Pain management

[Amanning]

I have a male grey squirrel rescued at around 4 weeks old in march, had an accident where he claimed a broom handle and it fell on him. Looks like head trauma, blood coming from nose and some on his eye. Went limp when it happened. We are distraught he has seemed to recover a bit and has walked and is laying now had some heavy breathing and has calmed a bit now. Is there anything we should be doing for him? Can I give him anything that I might have on hand for pain?

[CritterMom]

Any drug store will have infant ibuprophen, which works well on these guys. It is also fruit flavored and they don't usually fight taking it. We will need to know his weight and YOU will need a 1ml or smaller syringe to measure and administer it.

Don't get infant acetaminophin. You want infant ibuprophen.

[Amanning]

Any drug store will have infant ibuprophen, which works well on these guys. It is also fruit flavored and they don't usually fight taking it. We will need to know his weight and YOU will need a 1ml or smaller syringe to measure and administer it.

Don't get infant acetaminophin. You want infant ibuprophen.

Is there any thing else I should keep an eye out for? What is the dosage on that? I have a kitchen scale I can weigh him on. Thank you!

[supersquirrelgirl]

Is there any thing else I should keep an eye out for? What is the dosage on that? I have a kitchen scale I can weigh him on. Thank you!

Yes, You should keep close eye for any odd behavioral issues as this goes with head trauma. Not sure if that's the case but its possible based on what you said. Monitor him for motor skills and eating habits. Best to keep him calm and collective for 24-48 hours and observe his status. Not knowing his impact force for head trauma, if he starts showing odd behavior, do you have a Vet you can call ??

You said he went limp...How long ??

Can you post a picture of his eye ??

SSG

[CritterMom]

Is there any thing else I should keep an eye out for? What is the dosage on that? I have a kitchen scale I can weigh him on. Thank you!

Post his weight please. I need it to give you the dose.

[Amanning]

Yes, You should keep close eye for any odd behavioral issues as this goes with head trauma. Not sure if that's the case but its possible based on what you said. Monitor him for motor skills and eating habits. Best to keep him calm and collective for 24-48 hours and observe his status. Not knowing his impact force for head trauma, if he starts showing odd behavior, do you have a Vet you can call ??

You said he went limp...How long ??

Can you post a picture of his eye ??

SSG

He weighs 1lb 6oz, he was only limp for a second or two, no exotic vets in our area our vet can barely treat our horses he’s coming around a little more now just seems groggy and you can definitely tell he’s hurting, his eye looks completely normal now just has a little blood on his fur. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to want to eat for a min and I don’t blame him is there a specific time frame that I should watch out for to get him to eat something? I’m hoping that he might have an appetite after some pain meds.

[CritterMom]

Dosing for infant ibuprophen sent by PM.

Give him a few things he lies a lot after you dose him. I works pretty fast.

[supersquirrelgirl]

He weighs 1lb 6oz, he was only limp for a second or two, no exotic vets in our area our vet can barely treat our horses he’s coming around a little more now just seems groggy and you can definitely tell he’s hurting, his eye looks completely normal now just has a little blood on his fur. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to want to eat for a min and I don’t blame him is there a specific time frame that I should watch out for to get him to eat something? I’m hoping that he might have an appetite after some pain meds.

So he's ~10 months old and 1Lb-6oz (726 grams) - that a good size. Having blood from nose and eye is concerning along with him being limp a few seconds. Did the broom handle hit at full force ?? Being groggy still ?? This is like us humans hitting head and seeing stars or worse would be a concussion where brain is foggy and confused. Yes, it hurts.

Is he humped over with head down ? (pain posture) or more relaxed and being slow ??

I'm not a Vet but hope he comes back to normal center around 24 hrs. Critical milestone is appetite and good motor skills.

Good to give him Ibuprofen pain reliever per CritterMom dose amount.

Squirrels are pretty resilient and fall all the time so I hoping this passes in 24 hrs. Keep him quiet and comfortable.

SSG

[supersquirrelgirl]

So he's ~10 months old and 1Lb-6oz (726 grams) - that a good size. Having blood from nose and eye is concerning along with him being limp a few seconds. Did the broom handle hit at full force ?? Being groggy still ?? This is like us humans hitting head and seeing stars or worse would be a concussion where brain is foggy and confused. Yes, it hurts.

Is he humped over with head down ? (pain posture) or more relaxed and being slow ??

I'm not a Vet but hope he comes back to normal center around 24 hrs. Critical milestone is appetite and good motor skills.

Good to give him Ibuprofen pain reliever per CritterMom dose amount.

Squirrels are pretty resilient and fall all the time so I hoping this passes in 24 hrs. Keep him quiet and comfortable.

SSG

oops, a weight correction: 1Lb-6 oz equals 624g (not 726g) - sloppy calculation on my part.

[Amanning]

His motor skills don’t seem to be off, he has Been in his cage and out of his nest hunched over or spread out. wants to be held and If you hold him he snuggles up. Also seems like he’s chilly, (maybe shock?) he fought about the medicine pretty good, definitely didn’t want to take it.

[supersquirrelgirl]

His motor skills don’t seem to be off, he has Been in his cage and out of his nest hunched over or spread out. wants to be held and If you hold him he snuggles up. Also seems like he’s chilly, (maybe shock?) he fought about the medicine pretty good, definitely didn’t want to take it.

All sounds good but as you can imagine. taking a hard hit to the head, its a WTH moment. I hope he took the meds and now is feeling a little less pain. I'm sure his appetite will come back, just follow his lead. Just keep monitoring him. All sounds good.

[Amanning]

Update: meds have def kicked in! He is burrowing into his nest and snoozing, will see if he wants to eat in the morning thank you all for all your help! We love him so much and we’re really worried, definitely still going to keep an eye on him as I’m sure he’s not quite in the clear and lots of pampering. I never knew how much I could care for a little rat (his nickname).

[Amanning]

He seems even better feeling this morning gave him another dose of meds and a slice of avocado, he really hates the medicine and Gags when we try to put it in his mouth the first try.

[CritterMom]

GET THE PEEL OFF OF THAT AVOCADO RIGHT NOW!!!

The peel and pit of avocados has varying amounts of a toxin called persin. You can test all the fruit from a single tree and they will vary from almost none to enough to kill a small animal. We have gotten to see a number of those cases over the years.

Peel it. Then trim off the part right under the skin (the super green part) and do the same in the area where the pit touches the fruit. Or be really safe like me and don't feed avocados.

[supersquirrelgirl]

He seems even better feeling this morning gave him another dose of meds and a slice of avocado, he really hates the medicine and Gags when we try to put it in his mouth the first try.

Hi Amanning,

Can you tell me what pain reliever you are giving him?? I'm surprised he resists it. Usually, they like the taste.

[Bravo]

Hi Amanning - Could you check your inboxes to see if they're full? Admin account is getting alerts that responses to your subscriptions are bouncing back. Thanks.