Squirrel is not moving

[Aspiller]

I need help. Woke up this morning and my Squirrel was at the bottom of her cage and she's not moving. Eyes are open and breathing but has a small tick it seems.
She was fine yesterday. She eats mostly fruits and vegetables with yogurt, nuts on occasion

[Nancy in New York]

I need help. Woke up this morning and my Squirrel was at the bottom of her cage and she's not moving. Eyes are open and breathing but has a small tick it seems.
She was fine yesterday. She eats mostly fruits and vegetables with yogurt, nuts on occasion

Can you give us more details.
How old is she?
What's her diet like, meaning eveything that she actually eats.
Are you giving her a good quality squirrel block?
What formula was/is she taking.
Has she aspirated?
Can you post a picture?

[Aspiller]

She is 8 years old. The last thing she are was a half banana, yogurt, asparagus, small piece of avocado and a grape. No formula.

[Aspiller]

293784

[CritterMom]

I think maybe her diet is deficient. In the meantime while we hash this out with your help answering our questions, please do this right away: if you do not have any in the house, run to the grocery or drug store and buy a bottle of the fruit flavored Tums - the antacid that people take. It is actually all calcium. When you get it home, grind one up and add just enough water to it to make it a fluid you can pull a bit up into a syringe. Give her about a quarter of it, and off and on through the day, give the rest, a small bit at a time.

When you get the Tums we will have some questions about what strength you got, etc., but for now just get them and get a first bit into her.

If she doesn't eat a rodent block of some kind on a daily basis it is very likely that she has MBD - metabolic bone disease. The calcium will help this and the Tums taste pretty good...

[Aspiller]

Going to get tums now. She eats the yogurt daily for calcium
Thanks for your help. I will let you know after I give it to her.

[Nancy in New York]

Going to get tums now. She eats the yogurt daily for calcium
Thanks for your help. I will let you know after I give it to her.

Yogurt is not nearly enough to sustain their required calcium levels.
Her diet is wrong, but we will cross that bridge later.
For now get the tums, and we will guide you from there.

[Aspiller]

Gave her some tums. Squished on tablet and she's had a quarter of it. Hard to get her to swallow. How often should I keep trying? I don't want to over do it. Should I see any movement. She's the same

[CritterMom]

It won't be that immediate. If it is MBD, her body has been "stealing" calcium from her bones due to there not being enough to support her in her diet.

Do me a favor. Get your Tums bottle and turn it around to the back. Somewhere back there you will see something that says "Other information" if it is Tums, and it will say "elemental calcium - and a milligram amount after it. Need to know what that milligram number is on your bottle. Tums makes a bunch of different strengths.

She probably won't like this, either - I would push fluids on her. If she's all curled up feeling lousy she isn't getting up to drink and dehydration can bring them down fast. Use your syringe. Make up some real weak sugar water - just enough sugar for some flavor - or a splash of fruit juice. But get water into her.

[Aspiller]

400 MG elemental calcium. She has had about one tablet but I'd say at least half she swallowed.
I have pedialyte but I read that wasn't best to use on them so I can make some sugar water.

[UDoWhat]

I would use pedialyte if you think she is dehydrated. You need Pedialyte or homemade hydration fluid to re - hydrate. The salt in Pedialye is the electrolyte. You have to have electrolytes to hydrate. Plain water or sugar water doesn't contain electrolytes. You can use Pedialyte 3x a day for 2 days. If still dehydrated it is safe for up to 3 days. This is according to the Wildlife Vet who wrote the protocol for rehydrating baby mammals.

[CritterMom]

400 MG elemental calcium. She has had about one tablet but I'd say at least half she swallowed.
I have pedialyte but I read that wasn't best to use on them so I can make some sugar water.

OK.

For the next couple days, try to get about 1 and a quarter of the Tums into her - for the whole day. Don't give all at once - it will just pass through unused. I would go ahead and mix up 1-1/4 Tums tablets and the water required to liquify them in the morning and just pop the container it is in into the fridge - and give her a little of it every few hours until it is gone by the end of the day.

She will require long term treatment if this is MBD but we can also hook you up with proper food and stuff that will help you a LOT. But the next few days should answer the question as to whether it is what is happening to her. She is quite old!

[UDoWhat]

Not sure anyone has sent this to you yet. Sorry to duplicate if I missed it. Praying for your sweet girl. :Love_Icon

Emergency Treatment for MBD

Get calcium into the squirrel IMMEDIATELY, not later, not tomorrow, NOW. Delaying treatment can cause death or permanent paralysis.

You will need:

--Tums or calcium pills (any kind)
--a syringe, eyedropper, or spoon

Crush one Tums or calcium pill and add a little water or fruit juice. Use the syringe, eyedropper, or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. Feed a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, and spread it out through the day and night to keep his blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If the squirrel is having seizures, weakness, or paralysis, the symptoms will usually improve within a few hours, but this does not mean the squirrel is cured. It will take many months to rebuild the calcium in the bones.

Long-Term Treatment for MBD

The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.

1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at the top of the “Squirrel Nutrition” forum. (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=16093 (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16093)) Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day. If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily. You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.

3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks. Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.

Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day
Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day
Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day

The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels. If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone. Also, if he is in a tall cage, either place him in a smaller cage, or pad the bottom very well.

Heat is very soothing for a squirrel with MBD. A heating pad turned to low and placed so they cannot chew the pad or cord, or a rice buddy (a sock filled with dry rice/beans and microwaved for about 20 seconds) will work.

[Aspiller]

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.
She is still about the same so far so we are just monitoring her and giving tums periodically as well as pedialyte. I hope it starts working if it is the MBD.

[Aspiller]

Any additional help is appreciated.
There was immediate improvement Sunday evening and appetite improved and same on Monday. Tuesday and today seems to be getting worse. Have been giving additional calcium daily and has rodent block. She seems to be very shakey and weak and having a hard time eating and chewing. Is this normal for a squirrel wirh MBD. I know with her age she will take longer to bounce back but I'm worried. She isn't interested in eating much of anything