Back Paralyzed legs on young squirrel!

[AngelAnn]

I am a wildlife rehabilitator volunteer. My manager said he wouldn't make it well he did, he is doing great but zero movement to his back legs and tail. I wanna make sure im doing everything I can and correctly for him to still live his best life. His story is heart breaking and very graphic as I will not share on here what happened to him. I'm knowledgeable but I have never been in this position before. I would really appreciate guidance or any help.

[Spanky]

We recommend prednisone and / or gabapentin to be administered a soon as possible after the injury.

[olorin19]

We recommend prednisone and / or gabapentin to be administered a soon as possible after the injury.

If in the end you end up with an NR despite all your best efforts, I am happy to offer some practical advice on how to provide your little buddy the best life possible.

I got Ziggy at about 6 weeks old, and he was with me for two and half wonderful years until he died. While he had movement in all four limbs, he was not capable of sitting upright without leaning on something. He moved around by belly crawling or slide slithering. He spent much of his time inside my sweatshirt. With the bottom tucked inside my sweatpants, he was safe from falling out, and could happily climb around in there - onto my shoulders, down my sleeves, etc.

I never managed any type of water bowl or dropper that he could use on his own, so he was dependent upon me for hydration via eye dropper his whole life. He could eat fine on his own. While he was not able to crack open a hazelnut or pecan, he was quite capable of eating them if I cracked them for him.

Anyways, the point is that with an NR, you need to figure out what they can and cannot do in order to create the best environment for them. Ziggy could climb, but not turn around or climb back down. So, his cage was long and wide but not tall, and the sides were such that he could not climb up them. In a typical squirrel cage, he would have climbed the sides then eventually have to let go and fall. That squirrel instinct to "go high" was strong!