Need help squirrel seizing not MBD

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Thanks for the update KimK! Little Twitch is one handsome Squirrel! Looks like there has been some significant improvement in his seizure activity since last we heard! I'm glad that Twitch is going to get started on phenobarbital! Keep us informed as to how this little guy is doing.
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[CritterMom]

Aw, he is so cute! Please keep us posted on his progress.

[KimK]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to give you an update on Twitch. Since we’ve started the phenobarbital, Twitch was drowsy the first couple days but after that he completely came back around to the sweet and inquisitive little guy he once was. He’s interested in going outside with me again (he never strays too far and usually always comes when I call him, eventually). He has a huge indoor/outdoor cage that allows access to the outside when he wants, which he had shown no interest in going outside since this began until he got more stable on the phenobarbital. Now he’s back to hung in out on his platforms in the sun. I took in a squirrel 12 days ago who was badly injured from another cat fight and he’s even being more curious about that little girl. Normally he wants nothing to do with any new intakes. I can just see he feels more like himself and that make me so happy. Sad part is with it working it means one of two things, he has idiopathic epilepsy or it’s trauma related. To be realistic, I think it would be naive to think it’s idiopathic knowing his history, so if it’s trauma related what are we in store for down the line? Either way, we do have today and we’re enjoying every single one. Tomorrow is never promised for anyone, so make best with what we do have. So I’m just enjoying every single day I am privileged and blessed to have him in life! ☺️

Thanks again everyone! Your knowledge and experience was/is priceless to us!

~KimK

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Thanks for the update KimK! I'm so glad that the "old" Twitch is back! He has a history of trauma and as you state, this is the most likely explanation for his seizures. Idiopathic is medical jargon for not knowing the actual cause of a condition (my favorite derivation of this word is: Idio-[don't know] and pathic [pathetic because we should know]). I suspect that it would be best to expect Twitch to be on the phenobarbital indefinitely unless he begins to have problems from the medication itself or his seizure activity eventually is not adequately controlled with it. Please tell us more about you newly acquired and injured Little Squirrel.
Best regards to the three of you!
SamtheSquirrel

[KimK]

Thanks for the update KimK! I'm so glad that the "old" Twitch is back! He has a history of trauma and as you state, this is the most likely explanation for his seizures. Idiopathic is medical jargon for not knowing the actual cause of a condition (my favorite derivation of this word is: Idio-[don't know] and pathic [pathetic because we should know]). I suspect that it would be best to expect Twitch to be on the phenobarbital indefinitely unless he begins to have problems from the medication itself or his seizure activity eventually you is not adequately controlled with it. Please tell us more about you newly acquired and injured Little Squirrel.
Best regards to the three of you!
SamtheSquirrel

I have a rule that I won’t name them until I feel they have a good chance of making it (or the perfect name is just too obvious). She’s called affectionately #87 at the moment. My naming convention doesn’t normally work I get attached after a hour, but I try. She came with after being bitten (best guess looks like a cat bite). She has two punctures on her right side that are pretty deep, and matching ones on her left side just not penetrating as far in. She had a corneal abrasion on her right eye, the fluorescein stain had straight line of uptake across her cornea, seemed superficial, eye was intact and not leaking. She had they eye squinted for the first few days. I used gentamicin ointment for 7 days and it seems to have cleared up. She’s not trying to paw at it or trying to damage it further so I think that’s in the win column. She’s missing a good deal of fur. Her lungs have sounded ok considering, slight wheezing expiratory, but no crackling or popping. Her temp hasn’t gone above 100.7 since coming out of shock. She was shocky when I first got her and was very concerned she wouldn’t make it home, but she did and she turned around quickly once I got home and had access to my stuff. Glucose was a little low so I gave her some dextrose, and I gave her a small about of warm fluids, antibiotics, and some pain medication. By afternoon of the second day she was trying to move around and avoid me. She wouldn’t drink or move much for the first 5 days. I kept her hydrated with fluids sub-q, which they always hate you for. She finally started accepting water from a syringe about the 5-6th day. But she won’t touch a bowl, dish, glass bottle or plastic bottle for water. Thankfully still taking it from the syringe though. I’m giving her meloxicam for pain. She didn’t eat on her own until 4 days ago and is sparsely picking over food. She has managed at least one Henry’s block a day for 3 of the last 4 days. I’ve been supplementing with emergency herbivore diet mixed with 1/3 fox valley. She came in at 683 grams and is 641 today. My only real concern for her is that she’s not fighting back like I want to see. I clipped the fur around her punctures, and they’ve never gotten super red or hot. I flush her wounds 3 times a day with just saline and make sure they’re not closing over to trap bacteria. They’re warmer than her body temp, but it’s bacteria damaged wounds, I expect some heat and edema. They were red and pretty warm the first couple days but they improved greatly with 72 hours on antibiotics. She definitely does not approve of my scraping at her punctures to keep them open anymore, and is vocal about it. I don’t think I’ll continue that past today unless I see some sign of it holding pus. Through all the medicines and flushing and scraping and clipping and forcing food an water, she’s never bit me (my gloves). I checked her mouth and her teeth look fine and I pushed lightly on them with a q-tip and got no pain response. She’s the only conscious adult I’ve ever gotten that hasn’t tried to bite me or eat me alive when cornered or when I’m doing something painful to them. She’s normal adult squirrel skittish and doesn’t like to be seen eating or moving so I try to drastically limit her exposure. I’m hoping she just needs more rest and rehab. She’s eating with supplements and vitamins and drinking by syringe and I feel comfortable the meds are sufficient. Plan to stop the baytril 3 days after I stop the flushing. She spends most of her time in a nesting box with nesting cotton to lay on. She’s improving, just slowly. She just moves slowly and deliberately when she thinks I can’t see her. I would just would like a little more fight in her, that’s got me a little concerned. The more spunk the better in my experience. I think she’s got every chance of making it back out. I think she’s just not as young as I normally see squirrels that come in and it’s maybe taking longer for her wounds to heal. She hasn’t messed to much with her wounds so far, which also surprised me. Only her eye and I had to use numbing drops in it twice, but nothing since. Hoping that continues! If you have any suggestions or ideas that might improve her outcome I’m always willing to try.

Thanks as always!!

~KimK

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi KimK:
It looks like you have done a tremendous job with #87! If there was an infection of the wounds most likely you would have seen evidence of this before now as it has been 12 days. You are obviously very knowledgeable, experienced and compassionate and very thorough! The only issue, again would be for the comfort of #87. One of the notorious bugs in a cat's mouth, as I'm sure you know, is Pasturella multocida. Most wound infections are not obvious in the first 24 hours but Pasturella is an exception and it is not unusual to see very significant evidence of an infection from P. multocida in less than 24 hours. That being said, it would be very unlikely for bacteria from the cat bites to still be "lurking" in the tissues, even within the deep punctures without there being signs of an infection becoming obvious by this time. My only suggestion, if you don't mind my making it, is to let little #87's wound heal up without further irrigation or scraping for the comfort of your little Squirrel. I would not put an ointment or non-porous dressing over the wounds if you think that the puncture path is sill patent (which would be extremely unlikely after 12 days) as there may still be some drainage that needs to occur but otherwise, clear Bacitracin ointment or plain Petrolatum can help protect the superficial portions of the wounds that still remain and possibly provide some extra comfort to #87 as well.
Another consideration would be that if the punctures were relatively deep which is not unusual with cat bites is that there could be involvement of underlying structures such as bone, muscle, vessels, nerves, organs, whatever and if so, there may be also be lingering effects from the trauma itself rather than infection. Has this been effectively ruled out? Anyway, congratulations on how superbly you have and are addressing #87's injuries while monitoring her status and providing excellent supportive care. I wish you and #87 the very best!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hello again KimK:
I hope you stick around on TSB! You obviously have much you can contribute and all of us learn from each other!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[island rehabber]

Ditto what Sam says above! It is a pleasure to have a knowledgeable person who does not second-guess every bit of advice given to her.
I am way late to the party here but just went back and read this thread from the beginning. I had a seizure squirrel for five years who improved drastically after almonds were added to her diet. She had four per day, in the morning, and I dusted them with Henry's calcium powder just to counteract the phosphorous a bit. I'd been so stingy with nuts because a) concerned about MBD in a NR squirrel and b) she actually didn't like them all that much and was so happy with her greens and fruit!) Lucky me....only thing was, she really did need that magnesium and her seizure activity went from 10 per week to one every 2.5 months or so. She never had cluster seizures again after I added the almonds. (Actually, I had nothing to do with it; it was Nancy in New York, her co-mom, who decided to try them on her. Another wonderful Nancy gift to remember. )

I am glad the pheno is working, but adding those almonds can't hurt.

[KimK]

Ditto what Sam says above! It is a pleasure to have a knowledgeable person who does not second-guess every bit of advice given to her.
I am way late to the party here but just went back and read this thread from the beginning. I had a seizure squirrel for five years who improved drastically after almonds were added to her diet. She had four per day, in the morning, and I dusted them with Henry's calcium powder just to counteract the phosphorous a bit. I'd been so stingy with nuts because a) concerned about MBD in a NR squirrel and b) she actually didn't like them all that much and was so happy with her greens and fruit!) Lucky me....only thing was, she really did need that magnesium and her seizure activity went from 10 per week to one every 2.5 months or so. She never had cluster seizures again after I added the almonds. (Actually, I had nothing to do with it; it was Nancy in New York, her co-mom, who decided to try them on her. Another wonderful Nancy gift to remember. )

I am glad the pheno is working, but adding those almonds can't hurt.

I appreciate all the insight everyone offered! When your afraid the animal you’ve built a bond with is on the brink, it puts you in a different mindset and it’s hard to see what’s right in front of you some times. As soon as the almonds were suggested I’ve been giving them to him am and pm, and haven’t discontinued. I didn’t end up using the magnesium supplement more than 3-4 days and discontinued once we got on the phenobarbital. After reading SamtheSquirrel’s advice on the phenobarbital, I was on the fence before, but the knowledge provided pushed me to try the medication regimen. So glad I did. The CBD was making him all the strangely, nothing I can put my finger on but just not himself. So I removed that. Just the almonds and phenobarbital now. He seems stable and so much more himself. Thank you all so much for support, experience, and guidance!

~KimK

[KimK]

Hi KimK:
It looks like you have done a tremendous job with #87! If there was an infection of the wounds most likely you would have seen evidence of this before now as it has been 12 days. You are obviously very knowledgeable, experienced and compassionate and very thorough! The only issue, again would be for the comfort of #87. One of the notorious bugs in a cat's mouth, as I'm sure you know, is Pasturella multocida. Most wound infections are not obvious in the first 24 hours but Pasturella is an exception and it is not unusual to see very significant evidence of an infection from P. multocida in less than 24 hours. That being said, it would be very unlikely for bacteria from the cat bites to still be "lurking" in the tissues, even within the deep punctures without there being signs of an infection becoming obvious by this time. My only suggestion, if you don't mind my making it, is to let little #87's wound heal up without further irrigation or scraping for the comfort of your little Squirrel. I would not put an ointment or non-porous dressing over the wounds if you think that the puncture path is sill patent (which would be extremely unlikely after 12 days) as there may still be some drainage that needs to occur but otherwise, clear Bacitracin ointment or plain Petrolatum can help protect the superficial portions of the wounds that still remain and possibly provide some extra comfort to #87 as well.
Another consideration would be that if the punctures were relatively deep which is not unusual with cat bites is that there could be involvement of underlying structures such as bone, muscle, vessels, nerves, organs, whatever and if so, there may be also be lingering effects from the trauma itself rather than infection. Has this been effectively ruled out? Anyway, congratulations on how superbly you have and are addressing #87's injuries while monitoring her status and providing excellent supportive care. I wish you and #87 the very best!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

Thank you so much for your kind words. I love that this forum exists. Thanks to all who facilitate and oversee its content and provide wonderful advise. I’ve just been fortunate enough to have a great rehabber available to me virtually anytime I call locally to help with challenging cases. Also, an amazing small animal vet that loves a challenge.

#87 I’m afraid she’s got some nerve damage on her front right leg, hope it’s just muscular but fear the worst. Muscle and bone heal but tendons and nerves take forever, if they heal. She has a glitchy movement with that limb. The puncture is under her shoulder where, if not mistaken, is where the nerve center lies for that limb. She still had some green discharge from the deepest two punctures so I continued
scraping that to keep it open until yesterday. I had been putting plain petroleum on it to keep them moist. I’ve just had a lot of bad luck with cat bites becoming abscesses in the past so I might be a little over cautions in that respect. It might be just be me but she seemed to be a little better this morning. She might just be becoming more at ease in my presence but she was getting around better this morning. I might let her spend some time in an outdoor cage later today if the rain holds off. She could use some sun I’m sure.

Thanks as always!!

~KimK

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Kim:
How are Twitch and #87 doing and how are you doing?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Diggie's Friend]

Organic pumpkin seeds are higher still in magnesium to that in almonds. Dusting a few of these seeds fed AM and PM with calcium citrate from, "Pure Bulk" is recommended.

Available from "Wilderness Poet" grown in Oregon; organic grown in the US. Styrian pumpkin seeds are the best pumpkin seeds on the planet!

Conventionally produced nuts require that they be fumigated with toxic compounds that can negatively impact the brain and the DNA in the body too.