Please help with sick chipmunk!

[Christiner]

Hello. I've been finely given 3 chipmunks that I've been trying to get for a year now. They lived in horrible conditions... I have no idea how to take care od them yet but I am absolutely sure I can do better then the tiny dirty cage they were in. Anyway one of them is sick. From what I could gather she is around 4 years old and I thin its a she because she is so sick she let me hold her. Previous owner says she is hibernating but it's 25 degrees outside and the other two are acting normal. She is cold to the touch and shivering very lethargic sleeps all day and ate a peanut in 2 days that I've had her .She is thinner then the other two aswell. I don't know how long she has been like that. She ate the petahop food wich is basically sunflower seeds with grains and bit of dried food. They had a corn cob in the cage though with no corn on it. I've contacted every vet I could find in my area but she is a special animal so noone is able to treat her. I will do my best to try to find one but in the mean time I am afraid she won't make it till I do. I am giving her warm bottles to snuggle up to and I gave her liquid calsium in her water but I don't think she drank any. The calsium is ment for birds but it's the only one I could find fast. Online I've read it might be mbd... Please help us if you can she is such a tiny soul. I am sorry for a long post but now you know what I know about her, I want to be as thorough as I could. Thank you in advance

[TubeDriver]

Get her on some heat, place a heating pad on low and place this halfway under their cage (so they can move off if it gets too hot). Supply fresh water and purchase some real rodent block (Kaytee Fort Diet Pro < Oxbow < Muzuri < Native Earth’s 18% Protein 4018 Rodent Diet (Fomerly Harlan Teklad). We recommend Tums for MBD. Stop feeding seeds, corn and peanuts! Thanks you for trying to save them, it sounds like they have had a terrible life so far! :(

[Christiner]

Should I keep giving her the calsium in the water? Also she doesn't seem to eat at all. Can I somehow make her? Will reptile heat mat do? Thank you for your help! I am really trying to learn as much as I can. All the rodent food in my town is only seeds with fruit but I am sure I'll be able to find some online. I have oxbow tymothy pellets for bunnies at home, is it better for her to eat that then the sead thing till I get the proper feed?

[TubeDriver]

Does the liquid calcium have a lot of D3? I would stick with Tums, she might like nibbling on them. I don't think the timothy hey rabbit pellets are good for a chip. I would continue with the seed stuff for now but order up a bag of the real rodent block I mentioned. The Kaytee FortiPro for rats and mice is widely available and a standard bag will last for many, many months.

Other than being lethargic and underweight, do you see any others symptoms? Like wheezing, clicking, labored breathing? If this is MBD, she really needs the Tums and the real rodent block.




Should I keep giving her the calsium in the water? Also she doesn't seem to eat at all. Can I somehow make her? Will reptile heat mat do? Thank you for your help! I am really trying to learn as much as I can. All the rodent food in my town is only seeds with fruit but I am sure I'll be able to find some online. I have oxbow tymothy pellets for bunnies at home, is it better for her to eat that then the sead thing till I get the proper feed?

[Christiner]

Can't figure out gow to edit the post... I took a quik look only Oxbow is available from what I can twll, I will keep looking of course. There is a chinchilla, gerbil/hamster and gunea pig ones. Can I give any one of those?

[Christiner]

I think I can order Tums from the pharmacy, googled it we have it in Greece. How much and how should I give her? No other symptoms from what I can tell, she is not eating and is trying to berry her self under the bedding. When she starts to wash her self she kinda click 2 or 3 times... How can they sell these tiny sweet anymals to people with no information on proper care and no vets to treat them?! Unbelievable!

[TubeDriver]

Here is a detailed link to treating MBD. Remember your chips are smaller than squirrels so reduce amounts accordingly.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?32122-MBD-Treatment


Can you hold her up to your ear (without getting bit!!!) to listen to her breathing? Aspiration pneumonia is not as common among adults but perhaps malnourishment and MBD has weakened her immune system and is causing some type of pnumonia? The symptoms of pnumonia include clicking and labored breathing, lethargy, loss of appetite. Of course these symptoms also overlap with MBD. Can she walk and move around alright or are her hind legs weak or or not working correctly?


If MBD, Tums and healthy diet are needed. If pneumonia, she will probably need an AB. One other thing, try to get some water in her, you can slightly sweeten it with honey or sugar.

Do you know what type of chipmunk they are? They do sort of hybernate at times in the winter but the fact that she is thinner and acting different from the other chips is worrisome.



I think I can order Tums from the pharmacy, googled it we have it in Greece. How much and how should I give her? No other symptoms from what I can tell, she is not eating and is trying to berry her self under the bedding. When she starts to wash her self she kinda click 2 or 3 times... How can they sell these tiny sweet anymals to people with no information on proper care and no vets to treat them?! Unbelievable!

[TubeDriver]

hmmm... i think you really want rat/mice block. The gerbil, guinea pig ones may not have enough protein.


Can't figure out gow to edit the post... I took a quik look only Oxbow is available from what I can twll, I will keep looking of course. There is a chinchilla, gerbil/hamster and gunea pig ones. Can I give any one of those?

[Christiner]

Just held her, no sound while breathing. She is walks a bit but then just falls asleep. I think she is abit weak comparing to the other two and moves slower. She doesn't bite just nips not causing pain or licks my hand. I almost wish she did though so I know she has the strength. The liquid calsium is Tabernil and it says Calsium gluconate 22.22g stabilized with 1.54 g of calsium saccharate, purified water q. S. 100ml. So no vit D I think?

[TubeDriver]

I think the problem is that calcium gluconate is only 9 percent elemental calcium. So you really want something that has elemental calcium. But it is better than nothing for now if she has MBD. I would try to find whatever Tums equivalent is available in Greece.

The no clicking is good! I really don't have any experience with Chips and hibernation so I hope someone who does will chime in here soon!


Just held her, no sound while breathing. She is walks a bit but then just falls asleep. I think she is abit weak comparing to the other two and moves slower. She doesn't bite just nips not causing pain or licks my hand. I almost wish she did though so I know she has the strength. The liquid calsium is Tabernil and it says Calsium gluconate 22.22g stabilized with 1.54 g of calsium saccharate, purified water q. S. 100ml. So no vit D I think?

[Diggie's Friend]

I would also check to see if you can get Calcium carbonate powder or pills, it is the pure form whereas Tums has additives.

If this can't be found then go with the Tums of course.

[Javarat]

Also see if you can get some warm Esbilac puppy formula into her with a syringe. The powdered mix with a white puppy on the front, and blue 'Probiotics' banner along the top.
This would help both her calcium levels and her digestion. Tums and calcium supplements might be dangerous if her vitamin D levels are extremely low.
Chipmunks will not suckle.. you have to drip the formula into the side of their mouth.. 3 to 4 small drips at a time. A little added vanilla yogurt might make it taste better to her.
About three feedings per day (breakfast, lunch, supper) around 5 to 7% of her body weight.
My one year old unreleasable chippie is on a diet of vegetables and Esbilac three times per day.

[Javarat]

Also, if these chippies have been on a nut and corn diet.. my chippie LOVES arugula. (Not so hot on cabbage)
Even chippies need their vegetables.

[Christiner]

Couldn't get any of the brands you guys mentioned unfortunately. But I ordered puppy milk with probiotics from a vet, should be here in few hours and will give her. About thw calsium. Couldn't get Tums either. But I found a chewable pill called Calcioral 500mg. Every pill has 1250 mg of calsium carbonate and a bunch of additives. It has xylitol (natural sugar sabtitute found in fruit), povidone whitch is iodine I think, magnesium stearate coating, sucralose ( artificial sweetener) and Monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids. So a bunch of rubbish to make it taste good. I know that you guys are probably not doctors so I am asking alot but do you think it'll be safe for her? Called another vet today, he said no need to bring her for a check up, he can't test her. His recommendation was to just give almonds and hazel nuts and she'll be fine so you are the only help I've got. I'm don't care about the cost and time she might need, I just want her to be healthy again. I am looking for a specialist vet in nearby cities atm, but I don't know if she can wait. Forgive me for venting here but I am about to cry I feel so useless

[CritterMom]

The xylitol bothers me. It is an issue for dogs I believe and my belief is if it is toxic to anything I don't use it.

https://www.mamanatural.com/how-to-make-eggshell-calcium/

This is a link to making calcium from eggshells. It is crazy easy. Break egg, dump out contents, rinse shells. Boil shells for about 10 minutes, remove from water and put into a low oven (about 200 F) for about 15 minutes. This will dry them totally. At that point they need to be ground up. 1 teaspoon of the powder equals 800-1000mg of calcium with no added crap.

BTW, before you grind it up, try offering a bit of shell to your chippie. A lot of time they like to just eat the pieces!

The assumption is being made that this baby has MBD and doing the treatment is important but it may not be what is wrong here. Do you have access to any antibiotics - human antibiotics? We are talking single pills left over - one is all you would need. If you or your friends have anything, list what is available and we can see if there is anything there that can be used.

Finally, a note to all of our posters: always look at the info in the upper RH corner of the post to see where the person is from. This poster lives in Greece. Running to Petco for Esbilac isn't probably an option! We forget because so many people here are from the US that we automatically assume everyone is. It can save everyone time (and typing) if you note the location.

[Christiner]

I've got augmentin. It's Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid 500/125 mg. I give it to stray dogs after spaying /nutoring or in case of infection . Pharmacist told me that with antibiotics it's much easier to find a match for what you guys have because the names are different but the substance is usually the same. Thank you for your much needed help everyone! Going to fix my girl the puppy milk. I think she drank a bit of liquid calsium water but no change in her condition. Gonna try to give her a bit of arrigula too

[CritterMom]

Holy moly! You have exactly what I would have wished you have! Let me go hunting for dosing - they ratio is different than what I have - we have 875/125, so more amox in the mix. Let me consult.

[CritterMom]

We will need his weight, preferably in grams. Can you get access to a 1cc syringe (no needle)? You would need it both for diluting the drug and administering it.

[Christiner]

Oh and she has 5 dark stripes and weighs 76 gramms (weighed her on a kitchen scale). I got a formula for puppies, not Ecbilac though. So she'll bw having 5 ml total 3 times a day, correct? I got her lactipet by tafarm. Vet said it's the best he could find. It was pricier then the others so that's a good sign I think. I'll get a syringe, i don't think it'll be a problem

[CritterMom]

I will dose this and send to you via PM. Yes, you will need NO LARGER than a 1cc - if they have .5cc that works too - maybe even better.

[Christiner]

I will dose this and send to you via PM. Yes, you will need NO LARGER than a 1cc - if they have .5cc that works too - maybe even better.

Oh thank you soooo much.
I held her to give her the formula, she liked it, had less then 2 cc. She feels abit wormer now but that might be due to the heatmat in the cage. She walked around abit but fell asleep in few minutes

[CritterMom]

Well that is all good.

I have sent you dosing for the augmentin. Given the conditions you say they were living in, I think that an infection of some sort is a fair bet. I tend to be pretty aggressive with treatment because they are so small and go downhill so fast. I would rather medicate a squirrel in error than NOT medicate a squirrel in error!

This med is known to be sort of hard on the stomach. I would give him food, wait 15 or 20 minutes, and then give him his medicine (don't give together - you do NOT want him associating his food with the yucky meds). I would also get some sort of probiotics for him - over and above what is in the formula (they are normally killed off when it is heated). I don't know about Greece but we in the US have gone probiotic crazy and you can buy them EVERYWHERE. The human kind is fine - they are usually a white powder in capsules so you just pull it apart and sprinkle on food or even mix with a teeny bit of water or juice and give by syringe. The powder is normally a little sweet so it doesn't taste nasty.

You want to give meds and probiotics at different times - your antibiotics will kill the probiotics if you don't. If you are medicating him at, say, 6AM and 6PM, give him his probiotics at noon.

[TubeDriver]

I hope the AB helps. But also use CMs excellent recipe for eggshell calcium (and some type of rodent block plus veggies to their diets). Your chip may have MBD as well as an opportunistic secondary bacterial infection!

[Christiner]

Thank you so much. I found a rodent feed that is just pellets, 14% protein. Ordered that and I will be looking for better qualityone. She doesn't eat anything, and I don't think she is drinking either. I'll keep giving her the milk, at least she eats that. Doing the egg shell powder and the pills today aswell. If anything changes I'll let you know. You are wonderful people for helping a complete stranger, hopefully saving my baby thank you!

[CritterMom]

Thank you so much. I found a rodent feed that is just pellets, 14% protein. Ordered that and I will be looking for better qualityone. She doesn't eat anything, and I don't think she is drinking either. I'll keep giving her the milk, at least she eats that. Doing the egg shell powder and the pills today aswell. If anything changes I'll let you know. You are wonderful people for helping a complete stranger, hopefully saving my baby thank you!

Are they by any chance called "Harlan Teklad" or "Envigo"? They are actually a good choice if so. Not only to feed straight, but you can use them to make other, maybe more enticing treats. Yes, we cook for our squirrels.:grin2

[Christiner]

So the syringe is harder to find then I imagined. The pharmacist ordered it for me though, said it'll be here tomorrow morning so I'll give her the meds right away. I have a 5 cc one and I am not sure I'll be able to give her the exact tiny dose. Also I have a question. The egg is ready but I can't figure out how much to give her. A tsp has 1000mg of calsium so I'll give her 1/10 as the first dose and then 1/20 for the rest? And if so how would I devide it? Maybe add some water? I am terrified of killing her by mistake. She woke up today and munched on some food and shook abit then went to the heat and seemes very week. I give her 3 cc of the puppy stuff. Also I found another pellets for rats with 37% protein, should I get that better? Brand Care +Rat. I will cook for her, that would be great! I already cook for the dogs with pleasure. Oh and for how long should I give her the antibiotics? And how much Prebiotic? So many questions I am so sorry and thank you for your time and effort to help my poor girl

[CritterMom]

So the syringe is harder to find then I imagined. The pharmacist ordered it for me though, said it'll be here tomorrow morning so I'll give her the meds right away. I have a 5 cc one and I am not sure I'll be able to give her the exact tiny dose. Also I have a question. The egg is ready but I can't figure out how much to give her. A tsp has 1000mg of calsium so I'll give her 1/10 as the first dose and then 1/20 for the rest? And if so how would I devide it? Maybe add some water? I am terrified of killing her by mistake. She woke up today and munched on some food and shook abit then went to the heat and seemes very week. I give her 3 cc of the puppy stuff. Also I found another pellets for rats with 37% protein, should I get that better? Brand Care +Rat. I will cook for her, that would be great! I already cook for the dogs with pleasure. Oh and for how long should I give her the antibiotics? And how much Prebiotic? So many questions I am so sorry and thank you for your time and effort to help my poor girl

The calcium isn't a medicine so you don't really need to stress TOO much about dosing. For the first couple of days, in the morning, put 1/4 tsp of the calcium powder in a little dish and between then and when you go to bed, give her all of it, a little pinch at a time. You can hide some in formula she drinks, for example, sprinkle it on fruit, etc. I also, as I mentioned, I suggest just handing her a piece of eggshell and see what she does with it. I have suggested this to others and the animals grabbed it and ate it - no grinding required!

After a few days of 1/4 tsp, I would slowly begin reducing the daily total to about 1/8 tsp.

My guess is that the 14% food is a better choice. Rats eat more meat than squirrels and chippies - they don't need that much protein.

The Probiotics: (not pre - pro) again, a tiny pinch between your fingers is all that is needed.

I would do the meds for 5-7 days at least - you don't want to exceed 21 days. If you aren't seeing improvement after a few days we may want to re-think that - keep the thread active here so we can see what you are doing and what is happening as the result.

[TubeDriver]

In terms of how much calcium to give, if you see her poops starting to turn whitish, that is unprocessed calcium that her system is dumping. If you see whitish poops, I would dial back the calcium amount a bit.

[Christiner]

She seems a tiny bit better today, she tried to eat but kinda bumped her face in the food and left it. So I checked her mouth(she hated it me for it) and her bottom teeth are very long! There is a vet that trims bunny teeth so I'm going to take her there on Monday and see if he can do hers. I'll check in with you in few days to let you know how she is doing.

[Christiner]

I don't know what worked out of so many things that we did but my girl is doing much better. She is eating now and not sleeping as much and is much more active in the cage. Her teeth have been trimmed, although judging by youtube videos my vet didn't do a very good job so I might take her again. I got them the appropriate feed and working on making the cage fun and cozy. Thank you so much for your time and advice, you guys saved her life and we are forever grateful!