Lulu is going on 13 weeks of age. I've had her since she was about 4 weeks old. I thought everything was normal physically until I realized that she isn't really growing. The other squirrel she was in with grew so quickly that I had to put Lulu in a cage by herself. Even now, she's very tiny. I was told it could be down syndrome. Things I noticed while raising her are:
1- she would constantly dehydrate over first couple weeks
2- I thought several times she had pneumonia
3- she was pretty under weight and had hard time getting her to gain.
4- she refused all solid foods; only liked cheerios which she would suckle until they shrank up. She just started "eating" a few days ago.
5- she has a fuzzy coat instead of slick.
6- she's very miniature
7-has the tail of a 5 week old in appearance
8- she has random tufts of longer hair on tip of tail and upper back legs.
9- she is pretty good at climbing, etc but does sleep a lot. She sleeps with me on the couch a couple hours a night too.
Could this actually be down syndrome? She doesn't look like the downs babies from other posts but is it just because she's young? I've never seen a squirrel like her in my life. I absolutely adore her and don't want anything to happen to her. Our exotic vet will only see her if she becomes a "pet" because they don't see wild animals. My rehabber friend doesn't see the need to take her since she's not sick. Any info would be appreciated. I have been on a search for a few weeks and no help yet. I hope I've finally found the right place. Thanks in advance.