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Thread: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

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    Default URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Someone please help! Huckleberry won’t eat, is constipated, is lethargic, and keeps going into trance-like states. I’m so worried & this all came on so suddenly! I’d rather someone call me if possible! 478-363-0636

    -Huckleberry’s Mom

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    How old is he? What are you feeding him?

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by Jen413 View Post
    How old is he? What are you feeding him?
    16 weeks
    He weaned himself at 11 weeks; wouldn’t take the syringe or lap from a dish anymore
    Used esbilac powdered puppy milk
    Now he eats Henry’s Hi-Protein, & Wild Bites
    Occasionally fruit like strawberry
    One pecan in a shell a day
    Before the pecan it was 1-2 almonds a day
    Spinach, kale, arugula, lettuce
    Baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower
    Has a cuttle bone; doesn’t use it though
    Fresh picked pinecones from the tree
    Fresh limbs in his cage

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Is there a chance he could have fallen? I would get fluids into him asap. Dehydration causes many problems so try to address that first.
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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Is he getting sunlight? Give him some calcium immediately. Try some molasses too in case his sugar is low. The trance is probably a seizure. Possibly from MDB.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by squirrelfriend View Post
    Is he getting sunlight? Give him some calcium immediately. Try some molasses too in case his sugar is low. The trance is probably a seizure. Possibly from MDB.
    He is eating Henry's blocks. MBD is doubtful if he is actually eating them (and not stashing them).

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by squirrelfriend View Post
    Is he getting sunlight? Give him some calcium immediately. Try some molasses too in case his sugar is low. The trance is probably a seizure. Possibly from MDB.
    Not much sunlight, no.
    Gave him 1000mg tums mixed with juice (read that from here or Henry’s pets) earlier and that’s when she started the trance like things.
    He’s having temporary paralysis in his legs
    I tried rubbing honey on his gums; didn’t help
    He’s been drinking non-flavored pedialyte since last night.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    He is eating Henry's blocks. MBD is doubtful if he is actually eating them (and not stashing them).
    He usually eats 2-3 Henry’s blocks a day. Just recently within I’d say the last 36 hours, he’s not been eating them. He also needs a teeth trim. They are not horrendous but they’re not blunted like the top. We were scheduled to do that this week. I’ve been giving him pedialyte though and a little Apple juice to get him rehydrates and to keep his sugar level stable

    I have never found a stash of his blocks before. He usually eats them.
    Last edited by HuckleberryFinnmore; 11-06-2018 at 09:24 AM. Reason: He does not stash his blocks lol

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by SammysMom View Post
    Is there a chance he could have fallen? I would get fluids into him asap. Dehydration causes many problems so try to address that first.
    Have been encouraging him to drink non flavored pedialyte with a splash of juice. He may have fallen in his cage! That’s a possibility. He has a 7ft tall cage. He also fell from the top of his cage about 3 weeks ago, but showed no signs of injury at all.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by HuckleberryFinnmore View Post
    16 weeks
    He weaned himself at 11 weeks; wouldn’t take the syringe or lap from a dish anymore
    Used esbilac powdered puppy milk
    Now he eats Henry’s Hi-Protein, & Wild Bites
    Occasionally fruit like strawberry
    One pecan in a shell a day
    Before the pecan it was 1-2 almonds a day
    Spinach, kale, arugula, lettuce
    Baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower
    Has a cuttle bone; doesn’t use it though
    Fresh picked pinecones from the tree
    Fresh limbs in his cage
    I'm not sure if this may have anything to do with any of his signs. But Spinich is on the Do not feed list.......

    Anyone with more experience able to answer this......

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by TamiKakes View Post
    I'm not sure if this may have anything to do with any of his signs. But Spinich is on the Do not feed list.......

    Anyone with more experience able to answer this......
    More a long term issue - spinach is very, very high in oxylates, usually related to kidney issues. Nice catch though. It should be dropped from the diet regardless.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    More a long term issue - spinach is very, very high in oxylates, usually related to kidney issues. Nice catch though. It should be dropped from the diet regardless.
    Not to thread-jack, but just curious if spinich in small amounts ( like the baby food with spinach and other veggies/fruits mixed in for boo balls would be okay? When I make boo balls, I do like 4 different flavors and rotate them out.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by HuckleberryFinnmore View Post
    Someone please help! Huckleberry won’t eat, is constipated, is lethargic, and keeps going into trance-like states. I’m so worried & this all came on so suddenly! I’d rather someone call me if possible! 478-363-0636

    -Huckleberry’s Mom
    OK. You say he won't eat and is constipated. Have you seen him straining to poop and not producing or are you assuming that he is constipated because you see no poop?

    Can you describe the trance like states better? Are they random? How long? How do they start and stop and what does he do while they are happening? Does his head drift? Any piece of info you can throw out there might give us a clue.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    More a long term issue - spinach is very, very high in oxylates, usually related to kidney issues. Nice catch though. It should be dropped from the diet regardless.
    I’m very sorry not to have left an update. Huckleberry has improved and is no longer showing any symptoms or acting strange! But I haven’t stopped trying to figure out what happened, and I’m making changes as well.

    *Spinach has been eliminated from his diet. It was my own goof up.. I was reading a chart that listed calcium/phosphorus ratios and spinach was in the “good” column, so I got it. I should have double checked that it was on Henry’s Healthy Pets feeding guide. Lesson learned, and I will take more caution moving forward.

    *consitpation- he was still able to poop, but looked like he was straining. He was crawling on his belly some, and from what I watched, it would take him a few seconds to eliminate. His poop was smaller in size, darker in color, and looked dryer. The only new thing that was introduced to him recently before this began was pecans in the shell. He was getting 1 per day. He was drinking less of his water too. This didn’t go on for a full 24 hours when I made the decision that I needed to intervene. I bought non-flavored pedialyte and added a tiny amount of apple juice in with it. I put this in a drinking dish and he drank it well. I discontinued before the 24 hour mark.

    *trance- he wouldn’t respond to voice or touch. He just stared blankly in one direction for a few moments. No odd movements of his head. No convulsions. They were random.. I can’t think of anything that would be causing them. They lasted for less than 1 minute, and then he would “come to” and start normal activities again. He wouldn’t respond to any noise.

    *he started dragging his back legs for a few seconds as well, and then he’d regain control of them.

    *Is there a such thing as too much calcium? Since he wasn’t eating and wasn’t acting himself, I gave him a crushed tums mixed with water via syringe. He ate maybe half of the solution. This is when the trances and temporary “paralysis” of the back legs began. To be clear, I did this right after starting pedialyte, before I posted in here for help. I forgot to mention this. I have kicked myself over and over for forgetting.

    *bought him a zoo-med UVB light for his cage. It is 100w. Haven’t used it yet. Wanted to see if this is too high or too low, as the only things I have read about the lights haven’t mentioned Watts.

    *we are building a safe outside cage as well. He will never be without supervision or shade, no worries.

    *overall, he has improved. I’m thankful for that, but I have not stopped asking questions and trying to find the cause!

    Thank you so much for the help everyone.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by HuckleberryFinnmore View Post
    *Is there a such thing as too much calcium? Since he wasn’t eating and wasn’t acting himself, I gave him a crushed tums mixed with water via syringe. He ate maybe half of the solution. This is when the trances and temporary “paralysis” of the back legs began. To be clear, I did this right after starting pedialyte, before I posted in here for help. I forgot to mention this. I have kicked myself over and over for forgetting.
    Watch is poo and if it gets very light / white then he is getting more calcium than he is processing, so cut it back until the poos return to more normal, darker poops.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    Watch is poo and if it gets very light / white then he is getting more calcium than he is processing, so cut it back until the poos return to more normal, darker poops.
    Will do! It just freaked me out that he seemed to worsen after I gave the tums. From everything I’ve read, I thought the extra calcium wouldn’t hurt them, and could actually save them assuming they had a calcium deficiency. Now I’m afraid of giving him any more tums.

    I have another concern: His teeth are aligned correctly, but his bottom incisors are too long! His vet is afraid of using iso on him because of his age, and he never said if he’d trim them without iso.. he just kind of dismissed it and told me to give Huckleberry pecans in the shell. PECANS!! As if a few darn pecans will be able to solve this problem. Pecan= the missing link for fixing teeth!! Ugh. That frustrates me. Huckleberry has so many cool and neat and extra hard things to chew on.. I don’t see a pecan being the solution to this.
    So... what can I do? No other vet in my area will see him. I’ve assisted with malocclusion trims before (I am a vet assistant) so I have a good idea of the process. If I had something or someone to walk me through this.. I believe I could do this myself until I’m able to find a vet who will trim them for me, or until his vet will trim them.

    He is making tiny poops again. I have a picture, I actually have many pictures of his poop, his teeth, and all of that, but I can’t figure out how to post them. He is not dehydrated from what I can tell. His water bottle does not leak, so I know that he is actually drinking the water that is missing, and I see him drink several times a day and throughout the night. I also checked his skin turgor and it was normal. He is eating normal again as well. I made boo balls for him and he really likes those. What could be causing the little poops? He lays on his belly and stretches out really far sometimes while he’s pooping too. He never used to do this.

    Being a squirrel mom is tough! I just want to do everything possible for him, and I feel so bad that I haven’t been able to resolve his poop troubles. He doesn’t seem like he is in pain at all. He’s very playful and active. I’m really at a loss. I don’t know what this could be.

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Some natural remedies for constipation I know of are pumpkin and prunes. If that is his only issue now, try giving him a little bit? Maybe add more leafs to his diet for the water/fiber.

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    Angry Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by SquirrelDad View Post
    Some natural remedies for constipation I know of are pumpkin and prunes. If that is his only issue now, try giving him a little bit? Maybe add more leafs to his diet for the water/fiber.
    I will try it. Thank you!

    I know at this point I probably seem like a neurotic crazy lady.. taking pictures of poop and such. I’m sorry

    I’m a natural worrier so I’ve been stressed about this. All of the help I’ve received has been so appreciated and has helped me so much. Thank you all so much for the advice and suggestions so far. I’ll post an update when I have one

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    Default Re: URGENT! Lethargy & Trance

    Quote Originally Posted by HuckleberryFinnmore View Post
    I will try it. Thank you!

    I know at this point I probably seem like a neurotic crazy lady.. taking pictures of poop and such. I’m sorry

    I’m a natural worrier so I’ve been stressed about this. All of the help I’ve received has been so appreciated and has helped me so much. Thank you all so much for the advice and suggestions so far. I’ll post an update when I have one
    We're all crazy squirrel people here. I'd be doing the same thing and I get worked up every time the baby sneezes, so I feel you...

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