Head Trauma or Internal Trauma

[Tyke]

We rescued a 3 week old male squirrel in September. He is 6 months old. He lives in the house, cage sometimes, runs loose sometimes. Today my daughter went thorough a swinging door and the squirrel either got caught in it or got hit in the head as it tried to follow her. When she looked back, the squirrel (Theodore) was rolling around and squealing and disoriented. This happened about 3pm, so about 3 hours ago. He is now calmed down, but still disoriented and somewhat delirious. He is having difficulty running, jumping, and has very little focus. One second he is calm and just lays there to be pet, and then other moments running haphazardly and without orientation. He squeals a little when his belly is rubbed. He is drinking water but not eating !! We are at a loss as to what we can do. Can anybody give us some advice to help this little fella ???

[cava]

Hi there.

First of all, get him into a space which will limit his ability to stumble around and run into things. You can pad the bottom of his cage with blankets so he doesn't hurt himself.

If you give us a weight on him we can give you a dose for Infant Ibuprofen, which will help with pain and inflammation.

Make sure you are keeping him on a squirrel healthy diet and that he stays hydrated to assist in healing.

You will need to assess his entire body, head to toe, but be careful and don't poke or squeeze his abdomen.

Hopefully he will get better quickly but it would help to know what he's doing in the morning as well. But definitely keep him caged overnight. A blanket over top will help him settle in.

Others will also chime in.

What do you guys feed him?

[Mel1959]

Do you have access to prednisone?

[Tyke]

Thanks for the immediate response !! I am not sure of the weight. My daughter is at home with him, holding him at the moment. His diet pretty much consists of blueberries and blackberries (his favorites) and various nuts, he loves the filberts. He also eats raw spinach, strawberries, pecans, he doesn't care for the rodent food suggested, he likes Brazille nuts, pealed acorns, leaves off of oak trees, and we keep water out for him everywhere !!

Current update, just got off the phone with the daughter, she said he ate 3 blueberries and a blackberry, but did not want to eat any nuts. She said he ate awkwardly, as though he had Bells Palsy. After eating, he went into his hammock in the cage and went to sleep. So she did not want to bother him in order to put him on a kitchen scale. He is resting at the moment.

To continue, he also twitches his head. Kind of like a qwerk while being held. We are thinking it was a head trauma when the door swung back and hit him in the head, but not sure. It is just the twitching and disorientation that makes us believe this. In addition the way he ate his food leads us to believe he has some trauma issues. As to his weight, I am guessing he is weighing around 8 ounces or so. Cant be much more. Say about half the size of a full grown squirrel. I will stop off at the drug store on my way home and pick up the Infant Ibuprofen and have it available for when and if it is needed and I will not administer until You inform me too.

We have full intentions of working him into the backyard this Spring !! But thats in God's hands now !!

Thank You for Your quick response, God Bless You !!! We love all of God's little creatures !! So Thank You !!!

I will keep You posted !!

In response to the prednisone, Yes, I have access through a doctor & vet friends of mine. Thank You !!

[Grinderhead]

This diet needs to be addressed.He need a good block in his diet.
Please check this out www.henryspets.com and check the chart.
https://www.henryspets.com/healthy-d...pet-squirrels/
JMO his diet is a road to MBD. https://www.henryspets.com/what-is-m...-bone-disease/
https://www.henryspets.com/picky-eaters/
I no this has nothing to do with the Head Trauma which others will help with.

[Chickenlegs]

Can you get him to a vet? He’s injured so the rule is warm, dark, quiet. Confine him so he can’t further injure himself. He has a head injury so don’t make him VERY warm but do make sure he’s not getting chilled. Make sure he drinks. A 1 or 3 ml syringe will help with giving him water if he won’t drink on his own. You can even add a tiny bit of honey to encourage. His diet needs a LOT of work but that takes a backseat to addressing his injury. Does he circle? Have you noticed nystagmus (eyes jumping around)? You said he was “twitchy”? No more nuts for now, try some watermelon or apple, both are hydrating. and I think I would offer some Tums crushed and added to water. He needs available calcium that he’s not getting in his diet. OK— no more diet stuff for now

Early on in my own squirrel saga somebody smart said I needed to provide a cage for all of my squirrels. They should have out time, but they are hard wired to have a home—a nest and especially for a captive squirrel, a safe zone is particularly important when there’s visitors, activity such as cleaning, painting, repairing, having open windows, cooking, or going through doors and not specifically paying attention to the squirrel. That bit of advice has saved my guys more than once. I came close to disaster. My squirrels are caged. Everybody has his/her large space. They all get out time, but if I need to be away for a day or two, that cage gives them comfort when somebody besides me is giving them dinner. Sounds like you plan on releasing your baby in the spring. Lets hope he’s just fine by then.