This is my first rodeo with what seems to be an advanced case of MBD. At least I hope that is the problem, because the alternative is a all too severe injury.
Sammysmom routed these two my way from a third person (off board) who deserves a ton of credit for working diligently for days to get the person that had these 2 sweeties to relinquish them. On top of that she drove many, many hours round trip today to bring them to me (I cannot say how grateful I am when folks are willing to bring them right to the door... too many of us know just how hard it is to get away for 5 or 6 hours to pick up babies… when we are hopping during baby season!). They were given Henry’s and Bok-Choy on the drive which they seemed to enjoy… which you would not think for squees living on a diet of corn and seeds. Oh, and this will not surprise anyone but KT is out of town (what surprises await her return!!! I digress). I have some of the backstory, but I doubt much what was provided by the person that had them for months is accurate…
These are 2 sisters, fall 2018 babies, are both woefully underweight, showing all the signs of poor nutrition. The better off of the two is a little heavier, very active and mobile. Her tail is recently de-gloved though, about 2 – 3 inches worth.
Her sister has rear end paralysis but she can move her right rear leg some and I have seen her tail flicker and flinch. I have felt spasms in her tail when I am holding her.
I am not sure what kind of hell on earth these two have lived their short lives, but I am sure it is the kind of hell that no animal deserves. They are both so scared you would have thought they were plucked from a nest today and saw a hoomin for the first time.
They have both been started on the MBD protocol. I am working on gaining their trust… anytime I approach, pick up, touch, pet or otherwise interact with the paralysis girl her sister stands vigil in her neighboring cage. They arrived in separate cages that is believed to be where they had been housed for months (a cat carrier and what I am guessing is a mouse cage... I need to post a pic of that thing). And I am keeping them in smaller, separate cages for now. Both their bottoms are a mess and they were swimming in dried corn... apparently corn and seeds were their diet. They both took their doses of calcium well, thank goodness. Paralysis girl seems to like FV… her sis not so much. Both LOVE Henry’s… so this certainly it not a case where they "refused" to eat their block... they were just never given any block.
Here is a picture of sis standing guard and her sister investigating what I suspect is her first squirrel appropriate meal in her lifetime and a couple quick vids of them... scared little munchkins that they are..
This is the ever vigilant girl wit the partially de-gloved tail:
And this is the one with the rear end paralysis:
https://youtu.be/sckvo7KzO0I
https://youtu.be/wDvpaxTr3yo
https://youtu.be/118yhEL9joo