Possible broken spine at base of tail

[Binkers mom]

One of my releases... I believe it's Mr. Fussy pants... from last summer showed up this week and his tale is not working.. It is laying flat and and does not move at all.. He drags it around I believe he may have broken his spine at the base of his tail. I have seen him climbing in the trees but his face looks like he is in Pain. He appears to be able to use his hind limbs OK although he has a "scooching" posture...He just showed up now at 12:30 and I put a bowl Of water And fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts out for him and hes very hungry ... eating quite heartily. He showed up when everybody else was done for the morning indicates he is avoiding interacting with other squirrels.. He is always with Mr. Wonderful but Mr. Wonderful Has been showing up for the Early breakfast. Is there anything I can do for him besides supportive care with food and water? I don't think hes someone I could actually catch easily. Thank you for your help

[CritterMom]

Oh dear, poor baby. I wish you could catch him and give him a round of prednisone. If the spine isn't actually severed he could possibly regain some movement. It isn't really anything you can do with him in the wild, as the dosing and timing of the doses is pretty specific. If that isn't an option, I would just try to pack him with as much food as he will hold so he goes home and sleeps instead of foraging around.

You will need to keep an eye on him - if the tail is indeed "dead" there is a good chance he is going to begin mutilating it. If that happens, amputating it would be the only real recourse. Hopefully he still has some feeling and he can hold onto it.

[RockyPops]

I had a wild momma with a similar injury. I know hers was caused by a fall as I witnessed it. She would walk and try to run with a hunched up rear end and a dragging tail with no life in it.

I treated her with ibuprofen once a day on a pecan half for about a week. Then once every other day for a few days. About half an hour each dose you could just see her perk up. She got where she could chase other squirrels and eventually got back to about 90 - 95% mobility.

Her tail, starting at her butt, started regaining life very slowly. It got back to normal about half way back then stopped healing. Then she chewed it off at the half way point. It promptly healed over and she was almost as good as new.

She went on to have babies later and continued to dominate my yard but she did seem a little slower and limited in her territory defense.

Oddly enough, she fell again about a year later (I believe) and ended up passing from her injuries this time. Fortunately, her three babies were weaned and she had already left their nest box.

If you medicate her, someone here can dose ibuprofen for you. You use liquid Infant ibuprofen I think. And i think I had calculated (crudely) that the dose was an amount about the size of a small English pea for an adult gray squirrel put into the grooves of a pecan half. Of course you must be able to make sure she gets the pecan. The meds gets gummy pretty quick and are not bad to run.

Be sure to get INFANT ibuprofen and check strength and dosage with others on this board before dosing baby.

Good luck and keep board posted on progress. It may help others with similar problems.

[Binkers mom]

Thanks..if someone can PM the dosage...I will try it.
How did you put it on the pecan so she would eat the medicine?
No sign of FP today. Was a quiet day in the yard....weird.

[Binkers mom]

Ahhh...I see you explained it...sorry..not getting sleep...2 sick dogs

[CritterMom]

Dosing sent by PM.

[Binkers mom]

Update:
My little buddy Mr. F P showed up this morning and he was hungry. He took and ate a walnut half with liquid infant ibuprofen and peanut butter. I hope it helps him feel better.
Then, he came to me for 2 almonds, 1 peanut and left with a pecan.
He was around with the other squirrels and holding his own...and eating sunflower seeds with them. He knows to sit by me and eat so no one will bother him with his giant bodyguard looking out for him.
His weight looks good...he was moving better in the rear legs....and climbing trees. The tail is completely useless..fur is flat and lifeless....he's dragging it around...but the short fur from approximately 1 inch from his body to the beginning of the tail was puffed up...with would indicate health.
Poor baby, of course , I was closest to him...probably because he was so sick when he was found: coccidia, uti, pneumonia...he needed alot of TLC...spent alot of time together and he was the only one from that group who would play with me. I really hope 🙏 he will be ok.
Thank you for your help!

[Binkers mom]

I saw a Mr. FP this morning and he got another walnut half with a dose of Infant ibuprofen. He seemed to be more active and I thought I saw a little more lyft at the base of the tail.

[CritterMom]

Oh good. I hope this continues!

[Binkers mom]

So Mr. FP showed up today and got another dose of infant ibuprofen on a walnut half With peanut butter. He looked like he was in rougher shape than yesterday but it was very cold yesterday. I also noticed his penis looked very red and a little enlarged. I'm wondering if he has some kind of infection... Possible urinary tract?

[Binkers mom]

I got another dose of ibuprofen infant into Mr. FP today.. Hes looking good hes a little more feisty with the other squirrels. I got a look at the inside of his hind leg... all the Fur was gone with scabs . Who knows what happened to him??? But hes alive and seems to be having a good appetite and holding his own ... I do see the Fur on his tail standing up now about 3" from the base of his tail which is more than it was last week so maybe the hair follicles and the skin Are getting nerve supply. I had his medicine ready and I called for him and he came right up to me and took it from my hand get from my hand so maybe hes feeling a little more confident. He's such a cutie pie I hope hes gonna be OK.

[Binkers mom]

Very concerned😟. ..saw Mr. FP today ( its been 2 days since he last sighting) and he is moving and climbing but definitely slower than the other yard squirrels and doesn't lift his hind end up as high.... He looks to be losing weight.... And I got a look at his under belly and it looks bad....the skin on his testicles was red and raw...he is missing fur and has scabs on the skin between his hind legs.
Not sure what to do for him...I have some antibiotics and my vet said he would work with me for meds.
I have cefpodoxime 200mg tablets...clindmycin 300mg capsules..both from Jan 2022... also amox/ k clav 875-125 tab...but expired 4/20 (as been in refrigerator)
Thanks for any advice🙏

[Binkers mom]

Very concerned��. ..saw Mr. FP today ( its been 2 days since his last sighting) and he is moving and climbing but definitely slower than the other yard squirrels and doesn't lift his hind end up as high.... He looks to be losing weight.... And I got a look at his under belly and it looks bad....the skin on his testicles was red and raw...he is missing fur and has scabs on the skin between his hind legs.
Not sure what to do for him...I have some antibiotics and my vet said he would work with me for meds.
I have cefpodoxime 200mg tablets...clindmycin 300mg capsules..both from Jan 2022... also amox/ k clav 875-125 tab...but expired 4/20 (as been in refrigerator)
Thanks for any advice��

[RockyPops]

Can you post a video of him moving around. The closer the better.

[McCarthy]

I'd catch him, help him heal, watch him, and likely declare him a NR.

Losing weight + chronic wounds + having to compete with healthy squirrels for food + moving slower = low survival chance

Squirrels in the wild are ruthless, he won't be able to keep up. I see it every day.

[Binkers mom]

That's what I thought would be the next step.
Just saw him and his penis is red a swollen. He looks bad.
I have never recaptured a release so any tips on how to do it with the least amount of trauma to the squirrel??? He will come up and take food from my hand.
Then, do I keep him in the house...outside?
I have a Martin flyer cage that I use with the babies once they out grow the hamster cage and plastic bins.
It is 4ft by 3 ft by 2 1/2 ft. And Mr. FP was raised in it.
I also have small plastic dog crates and a hamster cage.

[McCarthy]

That's what I thought would be the next step.
Just saw him and his penis is red a swollen. He looks bad.
I have never recaptured a release so any tips on how to do it with the least amount of trauma to the squirrel??? He will come up and take food from my hand.
Then, do I keep him in the house...outside?
I have a Martin flyer cage that I use with the babies once they out grow the hamster cage and plastic bins.
It is 4ft by 3 ft by 2 1/2 ft. And Mr. FP was raised in it.
I also have small plastic dog crates and a hamster cage.

I would place the Martin flyer cage outside and attach a thin rope to the door of the cage, in a way that you can pull the door shut from several feet away, maybe even from indoors and through a cracked open window. Start feeding him close to his old cage, then start placing the treats inside the cage, a bit further inside and not too close to the door. When you pull the door shut you have to be dedicated and quick. If you do it slow, chances are he will get away, or he may get hurt, and he may distrust the cage after.

He may even go inside the cage on his own while stand next to it, just close the door.

I'd bring him inside for now so that he doesn't see nature, wants to get out all the time, and goes nuts.

Make sure he has a proper nesting box inside the gage, with a hinged roof if possible. He may want to go hiding in the first days.

In the long run I'd build a larger, wooden cage, if he can't get out for 2 to 3 hours on a daily basis and roam a room or your house. Mine is 4 by 3 but 8 feet tall.

Since you are living in NJ, I'd keep him inside. This should also calm him down. If the cage would be outside, he may heal up, wats to get out again, gets in injured again, and you may have an endless fiasco.

That being said, if his spinal issue resolves entirely you may give it another chance with a soft release. But based on what you describe, I wouldn't count on it.

[Binkers mom]

Update on Mr. FP, I just captured him this morning and got him into the house into the Martin flyer cage.. He is very p***** off but I but I was petting him with a toothbrush which is what I used to do and he seemed to be enjoying it he calmed down enough to eat a walnut with some infant ibuprofen on it and some antibiotic. I put soft cloth on all the surfaces so he would not further damage his genitalia which is very Red raw and swollen and the skin on his testicles is scraped off. I have squirrel bites coming from Henry's healthy Pets. His weight is pretty good but we've had some very cold wet nights And he will get a chance to warm up and stay dry. So now any ideas or suggestions?

[CritterMom]

What antibiotic?

Give him lots of places to hide - big piles of fleece that will be soft. If you have any of the stuff he had in this cage before his release, put that in there. They absolutely remember and it will have comforting memories for him. It would be great if you could wipe his wounds down with diluted betadyne but I doubt he will cooperate with that yet. Just being warm and dry and not beaten up and not having to drag his wounds will help. Go slow with him - the toothbrush thing is a great idea.

[Binkers mom]

He was very comfortable climbing on the Martin cage outside and I had the hamster cage on top of it. He comes when my husband whistles and then I lured him over and tossed a pecan in the hamster cage.... When he went in I closed the door.
We then moved the Martin cage inside and filled it with all of his stuff.... He's got his cozy cube and hammock and fleeces and I put cloth over all the surfaces.. Hes got a bowl of water a bowl of vegetables and some rodent block. Then I transferred him over....he definitely recognized everything. The antibiotic is amox/clav 875-125. I used this on Tex when he showed up with massive wounds and it worked well.
Shaved a very small amount and mixed it with peanut butter... his penis is unrecognizable and the skin on his testicles is almost off...poor guy....
My vet said he would give me antibiotics....what would be best? My post from 4/12 has the other antibiotics i have clindmycin and ??? Can't remember...
I have Surgical betadine....any tips on handling him...
He attacked the toothbrush but then enjoyed the scratches on his neck.
What about fleas or parasites? Food/ calcium?
He needs time to settle but the fact he ate that nut and walnut w/ medicine on it while waiting in the hamster cage seems like a good sign...if he was completely stressed I don't think he would eat.
Question: if his tail doesn't recover...would it be better off amputated so it isn't weighing him down?