PLEASE HELP!!

[PlainSquirely]

I I found my one and a half year old gray squirrel hanging upside down in his cage today with what looked to be a foam coming from his mouth when I went to the cage he acted erratically like he was just terrified and would not allow me to touch him he ran and hid in his bed I'm extremely worried about him please help!! He is also in the last few days had a loss of appetite.

[HRT4SQRLS]

This is relevant so we will start here. What is the diet?
Do you have any poinsettias in the house or other plants he could have eaten?

[frankc]

I I found my one and a half year old gray squirrel hanging upside down in his cage today with what looked to be a foam coming from his mouth when I went to the cage he acted erratically like he was just terrified and would not allow me to touch him he ran and hid in his bed I'm extremely worried about him please help!! He is also in the last few days had a loss of appetite.

Can you tell us what his diet has been, what have you been feeding him ? Also is this the first seizure he has had?. Can you get a weight on him, and do you have Karo Syrup or Molasses on hand ? Can you tell us the color of his urine, is it dark or light yellow to clear. Is his stool lose or solid ?

[PlainSquirely]

His diet is a broad range of everything really he eats a lot of nuts which I didn't know was bad for him til a few minutes ago. No plants for him to get into. He seems so scared of me he runs like his life is on the line he's even chattering at me in anger

[PlainSquirely]

He seemed to want to stay hanging upside down for some Reason

[HRT4SQRLS]

If his diet has been primarily nuts, he probably has Metabolic Bone Disease.
You need to start the MBD treatment immediately.
I’m not sure what the hanging upside down is about but first things first. You must get calcium into him STAT.

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

[HRT4SQRLS]

The foam is probably from seizures. The symptoms of MBD are seizures and hind end paralysis.
It must be treated immediately or it is fatal.

[PlainSquirely]

Ok please guide me on how to help him please also does that explain why he seems to be terrified of me??

[PlainSquirely]

He is refusing to eat anything and isn't allowing me to touch him what should I do??

[HRT4SQRLS]

Ok please guide me on how to help him please also does that explain why he seems to be terrified of me??

Yes. MBD is painful and affects the entire body. Get fruit flavored Tums if you don’t have them. Don’t get the sugar free type. They have artificial sweeteners.

[HRT4SQRLS]

He is refusing to eat anything and isn't allowing me to touch him what should I do??
Get the Tums. Crush it and add a little water. You will probably have to burrito wrap him. Use a syringe to get some of the Tums paste/water into him.

Be very careful with him as the bones are fragile and WILL break easily. Also, stress will trigger a seizure but he has to have the Tums (calcium).

[PlainSquirely]

Oki have some on hand should I get a towel and catch him and administer it with an eye dropper??

[TubeDriver]

Use an old tee shirt, towels often catch/entangle nails and this can lead to broken squirrel fingers.

An eye dropper or syringe is fine. Lots of squirrels like the flavored Tums, he might eat it on his own.



Oki have some on hand should I get a towel and catch him and administer it with an eye dropper??

[PlainSquirely]

Ok if this is the correct diagnosis and treatment how long before I see improvement in him?

[SammysMom]

Oki have some on hand should I get a towel and catch him and administer it with an eye dropper??

A syringe would be a better way to get it into him. If you go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for a couple of 3cc syringes for a "kitten", they will usually give a couple.

[HRT4SQRLS]

You will often see improvement rapidly (24 hrs). I’m referring to the visually obvious symptoms like seizures, etc, BUT it takes months to regrow the weak brittle bones. A diet change is mandatory. No more nuts.

[CritterMom]

If you are gong to the drug store to get Tums, pick up a bottle of INFANT IBUPROPHEN. Make sure it is ibuprophen, not acetaminophen. A lot of the panicky behaviors you are seeing are probably from pain and the ibuprophen will help. It is a syrup that they usually like. You will dose it to him with the same syringe you are giving the Tums mixture.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Ok if this is the correct diagnosis and treatment how long before I see improvement in him?

I’m going to let you answer this question as far as if the diagnosis is correct. If the diet has primarily been nuts, I can assure you he is definitely calcium deficient. MBD is the NUMBER 1 condition we see on this board. If a squirrel gets unlimited nuts, he will never eat kale, broccoli, rodent block or other healthy foods even if it is offered. They will always choose the nut.

They can also be clumsy with MBD. Could he have fallen?

[RockyPops]

Plainsquirrely, thank you for being so concerned for your baby. You are getting a lot of good advice from people who know.

You must get your baby on a good diet after the initial calcium (tums) treatments are started.

Also, limit his climbing area as even a short fall can cause broken bones. Even running can injure them. And usually if they start feeling better after treatment they start being more active. That's when they tend to hurt themselves.

Do you have any video showing your baby's actions?

And what about his name?

Please keep TSB posted on his progress. All on TSB love ALL squirrels and will help you as much as you will let us!