Fox Squirrel with Head Trauma

[isla]

okay this is an interesting one.

here's a pic of the sweet boy before we start the story-- i'm calling him svi (pronounced s'vee)!

(that's pecans on his nose lol)

svi got in someone's basement (was there an entire week at least.. we don't know if he even had food at all)- where he proceeded to tear into insulation and chew through a brand new door (almost got loose in the house!).. some people (my dad and his employee- they are landscapers/plumbers/handymen pretty much) were called in to try and get him out.

he would NOT go out through the way he came in, no matter how cornered. they were trying to capture svi without hurting him, but since he was jumping all over the place, the other guy ended up getting frustrated (my dad said he was scared too) and hit the poor baby in the face with a BAT!!!!

they called me on the way home (pitch black out), saying he might be dead when they arrive. he wasn't! but he didn't want to move. at all. he was sprawled out in the grass and the box they had him in had a buncha blood all in it. when i tried to pick him up (with gloves), he went nuts trying to bite through them. i knew releasing him at night, in questionable shape, wasn't good, so we put him in a live trap for the night (he ran pretty quickly into it when it touched his tail, so we thought he was fine!).

the next day he was so calm and he was eating but he was also letting me touch him. he wasn't walking super well. i ended up putting him in a dog kennel (in the garage), and have been trying to scope out how he is/how he's recovering... he's eating and drinking fine, but now he has the squirrel tears right now (in one eye) it seems. he is walking okay though.

he's very gentle, he walks fine but he's slow and just walks. no running-- very not your typical running around squirrel. you can feel his spine and ribs but he has nice fur and does not feel emaciated or anything. he does not bite unless you try to pick him up (he feels like he has good muscles still!), but now he's even letting me pick him up. he lets me pet him and scratch him and is very relaxed with me. he doesn't try to run away even when i open the dog kennel he is in or lift the top up. he even sniffed my dad's fingers with no issue (or so he said). he sleeps... a lot. maybe recovering?

here he just flopped down and started sleeping in front of me (and he even tucked himself against my foot).. yes he has a box to sleep in btw!


and then... he let me do the arm scratchies...!! (and i believe he's given me a couple kisses)

at that time i tried to feel his mouth and look at his teeth but everything seems fine (from what i can tell) besides a cut on his upper lip. he is definitely doing better today than he did the other day. (he's only been with us a day or 2- my lovely boyfriend seven (he frequents this forum!) just ordered me some squirrel block for him that hopefully will be here soon).

so yeah, any suggestions in terms of pain management/caring for him?

also- is it possible he's bonded to me (i was very gentle and calm and talking to him very softly that first day.. now he perks up when he hears me even) or do you think he's just hurt? i'm pretty attached- he's just so cute and sweet! look at that face! but i'm hoping i can help him feel better.

maybe the guy hit the wild out of him


TLDR; fox squirrel got hit in the face with a bat and now is very docile/calm/friendly but also is in pain/has squirrel tears.

thank you in advance!!

EDIT: i have cbd pills made for small animals- for my senior rabbit that i used to have. not sure if that's an accepted thing or if it's safe, but throwing out that possibility since i have them on hand!

[Spanky]

By Squirrel Tears do you mean "white tears"?

Yes, sometimes when they suffer trauma they get the wild knocked out of them, at least for a period. I have experienced this with more than one HBC (Hit By Car) wilds I have treated. Know that they will usually get more active and more aggressive (wanting to be free) as time passes and they start feeling better. But it does sound as if he knows you mean him no harm and are trying to help.

He does not appear to be very old, I would guess an adolescent. But his nose does not look quite right... it looks almost like a fur or fungus growing on it instead of skin? Then again I do not have much close up experience with foxers... maybe it is a foxer's normal winter nose?

So you see no swelling, no head tilt, no circling, no partial paralysis or other signs of possible head / spinal trauma.. just a lack of running and climbing? I will send Ibuprofen Infant Drops dosing for the pain (assuming white tears) but do not give it if he is displaying any of those signs of head trauma (tilt, circling, partial paralysis, etc.) because in that case steroids are the better course which cannot be given with Ibuprofen.

[isla]

By Squirrel Tears do you mean "white tears"?

yes! he had the white tears in one eye, but it is gone today.

Yes, sometimes when they suffer trauma they get the wild knocked out of them, at least for a period. I have experienced this with more than one HBC (Hit By Car) wilds I have treated. Know that they will usually get more active and more aggressive (wanting to be free) as time passes and they start feeling better. But it does sound as if he knows you mean him no harm and are trying to help.

he definitely is getting more active! he got startled today and jumped on the side of the kennel (inside it) and hung there for a moment. he showed no interest in jumping before today. he also is faster today! i am definitely expecting him to get more wild again and want to be free, he's becoming more active/aware every day.

He does not appear to be very old, I would guess an adolescent. But his nose does not look quite right... it looks almost like a fur or fungus growing on it instead of skin? Then again I do not have much close up experience with foxers... maybe it is a foxer's normal winter nose?

he just has pecan powder on his nose!! (we had some frozen, ground up pecans that i let him try. i've been giving him mazuri mouse/rat food and a variety of safe snacks until his squirrel blocks get here. banana too, i was told the potassium could help him!)

So you see no swelling, no head tilt, no circling, no partial paralysis or other signs of possible head / spinal trauma.. just a lack of running and climbing? I will send Ibuprofen Infant Drops dosing for the pain (assuming white tears) but do not give it if he is displaying any of those signs of head trauma (tilt, circling, partial paralysis, etc.) because in that case steroids are the better course which cannot be given with Ibuprofen.

not that i've noticed! we never saw any circling or swelling. but i also don't know how he looked before. he does have a cut on his upper lip but it is scabbed over/not open anymore. he may have circled when he was FIRST hit.. but i didn't see him until a few hours after the incident. he did have a bit of a tilt maybe the first day i think- but not super obvious. just a bit off. he also seemed to have trouble with his little hands and was lethargic that first day, but he definitely seems better in terms of that now (his head hung low a bit the first day too- he holds it higher now, can clean himself and hold food properly/feels stong when he grabs food).




today he is still sleeping a lot, and doesn't seem to want to run around (i don't know if that's due to coldness/it being winter? he is in the garage so it's not as cold as outside, but not as warm as a house) (i have given him hay and a towel to make a nest but he just curls up in a box), but i managed to feel his front teeth (he just let me feel with no issues!) and they feel okay. he's groomed me today and been really sweet and friendly still, and is eating and drinking.

[Mel1959]

Do you notice any head tilt now? Do his eyes seem normal, no jerky back and forth movement? Is he able to balance and walk ok? Did you ever give ibuprofen? If you notice any of these symptoms he might benefit from prednisone. You cannot give ibuprofen with prednisone, though.

I didn’t notice where you were located, but if you suspect the garage might be too cold for him you could put a heating pad that doesn’t shut off UNDER half of the kennel he’s in. Allow him space to move off the heat if he doesn’t like it or it gets too hot.

I sure hope he recovers and can be freed.

[isla]

Do you notice any head tilt now? Do his eyes seem normal, no jerky back and forth movement? Is he able to balance and walk ok? Did you ever give ibuprofen? If you notice any of these symptoms he might benefit from prednisone. You cannot give ibuprofen with prednisone, though.

I didn’t notice where you were located, but if you suspect the garage might be too cold for him you could put a heating pad that doesn’t shut off UNDER half of the kennel he’s in. Allow him space to move off the heat if he doesn’t like it or it gets too hot.

I sure hope he recovers and can be freed.

no head tilt or jerky movements that i have noticed! he seems very steady to me. i haven't been able to get ahold of any ibuprofen (i don't know that i'd be able to get my hands on prednisone), but he does not have the tears anymore so i've been unsure if i should try to give him any since he's starting to jump/climb things now.

he is still super friendly with me- but he's more scared of other people it seems.. he'll sniff them but he's very cautious. he has tried to get out of the cage but only when scared (usually me accidentally bumping a box or something). i wonder if the fact he was in the suburbs means anything? when i lived in the suburbs, the squirrels were so friendly. nothing like the rural squirrels i have now!

i'm in the midwest but it's been pretty nice lately actually. a little chilly but 30s/40s. his fur is VERY fluffy and he does have bedding/boxes/blanket in his kennel! i think he will be able to be freed, and when we do- the person who hit him has the responsibility of making him a box for the tree. he totally seems like he's recovering though!

here's a picture from yesterday!

[Mel1959]

He’s adoreable. . I love fox squirrels.

[TubeDriver]

How is this little fellow doing?

[isla]

How is this little fellow doing?

hello! i am so sorry for the late response! svi healed up well and was able to be released.. but not pleasantly, i am sad to say.

we got a nesting box ready for him, and were prepared to release him, but we held off for a couple days
..

and then the DNR showed up at our door. my mom was the one who talked to him thankfully. someone who knew about my opossum called (so either someone we trusted.. or "the wrong person" found out). my mom told him about svi instead, and the DNR officer made her release him right then and there, without a nesting box or anything :-/ he was very wild and ready to go though (not friendly anymore!- but not mean because he was a suburb squirrel), so hopefully he is okay. i saw him shortly after release but not since then (but it's winter).

thankfully isla was saved though (she would Never have a chance to survive release, svi had a better one, being wild and not raised in captivity) and is somewhere safe. i miss her.

[GoldenEyes]

hello! i am so sorry for the late response! svi healed up well and was able to be released.. but not pleasantly, i am sad to say.

we got a nesting box ready for him, and were prepared to release him, but we held off for a couple days
..

and then the DNR showed up at our door. my mom was the one who talked to him thankfully. someone who knew about my opossum called (so either someone we trusted.. or "the wrong person" found out). my mom told him about svi instead, and the DNR officer made her release him right then and there, without a nesting box or anything :-/ he was very wild and ready to go though (not friendly anymore!- but not mean because he was a suburb squirrel), so hopefully he is okay. i saw him shortly after release but not since then (but it's winter).

thankfully isla was saved though (she would Never have a chance to survive release, svi had a better one, being wild and not raised in captivity) and is somewhere safe. i miss her.

Thank you for the update. Glad svi was well enough to be released. Will you still be able to put the nesting box somewhere in a tree safely since it's winter and he won't be able to make a nest for himself right now? And better keep the opossum tucked away somewhere because you don't know who reported her.

[TubeDriver]

Hopefully svi is doing fine. I would out out some food in your yard and hang a nestbox or two. Very scary that DNR showed up, what is that old saying "loose lips sink ships".

[seven]

Thank you for the update. Glad svi was well enough to be released. Will you still be able to put the nesting box somewhere in a tree safely since it's winter and he won't be able to make a nest for himself right now? And better keep the opossum tucked away somewhere because you don't know who reported her.

Hopefully svi is doing fine. I would out out some food in your yard and hang a nestbox or two. Very scary that DNR showed up, what is that old saying "loose lips sink ships".

we are hoping he took shelter in some of the many spruce trees since that's where he was last seen, maybe the nesting box can be hung near there. i need to order some more wild bites for him because the last was used up.

the opossum is safe elsewhere, thankfully we knew someone who could keep her instead. someone obviously called to be cruel (afraid it's someone we used to know who isn't very kind to animals) seeing as i was called on as soon as i was home with my flyers-- who obviously we've established are legal pets.