This is getting bad

[Floppysquirrel04]

I'm going to order some picky eater blocks. But does this look normal for at all for a nutrition problem? Sorry about the lighting, and idk if the photos worked.289875289876

Edit: yeah they look pretty messed up :)

[Floppysquirrel04]

also, his balls are blackish purple on the tip. he squeaks whenever i touch the dark part, like he's in pain. any ideas or is this normal?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Floppy, nothing about this is normal. Are you still using the vitamins added to the water?

[missPixy]

this suggestion might be a long shot, but can you check inside his nest and make sure he's not peeing in there and sleeping in it? doing so can cause a condition called ammonia burn, which is the buildup of urine and the effect it has on fur/skin that's constantly exposed to this environment.

the fur loss on underside and side make me think of this possibility.

one other thing that comes to my mind seeing the fur loss on both flanks is cushings, an adrenal issue.

[Jennefer]

Hi Floppy! Im no expert by any means, but I have 6 flyers & none have lost hair similar to what Ace is experiencing. With that said, hair loss can usually be a few things & sometimes you can only know by process of elimination. Usually one of 3 or 4 things...diet/allergy from something in diet, external irritation, parasites (mites, fungus, etc) or can be hormonal (like miss Pixy said)/psychogenic.

I would start with the easy stuff....if Ace has lots of fleece, what do you wash it in? I use a very small amount mild detergent & white vinegar to wash & NO fabric softener or sheet when I dry my guys pouches/blankets. I use Dawn dish soap to scrub their cages. Check like Miss Pixy said about urine too to make sure he isnt laying it in.

Next one...assuming Ace is an only kid...does he get playtime? Interaction time? Is he stressed or bored? Is his cage in a nice quiet place away from TV, bright light, bright windows, etc? Do you keep his cage covered on 3 sides? Plenty of spaces to hide? Getting too much or too little stimulation? I had a cat with psychogenic alopecia. He basically chewed his fur off same place as Ace - stomach, hind quarters & butt. He was very stressed & nervous, & having 3 kids, another cat & a new puppy in the house sent him over the edge. They can also chew if they are bored. Flyers are very social & if he spends a lot of alone time in his cage, he may be over grooming in response to that. Anyway, some questions to ask yourself & think about. I know in cats, when the hair loss is on the back flanks & is symmetrical on both sides, it's usually hormonal or adrenal/thyroid related. I know you are in a state that wont treat flyers at vets, so not sure how you would go about this one.

Im inclined to not think it is parasites b/c his skin doesnt look abnormal where the fur is missing. However, IF it is parasites, you can treat him & it should take care of it (I am not the person to tell you how or what or how much to treat flyers with - fortunately Ive not had to medically treat any of my flyers! But there are plenty of qualified peeps on there that can).

As far as diet, I see in Ace's other threads there was some discussion about diet. Is there something he's eating that he could be allergic to? Or something from outdoors he's eating that could be bothering him (I saw you feed him outdoor stuff)? Maybe do like people do & keep his diet simple with 4-5 things to see if his fur comes back, then gradually add more back into his diet.

I think there's no cut & dry answer as to he has "this". You may just have to play the treat whats easiest first & eliminate as you go. It sounds like he's healthy otherwise.

Oh, his testicles.....def should NOT be black. None of my 4 guys have dark testicles. That is more concerning to me than the fur loss (they can live without the fur). Dark like that usually means bruised or pooling blood. I dont like that.

[niapet]

Just an extra two cents to weigh in: Imp has had weird hair problems all his life. His problem turned out to be some kind of p, he gets nasty scab like patches and lots of dry flaky skin where he loses hair; it also seems to happen in cycles. Imp is a tree squirrel though so take this with a grain of salt. I would definitely look into the more dangerous possible causes before thinking about chronic skin conditions however.

[Ilovelucy_squirrel]

Do you have a light on him if he does not go outside? Never having kept a baby past 12 weeks indoors , we did not know and Lucy was losing hair and it was coarse. We started putting a light on her and putting her in a outdoor cage and it was like a miracle and her coat was like night and day almost immediately.

[Jennefer]

Do you have a light on him if he does not go outside? Never having kept a baby past 12 weeks indoors , we did not know and Lucy was losing hair and it was coarse. We started putting a light on her and putting her in a outdoor cage and it was like a miracle and her coat was like night and day almost immediately.

Hi ilovelucy! Good idea on the light but this is a flyer & they dont have light or sunlight requirements that grays have since these guys are nocturnal. In some cases bright lights have caused/exacerbated seizures. Flyers can make some vit d on thier own & get the rest from mushrooms or fungus. So they dont really need light source. In fact the darker the better for their cage inside during daytime. But good to know for grays in the future for hair loss. Thanks for sharing! :hug

[Ilovelucy_squirrel]

Hi ilovelucy! Good idea on the light but this is a flyer & they dont have light or sunlight requirements that grays have since these guys are nocturnal. In some cases bright lights have caused/exacerbated seizures. Flyers can make some vit d on thier own & get the rest from mushrooms or fungus. So they dont really need light source. In fact the darker the better for their cage inside during daytime. But good to know for grays in the future for hair loss. Thanks for sharing! :hug


That makes total sense! It explains why it looks nothing like a grey 😜😂

[Floppysquirrel04]

ok so.. he does get play time, and everything else you asked. i did check his bed, and he IS pooping/peeing in there. anyway to stop it??? i will change his diet to no stuff from outside, but this fur loss started when he was on nuts and seeds over a year ago before i knew any better. what about his balls? you can see them in the picture. I'm really scared, is there anything i can do? is it just brushing, like maybe he fell from the top of his cage when he was doing backflips (he has fallen and he does do gymnastics :) ). i will wash my fleece differently thanks to what you guys said. he never gets a light on him unless he is out of his cage playing. thanks for the support. i ordered picky eater blocks yesterday, and am expecting them today or tomorrow. i am still adding vitamins to his water, giving him waxworms, and adding repti-cal to his food. he does get mushrooms thou too.

[Anne]

Let's get this boy back to where he's fully furred, healthy, and happy. Please send me a PM.

[Jennefer]

ok so.. he does get play time, and everything else you asked. i did check his bed, and he IS pooping/peeing in there. anyway to stop it??? i will change his diet to no stuff from outside, but this fur loss started when he was on nuts and seeds over a year ago before i knew any better. what about his balls? you can see them in the picture. I'm really scared, is there anything i can do? is it just brushing, like maybe he fell from the top of his cage when he was doing backflips (he has fallen and he does do gymnastics :) ). i will wash my fleece differently thanks to what you guys said. he never gets a light on him unless he is out of his cage playing. thanks for the support. i ordered picky eater blocks yesterday, and am expecting them today or tomorrow. i am still adding vitamins to his water, giving him waxworms, and adding repti-cal to his food. he does get mushrooms thou too.

Hi Floppy! Good on the playtime-check. The backflips - some people say that is a sign of being bored, but I had one flyer that would do that constantly no matter what cage he was in. I put him a giant one & he still did it. Would l take them out to run...he'd run around for a bit, then go back in the cage himself (with the door open & his buddies running around) and do back flips. I think it's a form of exercise for them. None of my other guys did that. It is very possible if he does that for quite some time (like mine did) that he could be hitting his testicles repeatedly on on something like a ledge or the cage as he's flipping & bruising them as they tend to drag behind them. My guy would sometimes flip for over 30 mins at a time. Are they hot to the touch? Icy Cold? Is it effecting his movement or walking? Also, I know they are big & can change sizes depending on if he pulls them up, but do they look abnormally swollen? I cant really tell from the pic if they are black-black, like gangrene black or if they are purplish black like bruising. My first thought is if they are normal size & purplish black & not hot/cold extreme, then he probably did beat them up flipping. I would keep an eye on them to see if they change or if the black fades. Honestly, if it was something more severe, Im not sure how to treat it & how you would go about it if you cant own one in CA.

As far as the peeing in his fleece...my guys sleep in a raised up pouch that is attached to their cage bars. They hop out to pee. Never pee in their pouch. I got mine at Henry's. But if you are handy with sewing, you can make one easily. Yes on washing with less soap & no fabric softener - check.

Yes on HHB- check. I would also give him some yogurt. Full fat, plain or vanilla, greek, organic if possible. my guys LOVE yogurt...it supplys good calcium & probiotics, which is good for his system. Once my guys moved outside (they are wild rehab-release) & quit drinking formula in a dish, I added a tiny bit of powered FV formula & ultra Boost (also at henrys) into their yogurt to make sure they were getting the nutrition. Ace just may need a bump. I have PLENTY of Ultra boost, so if you'd like me to send you some for Ace, PM me with your address & I'll send you some to try out. If he likes the yogurt like my guys, no need to do rep-cal. Ive never done any vits in the water. Just veggies, blocks, worms, freeze dried chicken (protein is very important), crickets from pet store (live), yogurt & FV formula. My guys continued to drink formula from a tiny dish up until they went outside at 6 mons old. Try the formula on him. They can eat as long as they want - it's good for them. I have another thread with a list of what I feed my guys & pics per someones request (cant remember the name off top of my head).

No mention on the parasites, but if you seriously think it could be that, then perhaps someone on here can tell you what/dose to treat him. Im no help there.

Process of elimination. You have a few good things to start with so far, so I think its a good start. :grin2

[Jennefer]

Let's get this boy back to where he's fully furred, healthy, and happy. Please send me a PM.

Hi Anne! (and Floppy) If you guys work on Ace & get his fur growing back, can you keep us updated on what worked? Im interested in knowing what it is/was thats causing this for future reference. Also, testicles??? Very interested in know whats going on there - hard to tell without being there & seeing them. Thanks! :grin2 Jenn

[HRT4SQRLS]

Floppy, I'll be curious to see what Anne thinks but I personally don't think the vitamins in the water are a good idea. I did some reading about Aces problem. I found an article that states that some vitamins/minerals can actually cause hair loss when they are overdosed. IMO, vitamins in the water can't be quantified. I would rather see the vitamins and minerals provided by the food. The only exception to that might be a little calcium dusting of the meal/wax worms.

[Jennefer]

Floppy - the thread I was referring to where I listed what my guys eat, with pictures, is called "Flyer Having Seizures" started by bratanna167...just to give you an idea. :grin2

[Floppysquirrel04]

Ok guys tysm. This rlly means a lot to me. I will pm you. I will also give him longer playtimes at night if I can :)

[Floppysquirrel04]

anne, why do i have to pm you thou? we could say stuff on here, right? that way if anybody else has this problem, they can read this, and its easier, isn't it?

[Jennefer]

Ok guys tysm. This rlly means a lot to me. I will pm you. I will also give him longer playtimes at night if I can :)

You are most welcome!! We have to get some fur back on that Ace baby...otherwise we might need to start knitting tiny sweaters!! :gigg. Keep us updated on him.

[Mel1959]

Does Ace get lots of protein? Lack of protein can be associated with hair loss.

[Floppysquirrel04]

no he gets meal worms and waxworms, and boiled eggs when I'm not to lazy :)