Birdiesmom
11-04-2024, 12:09 AM
Well if she will stop nibblin' my left hand maybe i can describe the issue lol.
On Labor Day I got a call from one of "my guys". He's a dude I went to school with who has his own tree trimming business. I know two guys with tree trimming businesses. Anyway, the husband and I dropped everything to rescue The Baby. Her name is Briar, but her nickname is The Baby. So the guy tells me the limb fell 70ft. He didn't realize there was a nest in it until the limb dropped and the nest basically exploded on impact. Briar had a sister who sadly didn't survive the fall. So I open the box and I swear she's four weeks old because she's so little. On the 15 min ride home I got her warmed up enough she was ready to eat by the time we got home and boy did she eat. I'd never rescued a baby (she makes the 10th I've taken in.) who did not fight when I tried to feed them the first time. I don't smell like Mom, my formula doesn't taste like Mom, ect ect. She was starving. Once I got a good look at her I realized she was emaciated. Poor little thing had sunken cheeks and I should have weighed her, but I was just in rescue mode. I'm not a rehabber, so I don't keep records and things and just didn't think of it at the time. Good news is is she's a little chubbers now. I think something happened to Mom a day or two before the tree was trimmed. A couple days of regular feedings and she looked closer to 6 or 7 weeks. She seems perfectly healthy at first sight, which brings me to the subject of this post.
On day two she had what one of the instagram Squirrel Moms(Pipthebabysquirrel) confirmed was a seizure. Eyes half blinking with ear twitches in time with the half blinks. It went on for a minute or so and terrified me. As far as I know it was the only seizure she had. Pip's mom told me to just keep an eye on her, that she might not be releasable. So the husband and I have been watching her like a hawk. The only thing that seems different from all the others we've handled is that her head "floats". She'll be a normal little squirlie, but stop her zoomies to survey the room and instead of her head darting around in normal little snaps, she'll do one or two snaps, then her head will slowly kinda just float downward. Her next look may or may not be a snap, usually followed by another float.
So here's the main question. Does this floating prevent me from releasing her? We've agreed to keep her through the winter. Mostly because my husband has gotten very attached. Her him's baby. This puts a strain on the household because Irwin hates her guts lol. He is the squirrel I rescued (same guy called me) in the spring prior to rescuing Briar. The intention was to NOT be a two squirrel household lol. He's mature, she's not and well... he keeps her on her toes lol. Idk if she'd be at more risk of being caught by a predator because of the head floating or not. I guess mostly I just wanna know if anyone else has dealt with this. I live in a squirrel veterinarian dessert. The one we do go to for the dogs is also an exotic pet vet, but around here they consider mules exotic lol.
Anyway, thanks in advance for an advice. I can't wait to get the porch screened in with 1/2" chicken wire (the lil squares) to give them a nice big enclosure to run around in. My vintage furniture is paying the price for my inability to not rescue squirrels lol.
On Labor Day I got a call from one of "my guys". He's a dude I went to school with who has his own tree trimming business. I know two guys with tree trimming businesses. Anyway, the husband and I dropped everything to rescue The Baby. Her name is Briar, but her nickname is The Baby. So the guy tells me the limb fell 70ft. He didn't realize there was a nest in it until the limb dropped and the nest basically exploded on impact. Briar had a sister who sadly didn't survive the fall. So I open the box and I swear she's four weeks old because she's so little. On the 15 min ride home I got her warmed up enough she was ready to eat by the time we got home and boy did she eat. I'd never rescued a baby (she makes the 10th I've taken in.) who did not fight when I tried to feed them the first time. I don't smell like Mom, my formula doesn't taste like Mom, ect ect. She was starving. Once I got a good look at her I realized she was emaciated. Poor little thing had sunken cheeks and I should have weighed her, but I was just in rescue mode. I'm not a rehabber, so I don't keep records and things and just didn't think of it at the time. Good news is is she's a little chubbers now. I think something happened to Mom a day or two before the tree was trimmed. A couple days of regular feedings and she looked closer to 6 or 7 weeks. She seems perfectly healthy at first sight, which brings me to the subject of this post.
On day two she had what one of the instagram Squirrel Moms(Pipthebabysquirrel) confirmed was a seizure. Eyes half blinking with ear twitches in time with the half blinks. It went on for a minute or so and terrified me. As far as I know it was the only seizure she had. Pip's mom told me to just keep an eye on her, that she might not be releasable. So the husband and I have been watching her like a hawk. The only thing that seems different from all the others we've handled is that her head "floats". She'll be a normal little squirlie, but stop her zoomies to survey the room and instead of her head darting around in normal little snaps, she'll do one or two snaps, then her head will slowly kinda just float downward. Her next look may or may not be a snap, usually followed by another float.
So here's the main question. Does this floating prevent me from releasing her? We've agreed to keep her through the winter. Mostly because my husband has gotten very attached. Her him's baby. This puts a strain on the household because Irwin hates her guts lol. He is the squirrel I rescued (same guy called me) in the spring prior to rescuing Briar. The intention was to NOT be a two squirrel household lol. He's mature, she's not and well... he keeps her on her toes lol. Idk if she'd be at more risk of being caught by a predator because of the head floating or not. I guess mostly I just wanna know if anyone else has dealt with this. I live in a squirrel veterinarian dessert. The one we do go to for the dogs is also an exotic pet vet, but around here they consider mules exotic lol.
Anyway, thanks in advance for an advice. I can't wait to get the porch screened in with 1/2" chicken wire (the lil squares) to give them a nice big enclosure to run around in. My vintage furniture is paying the price for my inability to not rescue squirrels lol.