found a ground squirrel with 2 broken legs! help!

[kait]

I found a ground squirrel with what seems to be 2 broken legs, 1 front and 1 back on the same side. I called a local squirrel sanctuary and they were not able to take it, but offered me a lot of information on how to help him out before I release him. What should I do about his legs? I don't want them to heal the way they are now. Will they be okay or do I try to splint them?

[Spanky]

I would attempt to splint them. Can you post pictures (that is always helpful)?

[kait]

this is his front one today, yesterday he was holding his back one like this too, but today he seems to have it the way that it should be.

[Spanky]

I'd try to splint it if you can... be extremely careful not to wrap too tight which could cut off the blood flow. With luck he'll leave it alone and it may require only a few days of being splinted. Especially if this is a youngster (hard to know from the pics) it will heal more quickly.

If you can replace the "loopy" terrycloth with fleece or flannel type material, that would be best. Squirrels tend to get their nails caught up in terry cloth, and especially in this situation it may cause more injury or prevent the leg from healing if he gets caught up and tugs on it the wrong way.

[kait]

I have tried to splint them and I'm not sure how to do it I guess. when I splint them he still drags it behind him rather than then being in place. Any suggestions on how to correctly splint?

[Spanky]

Don't worry too much if he is clumsy with the splint, the objective is to immobilize the bone to allow it to heal.

[Rock Monkey]

If it is a broken bone, it should be able to heal in approximately three weeks. Hopefully, you will see small daily improvement. Generally, sprains will heal more quickly.

It is best if they are kept in an environment where there is no need to leap or jump. I wouldn't allow it to roam unsupervised.