Young Squirrel with Suspected MBD

[Chesterchestnut]

I'm going to give as much detail as I can possibly remember off the top of my head, but please feel free to ask questions if you think I left something out.

Ten days ago, my mother brought home a small Eastern Gray squirrel. She was driving and the squirrel ran in front of her car in the street, and she stopped to let it pass. However, he ran under her car instead, so she got out and called it over to herself. He didn't hesitate at all, and came right over. He seemed happy and healthy but she was afraid that with that level of trust, he wouldn't last long with the dogs in the neighborhood (which often roam freely). From her internet research, she estimates him to be about six weeks old when she found him, so about 7 weeks now. We don't have any instrument with which to weight him, unfortunately. All I can say is that he is small, fully-furred, eyes open. Rough estimate, he's about five inches long when sitting up, from nose to base of tail.

She brought him home, and then sped off to get some supplies for taking care of him. It's at this point that I'll mention the house has been a veritable zoo for the last 20 years - dogs, cats, a rat, four chinchillas, three mallard ducks, two turtles, and a dove which I found walking along the sidewalk outside of our town's bank twelve years ago (he's one of two animals still with the household until Chester, the squirrel, who makes three).

She came back with Esbilac Puppy formula and some syringes for feeding him, along with some bedding for a cage we already had. We began by feeding him the Esbilac, which he enthusiastically sucked down his first day or two. After that, he wasn't as enthusiastic about it, and began to refuse it altogether by Day 4. We switched to a goat's milk/heavy whipping cream/yogurt combination, which he enjoyed, and kept him on that until the Fox Valley 50/20 arrived on Day 6. We transitioned him over to the FV over the course of four or five feedings, and he enjoyed it. This is currently what we're still feeding him.

On Day 3, he was brought to the family vet who used to look after the chinchillas, and still looks after the last remaining cat. She is considered an "exotic vet", but Chester was only the second squirrel she'd ever seen as a patient, and she admitted that she wouldn't know much about them, but agreed to examine him anyhow. Because he had been sneezing and the expelled mucus was pink, she believed he had a respiratory infection and prescribed Sulfatrim to take care of it. We've been giving this to him at the prescribed amount of 0.1ml, two times a day. He does not seem to be sneezing blood any longer. Other than that, the vet cleaned up some blood that had dried around his nose and he was on his way back home.

On Day 5, I noticed something else was wrong - he was moving around, but avoided putting weight on or using his front left paw. I told my mother, she saw it too, and that was when she told me that the day before, she had accidentally kicked him when he ran between my mother's shoe-clad feet. It was enough that she felt Chester's body being hit by her shoe, but only seemed to daze him and he continued running around like nothing had happened. On top of this, he had another potential injury, as on one of the previous days (Day 3 or 4), he jumped from my shoulder after slipping free of my grasp while I was holding him, waiting for my mother to get one of his feedings prepped. He landed feet-down, but appeared to have landed flat (all arms flat against the floor, belly down). Again, he was dazed, but seemed otherwise unhurt.

Since Day 5, his symptoms have gotten worse, and we suspect that he has MBD. My mother had done additional research and found the he needed sun exposure (or full-spectrum light) to be able to absorb the nutrients in whatever we fed him. It wasn't until Day 8 that we realized this, and up until then, he had spent most of his time being held by my mother in a blanket (fully covered). I made a dash to a pet store in the nearest city and bought a full-spectrum light, the Exo-Terra Reptile UVB 100 (26W). (http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_uvb100.php) This was installed in a dome-shaped reflector dish lamp, which was then set on the top of Chester's cage. He has been held a little bit each day since then, but has spent the majority of the time underneath the light, in his cage. Most sources I found, including on this site, indicated that squirrels only need 20 minutes of exposure to this light each day. That really seems wildly insufficient, and the vet believed the same as I, so he's been getting several hours a day for the last two days (with shelter provided in his cage if he needed to escape it).

Symptom Progression Chart

Day 1 - Seemed to be sneezing a bit of blood, had some crusted on his nose.
Day 3 - Sees vet, who prescribes the antibiotic, but otherwise believed to be in good health.
Day 5 - Noticed reluctant use of front left paw, otherwise active and running about the house.
Day 6 - Almost no use of FL paw, new reluctance to use FR paw, becoming somewhat lethargic. Now seems to keep both eyes open all the time.
Day 7 - Little, if any use of front paws; lethargic.
Day 8 - Back paws showing signs of "splaying"; more lethargic than previous day.
Days 9 & 10 - Barely moving, whether being held or left in his cage. Frequently seems to move by rolling instead of stepping or walking. Occasionally closes eyes now. Still eating hungrily each time we feed him. Has begun biting fingers - never broken the skin, but still a pretty firm bite.

Feeding Chart

Days 1 - 3: Esbilac Puppy formula; 10cc, 4x daily, decreased appetite on third day.
Days 4 & 5: Fed goat's milk/whipping cream/yogurt combination; well-received.
Day 6: Transitioned over course of the day from goat's milk formula to Fox Valley 50/20; also well-received. Still feeding 10cc, 4x daily.
Days 7 & 8: No changes.
Day 9: Began crushing and dissolving Tums tablet* into formula, increasing frequency of feedings, reducing quantity per feeding to approximately 7cc, 6x daily. Appetite still good.

* Tums 750, which contains 320mg of elemental calcium, according to this page (https://www.henryspets.com/emergency-treatment-for-mbd/). Crushed into powder, approx. 1/4 discarded to get closer to 250mg recommendation for a young gray squirrel. Mixed into formula and fed over course of the day.

Waste Chart

Too sporadic to list by days. Urinated freely and easily up until today, Day 10. Fecal matter has been very limited, but last described as soft and yellow.

Additional Notes

-Has not seemed to have gained any weight since intake.
-Has been offered fresh twigs from the apple tree in our backyard, with no interest.
-Has been offered small pine cones, which he shredded (but did not necessarily consume), as of a few days ago. Currently, no interest.
-Has been offered squirrel blocks, also without interest.
-The little time that he has spent running around the house was limited to the living room, kitchen, and hallway; usually supervised wherever he went. Has not chewed any cords or furniture.


Have we made an error in our diagnosis? Is there something more we could be doing for him?

Please note, we unfortunately cannot afford to have any x-rays or lab work done at this time. We know this is a major complicating factor, but it's where we are.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[UDoWhat]

Hi and welcome to TSB. Thank you for rescuing this little baby. First let's talk about the MBD. If you are feeding Fox Valley or the goats milk formula and/ or Esbilac for the past 10 days or since you've had him it would be completely impossible for him to have MBD. What I suspect is he has been injured from the accidental kick that he received and the fall. He is probably in pain. That is most likely why he is biting. I would ask the veterinarian to put him on prednisone. I would get a Vet appointment as soon as you can and have the Vet look him over. He could have broken bones or internal injuries. I would not delay with this appointment. As for the congested nose there is a respiratory illness going around in squirrels this year. The antibiotic you're using is OK but I would rather see him an antibiotic called Baytril. You can get that from your veterinarian. I would recommend you getting that as soon as possible and getting her to dose it for you. Ask her for the oral suspension Baytril.

You should STOP all MBD treatment. It is not necessary. As long as he is on formula as I said, it is almost impossible for him to get MBD, particularly in the time you have had him.

The only way to accurately feed a baby or give them any meds is to weigh them. I would say a scale is one of the most important supplies you can have to raise a baby squirrel. It helps you to know how much to feed. Baby squirrels are fed 5 to 7% of their body weight in mL (cc same measure). Your vet would not have been able to dose the antibiotic that she gave him without a correct weight. Call your vet and ask them to tell you his weight when he was in the office. Please get a scale so that he can be weighed every day so you know how much to feed him. A kitchen scale that weighs in grams can be purchased at Walmart, Target, or astore like Bed Bath and Beyond. It sounds like you may be feeding him too much. 10 mL is how much you would feed a 200 g squirrel . Please let's get a weight on him so we can tell how much to feed him. He is a young baby so he doesn't need a lot of other foods right now. And when you do start to put solid foods in with him it should only be a good quality rodent block. Eating rodent block protects against MBD in the future when he has been weaned. If you feed him anything but rodent block and his formula for the next month or so you will create a picky eater who will be susceptible to MBD when he is no longer on formula.

For now he does not need the basking light or reptile light. He needs a container like a Rubbermaid container with a lid. The lid should have many small drilled air holes in it. He should also have a pile of fleece to snuggle down in and/ or T-shirt material will be good too. Do not use towels their nails get caught in the loopy strings and can cause injury and death if they get caught in the strings. Your baby should be on heat. You should get a non-automatic shut off heating pad. Place the heating pad under the container so that half of the container is on the heating pad And the other half is not on the heating pad. Placing only half the container on the heating pad makes it so the baby can crawl to one side or the other if it gets too hot or too.

Also please do not let your baby loose in the house. He can get into too many things such as electrical wires and other dangerous items. He should not be running on the floor. As you know he can get hurt.

Other members will also check in to give you advice and answer questions.

[Chesterchestnut]

Thank you very much for your quick and thorough response. I have a few things to add.

Regarding the vet appointment/Baytril/Prednisone: We'll contact the vet's office tomorrow and try to get him in. If they can't, we'll find another one somewhere... hopefully. There's not many options where we live.

We will stop the MBD treatment (which was just Tums).

I will get a scale to weigh him with first thing in the morning. We will immediately reduce how much we're feeding him (since he'll be fed in the morning before I can get the scale). I'll also look into finding a heating pad without the auto-shutoff feature. Any suggestions on where to look for that?

He won't be let loose in the house anymore. He's had a cage dedicated to him since Day 1. It is approx. 16"W x 12"D x 18"H. It has a smooth plastic bottom, and painted wire sides and top. Wire gaps are vertical slots spaced approx 1cm apart. Is this acceptable/safe for a baby squirrel, or should we really switch him over to the Rubbermaid suggestion? The bedding material used in it is a piece of fleece material and a disposable bedding product called CareFresh Complete Natural (https://www.amazon.com/Carefresh-Complete-Pet-Bedding-Natural/dp/B00PBM6WHW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1507095176&sr=8-2&keywords=carefresh+complete). He also has the end of a cardboard box, intended for him to be able to escape the light if he wanted or needed to.

Lastly, is the basking light bad for him at this stage? He seemed to like it, so if it's safe and he enjoys it, I'd like to continue letting him use it.

Thanks again!

(Edited to add additional information. Added text is shown in red.)

[LR]

You can order the no shut off heating pad fron Amazon or Henry's Healthy Pets.

The tub will do two things for your squirrel. Give him more room to move around and keep long arms and legs from getting caught between the wires while he is recuperating.

The basking light. Might be ok to use as a source of warmth till your heating pad gets there. Just make sure it isn't close enough that Chester gets over heated....you won't need it after the heating pad arrives.
If you get the tub today you can skip the light and put extra fleece for him to snuggle down into.

[UDoWhat]

You can order the no shut off heating pad fron Amazon or Henry's Healthy Pets.

The tub will do two things for your squirrel. Give him more room to move around and keep long arms and legs from getting caught between the wires while he is recuperating.

The basking light. Might be ok to use as a source of warmth till your heating pad gets there. Just make sure it isn't close enough that Chester gets over heated....you won't need it after the heating pad arrives.
If you get the tub today you can skip the light and put extra fleece for him to snuggle down into.

This is perfect advice above. :w00t I only have one thing to add. If your veterinarian has other suggestions and other drugs that they feel work better, I would go with your veterinarians suggestions. Except where the Baytril is concerned that is one of the drugs that has been working in the respiratory cases that we are seeing. Also if he is in pain the drug Metacam, a liquid oral suspension can be used. Over the counter infant ibuprofen can also be used. We would need to dose that for you. Remember drugs are dosed by weight.

I have to go to work this morning but I will check in as soon as I can to see how things are going and if you have other questions. I'm hoping other members will be able to help you too, if you have other questions.

Have a good morning I will check in later. Thank you for your responses and for taking care of this baby.:Love_Icon

[Chesterchestnut]

There are no wildlife rehabbers or veterinarians that will see my squirrel. I called a wildlife rescue place and asked them 'what kind of internal injury would cause a squirrel to drag it's front legs, but still be interested in food?' She said, 'neurological. Which makes sense to me. Since I have no way to truly get him checked out, wouldn't the most humane thing be to let him go to heaven (put him down)? You can't reverse Neuro damage, can you?

[LR]

The board has had several recoveries from neurological issues. Some eventually get better and some don't. Time and patience is key but so are the right meds. Hopefully someone will come on soon to help you. Please don't put him down without talking to the people on the board who know more about it than I do.

[UDoWhat]

I would not ever have him put down without confirmation this is really neurological. Even then if it is a neurological problem squirrels are amazing creatures and have ways to overcome this. He would not be releaseable if he has neurological problems so you would need to keep him .... Or we could try to find someone who would take him. At this point without trying to help him I would say euthanasia is out of the question.

We can try to find proper drugs so you can give him the best chance to heal. Also The over-the-counter drug infant ibuprofen which can be found in the baby section at most pharmacies or Walmart will go along way to reduce swelling and inflammation. That may be all he needs. While you're at Walmart you can get the ibuprofen and a kitchen scale so that he can be weighed.

In the meantime if you can post pictures of him and a video we may be able to tell what's wrong with him. We could at least guesstimate his weight and does the ibuprofen. Some people have trouble posting videos. You can post it to YouTube or somewhere else and just posr the link to the video. At least pictures will help us. If you could take some pictures showing his arms, legs, head, etc. we could try to assess what happened and how to help.

This is the kind of infant ibuprofen or Motrin you should get. It needs to be the infant ibuprofen not children's.

BTW what kind of Esbilac are you feeding him. The powdered kind you mix with water or the liquid in a can??

[Nancy in New York]

BTW what kind of Esbilac are you feeding him. The powdered kind you mix with water or the liquid in a can??

He's been transitioned over to Fox Valley 20/50.

[Chesterchestnut]

(Eric)

We apologize for the confusion. This account, Chesterchestnut, is being used by two of us (myself, Eric; and my mother, Barb). So if the posts coming from this account seem a little schizophrenic, this is why. We'll do our best from here on out to identify ourselves in the beginning of each post.

The following response was from Barb:

There are no wildlife rehabbers or veterinarians that will see my squirrel. I called a wildlife rescue place and asked them 'what kind of internal injury would cause a squirrel to drag it's front legs, but still be interested in food?' She said, 'neurological. Which makes sense to me. Since I have no way to truly get him checked out, wouldn't the most humane thing be to let him go to heaven (put him down)? You can't reverse Neuro damage, can you?

All other responses up to this point, including this one, are by Eric.

10/4 15:34 CDT Update

I bought a kitchen scale this morning, along with the Rubbermaid type storage container. I chose the lease malodorous tub I could find that was still large enough and clear enough. It didn't seem to have much of an odor at all, and I washed it with hot water and Dawn dish detergent when I got it home. He has been placed into the tub; I still have to drill the holes in the lid, but he's lethargic enough that he's not trying to get out. The same heating pads we've been using are still in play for the time being - the three of us are watching it round the clock to make sure it's always on. It only covers half of the tub, and he's currently snuggled up in a pile of fleece over the heated side after having attempted to bathe some of the accumulated formula out of his fur (a surprising amount of it has ended up on his chin, all the way down to his belly). I dried him as best I could while still being gentle, and snuggled him into the fleece. I'm limiting air circulation in this and the nearest rooms to eliminate drafts that may chill him.

His weight, as of about 2pm, is 136g. Based on this chart (https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?53402-Feeding-Chart-by-Weight), at 136g of weight, and feeding 6% of weight, he should be getting 8cc per feeding. But a crucial bit of information is missing: what frequency are these calculations based on? IOW, how many feedings per day should he be getting?

Also, I'll see about getting updated photos and a video or two.

Thanks again!

[UDoWhat]

(Eric)

We apologize for the confusion. This account, Chesterchestnut, is being used by two of us (myself, Eric; and my mother, Barb). So if the posts coming from this account seem a little schizophrenic, this is why. We'll do our best from here on out to identify ourselves in the beginning of each post.

The following response was from Barb:


All other responses up to this point, including this one, are by Eric.

10/4 15:34 CDT Update

I bought a kitchen scale this morning, along with the Rubbermaid type storage container. I chose the lease malodorous tub I could find that was still large enough and clear enough. It didn't seem to have much of an odor at all, and I washed it with hot water and Dawn dish detergent when I got it home. He has been placed into the tub; I still have to drill the holes in the lid, but he's lethargic enough that he's not trying to get out. The same heating pads we've been using are still in play for the time being - the three of us are watching it round the clock to make sure it's always on. It only covers half of the tub, and he's currently snuggled up in a pile of fleece over the heated side after having attempted to bathe some of the accumulated formula out of his fur (a surprising amount of it has ended up on his chin, all the way down to his belly). I dried him as best I could while still being gentle, and snuggled him into the fleece. I'm limiting air circulation in this and the nearest rooms to eliminate drafts that may chill him.

His weight, as of about 2pm, is 136g. Based on this chart (https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?53402-Feeding-Chart-by-Weight), at 136g of weight, and feeding 6% of weight, he should be getting 8cc per feeding. But a crucial bit of information is missing: what frequency are these calculations based on? IOW, how many feedings per day should he be getting?

Also, I'll see about getting updated photos and a video or two.

Thanks again!

Did you say he was about seven weeks old? And also I'm wondering what Esbilac formula you are ausing? It is crucial to know the kind you are using. The Esbilac powdered formula that you mix with water is the kind you need to have. That is the one that is for squirrels and will nourish him and allow him to grow . The Esbilac liquid that is in the can is not the appropriate formula. It has killed at least five baby squirrels here at this board just last week . They all died of malnutrition and starvation from being fed the liquid Esbilac from a can. The 2 formulas are not the same!!!! The liquid Esbilac does not meet the caloric or nutritional needs for baby squirrels.

If your baby is 7 weeks old he should be fed 4 to 5 times per day. He sounds pretty little for 7 weeks but that could be from the trauma he has had. If the formula is the liquid canned Esbilac then he is starving abd malnourished just like the others. If it's not the liquid Esbilac then you don't have anything to worry about except that we need to find out why he isn't gaining much weight as you expressed in an earlier post.

Were you able to get the liquid infant ibuprofen or Motrin? If he is in pain I believe that would certainly help him and since we have a weight on him we would be able to dose that for you. I definitely would put him on the infant ibuprofen for pain.

Also I should've asked in the beginning is this a grey squirrel, Fox squirrel or a red squirrel? That would make a big difference in the appropriateness of his weight.

Forgive me if I've asked some of the questions before I just did not have time to go back and re-read your thread. :Love_Icon

Sorry I just saw NIN's post about the FV. THANK YOU!! Never mind about the Esbilac info.

[Chesterchestnut]

(Eric)


If your baby is 7 weeks old he should be fed 4 to 5 times per day. He sounds pretty little for 7 weeks but that could be from the trauma he has had.... you don't have anything to worry about except that we need to find out why he isn't gaining much weight as you expressed in an earlier post.

We're pretty sure he's losing weight, despite having been over-fed previously. We don't know what to do about it.

Also, we couldn't get an appointment for him until tomorrow morning. I've tried to keep hope for him to recover, but I just can't see how it could happen. I'm starting to agree with my mother... it isn't worth it for Chester to continue in pain and/or suffering like he is. I think we're just prolonging the inevitable now.

Does this look rehabilitable to you?
294316

I've uploaded a couple videos to YouTube, but it's taking forever to just process them. If they ever finish processing, they'll be here: Chester - Day 09 (https://youtu.be/keu0rpwTrPM), and Chester - Day 11 (https://youtu.be/HnU1BeeDwUw).


Were you able to get the liquid infant ibuprofen or Motrin? If he is in pain I believe that would certainly help him and since we have a weight on him we would be able to dose that for you. I definitely would put him on the infant ibuprofen for pain.

Yes, we got the liquid infant ibuprofen. What does should we give him?

294317


Also I should've asked in the beginning is this a grey squirrel, Fox squirrel or a red squirrel? That would make a big difference in the appropriateness of his weight.

He appears to be an Eastern Gray Squirrel. We're in Minnesota.

[LR]

Eric, any animal, just like any person, is "rehabitable" until their heart stops beating. Please let the meds have at least a chance to work...believe in his own ability to get better if given a chance.

[UDoWhat]

Hi Eric, Poor little baby does look sick. :Love_Icon I certainly hope your Vet will be able to help him. I agree with LR's post.....He may be able to be rehabilitated. :Love_Icon

I am going to dose in the mid range for the ibuprofen. It is 0.04 cc. He can have this dose (4 drops) every 4 hours as needed. I added a pictures of a 1 mL syringe. The arrow marks approximately where 0.04 mL is. I would say it is about equivalent to four small drops. Sorry not a real good picture but I had to make do so I could post quickly. :grouphug

294320

[Nancy in New York]

Hi Eric, Poor little baby does look sick. :Love_Icon I certainly hope your Vet will be able to help him. I agree with LR's post.....He may be able to be rehabilitated. :Love_Icon

I am going to dose in the mid range for the ibuprofen. It is 0.04 cc. He can have this dose (4 drops) every 4 hours as needed. I added a pictures of a 1 mL syringe. The arrow marks approximately where 0.04 mL is. I would say it is about equivalent to four small drops. Sorry not a real good picture but I had to make do so I could post quickly. :grouphug

294320

Here's a little help Marty. :hug

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-BmhTBnP/0/93264a95/O/i-BmhTBnP.jpg

[UDoWhat]

From the videos I do not think that he has Neuro issues. It is a video though and hard to tell what is really going on without being able to touch him and feel for any broken bones or other problems. I believe he has been injured from the accidental kick and the fall. Most likely he has something broken perhaps in his front arm. Maybe his shoulder and even the back leg could be broken too.

In my opinion he is in pain. He desperately needs the ibuprofen for some pain management and inflammation. In the video on day 9 I think, he seems to be fairly active and mobile. I'm wondering what might have happened since that first video on day 9 ? I would like to see him kept warm and quiet. Please be very careful when picking him up. Try to keep him as still as possible. He could have broken bones.

Please offer him formula 4 to 5 times a day every 4-5 hours. He would benefit from some hydration fluid like Pedialyte or the homemade hydration fluid one time tonight. Give him about 3 ccs of hydration tonight in between his feedings ... not with his feeding. Make sure he is fed warm formula and hydration fluid. Not room temp or cold. He is still a baby.

Be sure the heating pad stays on. He shouldn't expend any energy or calories trying to stay warm. Please remove the basking light or turn it off at night . I'm afraid it may bother him or shine in his eyes. He needs rest to recover. Make sure he has plenty of blankies to snuggle down in.

Continue with the antibiotic.


Homemade Hydration Fluid Recipe

2 cups warm water - warm enough to dissolve the sugar and salt.
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix to dissolve the ingredients.

Thank you for caring for him.:Love_Icon He is a precious baby and he can make it with your care and guidance from TSB to help you. :Love_Icon

[UDoWhat]

Here's a little help Marty. :hug

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-BmhTBnP/0/93264a95/O/i-BmhTBnP.jpg

Thank you Nancy. Couldn't find the right syringe picture. :shakehead

[LR]

My squirrel is Ruby and her thread is Ruby's Legs. You can find it by putting the thread name in your search box. What time is the vet appointment in the morning? Please let us know what they say about your little one. There are some awesomely talented people on the board and they can help you with med dosing and techniques to help him him recover. Prayers for you and him tonight from Ruby and me.

[Chesterchestnut]

(Eric)


From the videos I do not think that he has Neuro issues. It is a video though and hard to tell what is really going on without being able to touch him and feel for any broken bones or other problems. I believe he has been injured from the accidental kick and the fall. Most likely he has something broken perhaps in his front arm. Maybe his shoulder and even the back leg could be broken too.

I have to offer what I believe to be counter-evidence to that - when we pick him up to feed him, he doesn't react at all. No flinching, jerking, squeaking... nothing. Wouldn't there be some expression of pain or discomfort if any limbs were broken and we picked him up? (Please note that it is impossible to pick him up without touching all four limbs, because he is so tiny.)


In my opinion he is in pain.

Agreed. We (Barb and I) just don't know the source or severity of the pain, and that's what is really frustrating about this situation.


He desperately needs the ibuprofen for some pain management and inflammation.

We were waiting to hear back what dosage was appropriate for him, and gave him his first dose about 45 minutes ago. He accepted it readily. Because it is night, however, he's snuggled down in the fleece for sleeping.


In the video on day 9 I think, he seems to be fairly active and mobile. I'm wondering what might have happened since that first video on day 9 ?

It confuses us, too. Two things happened since that day:

1. We began the Tums and full-spectrum light therapy on Day 9; it was discontinued per your recommendation by the end of Day 10. (Today is Day 11)
2. In desperation, we began giving him a pain med that we thought was left over from a rabbit of ours that passed a while ago (Trixie). We discovered tonight however that it was left over from a cat that passed* earlier this year, and turned out to be Gabapentin. We know that giving him a prescription med without even knowing what it was, was completely wrong. We realized the gravity of that tonight, and we're not doing it again, ever. We made an emotional, desperate decision that we felt was in Chester's best interest, but was actually just an extremely risky endeavor.

*Note: Before you think we're just terrible people and manage to kill everything we come across, you should know that the cat was 20 years old, and the rabbit had been rescued from a neighbor that left it outside in a cage 24/7 with no attention. She spent several loving years in this house, and we didn't know how old she was when we adopted her. Yes, we spoke with the neighbor and he agreed to let us take the rabbit.


I would like to see him kept warm and quiet. Please be very careful when picking him up. Try to keep him as still as possible. He could have broken bones.

We had been moving his cage from Barb's bedroom to the living room each morning, and back again each night; we won't do that while he's in this state and trying to heal. The room is generally the quietest one in the house during the day. We are being extremely gentle and careful about picking him up, just out of concern for his comfort more than worry that something may be broken. We're only handling him during feedings/dosing.


Please offer him formula 4 to 5 times a day every 4-5 hours.

We will make a schedule and stick to it from here on out, rather than "eyeballing" the clock and "aiming" for every three or four hours as we had been.


He would benefit from some hydration fluid like Pedialyte or the homemade hydration fluid one time tonight. Give him about 3 ccs of hydration tonight in between his feedings ... not with his feeding. Make sure he is fed warm formula and hydration fluid. Not room temp or cold. He is still a baby.

I'll get some Pedialyte in the morning for him. He was just fed about 5cc of formula and is now down for the night, so the hydration will start tomorrow. Note of concern: his appetite is declining.


Be sure the heating pad stays on. He shouldn't expend any energy or calories trying to stay warm.

This makes perfect sense, and we both kinda feel dumb for not having realized this before being told it!


Please remove the basking light or turn it off at night . I'm afraid it may bother him or shine in his eyes. He needs rest to recover.

We haven't used the light since you first suggested we not use it last night. For what it's worth, it's not intended as, nor did we treat it like, a source of heat - we were just using it to give him some "sun".


Make sure he has plenty of blankies to snuggle down in.

We have a remnant of fleece that we've cut into smaller "panels" for him in his cage. Each panel measures approx. 5" x 12", and there are at least half a dozen in there.


Continue with the antibiotic.

Will do. We will also ask the vet tomorrow specifically for Baytril.


Thank you for caring for him.:Love_Icon He is a precious baby and he can make it with your care and guidance from TSB to help you. :Love_Icon

Thank you for all the information you have given us, and thank you to everyone who has provided information and support! We intended from the start for him to be a permanent resident of our home, and we don't want to lose him (many tears have been shed by both of us over what Chester is going through).

[Chesterchestnut]

(Eric)


My squirrel is Ruby and her thread is Ruby's Legs. You can find it by putting the thread name in your search box.

For anyone interested: Ruby's Legs Thread (https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?58601-Ruby-s-Legs)

For me personally, this post from "lennysmom" (https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?58601-Ruby-s-Legs&p=1237140#post1237140) REALLY stood out, particularly because of the videos. This gives me hope. Granted, the entire thread is talking about 'hind leg paralysis' and Chester has more 'front leg paralysis', but I still have hope from this. I'm glad I saw this post.


What time is the vet appointment in the morning? Please let us know what they say about your little one.

It's at 8:40a. One of us will post here to let you know anything we learn or do.


There are some awesomely talented people on the board and they can help you with med dosing and techniques to help him him recover.

We're seeing that, and we're incredibly thankful for the knowledge and support we're being given!


Prayers for you and him tonight from Ruby and me.

Thank you!

[Jen413]

Wonder if some of the seemingly neurological issues were due to the meds and dosage you were giving him. Wondering if basically he was high? :thinking

[UDoWhat]

Wonder if some of the seemingly neurological issues were due to the meds and dosage you were giving him. Wondering if basically he was high? :thinking

He has been overdosed on gabapentin which is a very strong pain reliever for nerve damage. How much gabapentin did you give him? He is either suffering from an overdose or he is still sedated so much that he can hardly move. I am begging you please do not give him anything else unless you consult one of us here on this board first. We all are very familiar with the drug gabapentin and actually could have used it to relieve pain for him but at the proper dose. Please for the life of this little baby please let us help you. Please do not give him any thing else. We are happy to help you day or night. If you went to the vet, I hope that you told them that you had given him Gabapentin. She would have been able to save him or at least known what was wrong. He can be saved but only if you stop trying to do this yourself. I will help you anytime, any hour, any day. I know you love him. Please let us help you. I would never think that you are bad people. After all, you have tried to save him.:Love_Icon

Please sir, this is a precious life. Let us help you with him.

[UDoWhat]

Wondering what the news is here ? :poke

[Jen413]

Wondering what the news is here ? :poke

I was just coming to see if there was any news as well.

[UDoWhat]

Please let us know what the outcome was, although I feel your sllence is screaming what I fear may have happened.:sadness

[Jen413]

I keep finding myself coming back to this thread and hoping. :sniff