Odd squirrel behavior (help required).
Hello Squirrel Board!
A number of years ago, I had found several baby squirrels that were abandoned and came to this place to find help. Long story short, those babies were raised and eventually rescued thanks to everyone here. Since then, I've found a few more squirrels that were raised and released appropriately. Recently, however, I found a young squirrel that requires extra help.
About 6 weeks ago I noticed an odd looking young squirrel roaming around. By odd, I meant that his tail wasn't thick, nor bushy at all. It resembled that of a rat's tail, though with a bit more fur. It was quite small, much smaller to be hanging out with the other ones around him, but he seemed to be doing fine. I decided to keep an eye out for him every time I would leave the house.
Not long ago, as the cold temperatures were starting to peak, I came across this youngling on a cold morning after it had rained. He was soaked and barely moving. I took my shirt off and threw it over him to capture him. He wasn't fighting back and was barely moving - looked like he was frost-shocked.
Upon bringing him in my home, I noticed a bit of blood coming from his mouth (though it wasn't fresh, since it had dried). This appeared to be a result of falling from a certain height. Once he had been fed and warmed, he started acting normal, except that his hind legs were paralyzed. From what I gathered online, this seem to have been a result from the fall. He didn't have anything broken, so I assumed it was caused neurologically from brain trauma. I've been giving him some physio to help him gain his motricity back. So far, it has made progress, albeit slowly.
He also had a few days of seizures caused by calcium deficiency (also known as Metabolic Bone Disease, or MBD). These seizures have now been tamed and haven't appeared in 4 or 5 weeks (I've had this squirrel for 6 or 7 weeks now).
Anyways, I've mentioned his history in case anyone can point out some links, because a few days ago he started to do something new and worrying. He suddenly starts to grab his face/snout (though stretching out to around his ears) and twitch sideways. It doesn't appear to be spasms, though the movement is quite sudden and seems to contract the muscles hard. I've read that this could be caused a number of things, the less worrisome being early signs of ear infection, and in worse case a result of brain trauma now developing as he grows bigger.
He's been on a homemade squirrel block diet (from this recipe found here: http://squirrelrefuge.org/squirrelblock.html) since initially feeding him nothing but Esbilac (with added calcium) for the first week in order to drive calcium into him.
I now depend on this community's extended knowledge in order to help this poor creature get healthy. I plan on releasing it once winter subsides (being in the great white north, a winter released would certainly mean death).
To break it down for people looking for future references:
- Squirrel appears odd (abnormal tail growth)
- Appears to have fallen from up high.
- Hind legs paralyzed (progressing slowly)
- Had seizures caused by MBD. No seizures for now over 5 weeks
- Now has new symptom manifested by twitching and face grabbing
I've uploaded images of the squirrel himself, here (He is a bit wet in these, will upload more if necessary):
- https://www.photobox.co.uk/my/photo/...d=500438611674
- https://www.photobox.co.uk/my/photo/...d=500438612828
And here are videos showing his odd behavior (I apologize for the length, but I wanted to document as much as possible):
Reply With Quote