Rapid heartbeat -- Serious??

[island rehabber]

OK senior rehabbers and squirrel lovers, I need help. My biggest girl squirrel, BiGi (11 wks) seemed to get very freaked out this morning -- crouched in a corner of the cage, staring downward, with a very rapid heartbeat (head shaking a little from it). I thought it was the sound of the dishwasher, which I don't use that often during the daytime, so I turned it off. 90 mins. later she is still very lethargic and with that rapid pulse/beating in her lower body. Normally she is an extremely active, not-really-tame squirrel but she is letting us cuddle her and handle her. We separated her from the others and wrapped her in a favorite blanket.....she's half asleep now but the heart still seems rapid -- am I panicking needlessly or is something wrong? Is this a normal "fear" response? I've never had an older juvenile who did this before......

[MissDolittle]

The only cause of rapid heartbeat I know in squirrels is the food. Is it possible
that she might have gotten hold of something? I don't think it's a fear response
because she would have gotten over that fast.

The only other thing I can think of is that she my have a heart defect that only
start showing when she reached a certain age and weight.

I hope she's going to be alright! Especially with that name..my real name is
Birgit and everybody calls me Biggy .

[Snoopi77]

I hope it is nothing serious. My squirrel Luke would sometimes go off by himself in the corner and sit very still for long periods of time. I noticed that when he did this he also seemed to be having constipation. I never noticed this with the other two. I also felt it was when he had pigged out on something, which he often did. I did not notice the rapid heart beat though.
Keep us updated.
My daughter will be induced in the morning. Worrying about our babies is certainly tough.

[island rehabber]

Thanks, MissD and Snoopi....BiGi seems to be back to normal now and is chewing up a piece of cardboard even as we speak, LOL. It was such a weird thing because we don't normally handle our squirrels too much at this age and we weren't sure if her heartbeat was staying fast because we were fussing over her. Maybe she was trying to figure out why the Food Lady and her Boyfriend were hovering over her making worried noises! That may have stressed her out more than anything. Her bodily functions all seem normal...I'll keep an eye on her closely, though. Good luck Snoopi with daughter & grandbaby!!

[MissDolittle]

Thanks for the update!! That's good news .