Found injured baby gray squirrel

[Jim8923]

Last night I found an injured baby gray squirrel his body is about 4 in Long, he appears to not be able to use either front p a w s. Back legs appear fine. He survived over the night, and can move around with back legs somewhat. Don't know of any rehabbers in the Newport Pennsylvania area. Not sure what to do for the little guy. Thinking I might have to put him down. Any advise or help would be appreciated

[olorin19]

Last night I found an injured baby gray squirrel his body is about 4 in Long, he appears to not be able to use either front p a w s. Back legs appear fine. He survived over the night, and can move around with back legs somewhat. Don't know of any rehabbers in the Newport Pennsylvania area. Not sure what to do for the little guy. Thinking I might have to put him down. Any advise or help would be appreciated

Are his eyes open?

Does he have any movement in front limbs? Will his paws/finger grasp at all if you touch them?

It sounds like it might be a spinal injury from a fall. If so, then getting him on prednisone ASAP might make a huge difference.

While I am no expert on spinal injuries, thanks to great advice from here on TSB, I can attest that baby squirrels are capable of impressive healing:

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?67184-possible-spinal-injury

Please, please do not put him down! If he does not recover to where he can be released, and you are not able to care for him, I am sure somebody here (possibly me) will give him a good home.

I had an NR Ziggy for 2.5 years who was quadriplegic. He was very loved throughout his life, and brought me much joy.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?55222-Ziggy

[olorin19]

Please check your private messages for more information.

[Jim8923]

Are his eyes open?

Does he have any movement in front limbs? Will his paws/finger grasp at all if you touch them?

It sounds like it might be a spinal injury from a fall. If so, then getting him on prednisone ASAP might make a huge difference.

While I am no expert on spinal injuries, thanks to great advice from here on TSB, I can attest that baby squirrels are capable of impressive healing:

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?67184-possible-spinal-injury

Please, please do not put him down! If he does not recover to where he can be released, and you are not able to care for him, I am sure somebody here (possibly me) will give him a good home.

I had an NR Ziggy for 2.5 years who was quadriplegic. He was very loved throughout his life, and brought me much joy.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?55222-Ziggyi am currently rehabbing a southern flying squirrel and will not be able to take care of this little gray squirrel properly if anyone wants to take him on please contact me I am in the Newport Pennsylvania area or you can email me at jafepf@aol.com eyes are open no movement in front paws cannot grasp anytime

[olorin19]

This little girl is now with me and has started on prednisone.

[CritterMom]

:w00t:dance:dance

Lucky little girl! I hope the pred helps.

And thank you Jim923 for starting the whole thing and passing baby on to someone who can do exactly what she needs, regardless.

[Mel1959]

Thank you olorin19! :hug I am relieved to hear this little one is getting what she needs. Prednisone has done wonders for other compromised babies.

Please keep us updated on her progress.

[olorin19]

Her back legs seem fine. There is some movement in the left front limb, whereas the right front limb seems to just hang there.

I am wondering if there is an injury to the brachial plexus?

Is there any chance of a dislocated shoulder? Is there a way to check?

[Mel1959]

I’m not sure how you’d check except to gently feel for it. Is there discomfort when touching it? Do you have access to a vet for an X-ray?

[olorin19]

I’m not sure how you’d check except to gently feel for it. Is there discomfort when touching it? Do you have access to a vet for an X-ray?

There is no discomfort if I touch on and around the shoulder. And if I palpate both shoulders at once with limbs in same position, everything feels symmetrical bilaterally.

[olorin19]

Decided to name her Guro - which is Norse for "divinely inspired wisdom".

Guro has been taking FV every 2-3 hours yesterday after arrival and today. I tried wiping her with a damp towel each time, but did not ever see her pee. This afternoon, I put some bark mulch from the yard into a small container, then put her on top of it with me supporting her upper body. She definitely had a good pee this time. She has also had a few really dry dark turds, as she was a bit dehydrated upon arrival.

I work from home, so she has spent most of the day in a pouch on my lap. Lots of napping, but very alert and inquisitive when awake.

I am guessing six weeks or so - what does everyone think based on the tail?

[olorin19]

Guro is putting some weight on front left and fingers will grasp a bit.

Just now, I saw her move the right front limb to scratch her ear several times! Up until yesterday, the right front limb mostly just seemed to hang there.

There is now definite movement at right shoulder and elbow. I have not seen fingers move on right side, but she seems to be making nice progress.

I am taking her to the vet tomorrow just to make sure I am not missing anything.

[CritterMom]

:bliss:bliss:bliss:bliss:bliss

[olorin19]

Guro is in a little pouch in my lap while I work. She got herself into this cozy position lying on her left side with her right front paw up to scratch her ear.

I just fed her again, and this was the first time she has stood up on rear legs to eat. Previously, she would be in a sitting position encircled in my thumb and index finger to support.

This time, with her left front paw, she grabbed at the dropper and also wrapped her fingers around my hand as she drank formula. She raised her right front paw up on her own and moved it towards the dropper, albeit not actually grabbing it.

Very encouraging! This was also the most vigorously Guro has fed - first time I have actually stopped, as she seemed to be heading into the "food coma" stage. (There is probably an actual term for this, but what I mean is when they look like sleepy robots who will keep eating if the dropper is there but seem a bit glazed and definitely have a full belly.)

[olorin19]

Update -

Just got back from the vet, as I wanted to check to make sure there was nothing I was missing. She examined Guro and though there might be a hairline fracture on the right forearm or wrist. She felt like the three days of prednisone had done its work as far as neurological benefit and told me to discontinue the prednisone due to its inhibition of bone healing.

So, does anyone disagree? Unless there is another reason to continue, I will stop. (She weighs about 107 g and has had six total doses of 0.1 ml of prednisone, the last being this morning.)

This is Guro in her "litter box", a ceramic dish with mulch in the bottom. Initially, I had to support her upper body so she could pee and poop. Now, I can just put her in there and she is fine. She leans on her left front paw with no issues. and she does grasp with the fingers on that paw.

In this photo, she is holding her right forearm in the air, although I have seen her lean on it. She will raise this limb to the side of her head to scratch, but does not seem to flex or extend the fingers yet.

Late yesterday and even more this morning, she is getting much more inquisitive and climbing up to peer out of her pouch, especially when we are outside or on the porch.

[olorin19]

Update -

Just got back from the vet, as I wanted to check to make sure there was nothing I was missing. She examined Guro and though there might be a hairline fracture on the right forearm or wrist. She felt like the three days of prednisone had done its work as far as neurological benefit and told me to discontinue the prednisone due to its inhibition of bone healing.

So, does anyone disagree? Unless there is another reason to continue, I will stop. (She weighs about 107 g and has had six total doses of 0.1 ml of prednisone, the last being this morning.)

This is Guro in her "litter box", a ceramic dish with mulch in the bottom. Initially, I had to support her upper body so she could pee and poop. Now, I can just put her in there and she is fine. She leans on her left front paw with no issues. and she does grasp with the fingers on that paw.

In this photo, she is holding her right forearm in the air, although I have seen her lean on it. She will raise this limb to the side of her head to scratch, but does not seem to flex or extend the fingers yet.

Late yesterday and even more this morning, she is getting much more inquisitive and climbing up to peer out of her pouch, especially when we are outside or on the porch.

A few other notes:

Guro will hold onto the dropper with her left front paw while being fed

While curled up napping, she is able to move her right arm and position it in typical baby squirrel fashion. Note that while asleep she had it up on her face. Is there a limit to range of motion, i.e. was she trying to cover her eye? I do not know. Then after she woke up, she moved the arm down off her face.

While she was asleep, I experimented with the fingers on her right front paw. I put my fingertip in them and gently stretched them into an extended position. To me, there did feel like there was some resistance, and certainly when I removed my finger then Guro's fingers flexed back into a normal resting curve.

[olorin19]

Continued updates on Guro will be found at this new thread:

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?68694-Updates-on-baby-squirrel-Guro-who-started-with-both-front-limbs-paralyzed

I wanted to move this Emergency / Life Threatening forum.