Flyer having seizures

[Duckman]

I have a volunteer who has one of our flyers she is fostering. Over the last 6 months, she has had small seizures (somewhat like my Rex) and was having them on average about once a month. Last night that changed. From about 9 pm to 1:55 am she had 5. They were different that the others. She would seize and shake, then bolt out of fear. She would even urinate on herself. She bit the volunteer (she has never done this before) and a couple times started gagging. After the 1:55 am seizure, she didn't recognize anything or anyone. She is scared of everything in her cage, as though she had never been in it before. I wanted to start this thread and have her come here to answer your questions. The Flyers name is Tizzy.

[SammysMom]

I am no flyer expert, but I know we will need to know exactly what Tizzy eats every day.

[Duckman]

She was up all night with Tizzy, so I think she is still sleeping. I will continue to get her to get on here and answer the questions.

[bratann617]

Common everyday diet is squirrel block in the cage, but I'm not sure if they actually eat it. It's hoarded away and every time I check it's always still there. And mixtures of the following: Broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots, bok choy, brussel sprouts, sweet potato, cauliflower, avocado, tomatoes, apples, oranges, peaches, pineapple, watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes (red and green), bananas. I honestly could be missing some of the fruits and veggies they get because they get such a large variety. They get mixed nuts 2 to 3 times a week, not more than 2 nuts each. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pecans. I switch those up. They only one type of each one each week, except for the walnut. If given 3 times a week, the walnut is what they would get an extra of. They have never liked mealworms, alive or freeze dried. I'm going to try hard boiled egg again. I am also going to give peanut butter. Duckman and I realize that they are lacking protein. I had tried egg when Tizzy and her brother were younger, but they wouldn't eat it. This morning she seems ok as far as she seems to know who I am again. She is still a little jumpy. She is really iffy on if she will let her brother near her or not. He seems to know she is acting strange and seems worried about her. Her prior seizures to my knowledge only happened when she was allowed out of the cage to play, which is something that has been allowed since they were 8 to 10 weeks old. This didn't start until she was 6 months old. Within about 5 mins of being out she would basically just completely freeze. Their other brother died from a seizure when he was 6 weeks old. He had full on convulsions and died within 1 min. Tizzy's seizures seemed different until last night. Last night she was convulsing and then getting scared and throwing herself around her cage. I was scared she would injure herself. Any help would be so appreciated! I'm sure this isn't going to be the last time and I'm worried that she won't make it one of these times. Her brother seems perfectly healthy on this diet, so I'm confused.

[SammysMom]

Although her brother may seem fine, I am sure he is anything but fine. The protein in their diet is an absolute necessity and they need the calcium and nutrition they get from rodent block. My suggestion would be to start the emergency MBD treatment that I will post below. It won't hurt and it may very well help. You absolutely must get her brother to eat rodent block or he will be in the same boat.
Clear out their entire cage so that they have no stashes. Give rodent block only as their first meal of their day. (Generally that was at night when I had flyers) No fruit or nuts until they get eating the proper diet. Mine loved eggshells as well as cooked chicken breast. I would also give them a cooked chicken wing and they loved to eat the meat and chew the bone as well.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

[bratann617]

They also get pinecones and branches from our apple and plum trees to chew on.

[bratann617]

Yes, they also have a calcium block in their cage and I give a tums to them every week or two. I was also going to offer formula again for the calcium and protein both. They are so stubborn with the squirrel block. They will not eat it. Unfortunately Tizzy has no weight to lose. Her brother is a chunk and I'm sure would be fine. I have protein powder, would sprinkling that on their fruits and veggies work? I had made homemade squirrel block for a previous flyer, so that's where the protein powder comes from. I may have to try to make a batch for these guys to see if they will eat it instead. And if nothing else, buy some special ones from Henry's.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I would try WaxWorms for protein. My guys love them. My boys aren't that crazy about meal worms either. They won't look at an egg and also won't eat cooked chicken. I do buy PureBites dehydrated chicken dog treats. A bag lasts a long time. You could try that. It is 74% protein.

Your story is SO familiar to me. I also have a flyer that had a seizure every time he came out of the cage. After watching his behavior carefully I determined that LIGHT was a seizure trigger for him. I almost never turn the light on fully in their room. Their room gets indirect light from the kitchen so that's enough. I also have dark fleece covering the top and back of their cages. Since adopting this my boy has only had 1 seizure in over 5 years. The one seizure he did have was clearly explainable as another of the flyers got in his cage. I was trying to separate them and he got overstimulated and seized.

My flyers seizures were not diet related. You will have to determine if that is a possible cause for yours. My flyers will not eat the flyer blocks from Henry's. They will eat the picky eater block. Some will be horrified by this but my flyers get 1/2 of a picky eater block per day. The flyers are small, the Henry's are concentrated and all they ever ate was 1/2 if that. They are much more inclined to eat the 1/2 block than stash it.

Unfortunately, some flyers are prone to seizures. It's just how they are wired. Triggers like light, noise or stress can initiate a seizure. For Bonzai, controlling the trigger has helped tremendously. I went to a conference this past weekend and seizures was one of the topics. In those cases where diet has been rules out, controlling triggers doesn't work, seizure medications might be needed but that's only if all other causes have been rules out. The primary medication is phenobarbital. The dose will be increased until the seizures stop. If the seizures haven't stopped when the maximum dose of phenobarbital has been reached, a second medication is added. Potassium bromide is the antiseizure that is added. Keep in mind these drugs are not used to stop an active seizure. They are for long term management of the seizures.

I would keep some diazepam (Valium) on hand to stop the seizures that won't stop. An uncontrolled, long lasting seizure can cause brain damage and as you saw, death.

I would rule out MBD first. I would also keep them in a dark quiet environment until this is figured out.

[bratann617]

Thank you so much! Yes, if they eat the block, it is very little, but I might try the picky eater one. I will give wax worms a try, even though it grosses me out, LoL! Their health is my first priority. I'm wondering if since they are in my bedroom and my t.v. is usually on, if that may be a trigger. I do not have a different room to put them in, but t.v. time for both my daughter and I may just have to be cut short or cut out at night if they are awake. I will try those chicken dog treats too. Where do you get them from? We would have to try to figure out dosage for any and all medications that you have mentioned. Any chance you know where we can get that information? Thank you so much for your help! I do feel like she may have suffered some brain damage last night during all of those back to back seizures. I just hope maybe she and her personality will come back. I don't think she will be able to handle much more. She looked so bad last night.

[HRT4SQRLS]

A television might well be a trigger. I would turn the volume down so that it's not blasting them. Some of the program's now are so active and loud. I would also go to the fabric store and shield their cage with dark fleece so that they are not subjected to the screen. I'm not sure you know this but flashing, strobing light will initiate seizures. When doctors are evaluating seizure patients, the seizures can be initiated with a strobe light. A television sorta has that strobing light effect.

I buy the PureBites chicken at PetSuperMarket but other pet retailers might have it also.

Unfortunately, we don't self-medicate our squirrels with antiseizure drugs. You would need a vet for that. The reason is that the animal needs to be monitored while on these drugs. You can use Valium and I would definitely try to find some. I would ask friends. I'm sure we can probably find dosing information on that but for the antiseizure drugs you would need a vet.

[bratann617]

Thank you! Their cage is covered over the top, back and at least 3 quarters of the way down on the sides with a dark blue fleece blanket. The front of their cage is not covered. Their cage sits on the same wall as the t.v., so it's not shining in the front of the cage, but I'm sure they still get flashes from it off the walls. I will restrict t.v. time for a while and see what happens. I will add more coverings to their cage as well.