Petunia possible estrus?

[Jeltje]

Hello All, I hope that everyone is hanging in there...
To those who don’t remember Petunia, she is my darling almost 2 yrs old (August) para (backside) daughter. A little background.... extremely picky eater. Like eats virtually nothing! I syringe feed her formula every night. Yes I have tried EVERYTHING suggested in this site SEVERAL times. She does however usually never turn down sweet potato or blueberries. Also a tiny amount of fresh crunchy lettuces, apple and grape. No Henrys No boo balls No pellets. She is also unable to excrete on her own.
Ok so I noticed about 2 weeks ago she began to act strange and anxious. She exhibited lots of anxiety, Stopped eating her little snacks on her own (I had to hold her and feed her -yes spoiled)
She would normally sleep in until 11 but has begun running up and down her cage at 7.
Just lots of uncharacteristic behavior.
Her genitals were also a little swollen and pinker than normal.
I deduced this must be estrus.
But now this has been almost 2 weeks. (Shouldn’ t she be back to her normal self??)
Today her female parts are even more swollen and deeper pink. Also while cleaning her I noticed a small crust on the opening. No smell. No swelling other than her privates.
Of course I am now worried that it is a UTI or pyometra.
Thank you for listening and for any advice.
Love to all of my squirrel pals and their humans💜🐿☮️

[Jeltje]

BTW she is not wet. I applied A&D ointment. Also it looks like I am restraining her, but it’s actually how she likes to nap on my chest😂my precious baby💜

[Mel1959]

Looks like estrus to me, but 2 weeks seems a bit long. I hope others will post their thoughts.

I think you need to continue to try the Henrys blocks and implement tough love. The picky eater or hazelnut blocks seem to be the best liked. You need to put the block in her cage with no other foods. Petunia won’t starve herself and will eat the block when she’s hungry enough. Rodent block of some sort is imperative for the health of a captive squirrel.

[Jeltje]

Thanks Mel💜 Well I understand the tough love thing and yes I have tried it -several times. I did cave however when I noticed more neuro activity. I did fail to mention that she has tics and will seize in certain situations. That was on of them. When I say she is tough with food. I mean TOUGH. She doesn’t even eat “treats” that other squirrels would gobble up. Like zero. When I actually see her consume food on her own, I am thrilled. The last episode of tough love she had a grand Mal seizure and I gave up.
In the morning I put all the nutritious foods in her “dining room” a variety of greens, broccoli, cauliflower, rodent block (she will not eat any type of Henry’s-tried them all)At the end of the night I clean Out all of the wilted veggies, and syringe feed her (fox valley, whipping cream, ultra boost and organic whole milk yogurt) This is not always very voluntary. I trick her and do it while she is sleeping on my chest. She doesn’t even eat the almonds that I give her. She either just hides them around the house (which I then pick up for the next day) or she just opens them and we give them to the outdoor friends. She is just truly exhausting and like having an infant. But I love her and made a commitment for life when I saved her 2 yrs ago.
I have tried every boo ball recipe on this site😑. I will not give up though. One day I will offer and she will gobble it up. Thankfully I have learned to only make a test batch instead of the cookie sheets I used to make! LOL
Mel you have no idea how much I appreciate your advice. Thank you for caring about Petunia. I love that little girl so much. 💜🐿☮️

[Mel1959]

Honestly, I know what it’s like with a picky eater. I had a dwarf squirrel that ate very little on his own. Let me share what worked for me. Because my little guy ate so little on his own I was VERY concerned about his nutrition. He wouldnt eat Henrys blocks either, so....I bought some Envigo Harlan Teklad 2018 block which is a hard extruded block. I ground it up into a powder. Then I mixed it with his liquid formula (I used FV 20/50, Ultraboost and full fat yogurt for his formula), baby food (veggie or veggie and fruit combo) to a thin enough consistency that it would flow through a syringe. I fed him this at least 4 times a day. This way I knew he was getting a 100% complete rodent block and a variety of healthy veggies.

Some members on here have discovered that almonds help with seizures. Maybe you’ve already tried un shelled almonds, but if not I’d try them. You could even grind some almonds and add a little to the food you give her by syringe. The equivalent of an almond a day seemed to help with the seizure activity, I believe.

[Jeltje]

Honestly, I know what it’s like with a picky eater. I had a dwarf squirrel that ate very little on his own. Let me share what worked for me. Because my little guy ate so little on his own I was VERY concerned about his nutrition. He wouldnt eat Henrys blocks either, so....I bought some Envigo Harlan Teklad 2018 block which is a hard extruded block. I ground it up into a powder. Then I mixed it with his liquid formula (I used FV 20/50, Ultraboost and full fat yogurt for his formula), baby food (veggie or veggie and fruit combo) to a thin enough consistency that it would flow through a syringe. I fed him this at least 4 times a day. This way I knew he was getting a 100% complete rodent block and a variety of healthy veggies.

Some members on here have discovered that almonds help with seizures. Maybe you’ve already tried un shelled almonds, but if not I’d try them. You could even grind some almonds and add a little to the food you give her by syringe. The equivalent of an almond a day seemed to help with the seizure activity, I believe.

Thanks Mel, I am ordering the blocks today. I will try anything. And yes to the almonds. When the neuro activity began I read lots of info on the forum regarding almonds. I do offer her in shell almonds, but I am going to get them shelled next time. I was also advised to add a magnesium supplement to her formula. Since doing that she has not had a grand Mal. Still having tics regularly. Thanks again for the advice!!💜🐿☮️

[Diggie's Friend]

Pumpkin seeds provide more magnesium to raise the seizure threshold, than do almonds.
(Almonds - 268 mg. magnesium per 100 g.) vs. (Dried pumpkin seed kernels - 535 mg. magnesium per 100 g.)

With any nuts, adding a supplement of calcium citrate is advisable.

Damaged nerves. Normally, nerves carry messages from the brain to 'the bladder muscles, directing the bladder muscles to tighten or release. If these nerves are damaged or impaired from a stroke, spinal cord injury or other health problem, bladder may not empty completely. This is known as neurogenic bladder.

Calcium citrate is more easily digested in an impaired GI tract due to paresis (partial paralysis) than calcium carbonate. In a study where Calcium citrate compared to calcium carbonate, Calcium citrate was found to reduce oxalic acid by 89 percent vs Calcium carbonate that reduced oxalic acid by 50 %.

Unlike Calcium carbonate that readily bonds with Oxalic acid into the insoluble that the body is not able to utilize for the bones or the cells; Calcium citrate, that inhibits the bonding of calcium with oxalic acid by keeping more of it soluble, provides more calcium to the bones and bloodstream, while not lending to the formation of Calcium oxalate crystals, that abrade the bladder and promote kidney stones.

Adding (SBO) (soil based organisms) probiotic to the diet daily supports oxalates to be broken down that otherwise can lend to the formation of oxalate bladder sludge (stones).

Pet FloraPrebiotic/Probiotic: https://www.amazon.com/Vitality-Scie...upplies&sr=1-3

Calcium citrate powder NOW brand: https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Calcium-C...1982441&sr=8-3

[Diggie's Friend]

Since the soils in the US are depleted in magnesium, the cultivars grown in them do not supply sufficient magnesium to the diet. By adding magnesium in the form of Magnesium threonate that has been found to be one that well crosses the blood brain barrier, this source is able reduce anxiety, and even inhibit seizures in rodents. Magnesium supplementation also lends much to the absorption of both calcium and magnesium into the bones and to increase bone density in rodents.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Thr...1990782&sr=8-8

Adding approximately 1/4 portion of a capsule powder (this not a teaspoon measure that is much larger) split in two (1/8 th) portions of the capsule powder, add 1/8 th portion each to both the AM and PM meals into wet foods. One of the best sources to include in the diet is low fat plain organic yogurt. Both Stonyfield Low fat plain creamy and Green Valley Low fatplain are very healthy organic sources of yogurt.

[Diggie's Friend]

Some here have found that adding a couple of drops of these organic food grade oils onto rodent block have persuaded squirrels to eat the block they had otherwise refused. Yet these oils aren't just nutty tasting oils, but healthy nutraceuticals of food grade quallity.

"Foods Alive" carries an organic food grade Chia oil, that is notably high in Omega 3 fatty acids, one of two that is higher in the Omega 3 than Omega 6. Their 4 oz. bottle is very reasonable in price; just 2 drops a day is the minimum to add to the diet.

https://foodsalive.com/products/orga...il-foods-alive

Another nutritious organic seed oil is from "The Seed oil company of Oregon", grown in the USA.

About this source: https://www.seedoilcompany.com/pumpkin-seed-oil

Food grade Pumpkin seed oil (not a carrier oil) in lab research was also found to lend protection from negative impacts from toxins to the liver in rats.

Two drops daily added onto greens, or into yogurt, or mixed into baked organic squash will give these foods a more nutty taste. A family run company, they carry a smaller 8 oz. bottle of their organic pure food grade pumpkin seed oil that is not featured on their web pages. If you call just ask for the smaller size; they got my bottle one out to me in just 3 business days. Phone: (541) 862-2244

[Jeltje]

Thanks Diggie. I have put these items in my amazon cart. It would be fabulous if this worked!!! Also I do add the Henry’s calcium and the magnesium suggested by you. Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us💜🐿☮️