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Thread: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

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    Default 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Hi all -

    This forum has been so helpful for me in the past with my two earlier squirrel buddies. We're raising a newer baby (Charlie) and up until the last couple of days, he was doing great. But beginning the day before yesterday, he's been kind of slowing down. He's still eating just fine (Henry's healthy blocks, plus Esbilac formula and just a few tree nuts), he just doesn't have much energy - he's sleeping most of the time, and when he does come out he mostly just sits there, and is definitely not jumping much. I've examined his legs and feet and he doesn't seem to be injured at all. I've searched around here on the forums and found a number of references to MBD - can someone tell me a little more about that? Does it sound like this may be what's happening?

    Again, he's about 10 weeks old.

    Thanks in advance!
    Mike (and Charlie)

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Name:  Charlie May 2019.jpg
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    By the way here's a pic of Charlie, a few days ago.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    If he’s still on formula there’s little chance that it’s MBD. How many nuts does he get in a day? How much formula is he taking each day? Are you providing some healthy veggies as well? If you hold him up to your ear like a phone do you hear any clicking when he breathes?

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel1959 View Post
    If he’s still on formula there’s little chance that it’s MBD. How many nuts does he get in a day? How much formula is he taking each day? Are you providing some healthy veggies as well? If you hold him up to your ear like a phone do you hear any clicking when he breathes?
    Thanks for the response - he's probably eating around a half dozen to a dozen nuts in a day, along with some sunflower seeds. He's not nearly as interested in the formula as the squirrels we've had before (they were CRAZY for it) - so I can usually only get him to take around 3-4 droppers, 3 times a day. Yes, giving him some veggies also (but should probably give him more. He's chowing some broccolli right now). No, I can't hear any clicking..

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    How much does Charlie weigh? He seems very small for 10 weeks, especially for a northern squirrel. Maybe it's just the pic. I just want to rule out that he is a dwarf.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow & Arthur View Post
    Thanks for the response - he's probably eating around a half dozen to a dozen nuts in a day, along with some sunflower seeds. He's not nearly as interested in the formula as the squirrels we've had before (they were CRAZY for it) - so I can usually only get him to take around 3-4 droppers, 3 times a day. Yes, giving him some veggies also (but should probably give him more. He's chowing some broccolli right now). No, I can't hear any clicking..
    Whoa! No, a baby can't have that many nuts! Also, no sunflower seeds. I just released one yesterday that didn't even know that nuts existed until he was over 12 weeks old. Captive squirrels (adults) can only have 1-2 nuts per day as a treat. I don't give babies nuts at all. They LOVE nuts and will stop eating healthy foods. It is very possible that he is low on calcium. Starting now, no more nuts or seeds. Try to force the formula issue. He needs the calcium desperately. His only solid foods should be rodent block (HHB) and healthy veggies.

    Babies need calcium more than adults because they are building bones. How long has he been getting nuts? It's possible his growth is stunted from low calcium.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    If Charlie has been getting nuts since his eyes opened it is very possible that he does have early MBD. If it wasn't for the formula and HHB he would have full blown MBD.

    Here is a link to the treatment. Keep in mind this is the treatment for an adult squirrel so you don't want to give a full MBD treatment. I do think he would benefit from additional calcium to supplement the formula and HHB. I'm just guessing here but I would give 50-100mg of calcium (Tums) daily for a week and see if he perks up. Space it out through the day. Don't give it all at one time.

    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

    Nuts are a high phosphorus food. The body has a balanced Metabolic ratio of 2 calcium to 1 phosphorus. When high phosphorus foods are fed in abundance the body will pull calcium from the bones to balance out this excess phosphorus. This is what causes MBD. In advanced cases MBD causes hindend paralysis, seizures and death.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Quote Originally Posted by HRT4SQRLS View Post
    Whoa! No, a baby can't have that many nuts! Also, no sunflower seeds. I just released one yesterday that didn't even know that nuts existed until he was over 12 weeks old. Captive squirrels (adults) can only have 1-2 nuts per day as a treat. I don't give babies nuts at all. They LOVE nuts and will stop eating healthy foods. It is very possible that he is low on calcium. Starting now, no more nuts or seeds. Try to force the formula issue. He needs the calcium desperately. His only solid foods should be rodent block (HHB) and healthy veggies.

    Babies need calcium more than adults because they are building bones. How long has he been getting nuts? It's possible his growth is stunted from low calcium.
    Ok, no more nuts or seeds! Yes, I'll get him to take more formula. He's actually not as small as he looks in the pic - he seems about right for his age (I will weigh him, but I've gotta get to the hardware store to get new batteries for our digital kitchen scale...). And, I'm probably overestimating the number of nuts, but I will take them away completely ...

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Quote Originally Posted by HRT4SQRLS View Post
    If Charlie has been getting nuts since his eyes opened it is very possible that he does have early MBD. If it wasn't for the formula and HHB he would have full blown MBD.

    Here is a link to the treatment. Keep in mind this is the treatment for an adult squirrel so you don't want to give a full MBD treatment. I do think he would benefit from additional calcium to supplement the formula and HHB. I'm just guessing here but I would give 50-100mg of calcium (Tums) daily for a week and see if he perks up. Space it out through the day. Don't give it all at one time.

    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

    Nuts are a high phosphorus food. The body has a balanced Metabolic ratio of 2 calcium to 1 phosphorus. When high phosphorus foods are fed in abundance the body will pull calcium from the bones to balance out this excess phosphorus. This is what causes MBD. In advanced cases MBD causes hindend paralysis, seizures and death.
    No, he's only been getting nuts for the past week or so, and not very many.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow & Arthur View Post
    Ok, no more nuts or seeds! And, I'm probably overestimating the number of nuts, but I will take them away completely ...
    Oh good... you scared me. 6-12 nuts a day would be deadly for a baby. Actually, that many would cause MBD in an adult as well.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    I would boost his calcium a bit for week. I am troubled by lethargy in a baby that is still taking formula though. Is there any chance he may have aspirated formula?

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

    Hey, sorry I haven't responded in a while but I just want to let everybody know that I took all of your advice and Charlie's doing fantastically - he's as healthy and active as can be. I'm keeping his daily calcium intake high, he's only getting one nut a day as a special treat, and he's mainly eating rodent block and veggies (along with his formula and Henry's Healthy treats). He's about ready to move into the condo I built him outside.

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    Default Re: 10-week old squirrel lethargic, sleeping a lot, not active

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