6-7 week old squirrel spinning in circles. What could it mean?

[jamgut]

My dad found two baby squirrels at the beginning of August and after trying everything we found in the guides, we ultimately decided we would just care for them. My boyfriend and I took them and have been caring for them for about a month. Based on all the timeline info online, I figured they were probably about 2 weeks old when they were found. It has seemed to check out since they're basically hitting each milestone as the timelines said they were. If the timing is right, I guess they're around 6 weeks old now. We are beginners and I naturally worry a lot, so this site has helped me chill out multiple times. If I'm not sure about something, there's usually something here to explain it or help me fix whatever it was. However, one of the two has developed a behavior that I haven't had a lot of luck finding threads about.

So my squirrels are Hazel and Pecan, both females. We noticed early on that Hazel is much smaller. I've raised a few litters of dogs thoughout my life and I know sometimes size can vary even between siblings. That's just nature. No big deal. Pecan has always slept more than Hazel. I know baby animals sleep a lot, so I was worried for Hazel during this time. There was also a huge difference in the amount of sleep they got. Pecan would always sleep right away after being fed, but Hazel would take a few minutes to sleep and explore in the mean time. Because of this, Hazel became pretty good at walking early on.

Here is where my current concern comes in. They just opened their eyes last week and have slightly longer periods of awake time. Hazel has already been strutting around for weeks, so she pretty much seems like a fully functioning squirrel already. She hasn't tried jumping yet, but she walks and climbs incredibly well. When she walks to the edge of the surface we put her on, she will stop and look over, realize it's high up, and then either back up or chill out. Pecan, on the other hand, is way different. She cannot walk in a straight line. When she tries, she just spins and falls down over and over again in a circular pattern. Sometimes she just looks straight up at the ceiling for minutes at a time and she randomly attempts to stand on her hind legs before falling down onto her back and laying there for a while before standing again. When she walks to the edge of something, she just keeps going. It's almost like she doesn't even see that there's a ledge there. We are always with them with hands out every time in case either of them fall, so we always catch her, but I've just gotten concerned about her motor skills and how she doesn't even seem to try to acknowledge where she is or what she's doing. The spinning is the most prominent of these behaviors, but I am concerned about them all if I'm being honest.

Because I'm a beginner, I have no clue if this is normal and Hazel is just a super squirrel who skipped all the horrible motor skill phases or if something is really wrong with Pecan. I dug around online and found only one thing about spinning, which was on a page about non-releasable squirrels and how spinning is grounds for euthanization. I'm getting really worried about this and I just wanted to see if anyone had any information or experience on this kind of thing. Literally any incite is appreciated.

[Spanky]

Is there a chance the fell from a nest? Sounds like someone may have bumped their head and have a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).

If we could see a video of her behavior that would be most helpful...

[stepnstone]

Pecan, on the other hand, is way different. She cannot walk in a straight line. When she tries, she just spins and falls down over and over again in a circular pattern. Sometimes she just
looks straight up at the ceiling for minutes at a time and she randomly attempts to stand on her hind legs before falling down onto her back and laying there for a while before standing again. When she walks to the edge of something, she just keeps going. It's almost like she doesn't even see that there's a ledge there. We are always with them with hands out every time in case either of them fall, so we always catch her, but I've just gotten concerned about her motor skills and how she doesn't even seem to try to acknowledge where she is or what she's doing. The spinning is the most prominent of these behaviors, but I am concerned about them all if I'm being honest.

Classic symptoms of some degree of head trauma.
Normally we dose head traumas with prednisone as soon as possible to reduce swelling, pressure, etc, to minimize any permanent damage.
It may help some even at this stage to give it a chance, she could improve to a functional degree. Depending on the severity of the trauma
some squirrels will develop episodes of seizure activity you will need to watch for.

[jamgut]

Is there a chance the fell from a nest? Sounds like someone may have bumped their head and have a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).

If we could see a video of her behavior that would be most helpful...

https://youtu.be/H0EQveAJgCA
Here is a short video I took of her just now after their meal. It really only captures the spinning part, but that’s her most prominent behavior. I’m really really worried so it’s hard for me to even watch

Edit: I forgot to answer that yes, I’m sure she fell from her nest. It was the morning after a hurricane that she was found

[jamgut]

Classic symptoms of some degree of head trauma.
Normally we dose head traumas with prednisone as soon as possible to reduce swelling, pressure, etc, to minimize any permanent damage.
It may help some even at this stage to give it a chance, she could improve to a functional degree. Depending on the severity of the trauma
some squirrels will develop episodes of seizure activity you will need to watch for.

https://youtu.be/H0EQveAJgCA
Here is a video I took for someone else to maybe provide some incite. I was worried about head trauma even as someone with not much experience, so to hear it from others who know what they’re talking about kind of seals it for me. I’m incredibly worried.

If you are suggesting prednisone, do you perhaps have suggestions on how to go about that? Like in terms of dosage? Is this something I could get over the counter? And what method could be used to give it to her?

Sorry for all the questions. I’m just kind of freaking out. She was found after that hurricane on the east coast so I’m sure she was blown from a tree at 2 weeks old.

[stepnstone]

https://youtu.be/H0EQveAJgCA
Here is a video I took for someone else to maybe provide some incite. I was worried about head trauma even as someone with not much experience, so to hear it from others who know what they’re talking about kind of seals it for me. I’m incredibly worried.

If you are suggesting prednisone, do you perhaps have suggestions on how to go about that? Like in terms of dosage? Is this something I could get over the counter? And what method could be used to give it to her?

Sorry for all the questions. I’m just kind of freaking out. She was found after that hurricane on the east coast so I’m sure she was blown from a tree at 2 weeks old.

Definitely head trauma, I would definitely get her on Prednisone. Unfortunately it is Rx.
You would only need a pill or two if it can be located, I would call family, friends, you never know
what someone may have used and have a pill or two left over. One with asthma likely has used Pred.
Squirrel's are dosed by body weight. With the weight of squirrel and milligram of the med we can tell
you how to break down and dose by liquid. It's given orally. Depending on milligram one pill could do a
whole treatment.

I understand how your feeling about this little one as I am presently working with a neurological squirrel.
He came in at approx 4 weeks old, he's now almost 5 months old.

Edit: Check your private messages...

[Mel1959]

The drug Gabapentin would also be an acceptable choice if you can locate a pill or two of that.

[stepnstone]

Unsure if you saw pm message...
I need a weight on baby to give dosing instruction
ahead of receiving meds.

[stepnstone]

For reference...........