My clumsy guy is at it again :( Paw Injury

[SquirrellyQ]

Keanu was a little too excited this morning and ran up his cage per usual, but fell backwards when he rolled and I was unable to catch him due to the cage being so close to the window that I couldn’t get behind it. It happened so fast, but I think he injured his leg trying to catch himself. He was very scared after and needed me to come and pick him up and wouldn’t move a bit. He’s doing Perfectly fine now but I’m wondering if I should see a vet or not this time around.

He didn’t move his paw for about 5 minutes, but he let me ice it for over a minute (which I found pretty impressive for him to hold still for so long) when he hurt it, and after that he was running all around per usual and playing and grabbing again. He doesn’t put as much pressure on it (left front paw) I’ve noticed, and he holds it to his chest more than usual. all his fingers work, and he’s able to hold food and scale up door frames though. I’m thankful it’s not broken, and I’ve fixed the cage location to where the incident won’t happen again. Just wondering if there’s any painkiller I can give him, if I should wrap it with vetrap, or just take him to a vet because I hate to see the little dude in pain; it breaks my heart.

Thank you guys again! Here’s a photo about 5 minutes after injury—eating and happy as can be!

[frankc]

Keanu was a little too excited this morning and ran up his cage per usual, but fell backwards when he rolled and I was unable to catch him due to the cage being so close to the window that I couldn’t get behind it. It happened so fast, but I think he injured his leg trying to catch himself. He was very scared after and needed me to come and pick him up and wouldn’t move a bit. He’s doing Perfectly fine now but I’m wondering if I should see a vet or not this time around.

He didn’t move his paw for about 5 minutes, but he let me ice it for over a minute (which I found pretty impressive for him to hold still for so long) when he hurt it, and after that he was running all around per usual and playing and grabbing again. He doesn’t put as much pressure on it (left front paw) I’ve noticed, and he holds it to his chest more than usual. all his fingers work, and he’s able to hold food and scale up door frames though. I’m thankful it’s not broken, and I’ve fixed the cage location to where the incident won’t happen again. Just wondering if there’s any painkiller I can give him, if I should wrap it with vetrap, or just take him to a vet because I hate to see the little dude in pain; it breaks my heart.

Thank you guys again! Here’s a photo about 5 minutes after injury—eating and happy as can be!

Poor baby !! Can you post his weight in Kilograms. Usually infant Ibuprofen can be given to help relieve any pain. It will also slow him down and he may take a nap. Thats why I asked for his weight and I am sure one of our excellent dosage rehabbers will give you the dosage and the correct Infant Ibuprofen to use.

[SquirrellyQ]

Poor baby !! Can you post his weight in Kilograms. Usually infant Ibuprofen can be given to help relieve any pain. It will also slow him down and he may take a nap. Thats why I asked for his weight and I am sure one of our excellent dosage rehabbers will give you the dosage and the correct Infant Ibuprofen to use.

Thank you!! Just weighed him right now & his weight is below:
0.259KG | 9.1oz

[Rock Monkey]

He seems to be recovering okay. He may be reluctant to fully weight the paw for the next couple of days.

As far as painkiller go, in my opinion, for a sprain, I think it is better that they feel the discomfort so that they will refrain from making the injury worse and give time for the limb to rest and heal.

You should hopefully see continued improvement each day.

If it gets worse, let the forum know.

The most important thing is to make changes to the environment, as you have done, to prevent such accidents from reoccurring.

As they get older, they get faster and faster. Their speed will exceed the speed with which you can react. So, I would look around and look for other potential hazards. It is a process of continual observation of their interaction with the environment and moving things or removing objects.

[island rehabber]

Yes I agree with the above so long as the animal is not showing true distress symptoms. (hunching over, white tears. etc). We don't want to use things like ibuprofen casually as they can have their own adverse effects.

[SquirrellyQ]

Yes I agree with the above so long as the animal is not showing true distress symptoms. (hunching over, white tears. etc). We don't want to use things like ibuprofen casually as they can have their own adverse effects.

He seems to be recovering okay. He may be reluctant to fully weight the paw for the next couple of days.

As far as painkiller go, in my opinion, for a sprain, I think it is better that they feel the discomfort so that they will refrain from making the injury worse and give time for the limb to rest and heal.

You should hopefully see continued improvement each day.

If it gets worse, let the forum know.

The most important thing is to make changes to the environment, as you have done, to prevent such accidents from reoccurring.

As they get older, they get faster and faster. Their speed will exceed the speed with which you can react. So, I would look around and look for other potential hazards. It is a process of continual observation of their interaction with the environment and moving things or removing objects.

Thank you both for the advice! He's still jumping around all happy today, but still putting a little less pressure on the paw (he watched his "dad" go out and grab a twig for him and he's just nuts over the fact he got one from the tree he's been watching all yesterday). I've come to the conclusion he's just about as clumsy as I am and it makes a good fit . I will also be completely accident-proofing as much as I can today just to avoid future incidents & I found a few vets nearby that do see squirrels in case I ever do need one so it all worked out well.

[Rock Monkey]

I've come to the conclusion he's just about as clumsy as I am and it makes a good fit . I will also be completely accident-proofing as much as I can today just to avoid future incidents.

Squirrels need to learn to run around like maniacs. They push the edge of the envelope. It is a skill that one day may determine the difference between life and death. So, they are not afraid to fail as they learn to develop these skills. Fortunately, they are very good at righting themselves, landing on their feet and can even choose a landing spot.

A simpler environment, with not too many objects, helps facilitate this learning. It is awesome that he gets to learn these skills in an environment where he doesn't have to worry about predators.