Head Trauma or Internal Trauma

[Tyke]

We rescued a 3 week old male squirrel in September. He is 6 months old. He lives in the house, cage sometimes, runs loose sometimes. Today my daughter went thorough a swinging door and the squirrel either got caught in it or got hit in the head as it tried to follow her. When she looked back, the squirrel (Theodore) was rolling around and squealing and disoriented. This happened about 3pm, so about 3 hours ago. He is now calmed down, but still disoriented and somewhat delirious. He is having difficulty running, jumping, and has very little focus. One second he is calm and just lays there to be pet, and then other moments running haphazardly and without orientation. He squeals a little when his belly is rubbed. He is drinking water but not eating !! We are at a loss as to what we can do. Can anybody give us some advice to help this little fella ???

[cava]

Hi there.

First of all, get him into a space which will limit his ability to stumble around and run into things. You can pad the bottom of his cage with blankets so he doesn't hurt himself.

If you give us a weight on him we can give you a dose for Infant Ibuprofen, which will help with pain and inflammation.

Make sure you are keeping him on a squirrel healthy diet and that he stays hydrated to assist in healing.

You will need to assess his entire body, head to toe, but be careful and don't poke or squeeze his abdomen.

Hopefully he will get better quickly but it would help to know what he's doing in the morning as well. But definitely keep him caged overnight. A blanket over top will help him settle in.

Others will also chime in.

What do you guys feed him?

[Mel1959]

Do you have access to prednisone?

[Tyke]

Thanks for the immediate response !! I am not sure of the weight. My daughter is at home with him, holding him at the moment. His diet pretty much consists of blueberries and blackberries (his favorites) and various nuts, he loves the filberts. He also eats raw spinach, strawberries, pecans, he doesn't care for the rodent food suggested, he likes Brazille nuts, pealed acorns, leaves off of oak trees, and we keep water out for him everywhere !!

Current update, just got off the phone with the daughter, she said he ate 3 blueberries and a blackberry, but did not want to eat any nuts. She said he ate awkwardly, as though he had Bells Palsy. After eating, he went into his hammock in the cage and went to sleep. So she did not want to bother him in order to put him on a kitchen scale. He is resting at the moment.

To continue, he also twitches his head. Kind of like a qwerk while being held. We are thinking it was a head trauma when the door swung back and hit him in the head, but not sure. It is just the twitching and disorientation that makes us believe this. In addition the way he ate his food leads us to believe he has some trauma issues. As to his weight, I am guessing he is weighing around 8 ounces or so. Cant be much more. Say about half the size of a full grown squirrel. I will stop off at the drug store on my way home and pick up the Infant Ibuprofen and have it available for when and if it is needed and I will not administer until You inform me too.

We have full intentions of working him into the backyard this Spring !! But thats in God's hands now !!

Thank You for Your quick response, God Bless You !!! We love all of God's little creatures !! So Thank You !!!

I will keep You posted !!

In response to the prednisone, Yes, I have access through a doctor & vet friends of mine. Thank You !!

[Grinderhead]

This diet needs to be addressed.He need a good block in his diet.
Please check this out www.henryspets.com and check the chart.
https://www.henryspets.com/healthy-diet-for-pet-squirrels/
JMO his diet is a road to MBD. https://www.henryspets.com/what-is-metabolic-bone-disease/
https://www.henryspets.com/picky-eaters/
I no this has nothing to do with the Head Trauma which others will help with.

[Chickenlegs]

Can you get him to a vet? He’s injured so the rule is warm, dark, quiet. Confine him so he can’t further injure himself. He has a head injury so don’t make him VERY warm but do make sure he’s not getting chilled. Make sure he drinks. A 1 or 3 ml syringe will help with giving him water if he won’t drink on his own. You can even add a tiny bit of honey to encourage. His diet needs a LOT of work but that takes a backseat to addressing his injury. Does he circle? Have you noticed nystagmus (eyes jumping around)? You said he was “twitchy”? No more nuts for now, try some watermelon or apple, both are hydrating. and I think I would offer some Tums crushed and added to water. He needs available calcium that he’s not getting in his diet. OK— no more diet stuff for now

Early on in my own squirrel saga somebody smart said I needed to provide a cage for all of my squirrels. They should have out time, but they are hard wired to have a home—a nest and especially for a captive squirrel, a safe zone is particularly important when there’s visitors, activity such as cleaning, painting, repairing, having open windows, cooking, or going through doors and not specifically paying attention to the squirrel. That bit of advice has saved my guys more than once. I came close to disaster. My squirrels are caged. Everybody has his/her large space. They all get out time, but if I need to be away for a day or two, that cage gives them comfort when somebody besides me is giving them dinner. Sounds like you plan on releasing your baby in the spring. Lets hope he’s just fine by then.

[cava]

Two things: Brazil nuts are toxic to squirrels and consider he may have a broken mandible or injury to his mouth/teeth if he got smacked in the face/head.

While a brain injury is, indeed, important to address, he needs special care and attention if he also has damage to his mouth and an inability to eat. He can't and won't survive on fruit and nut butters. He simply cannot.

I hope you guys can get help from your vet friend you mentioned. An x ray and exam would be ideal and then he/she could prescribe medications.

Wishing him the best.

[Chickenlegs]

How is your little guy doing?

[SammysMom]

Just checking in...hows it going?:Love_Icon

[Diggie's Friend]

Yes, Brazil nuts, and also Spinach amongst a number of other leafy greens with a similarly high soluble oxalate levels provide little to no calcium, and worse cause loss of calcium in the diet, and body of these animals, leading to the development of Metabolic and Bone disease.

[Mel1959]

Worried about your little Theodore. :Love_Icon. How’s he doing?

[Tyke]

For those who are following this thread, I am Happy to Let All know that Theodore is up and running again. It was scary for a while, because for 2 days, he stayed in the cage in his hammock, Only eating fruit and drinking water. After calculating his weight, we administered the Ibuprofen according to what our resident vet explained.

We assume the Head Hematoma finally went down, because this morning, he was rattling the cage, begging to come out !!

So the advice to put him in a Dark Safe Secure Place was Excellant advice. He was going to either Get Well, Die or Be Traumatized for Life. God sure creates resiliant little creatures !!

Love You Guys, God Bless You and This Site for helping us save our Little Friend !! We and Theodore Than You !!!!

[Nancy in New York]

For those who are following this thread, I am Happy to Let All know that Theodore is up and running again. It was scary for a while, because for 2 days, he stayed in the cage in his hammock, Only eating fruit and drinking water. After calculating his weight, we administered the Ibuprofen according to what our resident vet explained.

We assume the Head Hematoma finally went down, because this morning, he was rattling the cage, begging to come out !!

So the advice to put him in a Dark Safe Secure Place was Excellant advice. He was going to either Get Well, Die or Be Traumatized for Life. God sure creates resiliant little creatures !!

Love You Guys, God Bless You and This Site for helping us save our Little Friend !! We and Theodore Than You !!!!

I just LOVE this update! :w00t :bliss

[cava]

Thanks for the update!:w00t

[farm mom]

You still need to address the diet issue. If you don't change it you'll be looking at MBD soon, and that is not fun! Take the nuts away, fresh veggies cut up, spring mix salad, Rodent block. Be strict with him, no nuts or fruit until he eats whats good for him. Once he starts eating what he should then you can treat him with a couple of nut preferably in the shell ( helps with the teeth and keeps them busy) Limit the fruit to a couple berries a day, they are high in sugar. They are like kids and we have to stay strong as a parent...lol :w00t

[Diggie's Friend]

http://weecompanions.org/healthy-food carries Harlan Teklad (Envigo)_ 2016 global rat diet. Should he refuse this this rodent block after you reduce the nut intake, ask one of the members to share what they include ground rodent block in to support it to better appeal to the squirrel's appetite.

Check out the Organic Chia Oil from Foods Alive on Amazon.com, it is super healthly as it is high in Omega 3 fatty acids, with a positive ratio to Omega 6 that it also contains. Omega 3 is also known to support animals in stress. Add a drop or two on the block or in a Boo Ball recipe, makes it taste even better to tree squirrels. https://www.amazon.com/Foods-Alive-Artisan-Cold-Pressed-Organic/dp/B007788AZA/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1516006805&sr=1-4&keywords=chia+oil+foods+alive

Try some soft boiled organic egg yolk only, not the white. Let it cool sufficiently of course to lukewarm, and see if the squirrel will eat it off of a small ceramic plate. Add to the plate organic fruits and vegetables produced without pesticides, which are neurotoxic and carcinigenic to rodents as they build up in the body and the brain. It is actually cornmeal that supplies the form of carbs, and too many nuts and seeds, that supply too much fat in the diet that support the development of diabetes. Overly processed foods with high salt and sugars also lend to the development of this disease in rodents.

Baked Butternut squash or Acorn Squash is packed full of vital vitamins and minerals, and amino acids, vital for health. Once it is baked to scoop out the flesh using a melon baller kitchen tool, making half rounds from the 1 Tsp. size end, put them into a freezer bag on a tray. To pull the air out of the bag, if you don't have a vacuum sealing bag machine, insert a straw, and close zip up to it, and suck the air out. Then place the tray with the bags sealed on it onto a tray till frozen, then remove the tray. Ready to feed once dethawed overnight, two a day.

Boiled organic peas drained and cooled to room temperature, provide a very good source of low fat protein. 2 to 3 Tsp. a day.

Greens that provide calcium include the organic immature leaves of chicory and Looseleaf lettuces free feed.

2 Tsp. of fresh organic fruit daily, split between berries and tree fruit with no pits or skin included, supply amino acids, anti-oxidants, soluble and insoluble fiber, and fruit pectin, that has been found in rat research to well support the absorption of calcium in rats, as has citric acid (oranges), and malic acid (apples and organic applesauce) also. These fruits are also anti diabetic.



Another source that provides more calcium than any green is organic yogurt. Green Valley Organic lowfat yogurt is lactose free, and includes a healthy probiotic supportive ot this source digestion, but also to combat E coli, and other bad bacterias these animals encournter that sometimes are found on foods.

Also in support of this same purpose, Pet Flora by Safer Medical of Mt. is a source of soil based bacteria like that which the squirrels rely upon in the wild to digest their foods, and combat bad bacteria. It also contains calcium and other trace minerals in the prebiotic source included with it. Without a prebiotic, probiotic sources were not found to support bone health, even so they support digestion. Add 1/64 Tsp. from the capsule contentsto to wet or soft foods in the diet daily.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Flora-Spectrum-Prebiotic-Probiotic/dp/B073G9K4XV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1516004537&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=120+capsules+pet+flora&psc=1&smid=A2XUOVLOF1KYDU

[Mel1959]

You still need to address the diet issue. If you don't change it you'll be looking at MBD soon, and that is not fun! Take the nuts away, fresh veggies cut up, spring mix salad, Rodent block. Be strict with him, no nuts or fruit until he eats whats good for him. Once he starts eating what he should then you can treat him with a couple of nut preferably in the shell ( helps with the teeth and keeps them busy) Limit the fruit to a couple berries a day, they are high in sugar. They are like kids and we have to stay strong as a parent...lol :w00t

What a wonderful update! :dance:dance. Keep monitoring him for any set backs, though.

As farm mom said, you have to address Theodore’s diet. He needs to eat some type of rodent block. As was suggested, buy some Harlan Teklad (Envigo) rodent block online. You can buy a small quantity to see if Theodore will eat it. If he won’t eat it straight from the bag then it can be ground and mixed with other ingredients to make it more appealing. There are recipes in Squirrel Nutrition for these boo balls or you can pm me and I’d be happy to share mine.