Please help! Very sick squirrel!!

[SammysMom]

Here is the link to the healthy diet:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

[cava]

I would say stop massaging that belly. If he is bloated or distended inside it's painful and could be dangerous. Let that belly go down with medicine and flushing with water.

Did the nuts have salt on them?

Was the corn dried corn?

How often were you feeding acorns, where did you get them? Did you check them before giving, were they black inside?

Do you have weight on this baby? You can give infant ibuprofen for pain if so. Need a weight for a dose.

Give fluids often, water. Give him a touch of sugar like honey/syrup/karo syrup on the gums every two hours or so to keep his blood sugar up. Keep him warm.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Checking on Buddy today. I can't stop thinking about him.
I know he was critically ill.

[Nancy in New York]

Checking on Buddy today. I can't stop thinking about him.
I know he was critically ill.

Me too!

[Gurleygurl25]

Checking on Buddy today. I can't stop thinking about him.
I know he was critically ill.

My little boy made it through the night. Still weak but doing a little better. I’m taking him to another vet 2 hours away tomorrow morning.

[LR]

Is his belly still tight like it was or has it gone down some? Is he drinking so he stays hydrated? Did you get the Esbilac? Don't forget to give him the calcium. It's very important for his recovery.

[HRT4SQRLS]

My little boy made it through the night. Still weak but doing a little better. I’m taking him to another vet 2 hours away tomorrow morning.

I'm glad to hear that. Hang on Buddy.
I hope the vet can diagnose the problem with the distended abdomen.
I hope that Buddy has already gotten some relief from that as I'm sure he was in a lot of pain.

I'm hopeful that this vet will have experience with rodents. I'm uncertain of the many problems that Buddy has but I am 100% certain that low calcium is a problem. It is the most common problem we see on this forum. Your vet can give you diagnostic proof with an X-ray. In Metabolic Bone Disease, the bones will appear thin and pale on X-ray. Some of the smaller bones of the feet won't even be visible on X-ray. I know that it seems illogical that a bone disease would cause Buddy's problems but let me assure you that it definitely can. MBD is MUCH more than thinning bones. As the name implies, it is a metabolic syndrome. Calcium is a mineral that is involved in many metabolic processes in the body. When the body is severely calcium deficient there is a cascading metabolic collapse of many critical functions. In small mammals, the symptoms of severe calcium deficiency (MBD) are seizures, hind end paralysis and death.

The reason diet is so important is because there are foods that will cause MBD. Foods like nuts, seeds and corn are high phosphorus foods. The body must maintain a balance of the minerals calcium and phosphorus. This balance is approximately 2 parts of calcium to 1 part of phosphorus. When the diet is high in phosphorus rich foods the body will try to achieve this balance by pulling calcium from the bones. 99% of the calcium in the body is in the bones. Serum levels of calcium will already be low before this process of bone demineralization begins.

To avoid this problem the diet has to be balanced. In small mammals (birds and reptiles also) this balance is critical. In our squirrels friends, a high phosphorus diet (nuts, seeds and corn) is deadly.

I'm going to include a chart so that you can see the calcium to phosphorus ratio of different foods. The foods with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 are the best. An example would be kale (2.4:1) is a good food. Pinenuts are the worst food on the chart at (1:35.9). You will notice that all nuts and seeds are high phosphorus foods. This is the reason we give nuts ONLY as a treat and not as part of the diet.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...7&d=1232419601


Here is a link to the healthy diet for pet squirrels.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

I hope and pray that little Buddy recovers. I can tell that you love him very much. The reason I took the time to post this is so that you will have a better understanding of the problem. I have found that when people understand the problem they are more likely to embrace the solution/treatment. MBD can be reversed but it takes following the MBD protocol and a change of diet. I know this is a lot of information to process. It's for Buddy and you too mom.

[Mel1959]

How’s a Buddy doing? Did you take him to the vet?

[Rexie]

how did the vet visit go with Buddy

[Rexie]

is buddy ok

[AgileOllie]

How is Buddy??

[AgileOllie]

Bump! Has anyone heard anything?

[Mel1959]

Thypically when there is no news it’s not a good thing. I hope I’m wrong and Buddy is doing better. Again, I wish folks would follow up and not leave us wondering.