in squirrels is NOT normal, nor would it have anything to do with molting.
Is it possible that he has something stuck in his throat and it's a gag reflex?
Does he have out of the cage time where he could have gotten into anything?
Have you put anything new in his cage, leaves, twigs, foods?
Do you feed grapes, apples, or anything with a skin?
Does anything come out when he vomits? If so, what does it look like.
What is his diet like, meaning what does he actually eat, not what's offered
but what he consumes.
When a little one vomits they get dehydrated and
you need to replace the lost electrolytes, so give
him some Pedialyte throughout the day.

[Betsy]

Vomiting in squirrels is NOT normal, nor would it have anything to do with molting.
Is it possible that he has something stuck in his throat and it's a gag reflex?
Does he have out of the cage time where he could have gotten into anything?
Have you put anything new in his cage, leaves, twigs, foods?
Do you feed grapes, apples, or anything with a skin?
Does anything come out when he vomits? If so, what does it look like.
What is his diet like, meaning what does he actually eat, not what's offered
but what he consumes.
When a little one vomits they get dehydrated and
you need to replace the lost electrolytes, so give
him some Pedialyte throughout the day.



Skamper gets a Henry's healthy block first thing in the morning and eats sugar peas, spaghetti squash, grape tomatoes, water melon and apple. (These are what he does eat and not just nibble)
He doesn't live in a cage. He has 2 small doggie doors: one door opens into the house from the glass-enclosed patio and the other opens to his outdoor enclosure which is 8x10 by 8 feet tall with a walk-in door so we can weed eat the grass in there. He goes out and gets sunshine and buries nuts out there just like he has for years. He has a 5 foot hibiscus that's been in the patio room for a couple of years and now that I think of it I haven't seen him eat any for months until the last couple days and the vomit was a green under the foamy stuff.

[Nancy in New York]

Skamper gets a Henry's healthy block first thing in the morning and eats sugar peas, spaghetti squash, grape tomatoes, water melon and apple. (These are what he does eat and not just nibble)
He doesn't live in a cage. He has 2 small doggie doors: one door opens into the house from the glass-enclosed patio and the other opens to his outdoor enclosure which is 8x10 by 8 feet tall with a walk-in door so we can weed eat the grass in there. He goes out and gets sunshine and buries nuts out there just like he has for years. He has a 5 foot hibiscus that's been in the patio room for a couple of years and now that I think of it I haven't seen him eat any for months until the last couple days and the vomit was a green under the foamy stuff.

WOW he seems to have quite the setup!!!!!!:w00t
Lucky Skamper!
OK since you saw him nibble of the hibiscus, I wonder if
that's the culprit.
Keep an eye on him chewing on that and see if there's a correlation.
Did you ever check to see if hybiscus was a safe?
I'll try to do a quick search now.
Has he vomited more since this first started?

[Betsy]

I thought I read on TSB that it was a totally safe plant which is why we bought it for him. I will watch him very closely tomorrow since he's gone to bed already.

[Nancy in New York]

I thought I read on TSB that it was a totally safe plant which is why we bought it for him. I will watch him very closely tomorrow since he's gone to bed already.

Yeah, I did a quick search and found nothing to indicate a problem with the plant.

[Betsy]

Thank you for checking on the hibiscus. I will watch Skamper like the proverbial hawk tomorrow. Should I offer a little dish of pedialyte instead of water or try to force it? Or not worry if there is no more vomiting?

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you for checking on the hibiscus. I will watch Skamper like the proverbial hawk tomorrow. Should I offer a little dish of pedialyte instead of water or try to force it? Or not worry if there is no more vomiting?

I would offer him pedialye either by dish or syringe, but I wouldn't force it.
Do you think he would take some from a syringe?
If you have seen no more vomitting, I wouldn't worry about it,
but hydration is key to overall health even in squirrels. :)