Squirrel not drinking much water

[TheSquawker]

Pepper is not drinking much water. Something like 5 or 6 sips from her water bottle a day that I see. Barely can tell any is gone. She does get fruits and vegetables that has some moisture in them. She used to drink 4 or 5 times a day . Everything else seems normal. Should I be concerned?

Thanks

[chickoo]

have you seen her pee?..........what colour is it n how much?

[Kat762]

Did you check the bottle and make sure it's working right ? If it's one that has a little ball or something in it, sometimes they can jam up ? Watermelon is a good thing to give to keep them hydrated. I'm sure someone more experienced will be here to give you advice soon.

[TheSquawker]

She has been peeing. Not as much as when she drank more. I put some cedar chips in her cage pan and she may not want to pee in it. I will take them out and see. She has been running to a corner to pee whenever I let her out of the cage. She drank a little today when I got back home. I checked her water bottle and it was alright. I put the original water bottle that she had before back to see if it made a difference but can't tell yet.

Thanks

[Kat762]

Cedar is a no-no for rodents, unfortunately the pet stores either dont know or dont care, so it's good you removed it. Here's a link http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guine...odshavings.htm but it sounds like Pepper is so smart she already knew to stay away from it Glad to hear she drank a little, hope she keeps it up

[NutmegsMommy]

I agree with Kat...Cedar is a Big No No. I have been using Aspen for my squirrels and they love it - no problems at all and it gives them something to bury their nuts in

[TheSquawker]

I took all of the chips out. It was just a trial so they were just in for a couple of days. They were down under the wire bottom so she couldn't get them anyway. I let her out and she went to a corner and did her business. It was a hard place to reach so I couldn't tell how much before I cleaned it. She has drank a few times today but not a lot at a time. Must be all she needs.

Thanks

[TheSquawker]

Cedar is a no-no for rodents, unfortunately the pet stores either dont know or dont care, so it's good you removed it. Here's a link http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guine...odshavings.htm but it sounds like Pepper is so smart she already knew to stay away from it Glad to hear she drank a little, hope she keeps it up

I knew not to get a cedar house. I didn't know all that about aromatic vapors. I would have never thought that about pine. What about the pine squirrel house?

[TheSquawker]

She just now came out scooting around on her butt. What would that mean? I don't see anything wrong with her.

Thanks

[Rhapsody]

Hmmmmm - I wonder if she might be having an allergic reaction to the cedar? - does any one know if this is possible in squirrels and if yes, can they take a small dose of benadryl for it?

OR - is this just a coincidence and she might have worms? - hence the lack of drinking and scooting of the bum.

[mugzeezma]

Hmmmmm - I wonder if she might be having an allergic reaction to the cedar? - does any one know if this is possible in squirrels and if yes, can they take a small dose of benadryl for it?

OR - is this just a coincidence and she might have worms? - hence the lack of drinking and scooting of the bum.

Could be a reaction from the cedar but I strongly doubt it...
Squirrels are butt scoot when marking

Benadryl is ok but not indicated here

[CritterMom]

Butt scooting can be territory marking, using the surface as toilet paper for "hangers on" - or it could be an issue. Why don't you try adding a little apple juice to the water to see if she will consume more. You might also want to add a water dish - get a heavy crock that won't get tipped over. She may just not be wild about the water bottle.

If you add juice to the water you need to make sure you keep it really clean so you don't grow anything in there.

[TheSquawker]

It's been 3 days now since I have seen her pee any. Either I haven't seen her or she is peeing in her house. The cage pan has been dry and that is where she usually goes. She has seizures sometimes which she had one 3 days ago. I posted about it in this thread. Losing tail hair

She hadn't ate much and would only nibble on her food. She now seems to be drinking a little more and ate a few nuts today and a piece of lettuce.
She seemed hungry over the nuts.

She does not seem to be in any pain or distress. She has played and wrestled with my hand for about an hour each day today and yesterday. I pressed around on her belly and it did not seem to bother her. She liked it.

I tried to stimulate her to pee but it didn't work.

Wouldn't she be in distress or pain by now if she really wasn't peeing?
Will a squirrel pee in their house?



Thanks

[TheSquawker]

It's been 3 days now since I have seen her pee any. Either I haven't seen her or she is peeing in her house. The cage pan has been dry and that is where she usually goes. She has seizures sometimes which she had one 3 days ago.

She hadn't ate much and would only nibble on her food. She now seems to be drinking a little more and ate a few nuts today and a piece of lettuce.
She seemed hungry over the nuts.

She does not seem to be in any pain or distress. She has played and wrestled with my hand for about an hour each day today and yesterday. I pressed around on her belly and it did not seem to bother her. She liked it.

I tried to stimulate her to pee but it didn't work.

Wouldn't she be in distress or pain by now if she really wasn't peeing?
Will a squirrel pee in their house?



Thanks

I found a spot yesterday where it looked like she got on the side of the cage and peed. It was all dried up so it must have been from the day before. I still can't account for yesterday or today. I tried to lure her out of her house tonight with food after I got back from work but she would wait until I wasn't looking and sneak out and get it and take it into her house.

She seems like she has gone into hibernation mode and is sleeping more, eating less, drinking less and maybe peeing less.
Do squirrels do that in cold, snowy weather? She is inside.

She was playing with my hand yesterday and I couldn't tell any difference this morning before I went to work than she was yesterday.
I couldn't get her out long enough this evening other than sticking her head out of the hole and sneaking out to get food. I had hold of her once but she got away and went back in her house.

I may just be worried for nothing but this has been different for her the last 4 to 5 days.

[TheSquawker]

She finally peed. It was in the bottom of her cage pan. Now she is running around hyper all day like she does before she has a seizure. Hopefully she doesn't.
It's 11:30 at night and she is just now settling down.

Wondering why everyone quit replying to me?

[Scooterzmom]

It's late and maybe people are in bed...

I really wish I could help you but I'm not sure what to suggest. I can only ask though... does she drink form a bowl or from a water bottle? A water bottle can tell you more precisely if she's been drinking normally. Just make sure she does not dehydrate.

Squirrels can get allergic reactions, I was told - I had one who was allergic to carrots -but again I don't know what to tell you beyond that.

I'll see if I can PM someone to come help you.

[island rehabber]

hi Squawker, sorry you've been ignored -- it's not intentional, I'm sure . Test your girl for dehydration: pinch the fur between her shoulders and pull up -- it should snap back pretty quickly. If it's slow or stays up there, something is wrong.
She MAY be peeing outside her cage; I have had squirrels who did this and I panicked, too, thinking their kidneys weren't working. then I found the dried-up pee spot behind the cage on the floor .
To really ease your mind, you might want to put a layer of papertowels or something else temporarily at the bottom of her cage -- something besides chips or flakes -- that you can easily see pee on, and see what color it is. her pee should be very pale, not yellow or brownish.

[mugzeezma]

hi Squawker, sorry you've been ignored -- it's not intentional, I'm sure .
To really ease your mind, you might want to put a layer of papertowels or something else temporarily at the bottom of her cage -- something besides chips or flakes -- that you can easily see pee on, and see what color it is. her pee should be very pale, not yellow or brownish.

Went to bed before you posted...busy day

Do all of the above...I will add use LIGHT colored sheets or material. Anchor them.
They will be shredded otherwise.

[TheSquawker]

Sorry I didn't answer before now. I usually don't get on until nighttime. Yesterday she did pee. I found it dried up in the bottom of the cage. Today I didn't find any.
She seems to be drinking a little more and slowly eating more, but not like she used to and much of the HHB,s or Booballs like before. She did chow down on some nuts and nibbled on other foods yesterday and cracked a hazelnut today. She is still as fat as she has been before.
She was hyper all day today too running back and forth in her cage. I let her out 4 or 5 times and she played and wrestled with my hand. She noticed a closet yesterday she hasn't explored and has been trying to gnaw on the door facing trying to get in it. She is being more stubborn than usual about getting in that room. She finally decided it was bedtime about 9:30pm and went to her cage. She lay there looking out for a little while and then went to sleep.

What I am trying to say is in a lot of ways everything is normal and she doesn't seem to be in any pain and her bladder doesn't seem to be full.

I will check her for dehydration when she wakes up.
I have no chips or anything in her cage anymore. I have never had any chips in it except for 2 days when I was testing them out. They were in the cage pan where she couldn't get to them although all this seemed to start right after that.

If anything changes I will let you know.
I will put the paper towels in the cage pan where she can't get to them and see. I never thought about that for some reason.

Thanks

[TheSquawker]

Well, I put the paper towels in the cage pan and when I got back from work there was no pee there. The only thing I can think is she might be peeing in her house. I wouldn't think she would do that but I will check it out in the morning.

I am really baffled about this. She has drank water 3 different time since I got back about 5:00 pm. I did the pinch test and she is not dehydrated. I can not find any thing physically wrong with her and she does not seem in any discomfort whatsoever.

She is eating but not with the zealous that she used to and is picky about what it is; preferring nuts over the other food. She did eat a half slice of apple and piece of lettuce too. This is not counting what she ate while I was gone that I didn't see.

Another thing that I saw is that she has had little poops for the last few days.
They are little, the size of mouse poops.
What would that mean?

Other than that, she ran around back and forth through the house like she always does.


Here is a picture of her eating a nut this evening at 7:00pm.