Please help....my squirrel seems weak and acting funny....

[strdsk]

Hope you're well! My Pearl has had awful smelling urine the last two days, sadly. Collects dark yellow on cage liner. He eats, sleeps, and acts fine...up until today at lunch. But the urine stunk up his cage up fast, so we changed it. He is drinking more water than usual (which he usually hardly drinks), and the volume of urine is much more than usual. He soaked his blanket, but seems he is not dribbling any on himself or anything. Penis looks fine. A few variables have changed in the last few days, so hard to say what's going on. First, I've been giving him oranges more than usual. Second, I have been taking him out of cage more lately. Third, I have put an air freshener in his room to cover the smell. And finally, as I was cleaning his cage with a one to one parts water to vinegar solution the other day, I noticed he was drinking some as it ran down the bars. I was told this would not happen or I'd have never made that solution. I stopped immediately of course, but yes...he did ingest a bit. He eats 2 Henry squirrel blocks per day at breakfast, then two pieces of fruit for lunch, then 3 pieces of veggies at night along with his hard treat to keep his teeth cut. He has been fine on this for the last 5 weeks. Today he seems slow eating, wobbly, and won;t leave his house. I skipped orange at lunch and gave him apple and crackers. Too much calcium...not enough? Do I administer Tums? Please help! Thanks for any help...thanks much!!!

[squirrelfriend]

Does your little guy get sunshine? Or sun lamp? Without this he cannot absorb any calcium given.

what is the age of the squirrel?

[strdsk]

He's about 1 year old....thanks! Funny you ask....I recently changed out his light for a more efficient led bulb and although his cage is near a window (which I usually draw blinds on) I have not for a few days due to gloom. This is when he started fellin weird. Can this be it? Best!!!

[stepnstone]

Hope you're well! My Pearl has had awful smelling urine the last two days, sadly. Collects dark yellow on cage liner. He eats, sleeps, and acts fine...up until today at lunch. But the urine stunk up his cage up fast, so we changed it. He is drinking more water than usual (which he usually hardly drinks), and the volume of urine is much more than usual. He soaked his blanket, but seems he is not dribbling any on himself or anything. Penis looks fine. A few variables have changed in the last few days, so hard to say what's going on. First, I've been giving him oranges more than usual. Second, I have been taking him out of cage more lately. Third, I have put an air freshener in his room to cover the smell. And finally, as I was cleaning his cage with a one to one parts water to vinegar solution the other day, I noticed he was drinking some as it ran down the bars. I was told this would not happen or I'd have never made that solution. I stopped immediately of course, but yes...he did ingest a bit. He eats 2 Henry squirrel blocks per day at breakfast, then two pieces of fruit for lunch, then 3 pieces of veggies at night along with his hard treat to keep his teeth cut. He has been fine on this for the last 5 weeks. Today he seems slow eating, wobbly, and won;t leave his house. I skipped orange at lunch and gave him apple and crackers. Too much calcium...not enough? Do I administer Tums? Please help! Thanks for any help...thanks much!!!

Dark urine usually suggests dehydration. These two comments: "more water than usual (which he usually hardly drinks" "volume of urine is much more than usual," could be his own effort to hydrate himself, drinking more and urinating more go hand in hand.
I have a male who is perfectly fine and his urine stinks to high heaven, no expert but assume it's due to his testosterone level as I don't have this odor with my female at all.

"dark yellow on cage liner." What is this cage liner you speak of?

I do not understand why fruit for lunch when he should be getting his veggies. Fruit should be limited and fed more as a treat, not in place of a meal.
If he's actually eating his block he does not need added calcium.

Remove the air freshener! They are an irritation to a squirrel's respiratory and can be poisonous to their system.

[stepnstone]

He's about 1 year old....thanks! Funny you ask....I recently changed out his light for a more efficient led bulb and although his cage is near a window (which I usually draw blinds on) I have not for a few days due to gloom. This is when he started fellin weird. Can this be it? Best!!!

Led lights should not be used for a rodent/ squirrel, you should be using a uvb uva light.

[strdsk]

Got it....thanks! So I should remove all bulbs from fixtures in his room and replace with uvb light then? Thanks!!





Led lights should not be used for a rodent/ squirrel, you should be using a uvb uva light.

[Spanky]

And finally, as I was cleaning his cage with a one to one parts water to vinegar solution the other day, I noticed he was drinking some as it ran down the bars. I was told this would not happen or I'd have never made that solution. I stopped immediately of course, but yes...he did ingest a bit.

The vinegar is not going to cause any problems... I have an NR that has out of cage time when I am preparing veggie buffets for the crew... he loves the veggies sprayed with vinegar (how I clean them) before they are rinsed if he can get to them. He'll also lap at the spray nozzle (and chew the sprayer nozzle) of the vinegar / water solution I keep on hand.

[strdsk]

Air freshener long gone....thanks for confirming this! His urine never stank until now. The cage liner is one that goes below the steel grill of his cage to absorb urine. Used for Rodent cages....pet store persuasion. Thin layer of baking soda beneath and on top of it....in effort to absorb odors. My fear was that his own odor would irritate his breathing. Could the dehydration be caused by the oranges I gave him? I am happy to give him veggies only. I thought his health would be compromised without some fruit in it daily based on the chart I saw. So sorry I misunderstood that. Can the dehydration be from bad food...a bug? He eats all of his 2 blocks every morning....yes. Should I give three? No Tums to supplement his diet then huh? I never give him nuts. Only gave crackers today in case he had irritated stomach...bland. The only reason I give nightly treat (for rodents) is so he has something hard to chew on. He will not use a wheel or cuddlebone sadly..Thanks for this info!!!!!!





Dark urine usually suggests dehydration. These two comments: "more water than usual (which he usually hardly drinks" "volume of urine is much more than usual," could be his own effort to hydrate himself, drinking more and urinating more go hand in hand.
I have a male who is perfectly fine and his urine stinks to high heaven, no expert but assume it's due to his testosterone level as I don't have this odor with my female at all.

"dark yellow on cage liner." What is this cage liner you speak of?

I do not understand why fruit for lunch when he should be getting his veggies. Fruit should be limited and fed more as a treat, not in place of a meal.
If he's actually eating his block he does not need added calcium.

Remove the air freshener! They are an irritation to a squirrel's respiratory and can be poisonous to their system.

[strdsk]

Good to know this! I also tried cleaning cage with straight lemon juice...to kill germs and avoid cleansers. he may have also eaten some lemon. Could that have done it?





The vinegar is not going to cause any problems... I have an NR that has out of cage time when I am preparing veggie buffets for the crew... he loves the veggies sprayed with vinegar (how I clean them) before they are rinsed if he can get to them. He'll also lap at the spray nozzle (and chew the sprayer nozzle) of the vinegar / water solution I keep on hand.

[CritterMom]

Don't replace all the lights - you just need one uva/uvb (reptile lights) to help metabolize the calcium. In addition, the Henry's food is supplemented with vitamin D to help this.

Why don't you ask around of your female friends to see if anyone has any Cipro tablets. Cipro is a drug used to combat urinary tract infections, which are normally seen way more in women than men. It is so effective for UTIs that many women never finish their prescription (though they should) and have leftovers. It can be used in squirrels. If you can find just ONE tablet it will be plenty to dose your squirrel. For us to properly calculate how to dilute and dose this for your squirrel, we will need (1) the weight of the squirrel, and (2) the size in milligrams of the Cipro (it is usually 500mg but they also make 250mg). YOU will need a 1cc syringe to dose the meds.

And get RID of the air freshener.

I have figured out all of the spots where my squirrel normally pees - and they have favorite spots - and those areas are covered with things like sheets and pillow cases that get thrown in the washing machine and replaced with clean every day. No pee smell. Don't try to cover it, get rid of it.

[strdsk]

Thanks for this wonderful info! he used to pee in two corners of his cage. The last three days have been erratic though. Freshener long gone and never again! Getting weight on him will be tricky, but I'm gonna work on that thanks!






Don't replace all the lights - you just need one uva/uvb (reptile lights) to help metabolize the calcium. In addition, the Henry's food is supplemented with vitamin D to help this.

Why don't you ask around of your female friends to see if anyone has any Cipro tablets. Cipro is a drug used to combat urinary tract infections, which are normally seen way more in women than men. It is so effective for UTIs that many women never finish their prescription (though they should) and have leftovers. It can be used in squirrels. If you can find just ONE tablet it will be plenty to dose your squirrel. For us to properly calculate how to dilute and dose this for your squirrel, we will need (1) the weight of the squirrel, and (2) the size in milligrams of the Cipro (it is usually 500mg but they also make 250mg). YOU will need a 1cc syringe to dose the meds.

And get RID of the air freshener.

I have figured out all of the spots where my squirrel normally pees - and they have favorite spots - and those areas are covered with things like sheets and pillow cases that get thrown in the washing machine and replaced with clean every day. No pee smell. Don't try to cover it, get rid of it.