Swollen Chest?

[JoeysKeeper]

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This is (hopefully I'm not sure I uploaded it right) a picture of my squirrel Joey from today. I woke up and noticed his chest was swollen looking on both sides. Has anyone seen this before? What could it be? I have an appointment for him Tuesday, but the vet really stresses him out and he's not very tame anymore so I worry about bringing him, but will if necessary of course. Does anyone know what this could be? Has your squirrel had a similar problem? Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

He's acting completely normal, his diet and water intake has been normal. He's on Henry's Healthy Blocks and sometimes I give him vegetables like winter squash or carrots to go with his blocks. But he gained a lot of weight since he was neutered 2 years ago, so I try to mostly stick to the blocks as that is the only time he doesn't seem to gain weight.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

[Spanky]

This just happened overnight? I have no idea what could cause that... and the swelling / bloating is on both sides?

As far as the diet, how many HHB does Joey get on average per day? Sure seems like he needs more veggies and perhaps less blocks...

[JoeysKeeper]

Yeah, it seemingly happened overnight. I didn't notice it yesterday. And yes, it is on both sides.

Oh, and he gets 2 blocks a day. I was worried if I fed him less he wouldn't get all the vitamins he needs from it.

[Spanky]

Yeah, it seemingly happened overnight. I didn't notice it yesterday. And yes, it is on both sides.

Oh, and he gets 2 blocks a day. I was worried if I fed him less he wouldn't get all the vitamins he needs from it.

2 HHB's is great but what else is he getting to eat with the blocks? :thinking

[JoeysKeeper]

2 HHB's is great but what else is he getting to eat with the blocks? :thinking

Like I said, sometimes I give him winter squash or baby carrots... but if I give that to him daily he gains weight. So some days he only gets HHB.

[Rexie]

Is it possible he was stung by a scorpion, wasp or spider? As far as diet goes try adding green and wild food items for the nutrition chart.

[Rexie]

]Is it possible he was stung by a scorpion, wasp or spider? As far as diet goes try adding greens and wild food items for the nutrition chart

[SammysMom]

He absolutely needs green veggies. Look in the nutrition forum and see the "healthy diet for pet squirrels" thread.

[JoeysKeeper]

He legitimately refuses to eat greens and just leaves them to rot in his cage. I understand the concern, but his diet isn't what I was asking about. I'm concerned about the swelling or bloating in his chest. I doubt he was stung by anything as I keep him indoors and we never really have bug problems. But I guess it is possible. But it seems odd that it would be swollen on both sides.

[cava]

Hi! How is the swelling today? Can you post more photos?

[Lighten-Up]

I understand the concern, but his diet isn't what I was asking about. I'm concerned about the swelling or bloating in his chest.

I know you care much about your little one, but please understand that at the base line of many illness issues is diet. Diet contains all the essential nutrients, macro and micro that body systems and organs need to function properly. When specific elements are missing, it can be the basis for symptoms of unhealth to appear.

HHB are good, but they were never meant to be the sole thing a squirrel eats. True they have vitamins and minerals and for that you have done well. But HHB's are not a whole food, meaning that they are missing so many things that natural foods contain. That is the reason that people are questioning the diet. Many squirrels succumb to problems when the diet is improper. It is impossible to cure a problem and keep a squirrel healthy that is on a diet that is not fulling the nutritional needs of the squirrel. It will eventually cease to function. I'm not wanting to sound negative, I'm just wanting to state the biological cause and effect reality.

I'm not saying that your issue is solely diet related, I just wanted to share the utter importance of diet to insure the long healthy life of a squirrel.

It's hard to believe that your little one won't eat anything green on the nutrition chart, it if only has 2-4 HHB per day, where does it get is bulk? Do you feed it nuts?

[island rehabber]

I'm concerned that this may be a type of edema -- fluid swelling under the skin. Does he eat anything that is salted, or salty? I am NOT saying that it is, because I am not a vet, but when there is some type of congestive heart issue there is often a great deal of swelling in the chest and belly because the heart doesn't pump fluids fast enough.

[redwuff]

Is there any way to get this sweetie seen by a vet?:grouphug

[JoeysKeeper]

Thanks, everyone. I'm actually pretty aware of the right things to feed a squirrel. I was pretty active on this forum a few years ago. But like I said, he gains weight when I give him anything more than the HHBs. I do not feed him nuts, I don't feed him anything salty, it's literally only the HHBs and maybe every other day winter squash/baby carrots in very small amounts. He lost SO much energy after getting neutered. So he can't eat much without gaining weight. And yes, I really have tried lots of greens and he refuses them. I will try again though.

Anyway, in relation to the swelling, I'll take some more pictures in a few minutes. He's still acting normally. But his chest is still swollen. I can bring him to the vet Tuesday, but I worry about bringing him because he's not very tame so doing anything with him to see what's wrong will require putting him under anesthesia most likely. So I was hoping to figure out something to do from home so as not to stress him out.

[JoeysKeeper]

289522

This is a picture from today. It's hard to see when he's running around, but when he's sitting down you can tell it's still swollen.

[redwuff]

Most of the time the vet has to put the squirrels under to do much of anything. We have taken prior releases to the vet that have come back injured and they have done fine.

This is concerning enough that for me, I would take a squirrel in that developed so quickly a swelling like what Joey has. I hope everything is fine.

[JoeysKeeper]

Most of the time the vet has to put the squirrels under to do much of anything. We have taken prior releases to the vet that have come back injured and they have done fine.

This is concerning enough that for me, I would take a squirrel in that developed so quickly a swelling like what Joey has. I hope everything is fine.

Thank you. I have an appointment for Tuesday at the vet I normally bring him too. It was the earliest they had. But I may call another exotic vet I know of tomorrow to see in they have anything earlier.

[JoeysKeeper]

Okay, update: I brought him to the vet today. He is overweight and that might be his only issue? They aren't really sure about the swelling. It could just be fat? It's super weird since I feed him very little since he was neutered. But I think I'm cutting back to one HHB a day along with a very small amount of veggies. Anyway, I went ahead and had them put him under anesthesia so they could get his blood work. They are calling tomorrow with the results. The vet did a physical examination of him and said that other than needing to lose a little weight, he looks okay. So that is good for a 6-7 year old squirrel!

Anyway, I'll update you guys tomorrow on the blood results. Try not to be too harsh with me about the food. I'm trying my best. I've always done everything I can for the little guy. :Love_Icon

[Diggie's Friend]

You may want to copy this to show your Vet.
289619 (Charts on pgs. 35 & 36)

I would inquire as to a possible issue with his Thyroid/kidney function just to get a baseline for him. It is a couple key pieces of the puzzle that helps veterinarians see the bigger picture of what it going on in a pet. I hope that helps.

[HRT4SQRLS]

JoeysKeeper, no one will judge you for this. I returned to this thread because I have a flyer with the same issue. He has large soft lump on his chest and on his abdomen that does appear to be fat. I am horrified by this. His diet is 100% on target but everything he eats turns to fat. He used to run on his wheel but no longer does due to his weight. He eats the same as my other flyer. I can only assume it is metabolic... just like people. I have tried cutting out high calorie foods but I really hate to cut out everything that he likes. He can even gain weight on veggies. Poor little guy. It worries me as I know it will shorten his life. :sadness

[redwuff]

Okay, update: I brought him to the vet today. He is overweight and that might be his only issue? They aren't really sure about the swelling. It could just be fat? It's super weird since I feed him very little since he was neutered. But I think I'm cutting back to one HHB a day along with a very small amount of veggies. Anyway, I went ahead and had them put him under anesthesia so they could get his blood work. They are calling tomorrow with the results. The vet did a physical examination of him and said that other than needing to lose a little weight, he looks okay. So that is good for a 6-7 year old squirrel!

Anyway, I'll update you guys tomorrow on the blood results. Try not to be too harsh with me about the food. I'm trying my best. I've always done everything I can for the little guy. :Love_Icon


Don't sweat what people say because no one else is walking in your shoes and does not know what you go through with your baby!

I have a 6 year old grey squirrel that has a fatty pad in lower abdomen. I was worried that it was a tumor and had it checked out by my vet. Us older beings just get less sleek bodies.

I would love to hear any differences that you noticed with Joey after neutering .

[Mel1959]

I know everyone is concerned about their squirrels being overweight, and I agree. An obese squirrel will undoubtedly have a shortened life expectancy. I also firmly believe that a little extra weight on these little guys can be a godsend if an illness strikes. I was so concerned about my dwarf, Joey, getting fat that I sent a picture of him to his vet. She laughed and said it was pretty typical with dwarf squirrels. It wasn't long after that when he got really sick and wasn't eating well that he lost a significant amount of weight. I was very glad he had the extra weight to lose. Another TSB member has a squirrel that has just had surgery and still isn't eating well. The squirrel was overweight and has lost over 200gr in 3 weeks time. Luckily because of the extra weight she has had a reserve to pull from as she recovers.

Somewhere there's a happy balance between obese and lean. IMHO.

[TubeDriver]

Hopefully, your guy is just overweight! Remember that daily caloric amounts are just general guidelines. Some individuals have a low metabolism and can get by with less. I would try reducing the daily amount of HHB by 10-15%. Try experimenting with different greens/veggies that are on the Squirrel food pyramid, try to find some items he will try. Organic baby food is basically 100% veggies and some fruit ground up, maybe try some that is more veggie and less fruit based.

Also, does he have the opportunity to exercise? He should have a cage where there are some branches that he can run, jump and climb on. The two level CN cage for example, with the center divider removed allows for some vertical climbing and jumping space.

Has his daily water intake increased recently? If so, his blood suger levels should be checked.

I have two wild deer mice and one had some fatty looking areas on her neck. My vet did a needle biopsy to rule out some type of cancer growth and it was just fat. Over a period of about a year, the fatty area basically disappeared. But it was very noticable and seemed to just appear one day.

[JoeysKeeper]

JoeysKeeper, no one will judge you for this. I returned to this thread because I have a flyer with the same issue. He has large soft lump on his chest and on his abdomen that does appear to be fat. I am horrified by this. His diet is 100% on target but everything he eats turns to fat. He used to run on his wheel but no longer does due to his weight. He eats the same as my other flyer. I can only assume it is metabolic... just like people. I have tried cutting out high calorie foods but I really hate to cut out everything that he likes. He can even gain weight on veggies. Poor little guy. It worries me as I know it will shorten his life. :sadness

Thank you. I was just worried people might think I'm not doing enough or something because his weight is off. But I'm really trying. The blood results came back all normal. The veterinarian said the results were boring. Haha. He told me to keep an eye on him in case the swelling gets worse or something like that. But I'm sorry your flyer is in the same situation. It's really hard to deal with. Mine sleeps like 90% of the day or more. And I don't know what I can do to get him more active. My plan is to cut back his blocks to only 1 instead of 2 and to vary his veggies a lot to make sure his diet is good, but I can only give him very small amounts :( I feel bad too. I mean, he's not exactly cuddly. So the only way I've been able to reward him or treat him in the past is with (healthy) treats. But he can't have them anymore and hasn't been able to for months. But yeah, I assume we are both dealing with metabolic problems with our squirrels. Was yours neutered too? That significantly changed mine. But it's all I could do to get a license from the state.