Limping adult grey squirrel

[Kimi]

I’m hoping for some advice or encouraging feedback. Some background. I have an adult grey squirrel resident in my backyard (her name is Bubba) that has been visiting me for the last 2-3 years. We have a lot of squirrels around as we have several nut trees in our yard, but Bubba is different, she will come up and lay down on our back step or picnic table, or lay on our patio when we’re outside hanging out.

She’s been building a new nest the past 2 days (working very hard at it) and today I noticed a different squirrel was building it. Then when I saw her this evening she was limping and hardly using one of her back legs. I’m guessing maybe there was a scuffle over the nest, and Bubba was the loser? My first question is, is this normal? I’ve seen several times Bubba is trying to build a nest, and someone else ends up stealing it.

My second question is, does this seem like the type of injury that will heal on its own? I didn’t get a terribly good look at the injury since she’s a wild squirrel, but she did sit on my back step long enough for me to get a glimpse and her foot looked swollen, but I did not see any broken skin or blood. I noticed that she was having a lot of trouble balancing on a branch while trying to eat. I’m not sure there is anything I can do for her, but any suggestions are welcome! I just hate to see her injured like this- she is such a sweet girl and it breaks my heart.

[lennysmom]

It is quite normal for squirrels in the wild to have squabbles over nests since squirrels are very territorial in nature. I'm sorry to hear your sweet wild friend Bubba is injured.:( If you are able to get a picture of her leg, that would be really helpful for us to see the extent of the injury. Is she still able to get around fairly quickly and climb ok? If so, I would just keep a close eye on her supplement her with food as well as providing fresh water to help her keep her strength up. Thank you for caring enough about her to come here to find help.:)

Squirrels in the wild usually have two nests that they alternate between, so Bubba may very well have another nest somewhere near by. You could consider purchasing a squirrel nest box for her and mounting it on a tree nearby. My wilds all love the nest boxes but there is no guarantee that she wouldn't get ousted out of a box as well.

If she looks to really be struggling to get around, you may need to try and trap her. But it is very stressful on wild squirrels to be trapped, so you wouldn't want to do it unless you feel it is absolutely necessary. Fortunately squirrels tend to be fast healers and I hope that will be the case with Bubba.:Love_Icon

[Javarat]

My second question is, does this seem like the type of injury that will heal on its own? I didn’t get a terribly good look at the injury since she’s a wild squirrel, but she did sit on my back step long enough for me to get a glimpse and her foot looked swollen, but I did not see any broken skin or blood. I noticed that she was having a lot of trouble balancing on a branch while trying to eat. I’m not sure there is anything I can do for her, but any suggestions are welcome! I just hate to see her injured like this- she is such a sweet girl and it breaks my heart.Squirrels have a VERY fast metabolism.
The foot will either heal quickly.
Or it will get infected and she will pass away quickly.
Squirrels do not have lingering illnesses... except for neurological issues.
There is not really anything you can do except make sure she has a food source.
If she is still mobile 24 hours after the injury her odds are pretty good.

[Kimi]

It is quite normal for squirrels in the wild to have squabbles over nests since squirrels are very territorial in nature. I'm sorry to hear your sweet wild friend Bubba is injured.:( If you are able to get a picture of her leg, that would be really helpful for us to see the extent of the injury. Is she still able to get around fairly quickly and climb ok? If so, I would just keep a close eye on her supplement her with food as well as providing fresh water to help her keep her strength up. Thank you for caring enough about her to come here to find help.:)

Squirrels in the wild usually have two nests that they alternate between, so Bubba may very well have another nest somewhere near by. You could consider purchasing a squirrel nest box for her and mounting it on a tree nearby. My wilds all love the nest boxes but there is no guarantee that she wouldn't get ousted out of a box as well.

If she looks to really be struggling to get around, you may need to try and trap her. But it is very stressful on wild squirrels to be trapped, so you wouldn't want to do it unless you feel it is absolutely necessary. Fortunately squirrels tend to be fast healers and I hope that will be the case with Bubba.:Love_Icon

Thank you for the reply! I will try to get a picture of her today, I am hoping to see her, but we’re supposed to have a rainy/snowy day here in Michigan and sometimes the squirrels don’t come around then. I did get a video of her yesterday limping through the yard but I’m not sure if I’m able to post videos here. Luckily my husband and I both work remotely from home so I will be able to keep an eye out for her. We unfortunately have a lot of hawks in our neighborhood too and that is my biggest fear right now since she’s not as quick as she normally is (I know that’s nature and they have to eat to, but I would rather them not go after my favorite). We have an air horn that we keep by the black door just in case we spot one sitting in our trees to scare them off and not encourage them to hang out here, so I’ll be watching today.

She was getting around “ok” yesterday but definitely not normal, much slower and I could tell she was favoring her back leg. She could climb though, I saw her get up a tree. She is definitely being cautious around other squirrels though. I am hoping we don’t have to trap her because I’m afraid she would injure herself more trying to get out. I will keep you posted with a picture if I can manage one! Thanks for your help!

[Kimi]

Good news- I saw Bubba today, and she seemed much better. She was still favoring her back leg a bit, but not nearly as much as yesterday. She was even chasing other squirrels around and being her normal self, so I think it is safe to say this was hopefully just a minor injury. I’ve just never seen her limping around so it had me panicked! Thanks for all the advice!

[lennysmom]

What a great update!:dance I'm glad to hear her leg is doing better and that it was just a minor injury.:w00t It's always a concern when we see an injured wild, especially with hawks in the area. But if she's chasing other squirrels, sounds like she can hold her own. Hope sweet Bubba continues to stay safe out there.:Love_Icon