Wont drink!

[yotetrapper]

Ok this is a big long story, but to cut it short: I have a fox squirrel about 4-5 months old. 2 weeks ago she was a happy healthy squirrel, eating and drinking as normal. But my negligence in diet caused her to contract Metabolic Bone Disease. For the last 12 days I have been treating her for it. Well, 10 days, the last two I havent, because the program I was following called only for 10 days. 12 days ago we were all convinced the squirrel was a goner. Was 75% paralyzed, having seizures, would eat, drink, etc. Well, now she's 99% better. But here is my problem. Her appetite is back to where it was before, little hog!!! But she wont drink. She'd been having formula up until two days ago. Yesterday I dropper fed her water. She's totally the same squirrel she was before the illness, but why wont she drink?????

[Critter_Queen]

I'm treating a squirrel with MBD right now. You want to keep her in a small enclosure. Her bones are very weak right now and can break very easily. You need to look her over for broken bones. This can cause them to change eating/drinking habits.

Always provide a dish of fresh water for her so she can drink on her own. Watch her pee, if the color stays clear to light yellow, she's drinking on her own, if not, you may need to find a rehabber near you that can give her more intensive care until she's well again.

You need to feed her only items that are high in calcium but have a good calcium/phosphorus ratio. (Gamma, could you please repost the list you gave on the other thread? PLEASE ONLY LIST THE TOP TWO CATEGORIES here, though, ok? THANKS! :D)

She also needs supplemental heat right now if she's in a climate controlled or cool area. MBD makes them sore, and the heat helps ease that pain.

Try to keep her on the formula as long as she'll let you. Any amount helps, even if she'll only take a couple cc at a time.

Please give us the long story, ok? It will help us help you help her. :)

EDIT: Do you have access to reliable vet care? A nice shot of calcium/phosphorus given by a vet would help jump-start her calcium uptake.

[Critter_Queen]

Yote, please use only the items listed in the top two categories when dealing with MBD.

Also, please check your Private Messages (upper right corner of your screen).

[yotetrapper]

Wow thanks for that list!

I think the squirrel is pretty much better. I just posted on the MBD tread in the ailments section, about my treatment. The squirrel is running, jumping, playing and more frisky than she has ever been! She sure dont seem to be in any pain! She seems 100% better except for the drinking part.

Ok, she lives in a 6' tall cage enclosed with chicken wire. At the top, she has a nest box she sleeps in at night. She does not have a light, but since she contracted the disease we have been going outside for 30 minutes a day in the sun. The disease I know I caused by lack of sunlight and almost a straight nut, corn, seed diet. I treated her with calcium supplements, d3 supplements, esbilac yogurt and NO nuts. Since she has been better I have been allowing one pecan a day.

Her back legs are as good as new, jumps and climbs like a monkey now, she has an appetite as of a horse, she just aint drinking. I marked her water bottle and it has not gone down at all. Before this, I'd see her drink from the bottle several times a day.

[Critter_Queen]

I just read your post on the MBD thread.

MBD can't be cured in a matter of days. It takes weeks and months. Even though your little one seems to be doing better, her bone density needs to be rebuilt before she is actually, truly well again.

Are you keeping her for a pet or planning to release? Are you prepared to winter her over? I think she may need it, as I think it will be too late in the season to let her go by the time she's actually well again.

Just trying to get a feel for what your needs are...

[yotetrapper]

my plans are to keep her as a pet.

[Critter_Queen]

Ok, then my first suggestion would be to move her to a smaller cage for the time being. At least for another few weeks so we can be sure her bones are dense enough to take a fall without breaking easily.

I'm glad you have a very large cage for her since you are planning to keep her. Check out the pet squirrel forum, we have lots of folks here that keep squirrels. They're a handful! :) I raise and release all of mine. I have the license the vet you mentioned said you need to in order for them to treat the wildlife. Have you considered becoming a rehabber? :D (shameless plug, sorry :))

[Critter_Queen]

I gotta jet for a bit, but you're in GREAT hands with Gamma...she knows her pet squirrel stuff! :bowdown

Back after a bit...

[yotetrapper]

I had her in a small box for the past 12 days.... 2 days ago a let her back in her cage. Yesterday, she was loose in the house, and she leaped from a book case, to a bag hanging on a rack, and fell off the bag. She didnt break anything. We have FSL for our fish tanks and I'd been putting her in there (an empty fish tank) on days we havent gone out in the sun. Am planning on hooking one up to her cage. Guess I should do that today.

Foods she's getting now? radish greens, grapes, some cantalope, rat pellets (not crazy about them) Kaytee Nutra-puffs, Animal Lovens Veggie burgers, occasional carrot, celery, one pecan a day, but mainly, grapes.

[yotetrapper]

I gotta get for a bit too but will check back a lil later

[yotetrapper]

but do you all have any idea how I can get her to drink???

[LynninIN]

but do you all have any idea how I can get her to drink???
Have you checked the water bottle to make sure it's working. The little ball in them can become stuck.

[Critter_Queen]

A syringe and nipple with ESBILAC puppy milk replacer (mixed 1 part powder/2 parts water or full-strength liquid version) and add a dollop of vanilla Activia yogurt to it. They LOVE that stuff. Even my cranky rehabs will take it with the Activia in it. Vanilla is the preferred flavor. :)

You can get a 2oz bottle set from petsmart in the puppy section. Use the elongated nipple on the end of a 3 or 5 cc syringe (slip tip) to feed it to her. She may just lap it off the nipple, and that's fine.

[yotetrapper]

I dont have him on formula now. I took him off of it two days ago as he was eating everything in sight. Am just trying to get him to drink water on his own so dont need to syringe feed him.

[yotetrapper]

P.S- Just in case any one is wondering, (after reading some opinions expressed here by members on other threads), my squirrel is 100% legal. He was bought from a breeder, and I have all proper DNR game animals permits.

[4skwerlz]

Your squirrel is probably getting most of the water she needs from all those grapes you said she is eating.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

That is the same thing I was thinking 4skwerlz! Have you tried giving the little guy kale? Mine LOVE it. They love tearing it apart (I give them big pieces of it) and eating it. They also like dandelions. Make sure you pick your dandelions in an untreated area though. Also, your squirrel may like a cuttlebone. Mine always like chewing on them. You can find them in the bird section of the pet store. They are high in calcium plus good for keeping their teeth nice and trim.

I agree with CQ and GB, it took a long time for your squirrel to develop MBD and it will take a long time for him to return to being 100% healthy. Consider yourself very lucky that he didn't hurt himself in the fall from the bag. His bones will be weaker than they should be for several weeks or months. He has not been getting enough calcium in his bones for several months and that cannot be reversed in just over a week. It takes time for the bones to reabsorb as much calcium as they should have. Maybe you can keep him in the big cage but move his nestbox to the ground and encourage him to stay low in the cage. I just don't want him to fall and break anything.

As for the water, have you tried using pedialyte instead of water. Mine absolutely love pedialyte when they are young and suck it down like crazy. They would live on the stuff if you let them. Maybe he would be more likely to drink the pedialyte than just plain water.

[yotetrapper]

I wondered if the liquid in the grapes was enough. Just dont make sense to me being as she used to drink from her water bottle all the time and now wont.

[Mars]

You can try sweetening her water with a few drops of fruit juice. Also try leaving a swallow bowl of water for her.:)

[yotetrapper]

I put water in a dish, she took one sip, kinda coughed, and then didnt touch it no more. <sigh> guess is back to the store for kale and pedialite LOL.