Re: Taz again
Originally Posted by
sqrlnut
If the glands are fine, then perhaps I am just worrying too much. He is eating and drinking and peeing and pooping. Now that I have a better understanding of the glands and wax being expressed during urination, then it seems he is pretty normal for a 14 year old blind squirrel.
Yes, I am concerned about the dark spots, did you see the x-ray? I attached it again, just in case. If you can't see it, try using google chrome or I can email it to you off the board if you p.m. me.
But I can't see surgery being an option, no matter what the dark spots are. And to find out what they are a sonogram would probably be needed.
It's looking like I should just nurse the little guy along and stop worrying so much
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Hi Sqrlnut: is your boy 14 years old???? My, my, my you've got my respect. Way to go!! I am so glad to see they can get to be that age and in good health. In your case, I hear he is blind, an additional kudos.
I work in the medical industry (da Vinci Robotic surgery) and I see x-rays at work right and left. I am no expert by any extend, but if your are referring to the dark spots on the center of the radiograph, resembling circular blobs, those are air pockets or gas in the intestines. Remember that a dark spot or area in a x-ray means the beams have struck the detector (or x-ray film) with greater strength after passing the body, and since air slows the beam the least, the film or detector appear dark (just like any area outside the subject's body).
If on the other hand you were concerned about a tumor or mass in his body, it should appear with a "whiter" coloration in its shape than the rest its surroundings (closer to the white you see on his bones).
Maybe I am missing the point, but my inexperienced knowledge of reading x-rays films says "I don't see anything that looks 'drastically' abnormal". I can however have the film viewed by my colleagues at work and see if they see anything alarming. But a vet that knows the anatomy of squirrels would be your first and best bet to have a certified assessment.
Let me know if I can help in any other way.
Trooper's dad
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" When you save someone's life, you're responsible for theirs for the rest of yours" - Confucius
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