Reptile Light help for NR

[Uno's Mom]

I have recently adopted a one year old NR, named Bitsy.

I have a very sketchy history on her.
I was told she was given kitten formula when orphaned (KMR) and developed MBD.
She was surrendered by the finder about 4 months ago with paraplegia, lethargy, and lack of appetite.
A Florida/New York registered rehabber treated her for MBD for about six weeks then she came to me.

I am Bitsy’s fourth home and she has been here almost two months.
She is a very active little girl and not especially friendly-I cannot hold her or touch her.
She knows she is a squirrel and would rather be in the trees.

She does not have normal use of her back legs but can climb and grasp pretty well.
Cannot sit up as a normal squirrel does and hold food.
I am not sure if this is from leg/foot issues or spinal deformity.
She also has some degree of urinary incontinence.

I live in the mountains and many days we are shrouded in clouds and fog.
I would like to get a reptile light for her but have questions about mounting it.
She spends most of her day running around out of the cage or resting on top of it looking out the window.
She goes into the cage under fleece or into a cube for naps and bedtime.

I have looked at the prior posts I could find on TSB regarding UV lights.
It looks like I would need:

-Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 UVB High Output Bulbs, in a 46” length
-A fluorescent plug in from Lowes that is 48”.

Are those be the correct sizes to use together?

Does anyone have any photos or suggestions on how to mount these anyway other than cage top?

Bitsy is not a great block eater. I have been giving her the original adult formula HHB.
She tends to pick the pecans out and throw the rest to the floor.
I am going to order the picky eater blocks next.
She also does not drink much water that I can see.
The past 2-3 weeks she has shown no interest in any wild foods she previously ate.

Thank you for any information or suggestions.

[CritterMom]

I have recently adopted a one year old NR, named Bitsy.

I have a very sketchy history on her.
I was told she was given kitten formula when orphaned (KMR) and developed MBD.
She was surrendered by the finder about 4 months ago with paraplegia, lethargy, and lack of appetite.
A Florida/New York registered rehabber treated her for MBD for about six weeks then she came to me.

I am Bitsy’s fourth home and she has been here almost two months.
She is a very active little girl and not especially friendly-I cannot hold her or touch her.
She knows she is a squirrel and would rather be in the trees.

She does not have normal use of her back legs but can climb and grasp pretty well.
Cannot sit up as a normal squirrel does and hold food.
I am not sure if this is from leg/foot issues or spinal deformity.
She also has some degree of urinary incontinence.

I live in the mountains and many days we are shrouded in clouds and fog.
I would like to get a reptile light for her but have questions about mounting it.
She spends most of her day running around out of the cage or resting on top of it looking out the window.
She goes into the cage under fleece or into a cube for naps and bedtime.

I have looked at the prior posts I could find on TSB regarding UV lights.
It looks like I would need:

-Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 UVB High Output Bulbs, in a 46” length
-A fluorescent plug in from Lowes that is 48”.

Are those be the correct sizes to use together?

Does anyone have any photos or suggestions on how to mount these anyway other than cage top?

Bitsy is not a great block eater. I have been giving her the original adult formula HHB.
She tends to pick the pecans out and throw the rest to the floor.
I am going to order the picky eater blocks next.
She also does not drink much water that I can see.
The past 2-3 weeks she has shown no interest in any wild foods she previously ate.

Thank you for any information or suggestions.

You read my post on this! You want to get the regular UVB, not the HO (high output), by the way. It appears to also be a different size. You want the T8, not the T5 size.

The T8 is what the Lowes shoplight uses. The shoplights are nice - they have a plug end so they don't need to be hard wired by someone who knows what they are doing and the price is great. The last one I bought was about $20 for the 2 light 4 foot fixture. I set the lights directly on the top of the cage but they come with small hanging chains so if you wanted to hang them from the ceiling you could get plant hangers with anchor bolts to do so.

By the way - one UV bulb will be plenty. Save yourself some money and when you are at Lowes, pick up a regular T8 size 48" fluorescent for the 2nd bulb. I usually get daylight if I can find them - the combo of one daylight and one UVB is pretty realistic looking.