Help: Just started walking in circled and shaking

[TubeDriver]

Check PM for vet access tonight!

Thanks. Hoping he can pull through. He is still just seizing. We set him up in a low plastic box with soft fabric on the bottom for now. Trying to see if he will relax and close his eyes. But no change so far.

We were getting his soft release cage designed for the spring. I feel terrible.

I was making sure to say away from the "toxic" items. I thought potatoes were just high in starch and to keep it to a minimum. I will be for vigilant in the future.

[TomahawkFlyers]

It is the raw starch where the toxins are. I hope you get back on - the vet will see you tonight. He's off duty tomorrow. You have about a 2 hour window from now.

[TomahawkFlyers]

I am going to make one last pitch here. Simon is in absolute agony. He's probably going to die without proper medical attention. You came here desperately looking for help. We have taken you seriously, rallied, and found you the help you need. Not only did we find you a vet, we found you one who is willing to see you tonight. Finding a willing vet is difficult. Finding one who recognizes the dire nature of the situation and is available to see Simon right now (on a Sunday night!) is next to impossible. I don't know what has happened to you in your life that causes this level of distrust in people you have asked for help. Whatever it was/is, I pray that you can get past it to see that Simon gets the help he so desperately needs. At this moment, my concern and desire to help is for Simon. Pam and I do so hope that our concern does not need to be shifted to you and your grief if/when Simon passes from this. If you need reassurance, call one of us and satisfy yourself that our only wish is to get Simon through this. Yes, there are still people around who do not operate from evil agendas. Every once in awhile they show up to help. Please. For Simon's sake.

Jamie

[island rehabber]

I was not online last night and missed this entire thread, but THANK YOU TomahawkFlyers for miraculously coming up with a vet last night who would see this squirrel. Somehow I doubt the OP actually took Simon there. Afraid to even ask for an update.....

[ppodcor]

Simon got to a vet. Thank you everyone who helped. The vet reported no new seizures this morning.

I really appreciate everyone. It will be a long road to full recovery. But he's already do better.

[TomahawkFlyers]

This is excellent news. We're always looking for contact information for vets willing to treat squirrels. Will you share, (via PM if you're more comfortable with that,) who was able to see Simon? Really, we're all so glad to hear that you have found help.

Jamie

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

I thought I was to have all day off yesterday but I ended up working all of last night and missed this thread. Jamie, thank you so very much for your concern and for going the extra light-year for poor little Simon! I do hope that Ppodcor was able to take advantage of the miracle Veterinarian appointment that you "pulled off!" Please thank this Vet in my behalf also; as this is one very special caring individual!! You are too, Jamie! Thanks again! Also thanks to CritterMom who set aside common preconceived notions about potatoes and conscientiously investigated all clues and discovered that potato eating does in fact pose potential risks!

Simon's near constant seizure activity is called Status Epilepticus and prolonged and/or frequent seizures in themselves (regardless of their actual cause) can be fatal and often, if survived; result in significant neurologic sequelae! Further, every seizure is a risk for injury including mouth and tongue injuries from involuntary biting, torn muscles and tendons and even fractures from the powerful involuntary muscle contractions just for examples. Simon required immediate intervention with use of anticonvulsant medication that only a Veterinarian is likely to possess. The Vet obviously recognized the emergency and was willing to approach this in good-faith! Oh, how I hope that Simon was actually seen and treated and is doing much better! I hope!!!!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

UPDATE: I just saw where Simon was seen by the Vet and is no longer having seizures! Thank you Ppodcor for caring so much for little Simon! Please keep on with updates!!!
StS

[TomahawkFlyers]

Per the OP, Simon is at the vet now. Not the one from last night, but one who was located this morning.

It is important to make clear who the real hero in this situation is. TubeDriver is the person who went a million miles out of his way to help. Sure, we work as a community, but this miracle was his doing.

Keep Simon and his owner in your thoughts - they can both use some good vibes.

Jamie

I was not online last night and missed this entire thread, but THANK YOU TomahawkFlyers for miraculously coming up with a vet last night who would see this squirrel. Somehow I doubt the OP actually took Simon there. Afraid to even ask for an update.....

[TomahawkFlyers]

StS,

Thanks for checking in. You caught, what I missed in the rush of things, that CritterMom was able to put her finger on the problem. She seems to always have the level-headed and correct answers. I could have done better in school were her shoulder available to look over at exam time.

Thanks, too, for the detailed explanation of seizures. Grisly reading, and good to have that knowledge in the bank. A question that arises from all of this, assuming he pulls through, ... "Will the damage from the seizures have caused permanent damage that makes Simon an NR?"

Jamie

I thought I was to have all day off yesterday but I ended up working all of last night and missed this thread. Jamie, thank you so very much for your concern and for going the extra light-year for poor little Simon! I do hope that Ppodcor was able to take advantage of the miracle Veterinarian appointment that you "pulled off!" Please thank this Vet in my behalf also; as this is one very special caring individual!! You are too, Jamie! Thanks again! Also thanks to CritterMom who set aside common preconceived notions about potatoes and conscientiously investigated all clues and discovered that potato eating does in fact pose potential risks!

Simon's near constant seizure activity is called Status Epilepticus and prolonged and/or frequent seizures in themselves (regardless of their actual cause) can be fatal and often, if survived; result in significant neurologic sequelae! Further, every seizure is a risk for injury including mouth and tongue injuries from involuntary biting, torn muscles and tendons and even fractures from the powerful involuntary muscle contractions just for examples. Simon required immediate intervention with use of anticonvulsant medication that only a Veterinarian is likely to possess. The Vet obviously recognized the emergency and was willing to approach this in good-faith! Oh, how I hope that Simon was actually seen and treated and is doing much better! I hope!!!!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

UPDATE: I just saw where Simon was seen by the Vet and is no longer having seizures! Thank you Ppodcor for caring so much for little Simon! Please keep on with updates!!!
StS

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

It is important to make clear who the real hero in this situation is. TubeDriver is the person who went a million miles out of his way to help. Sure, we work as a community, but this miracle was his doing.

THANK YOU TubeDriver!!!!!!
StS

[ppodcor]

Yes. Thank all of you!! Update: vet said no new seizures, and he took some formula. They said he started hopping around the bottom of the cage, but hes still a bit uncorrdinated. We have to pick him up tonight but hopefully with a plan for recovery.

[ppodcor]

Simon is home. So far no seizures or tremors. He is still not coordinated enough to climb effectively. But he is sleeping in is little hammock bed we moved to the bottom of his cage. He has only taken formula so far, but he is doing great with it.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Simon is home. So far no seizures or tremors. He is still not coordinated enough to climb effectively. But he is sleeping in is little hammock bed we moved to the bottom of his cage. He has only taken formula so far, but he is doing great with it.

Great news! What formula is he drinking? Did your Vet start Simon on any anticonvulsant medication(s)? Please tell Simon that I said hello and give him a gentle Squirrel-hug from me! Ppodcor, thank you for your love and care of little Simon!! Please keep on with the updates!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Chirps]

Wow! Not around much these days, missed this whole thread, but so glad to come in at the "happy ending." Not minimalizing anything, just so happy to get this far and see that Simon is still here, thanks to all the amazing folks here, even if his road might have a lot of twists ahead. Thank you, ppodcor, for being a good squirrel parent and for being ready to help Simon's recovery, whatever that turns out to be. Please keep us posted on his progress!

[ppodcor]

Great news! What formula is he drinking? Did your Vet start Simon on any anticonvulsant medication(s)? Please tell Simon that I said hello and give him a gentle Squirrel-hug from me! Ppodcor, thank you for your love and care of little Simon!! Please keep on with the updates!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

He is taking the Fox Valley. That we used when he was a baby. The vet prescribed gabapentin. He has had no new seizures or tremors. He sleep for a lot of today which the vet said would be likely after the ordeal.

We also started the emergency MBD listed in Henry's just in case. Vet also said that this could be related to his head injuries as a baby. But for now we do suspect it was the potato.

He is taking about 6cc of formula every 4 hrs. He just started eating a HBB. So we are just trying to get his strength back up.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Thanks for hanging in there with him. If things continue to improve, you will have saved his life. Twice.

Jamie

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

He is taking the Fox Valley. That we used when he was a baby. The vet prescribed gabapentin. He has had no new seizures or tremors. He sleep for a lot of today which the vet said would be likely after the ordeal.

We also started the emergency MBD listed in Henry's just in case. Vet also said that this could be related to his head injuries as a baby. But for now we do suspect it was the potato.

He is taking about 6cc of formula every 4 hrs. He just started eating a HBB. So we are just trying to get his strength back up.

Thanks Ppodcor! The FV Formula provides excellent nutritional support and obviously does not require biting or chewing which can be uncomfortable for a Squirrel with MBD. I really like the HHB for MBD nutritional support because they are relatively soft and are a concentrated food! Only one HHB alone contains around 125mg of Elemental Calcium which is a great start! The "average" sized Squirrel such as Simon (not flyers or Groundhogs!) require around 250mg of ELEMENTAL Calcium EACH DAY! When Simon is consuming two HHBs daily, this alone on a daily basis, will provide ALL of the Maintenance Calcium he needs every day of his life! Supplemental Calcium or Treatment Calcium or Extra Calcium (however you want to look at it) is what will be necessary to ensure that Simon gets ADDITIONAL Calcium to replenish the Calcium stores that have been lost from his bones though MBD! For the providing of this Treatment Calcium; Henry's protocol suggest an initial treatment goal of 250mg of Supplemental Elemental Calcium so that a Squirrel's total Elemental Calcium intake early on in therapy for MBD will be around 500mg. This works fine and I have not seen any compelling reason to modify this initial plan for treatment.

The main issue; assuming that Simon has the common problems associated with MBD of decreased appetite and soreness of the bones, is to find food and Calcium sources that Simon will willingly consume. Again, HHBs are ideal! They are much softer than the hard extruded blocks such as Teklad Blocks and they are concentrated. An "average" sized Squirrel should NOT have any more than 3 HHBs each day but if Simon will eventually eat those three HHBs, he will be getting ALL of his daily required Maintenance Calcium PLUS and around 125mg of needed Supplemental Calcium as well! The HHBs can be softened even more with mixing with some baby food or lightly sweetened water (one teaspoonful of molasses or syrup added to 1 cup of clean fresh bottled water) to simple soften the block or even to make the block into a thick paste if that will help Simon eat them! Any extra Calcium can be from Calcium carbonate withOUT Vitamin D. NO Vitamin D should be in the Calcium source. Henry's has a pure Calcium Carbonate but I would recommend simply using Tums or the generic equivalent with is far less expensive. These tablets are Calcium Carbonate and can be ground up and flavored if necessary or you can get the flavored tablets! You will need to know how much Elemental (pure) Calcium Simon needs (at the start of the Treatment Program this would be always needed daily 250mg of Elemental Calcium for Maintenance and an additional 250mg of Supplemental Elemental Calcium.

Knowing how much ELEMENTAL Calcium contained in a Tums tablet (or generic Calcium carbonate table) can sometimes be confusing! If using these tablets, I would suggest posting the ingredients side of the label and we can tell you the content of Elemental Calcium in each tablet but the "short story" is that in the USA; if the label states a certain milligram weigh of Calcium Carbonate, the Elemental Calcium content is only 40% of that. IF the label states just the word Calcium without the word carbonate, the Elemental Calcium contained in one "serving" is the actual stated weight. The other issue is that some of these nutritional statements may have more than one tablet listed as a serving and the Calcium content listed would not be per tablet but per "serving!" Ppodcor, just post photos of the Tums label and we will help interpret the calcium content for you!

Just out of curiosity, what was the approximate size of the potato piece that Simon ate and was this peeled or did it include skin? Peeling a potato will remove about 30-80% of the two potentially toxic substances (chaconine and solanine) contained in the potato! I'm not going to hazard a guess as whether or not the cause for Simon's seizures was the potato ingestion; it is certainly possible and for others reading this thread; this Thread should be a caution AGAINST feeding any form of potato Squirrels and especially no potato skin!

I'm so glad that Simon is improving and thank you for your love and devoted care for this little Squirrel!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[ppodcor]

Hi guys.

Simon's strength has been returning slowly. He has started climbing again. At first he was willing to allow us to handle him for feeding and would even purr when being held. He is eating his Blocks, veg, and a few blueberries. But not actively drinking water (maybe because of the forumla?)

Today however, he seemed to get agitated when we were near his cage, and started getting more aggressive; running around his cage yelling. I took a short clip of him making his little calls which he has never done before.

https://youtube.com/shorts/CEDYYpJHU...NNLPrvkaLjDXPF

Is this him being aggressive towards us?

[ppodcor]

We have kept him in his cage since the episode and returning from the vet and he has not been let out other than for us to hold and feed him for fear that he was still uncoordinated and he would injure himself.

He has mostly been sleeping and hopping around the bottom of his cage. He only started climbing a little oday and was initially still a bit uncoordinated. By the time we tried installing his new water bottle this evening he was running around his cage and climbing with agility but he was extremely agitated.

He has not climbed back into his cube bed either, he has just been sleeping on the floor of his cage on the blanket we added to protect him if he fell over.

We have been feeding him inside his cage, could this be related to his food? Or possibly his age/Wilding up? Or would it be more likely that his seizure caused this?

[TomahawkFlyers]

A thought - not Gospel - Seizures take quite a toll on nerves. As I recall from the biology course I never took, neurons travel through nerves through the spinal cord to and from the brain. If the nerves (highway upon which neurons travel) have been disturbed, information to and from the brain is also being disturbed. This may be resulting in garbled messaging and a confused and frightened squirrel. I would think that there is a good chance that the disruption will calm down and normal behavior will return. Or, it could be wilding. Or, it could be that he associates you with the trauma he's experienced and is, for the moment, afraid of you.

I'll issue my mea culpa now. When Sam the Squirrel sees this he will undoubtedly have a good chuckle (spit his coffee through his nose) and then step in to provide a great answer without making me seem like an imbecile. Simon's been on my mind quite a bit. I hope all continues to improve.

By the way, Simon appears to have been startled in the video. I wouldn't call that aggression. He is surely still discombobulated and not thinking straight. He's probably still in some pain - sore muscles from the seizures. In fact, it could actually still hurt just to be touched. If so, he's associating that pain with you. I'd hold off on touching for awhile.

Jamie