Help! sick flying squirrel

[medwar13]

My 7 year old flyer, Annie, became very sick last night. She was weak all over for about an hour and then regained the use of the right side of her body and can crawl around (and up shirts) a little bit. She is refusing any solid food although I have been able to get her to drink some milk and water as well as to lick some peanut butter. I've been reading about MBD, but I'm not sure that is what she has. I'm in the process of getting some yogurt and vitamins. Do any of you know what this could be or what else I should do to treat her? I'm at my wits end to know what to do for her. I appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks so much!

[Buddy'sMom]

-- So sorry to hear about Annie! You've come to an excellent place for help and some of the rehabbers will surely be along soon with questions and advice.

In the meantime, it would be helpful to keep her quiet and relatively confined so that she doesn't hurt herself by falling if she tries to climb or fly but can't manage it. Sometimes it's helpful to provide heat when they are sick or injured, even for adult squirrels, especially if she seems cooler to you than normal. If you have a heating pad, you can set it on low and put it under HALF of her box/cage/nest, so she can move away from it if she gets too warm. Or fill a water/soda bottle with hot water and wrap it in a tshirt or something (change as needed).

The rehabbers will probably ask you what her usual diet is. And if there have been any recent changes from her normal diet -- or changes from her normal routine (before last night).

[Mars]

I'm not going to be able to be on much today but let me give you a list of questions that will help us help you. This may seem like a lot but we really need your eyes to see with.

First - Is it possible your little one took a fall? It she allowed the run of the house? Does she interact with any other pets? or children?

second - can you paint a picture of her housing set up and if anything has been change recently. Here I'm looking for possible toxins sneaking in such as scented candles, new cleaner she could have reacted to, new non stick pans etc.

third - can you give us an idea of her normal diet?

And when she became sick could you give us details ? Was it sudden? Did she have a siezure? what was her state of mind? was she alert or dull? The more details you can give the better here.

I'll check back as soon as I can and others will be on soon.

[TexanSquirrel]

Get well soon, Annie!

[darrakm]

If it was a siezure or if it is MBD, plese get her into a smaller cage with lot of padding in case of a fall.
It sounds to me like it could be one of these things. She needs calcium and
D3 for MBD. If it is siezure, then lets hope there isnt another.
I trying to remember if flyers are legal in TN, so that you might safely go for vet care.........
If she isnt showing any kind of inprovment you might want to post in the emergency section on the NFSA board, http://www.nfsa.us/phpBB2/index.php You might get some different suggestion/ideas there.

[muffinsquirrel]

We really need to know more about Annie to be able to help. What do you usually feed her? Does she have any type of calcium supplement available? How about vitamins?

You said you had gotten her to drink some milk - cow's milk is very bad for them. If she won't eat anything you offer, get some Esbilac Puppy Milk. I like the powder - it's easy to use and you can freeze it (in powdered form) until you need it again. Mix 1 part of Esbilac with 2 parts of water. They usually like it rather warm, like you would feed a baby. She also needs a vitamin supplement to utilize the calcium. I use L&M Farms Liquid Vitamins for small mammals, at the rate of 1 drop per ounce of water.

Please send us more information, so that we can help Annie. I raise flyers, and also do rescue work. I'll be glad to help in any way I can.

muffinsquirrel

[Buddy'sMom]

How is Annie doing today??

Some of our very experienced rehabbers have replied and would like to help you care for your little one.

[medwar13]

Thank you all for replying so quickly. I have thankfully been able to contact some rehabbers in my area,although I belive she is illegal , and she is doing a little better.

as far as your questions:
Annie did fall about 3 feet to carpet Friday night, but it was not an unusual distance and she did not seem phased by it at all.

Her diet is usually sunflower seeds, trail mix (bannanas, pineapple, peanuts, cashews, raisins, etc), cheese, bread or chips (she loves popcorn) and any fresh veggies we have: broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, etc

Annie lives in a large bird cage (about 3 x 2 x 2) in my kitchen. No new cleaners have been used around her cage, all of our pots are old. We do have lavendar scented candles, but none are very new.

I am thinking now that she may have had a seizure because Sunday night she was completely limp, but now is able to use her right side very well and her left rear leg fairly well. After talking to a rehabber, I have her on a diet of baby oatmeal and pedialyte. I have stopped giving her any cow's milk. I tried adding the vitamins to her water, but she won't go near it. She wants solid food, but can't hold on to it very well because of her left arm. Annie is also becoming more active and is carefully climbing around her cage and my shoulders.

I am hoping that she will gradually gain use of her arm. Could it be broken? If so, how long does that would that take to heal? Also, how often should I be hand feeding her? I've been giving it to her every 2-3 hours or so because she will eat it, but she seems to be gaining weight (lots of food, little excercise)

Thank you all for your help and prayers!!!

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear Annie is improving and you have gotten some local rehabber advice -- I'm quite sure you will receive some more here, too.

[Mars]

It almost sounds like Annie had a mild stroke. If this is true it is a matter of time and healing to see how much function she will regain. That she is do so well is a good sign. Check out the treads on diet. Sunflower seeds should be considered a treat as they can block calcium absorbtion. Try sunflower seeds. They are high in protein and well liked. You can give yogurt also a good source of protein and calcuim.

Is her arm completely limp? or cold to the touch? How is she holding it? Can you gently feel along both front legs and compare to see if you feel anything out of normal?

[Buddy'sMom]

... Sunflower seeds should be considered a treat as they can block calcium absorbtion. Try sunflower seeds. They are high in protein and well liked. ...

Ummm.... Mars, did you mean "try pumpkin seeds"?? Or some other kind of seeds???

[medwar13]

She hasn't been wanting sunflower seeds as much recently and I haven't given her any since Sunday. I was giving her some strawberry yogurt (which she loved) before switching to oatmeal, but I think I'll give her some more b/c she's not very interested in the oatmeal any more. She was able to eat a little bit of a walnut and a strawberry today, but she kept dropping them and getting confused.

About her arm, I've been paying more close attention to it today. She holds it at an odd angle, but I can't get her to hold still long enough for me to check for comparisson to the other (my best bet may be to wake her up and check before she's starts wiggling). It seems to be the same temperature as the other, at least her little hands feel the same. She seems to be limping on it and only goes in a counterclockwise direction.

[darrakm]

If her arm is broken, you will be surprised how quickly she heals.

[medwar13]

I just gave her about 2 mL of strawberry yogurt and she nibbled some more walnut. I used this opportunity to check her arm and I'm pretty sure it is broken. I could feel the end of it, but it the skin nearby wasn't broken. It felt about the diameter of a piece of thread or a pine needle. I guess in comparison to us, she broke her ulna. I'll go check the rest of the threads for broken bones to see what to do.

I'm giving her lots of pedialyte, but she's not touching her waterbottle. Should I be worried?

Thanks again for all your support. I wish I had found this board years ago.

[Buddy'sMom]

MW, this thread has a good discussion about broken bones and healing (it was about a very injured squirrel with a broken hip/rear leg and ends sadly, unfortunately -- I don't mean to suggest that your squirrel is in the same shape or that all the advice given would apply, but there is a lot of good information from the rehabbers about the subject of broken bones): http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=5315

[4skwerlz]

The experienced rehabbers here all know this, but I'll chime in to agree with them. If your baby broke an arm from a minor fall like that, she has MBD. The Wildlife Center here, which specializes in baby squirrels (love them! ) sprinkles calcium carbonate powder on everything they feed their squirrels! You can buy calcium carbonate at the drug store in capsules for humans. Just open up the capsule and sprinkle on everything--nuts, yogurt, everything. But it won't help unless she gets sunlight as well. Either a full-spectrum light or several hours of sunlight per day (not through a window). You can place her in a cage outside in a shady area because sunlight bounces off objects outdoors. But the beneficial rays can't penetrate a glass window. MBD can also cause seizures, so it sure sounds like the right diagnosis! If you've been talking with any of the experienced rehabbers here, then just follow their advice and you can't go wrong. Hope she's better soon.

[TexanSquirrel]

Poor baby. I hope she gets better!

[Mars]

Ummm.... Mars, did you mean "try pumpkin seeds"?? Or some other kind of seeds???

Okay - you got me. That's what I get for typing at work. I did mean pumpkin seeds.

[medwar13]

Thanks for your advice. I'll see about getting a full spectrum light tomorrow. I talked to a rehabber here in Knoxville and she doubted it was MBD because the disease usually manifests itself within the first year. I've had Annie for 7 and this is the first incident she's had (excepting a rather ugly tail molt) There have been so many vitamins suggested, I'm not sure which to use. Would a general rabbit/guinea pig/gerbil vitamin work?

I've been reading on this site and many suggest setting the broken bone before it heals in the wrong place. how would I go about doing that? The only rehabber close by (not the Knoxville one) would only talk to me if I called her a sugar glider because of legal issues, so I doubt they could help. My aunt talked to her vet and he agreed to see her, illegal and all, but I'm worried about stressing her out too much. She seems to be getting better, but I don't want to miss anything vital.


Also, how often should I be feeding her oatmeal and yogurt? Is every 2-3 hours too much or not enought?

Thanks again!

[4skwerlz]

I guess since she's a flying squirrel, people hesitate to make suggestions. But a squirrel is a squirrel is a squirrel......

Don't use "vitamin pills." Go get the calcium carbonate. Sprinkle it on whatever you are feeding her. Now. Then put her outside in her cage tomorrow morning. Then more calcium. MBD is life-threatening. They can get it at any age.