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View Full Version : Juvenile squirrel with head tilt all the sudden - severe balancing issue. HELP!



muimuimama
02-11-2025, 05:03 PM
Hi everyone,
I have been feeding a family of wild Juveniles (borned in the fall 2024) - one of them came today with a severe head tilt and balancing issue all the sudden. She seems to be interested in food still but came less frequently than usual. She is still able to chew nuts, looked alert (still able to catch nuts) and was moving around OK, and still the ability to jump from one side of the fence to the other (but slower). She has a head tilt on one side, and needed to lean on the fence to keep herself balance. No wound/bleeding or visible trauma. She seems to have energy still and not circling or vomiting or anything.
She has two siblings and they do everything together - others seems completely fine.. if it is due to poison then I would think they would all get the same thing but others seems to be perfectly fine except this little girl.
Just want to hear from this group what the possible causes are - and what can I do to help her? She is skittish so trapping would be almost impossible.
I suspect head trauma or other broken bones (because it's a sudden onset of symptoms, she was completely fine yesterday). If that's the case, what's the prognosis? and her chances of recovering on her own?
I have a video of her but it doesn't seem to post properly - i'll try to figure out in the meantime.
Appreciate everyone's help (sorry I assume it is life threatening but apologies if it isn't the right category)

island rehabber
02-11-2025, 06:43 PM
Hi muimuimama. Poor girl, this doesn't sound good. My first guess would be head trauma -- either she fell or got struck but not run over by a car. It's difficult to say whether this would cure itself. If you could possibly trap her, a course of prednisolone under a vet's care can do wonders for head tilt, dizziness, etc.

It could also possibly be an ear infection which can set their balance off and cause head tilt as well. That would require a course of antibiotics specific to infections above the neck. If you see her not improving, or getting worse, I would seriously consider trapping her. We can help you find a wildlife rehabber who can get her seen by a veterinarian. :great