HELP Please: Lethargy, Floppiness

[RosiePawPaw]

Hi! I've rehabbed many a squirrel in my lifetime and dealt with a few MBD cases, but this one is stumping me... This might be long.. My apologies..

I have an approx. 6 month old female Gray (Rosie) who came to me with her sister as 4 week olds. Rosie was sliced up pretty bad (Bird.. The kids who brought her to me saw the attack). They were thin, and while her sis was an almost *perfect* rehab case (Now wild and THRIVING), Rosie has needed quite a bit of extra care. She never could quite catch up with her sister in weight. She currently weighs an average of 420g.

She had a seizure the day I got her, and once again with some slight hind leg paralysis about a few weeks later. With emergency Calcium supplementation, her symptoms went away both times. She's been a bit on the thin side this whole time, despite having a pretty decent diet and appetite ( 2-3 Henry's Blocks per day, Lots of fresh greens, veggies, wild foods, and a couple nuts lightly dusted with Calcium Carbonate). She has a large outdoor enclosure that she has spent hours in, so I'm not super worried about UVB, and she also has a 10.0 UVB in her indoor enclosure (We take her in at night.. She is NR)

*Note: Her sister DOES occasionally come to visit her and they do play with each other, but her sister appears extremely healthy.. Not sure if this could be some weird disease that I'm not familiar with?


About a week and a half ago, we found her in the morning on the ground of her indoor cage - Not sure if she had a seizure, but she went from VERY happy and healthy, playing, etc the night before to very lethargic and having a hard time walking, being really floppy. I immediately started emergency MBD treatment.. AGAIN.. and while she didn't improve as quickly as I normally would expect, she was getting progressively better for about 4 or 5 days, and then BAM - Back to floppy and lethargic, despite a very strict diet and lots of access to UVB, extra liquids, etc.. This whole time, she kept a decent appetite and good spirits, like her body wasn't working but her mind was.. ?

ANYWAYS, the one weird thing I noticed before this last episode was increased Hiccups. She would get the hiccups a few times a day (That I noticed), and the first few days of "recovery", she would get the hiccups almost every time she ate or drank. There were a few times in her sleep that she made a squeaking sound that I have never heard her make, like she was in distress for a second or two, then fell back asleep.

The last 2-3 days, she has been slowly losing interest in food, and will not drink on her own. I've also noticed her dragging her genitals on the floor, although she has been peeing a bit. It's darker and smellier than normal, so I've started rehydrating fluids orally..

What I'm Doing:
* Syringe Feeding back and forth between Pedialyte, Ultra boost, Rehydration Formula (Honey Water), and Higher-Calcium Baby foods - To make sure she's getting some nutrition and lots of hydration. (she's a super picky eater too)
* tiny pinch of Calcium Carbonate mixed with her baby food, but not too much - Because of her weird response to MBD treatment, I am worried about ODing her on Calcium.
* Keeping her warm and quiet, indoors only for now, with a brand new 10.0 UVB light.
* Really cracking down on her diet - Only Henry's blocks, hydrating veggies, greens, and a couple pumpkin seeds per day.


Any ideas what the heck is going on? My vet is currently in Mexico for a MONTH. Happy to answer any questions you have. I really was thinking MBD, she is super high needs and has been having issues since the very beginning, but I am starting to get worried - She's kind of the love of my life right now <3 Lil' Rosie.

[RosiePawPaw]

I'm so sad no responses yet...

She's not doing any better.. I've noticed today a bit of a wheeze when she breathes. I think it's time for a round of antibiotics. All I have are 500mg Amoxicillin on hand for now. She weighs 420g. I could use some help with dosage! Thank you

[CritterMom]

I am sorry - I am not sure how this got missed.

At first pass, it sounds an awful lot like some sort of seizure issue - the weakness and floppiness is common after a seizure. If she has any more, as quickly as you can, get some sugar into her. You can use syrup, molasses, or a small amount of table sugar. It just needs to get into the mouth - it will be absorbed by the mucous membranes in the mouth even if she doesn't swallow and will help in recovery from the seizure.

However your mention of her urine issues got me thinking. The symptoms from a UTI are usually pretty straightforward and easy to diagnose if you are dealing with someone who can describe their symptoms. But there are a whole lot of elderly folks out there who get mis-diagnosed with dementia related issues when they have a freaking UTI. And we have seen a lot of animals here who we were wracking our brains over who finally were able to get urine tested at a vet and it was UTI. I sent you dilution and dosing info via PM for this reason. If she gets a couple days of meds in and starts feeling better then maybe you accidentally came up with the right diagnosis!

Something else to throw into the pot is some additional magnesium. Now the HHBs have plenty in them for normal situations. But some seizures can be brought on by low magnesium - not because you are not feeding a diet rich enough in it but because some people - and likely animals too, do not metabolize it as efficiently as most people and thus need more in their diet to compensate. You said you give nuts as a treat. For now cut out all nuts but almonds which are very rich in magnesium and use those as your treat nut.

I hope one of these helps.