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Thread: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

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    Exclamation Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Hello,

    We have been caring for a young squirrel for a week. He is just a few months old and was an rescued by a friend who rehabbed him up until bringing him to our house last week.

    He seems to have a hurt leg and is dragging his belly on the ground. Now he is acting very lethargic. My husband was feeding him Cashews last night and he has had some bananas as well. Now I am reading that both can make him sick. He has a small amount of white discharge around his eyes. I feel terrible if we have harmed him. Please help. We care for him deeply and want to get him healthy.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    This sounds like Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD).

    Start the protocol in this link immediately.. if he has MBD it can help save his life adn if he does not this will not cause him any harm:
    https://www.henryspets.com/emergency-treatment-for-mbd/

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Next, share with us his age, weight, what kind of formula he is being fed (how much and how often too) and anything else in his diet.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Thank you for your quick response! How much do I give him in his first dose?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    He is maybe 2 months old. We don't know. He looks like a smaller adult squirrel and he is as big as my hand (I am 5'3" female, for reference).

    We have not been feeding him formula. Just bananas, cashews, and a mix of critter food with black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts and whole peanuts.

    He seems to be perking up with the tums. So far I have given him half of a 1000mg tablet. Should I give him more? I feel so bad that we have caused I'm harm. What should he be eating moving forward?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    He seems to be perking up with the tums. So far I have given him half of a 1000mg tablet.
    Read the label carefully to determine how much "elemental calcium" is in the Tums you are using, and make sure they do not have Vitamin D added. You can post a picture of the label here also and we can help with that. The Tums labels are very misleading when it comes to how much actual calcium they contain.

    Edit: Tell us how much elemental calcium is in the Tums you have and we'll provide guidance on giving him the calcium.
    Last edited by Spanky; 03-24-2020 at 12:35 PM.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    We have not been feeding him formula.
    He needs to be on formula... they should take that their fist 10 - 12 weeks of life if not longer.

    Here is a temporary formula you can use (feed squirrels with a syringe):
    *3 tablespoons goat's milk. Powdered or liquid.
    (Conveniently, most ice trays are 1 tablespoon each; powdered can be mixed per instructions and then frozen into cubes for future use.)

    *3 tablespoons ANY plain yogurt

    *2 tablespoons HWC (heavy whipping cream)

    *1/2 egg yolk

    And you can order Fox Valley 20/50 from Henry's along with syringes and nipples for feeding:
    https://www.henryspets.com/fox-valle...aby-squirrels/

    (Do not use the 32/40!).


    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    Just bananas, cashews, and a mix of critter food with black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts and whole peanuts.
    Stop all nuts (including legumes like cashews) and seeds IMMEDIATELY... this is causing the disease (MBD). That and a lake of proper calcium diet / formula. MBD can result in permanent paralysis and even death.

    He needs a high quality rodent block as the foundation of a healthy diet as they start eating solids and stop taking formula. Henry's sells the very best blocks for squirrels and you need only to feed them 2 - 3 blocks a day. You can also use pet store rodent blocks like Mazuri or Teklad.. avoid the hamster crap food and basically anything "Kaytee" IMO.

    Here is the healthy diet for squirrels... but I advise you start with only block then start to introduce these veggies after he is eating the block well:
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    If this squirrel is only 2 months old it should be getting formula, not nuts. Can you check with your friend who brought him to you and see what formula they fed. This is important information that will be helpful to know.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel1959 View Post
    If this squirrel is only 2 months old it should be getting formula, not nuts. Can you check with your friend who brought him to you and see what formula they fed. This is important information that will be helpful to know.
    I just asked our friend and he was on Dumor Multi-Species Colostrum Supplement. Is that okay?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    Read the label carefully to determine how much "elemental calcium" is in the Tums you are using, and make sure they do not have Vitamin D added. You can post a picture of the label here also and we can help with that. The Tums labels are very misleading when it comes to how much actual calcium they contain.

    Edit: Tell us how much elemental calcium is in the Tums you have and we'll provide guidance on giving him the calcium.
    Name:  IMG_4220.jpg
Views: 44
Size:  112.7 KBName:  IMG_4220.jpg
Views: 44
Size:  112.7 KB

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    I just asked our friend and he was on Dumor Multi-Species Colostrum Supplement. Is that okay?
    Was this all that was fed? No formula? How old was this baby when they got it? I have never heard of a squirrel being raised on this. I hope others will chime in if they are familiar with this product and it’s ingredients.

    Can you post a picture of your little one? Considering what this baby was fed I’d definitely suspect MBD and treat according to the MBD protocol. The calcium must be spaced out and delivered over a long period of time in order to fix the damage to the bones. Climbing should be limited as a fall could easily break bones, which might have already happened if he’s dragging a rear leg. The white you’re seeing in his eyes are white tears and they are from pain. MBD is very painful and can kill if it’s not treated with calcium. Put a non shut off heating pad under the OUTSIDE of his cage where his bed is on the floor of the cage. Don’t let him have access to any part of the pad that he could chew. The heating pad should be set to low. The warmth helps soothe the sore bones.

    If this guy will take formula it would be very helpful to provide some necessary nutrition. How long ago did he wean from formula?

    Some infant ibuprofen will be helpful for the pain. Someone on here can help you dose it when you get it and tell us the strength of it and the weight of the squirrel.

    The picture will help us to assess an age.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel1959 View Post
    Was this all that was fed? No formula? How old was this baby when they got it? I have never heard of a squirrel being raised on this. I hope others will chime in if they are familiar with this product and it’s ingredients.

    Can you post a picture of your little one? Considering what this baby was fed I’d definitely suspect MBD and treat according to the MBD protocol. The calcium must be spaced out and delivered over a long period of time in order to fix the damage to the bones. Climbing should be limited as a fall could easily break bones, which might have already happened if he’s dragging a rear leg. The white you’re seeing in his eyes are white tears and they are from pain. MBD is very painful and can kill if it’s not treated with calcium. Put a non shut off heating pad under the OUTSIDE of his cage where his bed is on the floor of the cage. Don’t let him have access to any part of the pad that he could chew. The heating pad should be set to low. The warmth helps soothe the sore bones.

    If this guy will take formula it would be very helpful to provide some necessary nutrition. How long ago did he wean from formula?

    Some infant ibuprofen will be helpful for the pain. Someone on here can help you dose it when you get it and tell us the strength of it and the weight of the squirrel.

    The picture will help us to assess an age.
    Name:  IMG_4227.jpg
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Size:  118.6 KB

    I'm not sure how well this photo will reference his size. I am a petite 5'3" female. I cannot find out measuring tape to use for reference.

    No formula was fed. Just the colostrum mix. When he was given to us a week ago Monday she had only been feeding him the colostrum in the mornings. She only had him for 3 weeks and he already had hair when he was found. He was not a newborn.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    He seems to be perking up with the tums. So far I have given him half of a 1000mg tablet. Should I give him more? I feel so bad that we have caused I'm harm. What should he be eating moving forward?

    These Tums have 400mg of elemental calcium. So far he has gotten about 200mg of calcium, which is doing well for his (estimated) size.

    Start giving him about 50mg (1/8 of a tablet). You can crush up a tablet, add 16ml of water (or juice) and give about 2 ml of that every 4 hours today. Starting tomorrow I would start giving him about 200mg of calcium a day (4 feedings of 50mg each).

    He'll also be getting some calcium from the temporary formula until the Fox Valley 20/50 arrives form Henry's along with his squirrel block.

    Edit: He will get the formula 3 times a day at his age. Best to weigh him with a kitchen scale and feed 5% - 7% of weight. For example, if he weighs 200gm he would get 10ml - 14ml of formula three times a day.


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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Here is the photo of the bag she sent me. Name:  Resized_20200324_145947_9072.jpg
Views: 49
Size:  75.3 KB

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    Here is the photo of the bag she sent me.

    I have never heard of anyone using this as a nutritionally complete squirrel formula. I would stick with the temporary goat's milk formula (above) and Fox Valley 20/50 (from Henry's).

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post

    These Tums have 400mg of elemental calcium. So far he has gotten about 200mg of calcium, which is doing well for his (estimated) size.

    Start giving him about 50mg (1/8 of a tablet). You can crush up a tablet, add 16ml of water (or juice) and give about 2 ml of that every 4 hours today. Starting tomorrow I would start giving him about 200mg of calcium a day (4 feedings of 50mg each).

    He'll also be getting some calcium from the temporary formula until the Fox Valley 20/50 arrives form Henry's along with his squirrel block.

    Edit: He will get the formula 3 times a day at his age. Best to weigh him with a kitchen scale and feed 5% - 7% of weight. For example, if he weighs 200gm he would get 10ml - 14ml of formula three times a day.

    Thank you for your help. I have weighed him and he weighs 165 grams, or about 5.7 oz. What about water? Should I be feeding him water, too? Or is what he getting enough?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Wow! He's one tough little guy. That colostrum stuff is for farm babies like calves etc. and says on the package "for the first four days". It's a wonder he made it this far. Thanks for coming in here. These good people will help you get him to where he needs to be.

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by srqsquirrel View Post
    Thank you for your help. I have weighed him and he weighs 165 grams, or about 5.7 oz. What about water? Should I be feeding him water, too? Or is what he getting enough?
    What was he getting for water?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    You mentioned he'd perked up some after beginning the tums.

    If it is MBD often they begin feeling better due to the calcium treatment. However, his bones may still be weak and fragile for some time and they may easily injure themselves. So try to limit his climbing and jumping as much as possible.

    Thank you for loving this baby!

    Does he have a name?

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    Default Re: Baby Squirrel Lethargic & Hurt Leg

    Quote Originally Posted by RockyPops View Post
    You mentioned he'd perked up some after beginning the tums.

    If it is MBD often they begin feeling better due to the calcium treatment. However, his bones may still be weak and fragile for some time and they may easily injure themselves. So try to limit his climbing and jumping as much as possible.

    Thank you for loving this baby!

    Does he have a name?
    A big thanks to all of you for your help today!! His name is Rocky (I'm sure you all know a lot of squirrels named Rocky !

    He seems to be feeling better and was walking with more pep in his step this evening. I started him on the homemade formula and feel confident in his protocol.

    You all are very sweet humans for helping these special creatures, especially in a time like we are in now. Hugs to all of you!! Thanks, again from the bottom of my heart!

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