Leg Problem

[SquirrelGirl31]

I just released 3 juveniles yesterday morning. Everything went great and they bravely ventured out and went on their own. They did come back last night to sleep in their shelter. This afternoon when I got him one of them was back in shelter again and he seems hurt.
He keeps biting at the base of his tail and is limping. I got him in another cage and brought him inside.
He seems pretty exhausted and I noticed he was sleeping in an odd position. Kinda like sitting with his head on the cage floor.
Any advise or any thoughts on what I should do for him?

[stepnstone]

I just released 3 juveniles yesterday morning. Everything went great and they bravely ventured out and went on their own. They did come back last night to sleep in their shelter. This afternoon when I got him one of them was back in shelter again and he seems hurt.
He keeps biting at the base of his tail and is limping. I got him in another cage and brought him inside.
He seems pretty exhausted and I noticed he was sleeping in an odd position. Kinda like sitting with his head on the cage floor.
Any advise or any thoughts on what I should do for him?

Can you handle him to check for injury such as cut, bite, puncture, and possible cause
as to why he's biting at tail?
Do you have access to any antibiotics or pain meds?

[SquirrelGirl31]

Can you handle him to check for injury such as cut, bite, puncture, and possible cause
as to why he's biting at tail?
Do you have access to any antibiotics or pain meds?

I checked him a bit as much as he would let me. I didn’t see any wounds and I don’t think it’s broken.
He can walk on it a bit but then he will hop a little.
What can you give to squirrels for pain meds? I might be able to get antibiotics.

[stepnstone]

I checked him a bit as much as he would let me. I didn’t see any wounds and I don’t think it’s broken.
He can walk on it a bit but then he will hop a little.
What can you give to squirrels for pain meds? I might be able to get antibiotics.

Metecam, Tramadol are pain meds, or easily obtained if you can not acquire them
would be liquid infant Ibuprofen/ infant motrin. Can be found any drug store, Walmart, etc.
We would need a weight to dose as meds are dosed by weight, if that's not attainable
post a picture of him for a reasonable guess at weight and we can dose for you.

[SquirrelGirl31]

Metecam, Tramadol are pain meds, or easily obtained if you can not acquire them
would be liquid infant Ibuprofen/ infant motrin. Can be found any drug store, Walmart, etc.
We would need a weight to dose as meds are dosed by weight, if that's not attainable
post a picture of him for a reasonable guess at weight and we can dose for you.

Checked on Spade this morning and he still seems like he doesn’t want to move much. He did eat a bit of fruit though.
I am not completely positive on his weight but I will attach a couple pics. I put a toilet paper roll by him for scale.
I also will include a pic of his brothers who are outside. I snapped a pic of them eating this morning.
Thanks for all the help. I feel lost right now since these are my first rehabbers.

[stepnstone]

We don't want to move around much either when we're in pain.....
If the best you can do is get some infant ibuprofen get it and I or someone will dose
it for you. Regardless of how he injuried himself or got injuried his posture indicates
he is experiencing pain.

[SquirrelGirl31]

We don't want to move around much either when we're in pain.....
If the best you can do is get some infant ibuprofen get it and I or someone will dose
it for you. Regardless of how he injuried himself or got injuried his posture indicates
he is experiencing pain.

He was eating a lot this afternoon 😊
I plan on getting the ibuprofen. Would you help me with the dosing? Did the pics help at all?

[stepnstone]

[SquirrelGirl31]

[stepnstone]

Now that we have the syringe reading and the Ib on board and out of the way
I looked back on your post and pictures and have a few important questions...

You said first time rehabbing, when did you get these babies and do you know how old they are?
Were they on formula and which formula were they on if they were, did you wean them?
From the pictures I'm seeing a big bowl of seed mix and a lot of sunflower seeds, what has their
diet been, what all have or do you feed them? What is the rodent block, do they actually eat it?

The reason I'm asking is due to what I'm seeing them fed and if they have not been on a proper diet
to support their nutritional requirements they could be calcium deficient which leads to metabolic bone
disease. Mbd pulls needed calcium from the bones which in turn weakens the bones which can subject
them to breaks/fractures. Mbd is painful. Too many seeds/ nuts is a primary cause of mbd.
If this is the case it could explain the little boy's rear leg symptoms and the chewing on himself.
So please answer the questions that you can and explain what their diet has been because mbd can be
turned around when caught in time and will eventually kill if it's not.

[stepnstone]

Recommended rodent block for squirrels.
Henry's and harlan are the top choices among many members.
Kaytee ( blue bag) and Mazuri are acceptable.

[SquirrelGirl31]

Their diet, and now I know better, was way off. I was giving them esbilac when they were babies. I am not completely sure of the exact kind since this was provided to me through the rescue group and just given to me in a large ziplock. Eventually I offered them a seed/rodent block mix and fruits and veggies. I had no idea how important the rodent block was to their diet up until now. I have now started to correct this and will be working with my little injured one. He does seem to be doing tons better as of today! Moving around a lot and wanting to come out and play so tonight I might see how he does outside the cage for a bit and let him get a little supervised exercise.
The 2 that are out are doing great! They have been exploring and climbing our trees. I guess now, since I am not sure what the normal time frame is, I wondered if anyone else has experienced the released squirrels starting to build a nest on their release cages? I will try to post a pic, but they are now instead of going back into the cage at night, sleeping on top of it in between the top of cage and the roof.
I am VERY happy to see them every day and it warms my heart to know they are okay, but I am moving in about a month and I worry that they are going to get to comfy in that area and I would feel terrible taking away their "home". I am providing water and food for them still, should I slowly be taking the food option away? Right now we are going through an excessive heat wave so I want to make sure they have plenty of water options.

Thank you for all feedback!

[TubeDriver]

I would continue to feed block and provide fresh water for now since they are new releases especially with a heat wave. Can you take a photo of the cage and the nest they are building? Could you install a nest box in a nearby tree so they might move in there? You are asking good questions, these are things that we all worry about!

Their diet, and now I know better, was way off. I was giving them esbilac when they were babies. I am not completely sure of the exact kind since this was provided to me through the rescue group and just given to me in a large ziplock. Eventually I offered them a seed/rodent block mix and fruits and veggies. I had no idea how important the rodent block was to their diet up until now. I have now started to correct this and will be working with my little injured one. He does seem to be doing tons better as of today! Moving around a lot and wanting to come out and play so tonight I might see how he does outside the cage for a bit and let him get a little supervised exercise.
The 2 that are out are doing great! They have been exploring and climbing our trees. I guess now, since I am not sure what the normal time frame is, I wondered if anyone else has experienced the released squirrels starting to build a nest on their release cages? I will try to post a pic, but they are now instead of going back into the cage at night, sleeping on top of it in between the top of cage and the roof.
I am VERY happy to see them every day and it warms my heart to know they are okay, but I am moving in about a month and I worry that they are going to get to comfy in that area and I would feel terrible taking away their "home". I am providing water and food for them still, should I slowly be taking the food option away? Right now we are going through an excessive heat wave so I want to make sure they have plenty of water options.

Thank you for all feedback!

[SquirrelGirl31]

I would continue to feed block and provide fresh water for now since they are new releases especially with a heat wave. Can you take a photo of the cage and the nest they are building? Could you install a nest box in a nearby tree so they might move in there? You are asking good questions, these are things that we all worry about!

Thank you! Sometimes I worry that I’m over thinking everything. I remind myself that they are smart wild animals and will figure stuff out.

I will keep offering the food and water for them. They seem to be really figuring out life in the wild quickly.

I attached a pic of the cage, the nest is in between the top of the cage and the roof. I tried taking pics of the nest but it’s too dark in there so nothing shows. It looks like just a decent size pile up dried grass and weeds with a few leaves thrown in. It’s not really “neat” looking. 😊

Thanks for the reassurance.

[SquirrelGirl31]

UPDATE:
I think the pain meds and new diet might be helping. He is way more energetic and not just sleeping the day away.
I brought him into the den yesterday to see how he would do. Sadly I can tell he is still not using the left foot very well. He had trouble jumping and he seemed to be dragging it. But, he also was playing and seemed super happy to have some time outside the cage.
He was playing with sticks and pine cones and even crawling all over me.
He did have this moment where he would look out the windows like he longed to be back out there.
The good part is he is missing out on this gross heatwave.

[TubeDriver]

Glad to hear he is feeling better. Leg/paw injuries are VERY common in squirrels, most heal up with a week or two. I hope he continues to improve. The block should help him get stronger and healthier.

Could you block that space between the cage and the roof? It might be better if they either used the actual cage (where it is safe) or started building dreys in the trees.

[SquirrelGirl31]

Glad to hear he is feeling better. Leg/paw injuries are VERY common in squirrels, most heal up with a week or two. I hope he continues to improve. The block should help him get stronger and healthier.

Could you block that space between the cage and the roof? It might be better if they either used the actual cage (where it is safe) or started building dreys in the trees.

I should be able to block that up. I think tomorrow I will start that. I was giving them a break with how bad the weather has been, but I would rather they find a safe place to sleep.
I am not sure why they started going up there, the very first night they all came back and slept in the cage and then after that they stopped.

I will figure out a way to block their access to that. Should I move the nesting material in the cage? Maybe that will encourage them to go in?

[stepnstone]

Personally, I don't see the necessity of blocking or taking down their first built nest.
They are going to be more open in the trees when they build there then they are between
layers as they have done now. To them they are free outside the cage and that's likely
what they are feeling. Free life is a new experience and they are learning to do their own
thing, we all crawl before we walk. Unless it was life threatening I wouldn't deprive them
of their own learning experiences.

I'm glad little boy is feeling better, would you be able to take a video of him moving with
the foot in question so we may see what you are seeing? Are you able to examine it to
determine if there is any questionable area of concern?

[TubeDriver]

She mentioned that she was moving away in a month? So I was concerned that the nest in-between the cage and the roof is not safe in the long term (too close to the ground and within reach of racoon arms or squirmy cat? It might be better to try and get these squirrels up into the trees as fast as possible since the caretaker will be gone in a month? Maybe not an issue? Unless there will be someone remaining who can watch over them and/or the release cage can remain in the yard? That is why I suggested installing a nest box in the trees in the the hope that these little ones could move in there (although I realize that some other wild might claim it).

Personally, I don't see the necessity of blocking or taking down their first built nest.
They are going to be more open in the trees when they build there then they are between
layers as they have done now. To them they are free outside the cage and that's likely
what they are feeling. Free life is a new experience and they are learning to do their own
thing, we all crawl before we walk. Unless it was life threatening I wouldn't deprive them
of their own learning experiences.

I'm glad little boy is feeling better, would you be able to take a video of him moving with
the foot in question so we may see what you are seeing? Are you able to examine it to
determine if there is any questionable area of concern?

[SquirrelGirl31]

Personally, I don't see the necessity of blocking or taking down their first built nest.
They are going to be more open in the trees when they build there then they are between
layers as they have done now. To them they are free outside the cage and that's likely
what they are feeling. Free life is a new experience and they are learning to do their own
thing, we all crawl before we walk. Unless it was life threatening I wouldn't deprive them
of their own learning experiences.

I'm glad little boy is feeling better, would you be able to take a video of him moving with
the foot in question so we may see what you are seeing? Are you able to examine it to
determine if there is any questionable area of concern?

I don't mind letting them keep their nest there for now, but with us moving in about 3 weeks that is why I worry. We won't have a way to leave the cage here I don't leaving it be for another week while they figure the world out though! I can't imagine they are going to want to be roomies forever.

I will take a video of him tomorrow. I plan on taking him out for some play time again! I can get pretty close but he starts to get squirmy if I mess with it too much. I will see what I can do tomorrow though when I get him out.