I have a 3 year old male squirrel. I keep him indoors in a 3 ft wide by 4 ft tall cage. I have been feeding him nut squares & veggie squares which are complete with calcium as well as other vitamins & minerals needed for healthy diets. In addition i give him sweet potatoes, avocado, apples, water melon, walnuts, pecans ( when I can get them), pumpkin when its in season.About a week ago i switched out branches in his cage that had become too small for him for a larger branch. I had thin branches in the bottom of the cage but the big one was up high. Well he fell off. And then about 3 days later his behavior changed. He stopped eating, and started sleeping in the bottom of the cage rather than in his pouch. He wobbled as he walked and his legs werent working right. I read up on metabolic bone disease and worried if he wasnt getting enough calcium, but I was told by the company I buy the nut & veggie treats from they contain all the calcium needed. Watermelon is all he will eat so I immediately started giving him crushed tums then i rolled a piece of watermelon in the tums. After the first one he started crawling in his pouch again. So today I stupidly put something soft in the bottom of his cage so he didnt have to lay on the cedar in the bottom of the cage. Well he doesnt like change so he crawled up on his branch that i lowered to about half the height of the cage. He stayed there for a bit but i could see he wanted in his pouch so i raised the pouch and he lowered himself into it. Not long after he climbed out of his pouch and crawled over the branch in th bottom of the cage, lost his balance and ended up on his back. He couldnt right himself he lay there and kicked. I thought he was having a seizure but he finally rolled over. Is that normal?
I also know it is the second mating season of the year and he could just be displaying this behavior as a result of hormones.
My problem is I dont know if hes hormonal & moody, if hes hurt from his fall last week.
He doesnt act like hes in pain, at all. He does put his face in the corner of the cage sometimes. Being hormonal he wont let me handle him without trying to bite me.
Today I put a tiny stuffed animal in the cage and was trying to get him to play with it and he started squealing at me and ran to the other side of the cage, like he didnt want to be bothered. He has begun eating pecans and walnuts but still prefers watermelon.
When he fell I was standing right there and I dont believe he hit anything on the way down. He continued climbing for about 3 days then the strange behavior began. He still climbs up the side of the cage when he wants to get in his pouch.
I have removed the branches or anything he can stumble or fall over. He is walking better, and i cover most of his cage to give him some quiet time.
Im just looking for some guidance. I have had him since before his eyes were opened. Not by choice but DNR said nothing they could do. I have not had any issues until now other than hormonal at mating seasons. Any suggestions would be appreciated.