Hi,
I'm the foster mom for an aging Belding's ground squirrel- HalfZ. In the past few months HalfZ has started having episodes of extremely rapid heart beat and wheezy labored breathing. Has anyone experienced this with elderly squirrels? I think that she's starting to experience heart failure and maybe has some pulmonary edema. I'm a rehabber, and have worked with rodents for many years, and have fostered all of our non-releasable squirrels. But this is the first time I've experienced these types of symptoms in a squirrel. Unfortunately, we have very limited veterinary assistance and the vet doesn't have training in small mammals. However, if I let her know an accepted treatment or medication from a rehabber or vet, she's usually willing to prescribe the medications. My question is: has anyone had a squirrel with this problem and administered medications or treatment that helped? HalfZ is still in good spirits, mostly eating well and attempting to be active. And I love her more than anything and want her to be comfortable!
Thank you!