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Thread: sickly grey squirrel in backyard :(

  1. #1
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    Default sickly grey squirrel in backyard :(

    hi all. i'm in the UK where grey squirrels are considered an invasive species, and giving this squirrel in to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic would mean them destroying it. i don't think that's fair.

    i first saw this (adult) grey squirrel at 10am this morning, lying in the middle of the lawn, unresponsive -- it's now 7:30 and it's not in a better state, but i managed to feed it a little bit of banana which it chewed and ate. it has trouble walking and can only stumble a little when i poke it. occasionally it tries to shake the flies around it off.

    it has some yellow discharge around its genital area and keeps "hiccuping" which are the only two signs that it might be dying, but dying animals don't try to eat, right? it's reactive to me waving a stick around its eyes. should i put it in a box with a heating pad and see what happens come morning? it's not cold out, but naturally i don't want it to die, or have to suffer longer than it already has.

    best regards

  2. #2
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    Default Re: sickly grey squirrel in backyard :(

    Quote Originally Posted by neotheropod View Post
    hi all. i'm in the UK where grey squirrels are considered an invasive species, and giving this squirrel in to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic would mean them destroying it. i don't think that's fair.

    i first saw this (adult) grey squirrel at 10am this morning, lying in the middle of the lawn, unresponsive -- it's now 7:30 and it's not in a better state, but i managed to feed it a little bit of banana which it chewed and ate. it has trouble walking and can only stumble a little when i poke it. occasionally it tries to shake the flies around it off.

    it has some yellow discharge around its genital area and keeps "hiccuping" which are the only two signs that it might be dying, but dying animals don't try to eat, right? it's reactive to me waving a stick around its eyes. should i put it in a box with a heating pad and see what happens come morning? it's not cold out, but naturally i don't want it to die, or have to suffer longer than it already has.

    best regards

    I am not a wildlife rehabilitator, but only someone who cares about gray squirrels. Thus, I am hoping that some of the more advanced people will add to what I have to say and contradict me if I am wrong. I am hoping that someone on here knows of a helpful person in your area or recognizes these symptoms. Or, perhaps, there might be a squirrel-friendly vet that would see you virtually?

    If the squirrel has trouble walking, I would suspect that it may have difficulty avoiding predators and may need to be brought in -- However, that needs to be weighed against any possibility that he would panic indoors and make the situation worse.

    If brought in, ideally, there would be a place for him/her with some fleece and a source of heat in the corner that can be used or avoided if too warm. Ideally, you would have a metal cage or strong plastic pet carrier or large plastic box with holes in the lid. Normally, I would be concerned about the squirrel chewing through the cage, but it sounds like he is in terrible shape and too sick to do so. I would provide a bowl of clean water and some unsalted nuts (for now), although it sounds like he may be too sick even for that.

    So far this sounds like poisoning to me. If so, some options might be waiting it out, diluting the poison by drinking/eating if he can do that, or if the poison can be identified, maybe there is an antidote? I am not well educated about activated charcoal. I am curious about what the others think as I am a non-expert. Best of luck! And I hope someone else can jump in pretty soon.

    This is primarily about babies, but may have some helpful advice:
    https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

    I hope this has been helpful and that I have not merely stated the obvious!

  3. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Rocky1:

    neotheropod (08-25-2021), sundoesshine (08-24-2021)

  4. #3
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    Default Re: sickly grey squirrel in backyard :(

    Yes, it would be compassionate to bring the poor thing indoors and provide a safe (fly free) space for her. If she has fly strike (eggs or maggots) that should
    be treated, dying by eaten alive is a terrible way to go. Keeping her in a place like a bathroom, dark warm and quiet, would be best.

    Pictures are always good... sounds like it could be poisoning, perhaps a dog got a hold of it and shook it... any number of things. And o videos (videos need to be posted to a hosting service like IMGUR or YouTube and then just post the link to that here... TSB's platform does not support videos.

    If this is a head injury you need to be careful about using a heating pad since you do not want their head to be warmed like that if it is a head trauma... that will make matters worse.


  5. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Spanky:

    neotheropod (08-25-2021), Rocky1 (08-25-2021)

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    Default Re: sickly grey squirrel in backyard :(

    Quote Originally Posted by neotheropod View Post
    hi all. i'm in the UK where grey squirrels are considered an invasive species, and giving this squirrel in to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic would mean them destroying it. i don't think that's fair.

    i first saw this (adult) grey squirrel at 10am this morning, lying in the middle of the lawn, unresponsive -- it's now 7:30 and it's not in a better state, but i managed to feed it a little bit of banana which it chewed and ate. it has trouble walking and can only stumble a little when i poke it. occasionally it tries to shake the flies around it off.

    it has some yellow discharge around its genital area and keeps "hiccuping" which are the only two signs that it might be dying, but dying animals don't try to eat, right? it's reactive to me waving a stick around its eyes. should i put it in a box with a heating pad and see what happens come morning? it's not cold out, but naturally i don't want it to die, or have to suffer longer than it already has.

    best regards
    update: unfortunately he passed away during the night, in a warm shoebox we left in the yard with some water, surrounded by its family who were in the trees above. we're going to bury him by the stream nearby later today no flies or maggots around him now, no predators who might've attacked him, so i don't know what could have happened. when i picked him up yesterday he was still responsive and trying to bite my hand, but when i tried to prop him up he couldn't stand, only lie on his side like the way ferrets twist about.

    maybe if grey squirrels were accepted into rehab clinics in the area, he wouldn't have had to die (i checked nearby vets, but they didn't accept rodents).. it's not his fault he's considered an invasive species.. i guess that's just the reality of the way some people think about animals.

    thank you for your help guys.

  7. Serious fuzzy thank you's to neotheropod from:

    Rocky1 (08-25-2021)

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