Squib is being anti social

[KimbleSquible]

Hi all. sweet Squib has gone from being absweet natured curious little boy to bein quite aggressive towards other people and sleeping all day. He then goes bananas for 20 minutes and then literally flops over and sleeps again.
I'm worried about the biting, I don't want him to bite people or me.
What can I do to try to stop him from biting? I understand his need to lash ouit when frightened but the biting isn't great.
Any thoughts and ideas?

[island rehabber]

KS I'm wondering if he isn't feeling well.....you said in another thread yesterday that he was urinating on himself a lot -- cloudy and then clear. It's possible he has a urinary tract infection which is causing the excessive urination and bad mood. You are giving him formula, right? You may want to try giving him some diluted cranberry juice (in water) in between formula feedings, if it's possible to find it where you are. Otherwise an antibiotic may be required. A baby squirrel his age should not be overly aggressive unless he is extremely stressed or not feeling well.

[TexanSquirrel]

Good luck with him!

[Gabe]

Is it possible he is older than we first thought? His size is very misleading:)

Could he be a teenager or adult that was ill and is now feeling better and coming around?

[KimbleSquible]

Hi. You know, I thought he might be older to. But when I got him his ears were still sealed and his eyes were to. I gave him a Marula stick to chew after he bit me this morning, luckily he isn't very strong yet and it didn't break the skin but, *damn* it was sore.
He was constipated yesterday and then it went all runny (all over my hand). So took him back to just formula (I've been giving him about half a teaspoon of carrot mush, a bit of apple and a pea or something else at every 2nd meal) and he was Ok last night.
Since i've had him he's had this dark spot on the right hand side of his tummy (I can see it when he rolls over for me to scratch his tummy) is that something I should be concerned with?

This morning again, he was constipated but not as agro with other people. He had a go at my husband at lunch when he went to stroke him.

I'll try to get some crannberry juice when i go to the bakery, I know they sometimes have it. It will do him good to taste something new.

Should I try playing with him more? He only goes to his cage to sleep or when I need two hands and am planning to bend over, otherwise he's in my shirt or on my shoulder for the rest of the time. Maybe some playing and running around will do him good?
Thanks!
Have a good day!

[KimbleSquible]

Just to add, he has started shivering after his meals. Despite the formula being very warm.He's upset and unsettled while he's shivering and only wants to be in my hand.:thinking Then the shivers stop and he's fine and goes to sleep. And just after he went for my husband he started shivering, but in fits and starts not as a continuous drawn out shiver: Shiver....pause...shiver....pause:dono

We've asked the bus driver to fetch cranberry juice from town, it will be here tonights with any luck.

[island rehabber]

KS is there any way you can get Baytril or another antibiotic? I am concerned with this new symptom -- 'shivering'. We can help you with the dosage if you can get some type of rodent-friendly antibiotic. (the 'cillins are okay but not great....'ceph' drugs are good.....clindomyacin is not good.)

[Gabe]

He should be on a mostly formula diet for a while yet. I would lay off the mush and fruit juices. Calcium is extremely important during this stage of their lives.
It does sound as though antibiotics should be on hand. His actions are not appropriate for his age. I think putting him in a seperate area with a heating pad will help also. At this age it is important to seperate yourself from him as he is getting his wild instincts and you certainly don't want to take that away from him.

[KimbleSquible]

OK. I'll keep him off the veg etc.
I'll phone the vet tomorrow and ask him to send stuff up with a friend on Sat.

He will only stay in his cage after food, he gets quite sleepy after eating. Or if I put a towel over his cage. Otherwise he climbs all over the place and cries and yells for me. My heart gets sore when he starts pawing at the bars of the cage and his little whiskers flutter and his tail puffs up..:shakehead
I'll try to encourage him to stay in there, may need someone to sit on me!
He's grown and his fur is really thick now.Very cute when he's not being silly..

[Gabe]

Does he have a heat source in his cage? He should snuggle right down into it. He may want you for the warmth. When he is awake, he should want out, but he still needs regular heat at his age.

[KimbleSquible]

Yep, he has a nice flat tupperware filled with hot water and wrapped up in newspaper and fleece (my favourite fleece jacket has been donated to the Squib cause). I refill it every few hours.
Apparently it has to be the dead of winter in Botswana for the shops to stock hot water bottles. I wanted to try the 10w light bulb in a can idea as a heat source but the thought of electric wires and sharp teeth within the same area totally freaked me out...
Right now, I'm his favourite plaything, he likes using my arms as a slide or playing hide and seek in my hair.
The bus driver brought back orange juice instead of cranberry. Eugh....
We have a bicarbonate of soda and citric acid fizzing thing (bit like ENO's but you drink it post fuzz) used for bladder infections and acid urine in humans, I mixed up a light batch of that and mixed it with some apple puree. I've been giving him around a ml at each feed. No adverse side effects yet other than the raging hiccups for a minute this morning (so cute! His whole body hiccups), but then that has happened before.
His pee seems less cloudy at the beginning this morning and he's really hyper.
Still trying to get hold of the vet. If you ever think productivity is slow in the States, just imagine it being 30 times worse... That's how it is in Bots...
Lunch breaks happen for most of the day and the only reason to go to Med School is to get the Dr infron of your name... Maybe I should study to be a vet... I suck at Biology and Maths though...

[Buddy'sMom]

It might be helpful to change the water more frequently as it does cool off. I'm guessing you don't have access to a heating pad to go underneath his container (eliminating the teeth-wires issue).

If you have a microwave, here is something else you can try (holds heat longer than water): a "rice buddy." Take a sock, fill it 2/3 with uncooked rice or lentils and microwave for about 45 seconds (just until very warm -- not too hot). Place it near the squirrel so it feels like another warm body to him and cover him up. He will love snuggling with it. :)

The other thing you could try is to rig the light above him -- we did this with a clip-on shop light fixture. But -- CAUTION!! -- this ONLY will work if he can't climb to reach it. We did this with a very young squirrel that was not climbing or jumping yet. Squib might be too old now to do this safely. :dono

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[KimbleSquible]

Thanks for the advice! I actually have a rice buddy that I made for my cat when he was little. I make hand made soap for a living (among other things!) and fried our microwave. It doesn't cook anything but the fireworks it emits from it's back end are quite spectacular!!
I've got the hot water down to a fine art now, it stay quite warm for about 4 hours and gradually cools off. It's become part of my "deep in the night' routine to shuffle to the kitchen, but the kettle on, go to the loo, swop tupperwares, stroke his tummy and give him a kiss then fall over back into bed..
When he bites me, it's almost like a demanding thing, "Now!!! Now!!" And if I ignore him he bites progressively harder on the same spot.
But if other people touch him its a definate "hands off" with quite a scary sounding squeeeeeek. I'm still worried about him peeing on himself and all over me, the shivers after food and his little squeeking hiccups though. The vet was no help from town.
I'll be phoning his competition in the morning...

[KimbleSquible]

Just to add...again!
He's not pooing properly now, it's all foamy and watery. What now??? This morning he was pooing rock cakes...
I've put him back on rehydration fluid and I'll make his formula weaker tomorrow. Is it something I'm doing wrong? Am I not stimulating him enough or am I over stimulating him?
Sorry, it's like a bad dream, just when I think the boogey man has been beaten he pops up again...

[Gabe]

Seems like we need to go back over the basics.

What is he eating?

How much is he eating?

How often is he eating?

It would help to research his natural diet a bit and find out how much protein they eat, such as insects and how much fruit they eat. Balance is essential.

[KimbleSquible]

hi Gabe.
He's still on puppy formula. I dilute it 1 tsp powder to two tsp of water, but have since increased it to 3tsp water. I also add a probiotic pwder and a bit of Calsup to his daily formula quota. And he gets a feed every 4 hours. By four hours he is really hungry and just about swallows the syringe in antisipation. I finally got an antibiotic, turns out I had the stuff all along, it is the Doxybiotic for birds that I keep and the vet said the dilution ratio would be the same for Squirrels as it is for birds (1TBSP to 1 litre of water and get as much down as possible for 5 days). I got 1ml down him, he pulled a "Blegh" face and bit me so I added some honey to it and he quite liked it.
After the antibiotic he ran around for about 2 hours instead of sleeping like he does and _demanded_ to be noticed by ALL!!
His poos are back to having a shape and are the colour of watered down mustard, there are a few greyish patches in some of them. Like when you over boil an egg and get the grey/blue shade around the yolk.
He is still peeing on himself and me.
Looks like I'm getting the flu so goign back to bed with my rice buddy (which is being heated in the oven..) and a cup of cocoa, Squib and my husband are spending time together watching rugby (squib sits on the top of his house and watches the world, my husband sits and stares at the TV!).

[Gabe]

I'm not sure I would dilute the formula any more than 2 parts water. He needs the calories and calcium at this age.
Is he eating any food on his own yet? He should be. He should also be chewing to maintain his teeth which grow continuously.
Doxybiotic is used in birds, poultry. I'm not sure that it is suitable for squirrels as it will affect the bone and teeth formation in juveniles.
In human children it actually turns the teeth gray permanently.
Doxy is generally used for lyme disease, tetanus and pasturella.
If you do continue to use it then he should have 0.05ml once a day.
It may cause GI upset and diarrhea.
Do you have an sulfa based antibiotics available?

[KimbleSquible]

Hi. I've got Erythromycen and Flagyle.
Its what I said to the vet and was basically told to take it or leave it (re: Doxy).
I have little hamster blocks for him as well as sticks. He's eating apple and likes cold chunks of carrot. He's also busy destroying his cage. The chewing is becoming more frequent. I'm worried about his tummy running with extra fruit like it did when I started him on normal food so I'm taking it slowly.
Also doesn't want to stay on his tupperware, prefers staying at the top of his plastic house.

I'll go slow with the Doxy, I'll finish the five days with him but won't overdo it with it everyday. He seems much more active already so maybe it's sorting all the nasties out and we won't have to give him "Blegh'" stuff again!
SO FUNNY to see the face..

[Squirrelly]

Hi all, I was just scanning through this thread and noticed post #5 in which KimbleSquible asks about a dark spot on the right hand side of his tummy, etc. The question may have been answered in a PM, but I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't missed as a possible symptom. :thankyou :)

[KimbleSquible]

Hi. Dark spot still there. If I rub it he doesn't seem to notice. He was picked up by a dog when he was found, with the intention of being a light snack (thank goodness the dog saw a cat and dropped him. :D Dog obviously wanted something a little more substantial). I thought that he might have internal bleeding and kept an eye on him expecting him to go downhill due to that.:tilt
After a week I assumed it was probably just bruising. But hasn't gone away.
It's more noticeable when he eats to much and his tummy is full.
For all I know, its suppossed to be there. :dono

[Gabe]

OK then let's stick with the doxy as they other two sound even less promising. He will be our experiment. If he has something that it will cure, then he will be cured. Just watch for the loose bowels and keep those probiotics flowing.
Are they meat eaters in the wild? Insects, baby birds, worms? Protein may be lacking in his diet. Try digging a few earthworms and see what he does. Also a shallow pan with some dirt to play in may be fun, for him, not the cleaning lady.:)
As for the "dark spot" I did pick up on it, but no more was said. I also thought it was just bruising that had resolved. Unfortunately without a picture I cannot even begin to guess what it may be.

[Abacat]

Hoping little Squib is doing okay...any chance you could post more pics of the lil guy? :poke
I need a Squib fix!:jump I love the lil :monkey...:Love_Icon

[KimbleSquible]

I'll upload a few pics soonest, I promise. I'll also try to get one of him when he is getting his tummy scratched and try to point out the dark spot.
His poo went back to foamy tonight but his energy level has improved in leaps and bounds! He is running around like a nutter (have you seen that animated movie 'Over the Hedge'? He's like the hyper Squirrel.) and it takes AGES to calm him down for a sleep.
He seems to think he is a flying squirrel and jumped into the cats bowl while I was feeding her (of course Julia thought all her Xmas's had come at once..."Live food???!!! Really? WOW!!!")
He really hates the taste of the doxy and he and I are both happy with the .5ml dosage. Just the way he has suddenly changed since saturday leads me to believe there must have been something off...
Off to bed, have head cold of note, we are both suffering withdrawl symptoms after me spending most of the day in bed.
Wayne, brought him in and he loved the bed with all the creases and folds and hidey holes to play in...

[Gabe]

I'm glad he's feeling better. Get some good yogurt into him for the stools.:thumbsup

[Abacat]

Ah, little Squib is feeling better...:D :thumbsup
I've never seen "Over the Hedge" nor "Ratatoullie" but would love to see both. I'm so sorry, how insensitive of me, here you are sick with the flu and I'm asking for pics...:shakehead :sorry Hope you are feeling better soon.
(But while we are on the subject of pics, when you're better) I'd love to see any nature pics you have of the area...I've always thought it would be so awesome to go to Africa. Got any meerkats around you? :D

[smoknbunny]

Hammy! the squirrel from over the hedge. When he's all nutso you can call him Squibby. I just tell mine they have a brain worm. Don't ask me why.
Hope he's doing well today!

[KimbleSquible]

Ha Ha! I am a writer (among MANY other things), articles mostly but have been dying to write childrens books. I have decided to write about Squib. The Adventures of Squib, or Scribble-he's becoming a bit of a Scribble.
If anyone has a story about their squirrel that I could incorporate or even advice on writing kids book it would be muchly appreciated.
I do have pics of the area, I'll make them smaller for the site and upload them. Our closest Meerkat colony is about 100km away. They were the original colony that was supposed to be filmed for Meerkat Manor (Animal Planet). A friend of mine actually has a pet meerkat that is partially blind-he was spat at by a Spitting Cobra as a baby. The colony didn't know what to do with him so let her take him away. She says they seemed grateful and recognise her now as a friend.

Feeling much better, Wayne defrosted some of my Chicken Soup (made in large quantities and frozen for sick neighbours and husbands.) and I'm feeling 100's now!
Scrib was so funny today, we have these huge Praying Mantis that come into the house. Scrib went into a Pointer stance (front paw up, tail out straight nose quivering), the Mantis looked at him and he reached out and touched her head. She jumped,he jumped, I jumped...He got so angry he jumped off my hand and ran after her chattering and jumping around...SO funny!
If 3 days of antibiotics do this to him I wonder what a week would do!

Promise to upload pics soonest.

[Feeze]

Oh, that's so cute! Love the mantis story!:Love_Icon Definately one for the books. Yeah, I'm hoping to be an illustrator, but I'm sure with Squib you've got all the pics you need.:rotfl Glad you're feeling better. Can't wait to see the pics!
Bummer about your meerkats, they could've been famous.:jump

[Abacat]

:rotfl I would have paid to see that! How funny! Just how big are these mantis? Bigger than Scrib (aka Squib)? I loved that show Meerkat manor...

You should talk to Bravo, he's writing a book (actually part 2, one is already published) What kind of stories are you interested in? One of my releases, Punkin (an American Red squirrel) is very friendly with me still, she's made herself at home and moved into my garage...with babies. I'm a Grandma! :jump Her thread started in Nursery ("5 baby reds", then the most recent "just one of the kids" in Red squirrel forum.) You can do a search and check her out if you like. There are lots of great "stories" here on TSB, lots of people with pet squirrels...I don't have pet squirrels, just rehab them to release.

:hyper Can't wait for pics! :wahoo

[Bravo]

Hi KS!

Great to have another writer here. I do a few things, and writing is one of them. My story is based upon a family of squirrels that I used to know in the back 40 of a place I used to live, and goes leaping off into the trees from there.

Sounds like you have a great source for a story! :thumbsup

[KimbleSquible]

Scrib is just learning SO much everyday. I show hims something and his little whiskers quiver in curiosity. I want to write about him learning things and being in certain (probably made up) situations that he has to find his way out of, learn a lesson from and therefore impart some knowledge to a little readers mind... Or I want to write a juicy, fun filled story that is read purely to be enjoyed!

Some news: Today is Scribs last day of antibiotics. The Doxy did the trick and he is now a bright eyed and bushy tailed little Scrib.
Phew!
Pics up tonight! My tonight!

[Abacat]

:wave123 KS
I can't wait for the pics tonight!:jump What time is it there now? :D
Glad Squib is himself again :thumbsup

[KimbleSquible]

Pics as promised. Need to make wildlife one's smaller but will get them up.
Most recent one is of him hiding im my jacket.

[KimbleSquible]

More pics of the boy!

[island rehabber]

oh Lord is he cute!!! And SO tiny....glad he's feeling better, KS. :thumbsup

[Feeze]

Oh, what an adorable baby!:Love_Icon He certainly is every bit as adorable as he sounds. I'm so glad he's doing better.
Good luck with your stories. Please share them with us, when they get published.:thumbsup

[Abacat]

http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/loveshower.gif (http://www.millan.net)Ah Scrib, you are soooooooooo sweet! http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/loveshower.gif (http://www.millan.net)
:thankyou for the awesome pics of Scrib...:Love_Icon Love the pic of his little nose sticking out of your jacket! :thumbsup

[Gabe]

I'm glad he's feeling better too. Those pics sure put his size in perspective. What a cutie.

[KimbleSquible]

I was trying to find pretty universal items to take pictures of him with.
Thank you to everyone for all your help and patience!:thumbsup

[squirrel princess]

More pics of the boy!

They sure do grow them cute there:Love_Icon :Love_Icon
Love the short little bushy tail:flash3