**GREMMY**1 yr Old squirrel MBD HELP!!!!

[BeverlyHillsSquirrel]

I found a young squirrel in a drive way 10 months ago. He had seemingly fallen out of a tree, and was laying there with a hurt eye. I called EVERYWHERE, every wildlife place, and no one would come get him. So I scooped him up, and took him to a vet who would see him. He stabilized there and went on to a rehabber for 10 days, until she deemed him unreleasable due to losing sight in the hurt eye. So she dropped him back off at the vet, bc she doesn’t keep unreleasables. The vet called me, and said he had no where to go, so I picked him up and took him in, bc I didn’t want him to get put down. He has been an absolute delight, it took some time, but he is super sweet, and playful etc. I have always paid close attention to his diet. He eats 2 Henry’s healthy blocks a day, and has fresh organic lettuces, veggies, and a couple small pieces of fruit, and a couple little pieces of walnut or almond at the end of the day. He’s always been very active. Day before yesterday I noticed his little hands were a bit swollen and the knuckles had hair missing. They are not scabbed or looking like the skin is broken. I then noticed as the day went on, that he was movin a little slower, and seemed sore, like he didn’t want to put a lot of weight his feet. When he ate, he didn’t seem comfy sitting on his booty, and his tail was straight out behind him instead of up over his head. Then he was just lethargic, I immediately started researching. The only thing I could find that seems to fit the bill is MBD. I got him some tums and did 500mg in some plain almond yogurt. He lapped it up. I then gave him 100mg every 3-4hrs for the next 24hrs. He took the doses, and ate his blocks, but not much appetite for veggies. And he slept a lot. Yesterday he seemed to be moving a bit easier. When he ate, he sat up, and his tail was up above his head again. But I def noticed he has a white cast on his poop. He is pooping and peeing regularly. He is also drinking lots of water. Am I on track? Is he dehydrated? Is 5 feedings every few hrs of 100mg of calcium carbonate correct? I did start doing pure powder Calcium carbonate by NOW vitamins, instead of the tums. I also got him a full spectrum light, as I do have a difficult time getting him in sunlight where I live. I have hesitated taking him to the vet, bc currently they aren’t taking emergencies, saying they are understaffed bc of covid. You can wait hours in the parking lot, and then possibly drop the animal off, but they may not get to them that day. I hate to put the stress on Gremmy of being in a cage at the vet, and may not be attended to for 24 hrs. And that’s mostly for dogs and cats. Not exotics. Los Angeles is also a very strict place where they mostly just try to sieze and put the animal down. It makes me heartbroken. I love Gremmy, and want to do everything I can to get him on the right track. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[CritterMom]

If he is eating 2 Henry's a day I doubt this is MBD. They are designed to prevent it, unless you are feeding nothing but junk otherwise, and you are not, based on your post.

Is he indoor or outdoor? If indoor, is he in air conditioning? The heat plays havoc on these guys.

[BeverlyHillsSquirrel]

If he is eating 2 Henry's a day I doubt this is MBD. They are designed to prevent it, unless you are feeding nothing but junk otherwise, and you are not, based on your post.

Is he indoor or outdoor? If indoor, is he in air conditioning? The heat plays havoc on these guys.

HE IS INDOORS. WITH AC. I DEF DONT FEED HIM JUNK. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTION OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE IF NOT MBD? HE DOESNT GET MUCH SUNLIGHT. SO THOUGHT MAYBE EVEN THO HE IS GETTING THE CALCIUM, HE MAY NOT BE ABSORBING IT WITHOUT VITAMIN D FROM THE SUNLIGHT?

[Spanky]

HE IS INDOORS. WITH AC. I DEF DONT FEED HIM JUNK. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTION OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE IF NOT MBD? HE DOESNT GET MUCH SUNLIGHT. SO THOUGHT MAYBE EVEN THO HE IS GETTING THE CALCIUM, HE MAY NOT BE ABSORBING IT WITHOUT VITAMIN D FROM THE SUNLIGHT?

There is Vitamin D in the Henry's healthy block.

Does this squirrel spend time out of the cage unsupervised? Wondering if he may have gotten into something.

The whitish poop is undigested / unprocessed calcium. Back off the calcium until this goes away. I would cut the amount given down to 75mg per dose, then 50mg, etc until the white is gone.

Can you post some pics of the knuckles to help us see what you are seeing?

[BeverlyHillsSquirrel]

There is Vitamin D in the Henry's healthy block.

Does this squirrel spend time out of the cage unsupervised? Wondering if he may have gotten into something.

The whitish poop is undigested / unprocessed calcium. Back off the calcium until this goes away. I would cut the amount given down to 75mg per dose, then 50mg, etc until the white is gone.

Can you post some pics of the knuckles to help us see what you are seeing?

OK I WILL BACK OFF THE CALCIUM. AND NO, HE IS ALWAYS SUPERVISED! THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE! I will try to add a photo of his knuckles…

[BeverlyHillsSquirrel]

OK I WILL BACK OFF THE CALCIUM. AND NO, HE IS ALWAYS SUPERVISED! THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE! I will try to add a photo of his knuckles…

Is the photo showing?

[Spanky]

The hair lose could be a result of an injury or an infection... or maybe even over grooming. Are both hands / knuckles losing hair like in the picture?

An unrelated question... does he chew on the bars of his cage at all? I notice the spacing is 1 inch, but as long as he does not chew at the bars it probably is not a problem. When they chew the bars it can create a malocclusion / misalignment in their teeth so we typically encourage cages with 1/2" bar spacing.

Has there been changes in routines, like his spending more time alone than normal or less out of cage time, that might have caused over grooming? This is a long shot maybe if it is only on his front feet where there is hair loss.

[BeverlyHillsSquirrel]

The hair lose could be a result of an injury or an infection... or maybe even over grooming. Are both hands / knuckles losing hair like in the picture?

An unrelated question... does he chew on the bars of his cage at all? I notice the spacing is 1 inch, but as long as he does not chew at the bars it probably is not a problem. When they chew the bars it can create a malocclusion / misalignment in their teeth so we typically encourage cages with 1/2" bar spacing.

Has there been changes in routines, like his spending more time alone than normal or less out of cage time, that might have caused over grooming? This is a long shot maybe if it is only on his front feet where there is hair loss.

BOTH HANDS HAVE THE SWOLLEN FINGERS BUT NOT ALL THE FINGERS ARE AFFECTED. HE SEEMS TO BE MOVING AROUND WITH MORE EASE THIS AFTERNOON. BUT HE IS STILL SLEEPING A LOT, DRINKING A LOT OF WATER, AND BEING A PICKY EATER. HE HAS ALSO STARTED LAYING FLAT ON HIS TUMMY HERE AND THERE. JUST OUT OF CHARACTER TO HIS USUAL ENERGETIC INTERACTIVE SELF. HE DOESNT CHEW ON HIS BARS, AND I CANT THINK OF ANYTHING THAT HAS CHANGED IN HIS DAY TO DAY. I WORK FROM HOME, SO I AM ALWAYS INTERACTING WITH HIM. I DID MAKE AN APPT WITH A VET FOR FRIDAY, BUT JUST FEEL A BIT UNSURE OF HOW TO CARE FOR HIM THE RIGHT WAY IN THE MEANTIME.