Odd behavior in male adult squirrel

[CritterMom]

Oh, that is good. Do keep us posted. In a week (maybe) or so, it will be time to very gradually start to step down the additional calcium you are giving him. Watch his poops. If they begin to have a whitish, powdery appearance, that is unused calcium in his system being pooped out, and means you can begin doing this very slowly. Bear in mind that he is always going to try to LOOK better than he feels when you are judging how he is doing.

[lukaslolamaus]

Wonderful to see him improving!
I answered your question inTiger's thread on how I got him to take and like the calcium.

[Hilbillygirl]

Wonderful to see him improving!
I answered your question inTiger's thread on how I got him to take and like the calcium.

Yeah, i saw the reply. Ordered my calcium from Henrys, got some decent honey on my shopping list.
Thank you again

[Hilbillygirl]

Oh, that is good. Do keep us posted. In a week (maybe) or so, it will be time to very gradually start to step down the additional calcium you are giving him. Watch his poops. If they begin to have a whitish, powdery appearance, that is unused calcium in his system being pooped out, and means you can begin doing this very slowly. Bear in mind that he is always going to try to LOOK better than he feels when you are judging how he is doing.

My concern now is that he has no interest in eating anything besides an occasional piece of watermelon and the baby food i give him with the calcium...He doesnt like being pulled out of the cage to be fed in fact he whimpers until he actually starts eating but without him eating on his own i see no other way to get food or calcium in him.

[CritterMom]

Hopefully he will like the Henry's food. A lot of folks have gotten their squirrels over this issue with short term feeding of Ensure - the food replacement shakes for people. They even have butter pecan flavor, though any of them will help because they are really nutrient and calorie dense - you get a lot from a small amount. Try warming it up a bit - like formula.

[Hilbillygirl]

I saw that Ensure the other day and wondered if it would work. It will be good for a change. Thats the rut I got into with him. I fed him what he liked like Avocado, sweet potatoes & apples mostly, and pecans & walnuts. I have tried many things, sorry me of which he will like one day and refuse the next. Thats why I started buying the veggie & nut mix and mixing them with a jar of baby food as per instructions and dehydrating them until they were like crunchy cookies. He loved them but ive only been using them for about 4 months so the mbd was well on its way to destroying him by that time. I even bought a dehydrator so i could make him healthy food.
Im really looking for someone in the Fort Worth Texas area who could help me in taking rehab courses so I can get a permit for him and get him a vet who can legally treat him here. If anyone knows of someone please forward contact information...

[Hilbillygirl]

Hopefully he will like the Henry's food. A lot of folks have gotten their squirrels over this issue with short term feeding of Ensure - the food replacement shakes for people. They even have butter pecan flavor, though any of them will help because they are really nutrient and calorie dense - you get a lot from a small amount. Try warming it up a bit - like formula.

This morning my boy was actually hungry. He ate well and I put a baby carrot and a slice of sweet potato in his cage and Praise God I just caught him nibbling on a slice of sweet potato!
What an awesome sign...Im waiting for arrival of my Henrys Picky blocks. Unfortunately I didnt put the Healthy blocks in the freezer and they got moldy and had to be thrown away. I wont do that any more.

[Hilbillygirl]

This morning my boy was actually hungry. He ate well and I put a baby carrot and a slice of sweet potato in his cage and Praise God I just caught him nibbling on a slice of sweet potato!
What an awesome sign...Im waiting for arrival of my Henrys Picky blocks. Unfortunately I didnt put the Healthy blocks in the freezer and they got moldy and had to be thrown away. I wont do that any more.

After lunch i noticed his poops are starting to get lighter in color. So im wondering if i should just not give him any calcium for tge rest of the day or just adjust the amount and continue...suggestions?

[CritterMom]

Are you giving him 500 mg per day? I would drop by 100mg to 400 and give that for the next few days, then down to 300. Hold there until he is eating his Henry's food well - we don't want any relapses.

[Hilbillygirl]

Are you giving him 500 mg per day? I would drop by 100mg to 400 and give that for the next few days, then down to 300. Hold there until he is eating his Henry's food well - we don't want any relapses.

How do you measure that out?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Glad to hear that. Be careful with the climbing. You don’t want him to fall. He could break a bone as the bones are brittle.

[Hilbillygirl]

Hopefully he will like the Henry's food. A lot of folks have gotten their squirrels over this issue with short term feeding of Ensure - the food replacement shakes for people. They even have butter pecan flavor, though any of them will help because they are really nutrient and calorie dense - you get a lot from a small amount. Try warming it up a bit - like formula.

Just wanted to post on my little guys progress. Thanks to the wonderful guidance and knowledge my boy is now climbing up the sides of his small cage. He is eating 2 picky blocks in the AM before anything else. Once he has consumed the picky blocks he gets corn on the cob, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, lettuce & apples. Not all at once, but when he eats one thing he gets another in a bit. He is getting 165 mg of elemental calcium divided into two feedings in a syringe of Boost. He is wrestling with me and trying to escape the cage every time the door is opened.
Im wondering how long I should keep giving him the calcium and at what dosage? And when is it a good time to put him back into his big boy cage. Keep in mind as long as Im going to have to keep giving him the calcium it is much easier to get him out of the small cage rather than the big one. I have many videosof him being his old crazy self but I dont know how to upload them. I added a video but Im not sure where it went...

[CritterMom]

Just wanted to post on my little guys progress. Thanks to the wonderful guidance and knowledge my boy is now climbing up the sides of his small cage. He is eating 2 picky blocks in the AM before anything else. Once he has consumed the picky blocks he gets corn on the cob, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, lettuce & apples. Not all at once, but when he eats one thing he gets another in a bit. He is getting 165 mg of elemental calcium divided into two feedings in a syringe of Boost. He is wrestling with me and trying to escape the cage every time the door is opened.
Im wondering how long I should keep giving him the calcium and at what dosage? And when is it a good time to put him back into his big boy cage. Keep in mind as long as Im going to have to keep giving him the calcium it is much easier to get him out of the small cage rather than the big one. I have many videosof him being his old crazy self but I dont know how to upload them. I added a video but Im not sure where it went...

This is good progress. You can begin reducing the calcium at this point. Don't stop all at once; you can either start cutting out the number of times a day you give it, or the amount you give.

Note: Corn is bad, bad, bad, which stinks because they love it. MBD is not so much caused by a shortage of calcium - it is actually caused because the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the diet is out of whack. Ideal is 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus overall in the diet. That means that if you feed high phosphorus foods, you would have to increase the calcium they get to compensate for it. Corn is EXTREMELY high in phophorus. It has 1 part calcium to 45 parts phosphorus. So continuing to feed it is sabotaging your efforts...

[Hilbillygirl]

This is good progress. You can begin reducing the calcium at this point. Don't stop all at once; you can either start cutting out the number of times a day you give it, or the amount you give.

Note: Corn is bad, bad, bad, which stinks because they love it. MBD is not so much caused by a shortage of calcium - it is actually caused because the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the diet is out of whack. Ideal is 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus overall in the diet. That means that if you feed high phosphorus foods, you would have to increase the calcium they get to compensate for it. Corn is EXTREMELY high in phophorus. It has 1 part calcium to 45 parts phosphorus. So continuing to feed it is sabotaging your efforts...

Oh wow. Then what other foods on the list are bad. What can I go by that is reliable and good to feed him?

[CritterMom]

Oh wow. Then what other foods on the list are bad. What can I go by that is reliable and good to feed him?

Calcium to Phosphorus levels in TONS of food can be found here: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...sphorus-Ratios Go to post #17 on the thread for downloadable .pdf files (the ones in the first post got corrupted). We all have this thing printed out somewhere in our house!

We also have a Healthy Diet pyramid here.

These two guides are addressing the calcium issue for the most part, Obviously squirrels need other vitamins and minerals! The Henry's blocks were designed to be fed along with the Healthy diet and they address all of those other nutritional things.

Mostly, you want to really limit the high phosphorus stuff, especially with a squirrel that has or has had MBD. There are a few foods like corn, sunflower seeds, pine nuts that are just SO high in phosphorus that simply eliminating them is best.

[HRT4SQRLS]

That is such great news. You’ve done a great job. The way you are replying with a quote is fine. If you want to post without a quote, instead of hitting Reply with Quote at the bottom, hit the Reply to Thread at the top left of the last post. Either way is fine.

It does take a long time to reverse MBD. It’s a gradual process with ongoing improvement. You can reverse the Metabolic symptoms pretty fast but rebuilding the bones is the part that takes time.

Most people do not get males neutered. I’m sure that testicular cancer is possible in squirrels but to be honest with you I might have seen only ONE case in the years I have been on this board. I don’t think it’s common so I wouldn’t consider it.

[CritterMom]

Yes to bringing him out so he can be with you! Just remember that his little body needs to rest so the calories he is taking in are being used to mend, not to fuel him running around. He is hard-wired to try to look in better shape than he feels so he doesn't get picked off by a predator, so bear that in mind when assessing how he is doing. Stress hanging out with mama WHILE relaxing!

[island rehabber]

You've gotten expertly great advice here, Hillbillygirl -- all I can say is keep up the good work! Your boy WILL turn around if you stick with the diet and can live a long, healthy life. We've seen it happen here many times.

[Hilbillygirl]

That is such great news. You’ve done a great job. The way you are replying with a quote is fine. If you want to post without a quote, instead of hitting Reply with Quote at the bottom, hit the Reply to Thread at the top left of the last post. Either way is fine.

It does take a long time to reverse MBD. It’s a gradual process with ongoing improvement. You can reverse the Metabolic symptoms pretty fast but rebuilding the bones is the part that takes time.

Most people do not get males neutered. I’m sure that testicular cancer is possible in squirrels but to be honest with you I might have seen only ONE case in the years I have been on this board. I don’t think it’s common so I wouldn’t consider it.

Just wanted to let yall know that my boy is improving every day. I cant give him enough picky blocks. He loves those things! I limit it to 3 and give him apple, avocado & sweet potato. He still pulls his back end around when he moves about the cage but he is beginning to try to climb up the sides of his cage. Hes excited every time i go to the kitchen... and is awake most of the time. I have a harness & leash for him that im going to start letting him try to walk about the house when I think he can handle it. I couldnt be prouder of him. He takes his calcium without a fuss twice a day. He seems to know im trying to help. Will post when he begins to walk again, God willing. If not we will deal with it.