Hammy is still sick ☹️

[BamaHam]

Well, after giving him his calcium these past week I haven’t seen much improvement. The only vet that will see him is almost 25 minutes away so my daughter and I are going to try to take him. I now believe it’s his kidneys after reading a few threads on here. He’s been losing weight and almost feels bony. He was drinking a lot and peeing a lot but hasn’t done that in the last couple of days. I hope he can take that long ride in his carrier. He’s never been in it longer than 5 minutes. I know he doesn’t feel well and I don’t want to stress him out but I really don’t have a choice. I don’t any medicine or test strips to check his urine.
Please say a prayer for us. Could not sleep from the anxiety I feel.😢

[Mel1959]

It sounds like a trip to the vet is a good choice. Blood work will uncover a lot of what might be going on.

After you get him in the carrier cover it completely with a sheet or something for the car ride. It should help reduce the stress.

Prayers that you get some answers. :hug

[BamaHam]

It sounds like a trip to the vet is a good choice. Blood work will uncover a lot of what might be going on.

After you get him in the carrier cover it completely with a sheet or something for the car ride. It should help reduce the stress.

Prayers that you get some answers. :hug

Thank you. His first car trip to the vet in 7 years. He’s 7 weeks away to his 8 th birthday.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Considering that a vet visit is scheduled you should get everything done today.
Blood work AND full body X-rays including the head.

Squirrels usually travel very well. Put his favorite blanket, pouch or cube in the travel cage so that he can hide. You usually don't hear a peep out of them.

Good luck. I'll be thinking about you and Hammy today. :grouphug

[BamaHam]

Considering that a vet visit is scheduled you should get everything done today.
Blood work AND full body X-rays including the head.

Squirrels usually travel very well. Put his favorite blanket, pouch or cube in the travel cage so that he can hide. You usually don't hear a peep out of them.

Good luck. I'll be thinking about you and Hammy today. :grouphug

Thanks! He’s actually a little perkier today. I was surprised to see him up this morning when I came into the kitchen. Maybe the trip won’t be so stressful. Hope it goes well.

[BamaHam]

Car ride not going so smooth. Hes angry and breathing hard. He was chewing in the door. Now he looks very mad and sickly. Maybe its car sickness.

[lukaslolamaus]

Poor little guy. Hopefully everything will go well at the vet. Sending prayers.

[BamaHam]

Ok no kidney stones. Was given antibiotics. He was so stressed out the Dr. didn’t want to take chances. He said if antibiotics don’t seem to be working to bring him back. He’s more calm now on the way back home.😓

[cava]

What antibiotic (name and strength) and what dose? What is the vet treating for?

[BamaHam]

What antibiotic (name and strength) and what dose? What is the vet treating for?

Cephalexin 0.4 cc/ml , twice a day for a uti. He didn’t want to stress him
Out anymore than he already was. He got out of carrier and we had to chase him down in the office. He squealed and carried on like he was dying or he was going to eat someone up. After I caught him and calmed him down a little he still cried some. He was so scared. We decided not to traumatize him more and do any blood work today. Trying antibiotics for a couple of days and if there’s no improvement then back to Dr.

[Milo's Mom]

Did the vet do a UA?

[BamaHam]

Did the vet do a UA?

He escaped in the dr.s office and we had to chase him down. Very traumatic for him. He was so scared the doctor didn’t want to traumatize him more. He was crying. I held him while he checked for kidney stones but we decided to not do anything else. We’ll see how it goes. He’s in his cage in his box sleeping. Already gave him his first dose.

[Jen413]

Sure hope he responds to the meds and you don't have to make a return visit!!

[Milo's Mom]

He escaped in the dr.s office and we had to chase him down. Very traumatic for him. He was so scared the doctor didn’t want to traumatize him more. He was crying. I held him while he checked for kidney stones but we decided to not do anything else. We’ll see how it goes. He’s in his cage in his box sleeping. Already gave him his first dose.

Completely understood. :grouphug

If possible, (I know the drive is a b!tch) I would try to collect urine from him at home and ask the vet to run a UA. Hold Hammy over a plate or bowl in the morning when he first wakes up and stimulate him to pee with your finger. Allow the urine to collect on the bowl/plate then suck up in a sterile syringe and keep in fridge till you can get it to the vet (same day is the absolute best). First pee of the day will yield the best results, as it is the most concentrate, and it will answer a lot of questions about what's going on inside. The vet will need approximately 3cc's of urine to run a thorough UA.

[BamaHam]

Completely understood. :grouphug

If possible, (I know the drive is a b!tch) I would try to collect urine from him at home and ask the vet to run a UA. Hold Hammy over a plate or bowl in the morning when he first wakes up and stimulate him to pee with your finger. Allow the urine to collect on the bowl/plate then suck up in a sterile syringe and keep in fridge till you can get it to the vet (same day is the absolute best). First pee of the day will yield the best results, as it is the most concentrate, and it will answer a lot of questions about what's going on inside. The vet will need approximately 3cc's of urine to run a thorough UA.

Ok. I’ll try to do that . Probably easier.

[Diggie's Friend]

I would encourage you to consider "Mission" urine testing strips available on Amazon.com. The test covers pH, Ketones, etc. (see back label for full listing).

A fellow member of this board, who like you was concerned about over stressing their older squirrel at the Vet, found this source very helpful, as these test strips are the kind used at the veterinarian office to test urine for various issues.

https://www.amazon.com/Urine-Strips-Mission-Parameter-Urinalysis/dp/B01KMS7GKQ/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1526946294&sr=8-2&keywords=mission+urinalysis+strips

[BamaHam]

I would encourage you to consider "Mission" urine testing strips available on Amazon.com. The test covers pH, Ketones, etc. (see back label for full listing).

A fellow member of this board, who like you was concerned about over stressing their older squirrel at the Vet, found this source very helpful, as these test strips are the kind used at the veterinarian office to test urine for various issues.

https://www.amazon.com/Urine-Strips-Mission-Parameter-Urinalysis/dp/B01KMS7GKQ/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1526946294&sr=8-2&keywords=mission+urinalysis+strips

Ok. Thanks. I think I’ll order them today because I may have to use them more in the future. I have other older pets who may need it.

[Diggie's Friend]

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Flora-Spectrum-Prebiotic-Probiotic/dp/B073G9K4XV

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=dr+goodpet+probiotics

If you haven't as yet gotten these two sources of pre/probiotic, I would encourage you to do so.

These have been used in my squirrel diet.

Taking the urine pH from a freshly deposited warm sample supports you to be able to determine if the diet needs to be adjusted in the amounts of acidic and alkaline food sources

in the diet in order to keep the pH on target for slightly acidic, that is the normal range for healthy urine pH in small mammals and tree squirrels.

Outside of this range stones can form from oxalates and Calcium phosphate.

When the pH is too low lower than 6.0, this can contribute to kidney and bladder Calcium oxalate stone formation.

When the pH is too high, over 7.0 it contributes to calcium loss due to the diet being too high in pH, contributing to the formation of Calcium phosphate bladder and kidney stones.

Boiling (blanching) leafy greens that are higher in oxalates for 4 to 8 minutes depending on the density of the leaves as to not over cook them and turn them to green glop, is recommended.

This lowers the pH of these source while still supporting much of the calcium that they contain to be contributed to the diet.

Same with the stalked vegetables save boiling them longer to 20 minutes to reduce oxalates and higher pH.

Monitoring the urine pH will help you to keep the diet pH wise between the ditches.

For lettuces, arugula, chicory leaves, and escarole blanching for no more than 2 minutes is recommended, as is feeding only baby organic leaves in the diet.

Avoid feeding those vegetables and leafy greens that are very high in oxalates, as these cannot be sufficiently reduced in oxalates by boiling and still provide much for nutrients.