Pebbles - leaning to the left. Help!

[hladyv]

Good day,

My girl is leaning to the left suddenly, and I have no idea what can be causing this! Please advise.

I've posted recently about my little girl Pebbles who is 11 years old. She and her brother have been getting an increase in calcium due to their age and previous concerns. They each get 3 HHB's per day and a salad of mixed greens, button mushrooms and a small amount of various veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc. Their food is dusted with some calcium as well and they have a bowl of 2014 Harlan Teklad to eat as they please.

Pebbles has been in great shape since increasing her calcium. Greets me at the door for breakfast everyday and was looking great! Suddenly this morning I noticed her leaning down to the left. She'll walk a few steps and just tilt her head to the left then start lowering it towards the ground. I was holding her and she laid her head on me. She climbed down to the floor, took a few steps towards her food bowl and again, tilt, lean towards the ground. It seems to only be her head, not her full left side. I think she looks like her limbs are all moving normally, but I haven't been able to see her fully go because I had to leave this morning and she's now sleeping in her nest with her brother.

I'm going to try to get a video of her when she's out again, to better show her movements. Is this a possible sign of a stroke? Maybe caused from a fall? I didn't hear any commotion this morning, but I can't say for sure since they have a bedroom all to themselves... So I don't have eyes on them 24/7.

Is there anyway to determine?! I'm fearing maybe this is the end?! The only vet I'm aware of that's local is an emergency vet who was previously only seeing patients overnight 2 hrs away from me. I'd hate to put her through that stress, but idk what else I could possibly do for her.

Any ideas?!

[Charley Chuckles]

I'm not sure what's going on possibly a fall, does she have any pain when you rub her legs?
This will bump your thread.

[hladyv]

She doesn't seem to be in pain when I felt her limbs just now. I can't tell if she's favoring her left leg. She was leaning it on while she ate and was staying pretty up straight. She is also using it when she isn't hopping and actually walks.

I was able to get some video of her!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HHYtvs1FhXAVcJHF9

Her demeanor makes me feel like she isn't in pain as well. Her eyes are normally squinty when she's not feeling well, and they're wide today. She also is usually on the feistier side naturally, but is even more so when she's not feeling well. Curls up by herself and refuses to come to me. But today she has looked for me, comes right to me and isn't hiding alone. She's let me hold her and seems to still have an appetite!

Apologies for the iffy first video, I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy, so it's hard to stay as low as needed to get these recorded!

[Charley Chuckles]

Does it look like she's dragging the left back leg🤔

[hladyv]

At times it does look like she might be, but then I also see her using it. So it really isn't too clear for me 🫤

[JLM27]

Can you get her to a vet?

[hladyv]

I want to try to. I'm trying to find the information for the vet we previously used for her. It's somehow evading me at the moment!

I know he previously only worked overnights so the last time we saw him it was about 3am... And he's 2 hours away. But I can't for the life of me remember or find it! He was somewhere in Maryland. She also previously saw Dr. Pilny when we lived in NYC but it looks like he moved to Arizona, which is definitely not feasible for us.

Does anyone know of any safe vets near Delaware?

[hladyv]

Update on the vet situation!

I found him! She saw Dr. Nelson Bricker at Rocky Gorge but he is away until Thursday. I was advised to call them on Thursday to find out what wait times are since he's an overnight emergency vet.

They provided a list of exotic vets in the surrounding area, but I'm not sure if they're all considered "safe" for squirrels. I've asked and am awaiting a response. Any ideas? The Warm and Fuzzy vet is only an hour away from me and has daytime hours, but I'm hesitant to just go to any exotic vet for her. Any opinions on any of these?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QUX6IBaJKIrlD9M1TdWb0BuK_fVgq0Sj/view?usp=drivesdk

[hladyv]

Another update! Firstly, I believe this can be moved as a non-urgent matter at this time. Apologies for putting this here. I was afraid it was a sudden neuro issue with my girl which felt like it could be life threatening!

At this time, I think we're okay based on a conversation I had with Dr. Buyert at RockyGorge who also sees exotics on an emergency basis. She says she isn't overly concerned based on the videos provided and the fact that she's still eating and acting normally, despite the tilt. She listed several potential issues including an ear infection, roundworm and various ailments which aren't life threatening and are treatable.

My next step is to call some of the exotic vets on the list above to see who can see her asap. She further explained that it isn't illegal to have squirrels as pets in Maryland, which I wasn't aware of... So I shouldn't have any fear with seeking treatment there. Such a relief!

If there's any further insight or suggestions, I'm happy to hear them

Thanks so much for your time, as always.

[hladyv]

Another update, I have an appt for Pebbles on Friday morning... Going to call another clinic tomorrow to try for a sick appointment. It's the first day this vet is seeing patients this week.

Her brother, BamBam, my little boy is exhibiting the same symptoms!! He's instead leaning to the right and was walking in a large circle this morning.

It's safe to say this likely isn't injury related! What can be causing this?! Can it be environmental somehow? Something internal? They have no access to the outdoors. Their veggies are fresh from a local farm. I'm not sure if these things are helpful at all. I'm at a loss and so worried