adult grey suddenly not able to feed herself

[isaiah]

Benton, my 3.5 year old non-release female grey, really suddenly (as in overnight) stopped being able to feed herself and became aggressive and twitchy. From what I can tell, even though she can still chew and swallow without difficulty, she can't hold her food up while she chews. Her front paws come up close to her mouth, but no longer actually make contact with the food while she's eating. It's like she lost control of her fine motor skills, but she's still able to climb around her cage. She's also suddenly become aggressive with me, trying to bite me and my clothing when up until now she's been so good with me that I could take food away from her (even out of her mouth) and all she would do was squeak in protest. I've removed the food from her cage because she shoves it behind her incisors and tries to eat with just her molars, which isn't very effective, and today it made a big wad of gummed up rodent block that got stuck in her mouth and I worried she might choke on some of it. I've been hand and syringe feeding her instead.
Her diet has always been rodent blocks and veggies with fruit and nuts as treats, she doesn't come in contact with other animals so she couldn't have caught anything from them, and she has no visible injuries or any of the stiffness that might indicate tetanus. She came to us as a neuro case from a rehabilitator we work with (we're not sure if she was born that way or if she fell and injured herself) but her only issues other than some body spasms in the first month or so we had her were sub-par balance and possible blindness in one eye (she walks around with her head tilted and doesn't seem to register movement on one side). Change in location/smells/sights has never bothered her in the past, so I don't think it's an environmental problem either. Any thoughts or tips would be welcome, she's very dear to us and we hate to see her in distress!

[SammysMom]

Welcome! Your girl is beautiful! I am so sorry shes having these issues. I am not sure what would cause them, but can you get a good look at all four of her front teeth?
Are any of them overgrown or growing at an odd angle?

[isaiah]

Welcome! Your girl is beautiful! I am so sorry shes having these issues. I am not sure what would cause them, but can you get a good look at all four of her front teeth?
Are any of them overgrown or growing at an odd angle?

Thank you! I've gotten a pretty clear look at her teeth from her chewing on the cage bars and they look perfectly fine - they're not overgrown, broken, or crooked, and she's never had an issue with them before. She also seems fully capable of chewing as long as I'm holding her food steady for her, but I'll try to get a closer look at them tomorrow to double check.

[SammysMom]

What kind of rodent block does she eat? Is there any chance she fell? I am wondering if there is any chance you could get her to a vet. We might have one close to you if you let me know where in NH you are. You cam PM that to me if you feel more comfortable that way.

[SammysMom]

Are you anywhere near Manchester by chance?

[czarina]

Any updates?

[isaiah]

What kind of rodent block does she eat? Is there any chance she fell? I am wondering if there is any chance you could get her to a vet. We might have one close to you if you let me know where in NH you are. You cam PM that to me if you feel more comfortable that way.

She eats the Oxbow Essentials blocks and has done really well on them so far, she's never shown any lethargy or loss of appetite. It's possible that she may have fallen onto the flower pot she likes to sleep in (pictured below on a particularly hot day this summer) - I've never seen her fall in her cage, but she has certainly slipped off of a tree a couple times.


She seemed a lot less agitated today, though she's still chewing on the bars and her balance looks worse than usual. I hand-fed her again and everything went smoothly, except for when she pried off a chunk of rodent block - she got it behind her incisors (which still look good to me) and then made the angry/hurt squeaks the whole time she chewed it. I'm not sure if that indicates that she might have an injury inside her mouth where I can't see it, or if it's just uncomfortable for her to have a chunk of rodent block poking into the roof of her mouth.
I live less than an hour's drive from Manchester, so that's certainly an option for me if you know of a good "pest"-friendly vet there!

[SammysMom]

We are working on getting in touch with the person who has a vet in the area. hopefully we will hear back soon! In the meantime, do you have access to prednisone? We might be able to help dose it to see if it would help any swelling that might be causing the issue if it was a fall that is causing it.

[isaiah]

Wow thank you! I live close to Portsmouth, if you know anyone around the seacoast area. And I don't have access to any prednisone, unfortunately.

[Nancy in New York]

I LOVE that flower pot photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You're in the best of hands with SammysMom!

[czarina]

Lots of prayers for this little one.

That is one of the best squirrel pictures I have ever seen!
Thank you for sharing!

Please keep us updated.

[island rehabber]

Thank you, SammysMom, for helping with this little girlie. She is beautiful....but this is a mystery and we really do need a vet's assessment here.

[Nancy in New York]

....but this is a mystery and we really do need a vet's assessment here.

Not sure if you saw this:

We are working on getting in touch with the person who has a vet in the area. hopefully we will hear back soon! In the meantime, do you have access to prednisone? We might be able to help dose it to see if it would help any swelling that might be causing the issue if it was a fall that is causing it.

[Nancy in New York]

We've made contact and this little one will be able to be seen Tuesday by a very qualified vet.
In the meantime this was the vet's suggestion:
Our vet suggested the following: continue to hand feed her, if she won't take solids then puree them to be able to syringe feed.

[lennysmom]

We've made contact and this little one will be able to be seen Tuesday by a very qualified vet.

Great update!

[island rehabber]

Not sure if you saw this:

I did, and am SO thankful that this is happening!

[Nancy in New York]

I did, and am SO thankful that this is happening!

Right? Fantastic news for sure!
You just gotta love these members and their vets
that always help out little "broken" souls.

[isaiah]

Good news! Benton's doing much better today. She was able to hold her rodent blocks reasonably well - I had to reposition them a couple times (if they get too far into her mouth she can't seem to spit them back out) but she seems to have much better control of her front paws now. For the last couple of days she had them in little fists and would just flail them around her mouth, but now it looks like she's actually able to grasp her food again. She's also much calmer, and let me take her out and handle her (yay!).

I think some of the behavioral issues were probably because she was hungry and freaked out. She's still more off-balance than usual, but it's a huge improvement. I'll keep monitoring and hand feeding her and let you guys know how she does.

[Nancy in New York]

This is a wonderful update on Benton.
Yes, please keep us posted.
I've already fallen in love with your little girl.