12 Year Old Squirrel Not Well

[chipperdee]

Hi Folks,
My wife and I have a 12-year-old squirrel baby Chipper Dee.
We have had him since he was a baby orphan.
He has been on Henry's Squirrel blocks for about ten years or more.
And we give him fruits and veggies and nuts as listed in feeding chart.
He had MBD when he was about 2 and he was treated and has been fine
until about 3 months ago and we do not know if it was MBD or old age etc.
We gave him some reptile calcium and he perked right up.
The past couple of days he has gotten down and not eating and weak
similar to MBD.
No vets in the area to treat him.
Any thoughts from anyone.
Thank You,
Joan and Don

I advised Joan to wear gloves after Chipper nearly bit the end of my finger off. Ouch.

296053

[CritterMom]

Given that he is quite old, this may not be MBD but treating for it won't hurt.

I have to wonder if they begin to have more difficulty processing the calcium in their diets as they age, especially given that they live with lots less sunlight than a wild squirrel does. Have you ever offered a reptile light - the UVB lights?

Does the repcal have any Vitamin D in it? If so, what are the amounts of both the calcium and the Vit D in it?

You also need to find a way to keep him hydrated. If they don't feel well they don't want to get up for water and this will spiral out of control rapidly. Offer it by syringe if you need to - add a dash of honey or sugar if you need to, add a dash of fruit juice if you need to - whatever to get him drinking REGULARLY.

[chipperdee]

Thank you for posting.

The Calcium is Aqua Culture brand.
Calcium with Vitamin D 3.

Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate and Vitamin D 3 supplement.
Moisture max 3%
Calcium 38% min.
Vitamin D3 min 220,000 IU/kg

The Light we use is Zilla 13 watt Tropical 25 UVB

We are giving him water a little at a time as he will take it.

He also seems to be breathing hard and heart rate seems a bit fast.

[LR]

Bump! Older squirrel needs help!

[LR]

Listen closely when he breathes. Does it sound like he might be congested?

[CritterMom]

Thank you for posting.

The Calcium is Aqua Culture brand.
Calcium with Vitamin D 3.

Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate and Vitamin D 3 supplement.
Moisture max 3%
Calcium 38% min.
Vitamin D3 min 220,000 IU/kg

The Light we use is Zilla 13 watt Tropical 25 UVB

We are giving him water a little at a time as he will take it.

He also seems to be breathing hard and heart rate seems a bit fast.

OK, you have the Vitamin D thing covered.

Does he seem to be in pain in any way?

[chipperdee]

I do not think he is congested.
He may be in a little pain, not bad.
He lets me hold him without any complaining.
I gave him some calcium carbonate and D3 in water in a syringe.
He will drink a tiny bit of water out of a dish not using his water bottle though
because he is weak.
I will continue giving him a little water every hour or so.

[Nancy in New York]

Prayers for little Chipper Dee.
If he seems uncomfortable you can give him
infant ibuprofen.
Do you have a weight on him, we dose drugs
by their weight in grams. (squirrels weight :))
:Love_Icon Chipper Dee :Love_Icon

[chipperdee]

Thank you so much.
Another member asked me earlier if he was congested.
I said I did not think so,
but after listening closely I do believe he may be congested.

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you so much.
Another member asked me earlier if he was congested.
I said I did not think so,
but after listening closely I do believe he may be congested.

You can try a vaporizer/humidifier and sort of build a tent around
his cage with blankets.
His bedding may get damp so try changing that out often if it does.
He might enjoy a little heat under his container/cage.
Set it on low and put it UNDER so that he cannot bite the cord.
Do you have any antibiotics?
We can dose, but not sure if it's necessary right now.
Just wondering what you have in case.
If this is respiratory, good choices would be Augmentin (Human) or Clavamox (Animal)
Cipro (Human) or Baytril (Animal)

[chipperdee]

I do not know how much he weighs.
He is a bit smaller than most squirrels we have in the yard.
How much infant ibuprofen would be ok.

The only antibiotics I have are amoxicillin for the cat.

I may be able to get some from my vet tomorrow.

Thank you, Joan

[CritterMom]

A very conservative dose for a 1 pound squirrel would be 0.15cc which can be given every 4 hours as needed. Make sure you get INFANT IBUPROPHEN, not acetaminophen. It is in a flavored syrup and many squirrels just love it. You will need a 1cc syringe to dose this. I would limit this to about two days of treatment.

If you have ANY QUESTIONS about reading a syringe to properly dose this, please come back and ask.

If his bones are getting fragile he could very well have hurt himself just jumping around being squirrely.

[LR]

Don't forget to check around for the anti-biotics this morning... how's he doing?

[chipperdee]

Chipper is doing about the same. Joan is giving him calcium and ibuprofen as suggested.
She is feeding him squirrel block mixed with a tiny bit of honey and peanut butter
mixed up in a bullet blender.
He is still feisty and sleeping right now.

The vet asked me about the milligrams and dosage for the antibiotics
and he would be glad to give them to us.

Can you please tell me that info.

Thank you, Joan and Don.

[LR]

? About antibiotics

[chipperdee]

Antibiotics Dosage Yes.
Clavamox and Baytril

The Vet will give it to us but wants to know what mg. and dosage

Thanks, Joan

[Nancy in New York]

Antibiotics Dosage Yes.
Clavamox and Baytril

The Vet will give it to us but wants to know what mg. and dosage

Thanks, Joan

Scanned information posted in your other thread. :thumbsup

[Rexie]

I have learned on the board the can have and really like ensure. may be worth a try to keep his calorie intake up. I can just imagine how concerned you are having your baby for 12 years. sending healing blessings to you and chipper dee

[Diggie's Friend]

Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate and Vitamin D 3 supplement.
Moisture max 3%
Calcium 38% min.
Vitamin D3 min 220,000 IU/kg
When did you begin giving this and how much have you give daily by measure?

[chipperdee]

Hi everyone.

Chipper Dee is doing better today.

Taking his antibiotics.

I am crushing a Henry's Healthy Block for Picky Eaters and mixing with baby food and filtered water
and blending and putting in a big syringe.

He ate pretty well today.

He is drinking water from a dish.

He is getting his strength back a little.

I have not given him any calcium since Friday morning.

He seems happiest when snuggling with mommy.

He feels safe.

Thank you all for your help and prayers.

Joan

Me and Chipper Today
296140

[Scooterzmom]

There is such love in this photograph, it brings tears to my eyes... makes me miss my Hami and our snuggles so much. SO happy to hear that Chiper is getting better. :Love_Icon :hug

[Nancy in New York]

What a beautiful, heartwarming picture of you and Chipper!
Just beautiful. :hug
This just made my evening!



Hi everyone.

Chipper Dee is doing better today.

Taking his antibiotics.

I am crushing a Henry's Healthy Block for Picky Eaters and mixing with baby food and filtered water
and blending and putting in a big syringe.

He ate pretty well today.

He is drinking water from a dish.

He is getting his strength back a little.

I have not given him any calcium since Friday morning.

He seems happiest when snuggling with mommy.

He feels safe.

Thank you all for your help and prayers.

Joan

Me and Chipper Today
296140

[LR]

You are a Real Squirrel Person. Only a RSP kisses them! Glad to hear he is feeling better.

[SammysMom]

:Love_Icon

[cava]

Your photo is a picture of love. Thanks for sharing!:Love_Icon:Love_Icon:Love_Icon

[Rexie]

how is chipper dee