Blind one eye

[marykey7]

I have a 6 week old squirrel that is blind in one eye. What are her chances of being released back into the wild?

[cava]

Hi Mary and welcome to TSB!

Many wild squirrels are making it with one eye. What makes you think she is blind in the eye? Please post a photo.

Can you tell us more about her like her history/how you got her, what you're feeding her, where you keep her, etc?

Thanks for helping this little one.

Here's a helpful link about baby squirrel care: https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

[marykey7]

She is one of three and the only one to be blind in an eye. She is quite a bit bigger at 170 Gs to her sister’s 120 Gs. They are about 5 1/2 weeks old and I got a call from a family who had found them on the ground. They had already had them for a few days and were not able to try to reconnect them with their mother. They were giving them cow’s milk. I have been giving them Ebsilac with a little heavy cream. Clementine was the latest to open her eyes although she was quite a bit bigger than her sisters. Her eye is milky white and I don’t see a pupil. She seemed to go in circles until her good eye opened. I will send a photo of it later. Thanks so much for responding and the great link.

[marykey7]

Here she is!

[Jen413]

She’s a beautiful girl!

[Milo's Mom]

One of the biggest, baddest, meanest, get'er done squirrels I ever raised was blind in one eye. Her name was Sami (spelled with an "i", cause she needed another one). I had no choice but to release her...she was the devil reincarnate. She did just fine, had babies, brought them by, constantly argued with her old cage mates in the yard. I saw her on and off for about 3 years.

[marykey7]

That’s so funny. I just read this to my husband and we both got a kick out of it. Also, you are the second person to say that your one eyed squirrel was on the tougher side which I can see in Clementine. I’m encouraged to know she is releasable as I hate to see anything not being able to do what God made it for. Thanks so much for your funny, informative response.

[LR]

Here's wishing her many happy years to come!

[Mel1959]

I’m not sure if this is applicable in this case, but nutrient deficiencies have been responsible for loss of eyesight and when corrected the eyesight returned.

[marykey7]

Thanks. I didn’t know that and will look into it. I’ve been using Ebsilac with a little cream. They just were introduced to a mineral block and rodent block this week. I’ll make sure there’s nothing else I should be doing.