Flying Squirrel Hair loss and unusual bowel movement

[ravenwing1234]

Hi all,

I have a female flying squirrel who is 12.5 yrs old currently. Over the last few weeks she's been suffering patches of hair loss and scabs on her back and her underbelly. I was worried it might be a calcium deficiency, and I've tried to feed her a calcium mix from a syringe, but she aggressively refuses to eat or drink anything directly from me and will hop away and poop a lot along the way. When she does this, her poop is light brown and much softer than I've ever seen it before, like a soft dog poop. She is also not eating very much and as of a few days ago she started to weaken in her movement and not jump anymore. I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? And any suggestions on how to make her eat?

Thanks,
Andrew

[stepnstone]

Hi all,
I have a female flying squirrel who is 12.5 yrs old currently. Over the last few weeks she's been suffering patches of hair loss and scabs on her back and her underbelly. I was worried it might be a calcium deficiency, and I've tried to feed her a calcium mix from a syringe, but she aggressively refuses to eat or drink anything directly from me and will hop away and poop a lot along the way. When she does this, her poop is light brown and much softer than I've ever seen it before, like a soft dog poop. She is also not eating very much and as of a few days ago she started to weaken in her movement and not jump anymore. I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? And any suggestions on how to make her eat?
Thanks,
Andrew

A 12.5 year old flyer is pretty remarkable when one considers their life span in captivity has been noted to be between 10-13 years.
Her slowing down, not eating as much, and her bowls not processing normally could possibly be age related. The hair loss and scabs
I would think to be another issue although I have heard of some species that over groom /pull out their own fur creating the issue.
Posting a picture or two of what you are describing could possibly help identify her situation.
With your concern of a calcium deficiency I'm inclined to ask what her diet has been and what all she (usually) eats.
Have you had her all this time and has she been kept as a singleton?

[ravenwing1234]

A 12.5 year old flyer is pretty remarkable when one considers their life span in captivity has been noted to be between 10-13 years.
Her slowing down, not eating as much, and her bowls not processing normally could possibly be age related. The hair loss and scabs
I would think to be another issue although I have heard of some species that over groom /pull out their own fur creating the issue.
Posting a picture or two of what you are describing could possibly help identify her situation.
With your concern of a calcium deficiency I'm inclined to ask what her diet has been and what all she (usually) eats.
Have you had her all this time and has she been kept as a singleton?

Thanks for the reply!
I've had her since she was something like 6-8 weeks old and she has been kept as a singleton the entire time.
For what she eats I vary what's in her bowl, but it's usually some combination from: apples, blueberries, broccoli, cucumber, green beans, white mushrooms. In addition she gets either a pecan or a walnut. I've been giving her henry's blocks daily for the last month as well.
I've attached some pictures where you can see her hair loss and scabs on her back.


If this is in fact old age related, do you have any suggestions or links to threads here on how to give her best quality of life for this stage in her life?

Thank you,
Andrew

[HRT4SQRLS]

I agree with stepnstone. This is most likely due to age. I have a soon to be 11 year old flyer.
I thought of overgrooming as well but based on the pics that is unlikely. They will even ‘barber’ which is pulling their own hair. This can only be done in areas they can reach like the abdomen, arms, legs, etc. They can’t reach their back. I almost wonder if it’s fungal or even a mite but without a definitive diagnosis I would be reluctant to blindly treat a 12.5 year old flyer. You might want to change out the bedding just in case.

Of course, a little extra calcium won’t hurt but I wouldn’t overdo it either. Dusting the food she likes with a little calcium carbonate powder would be fine. You could even give her a fruit flavored Tums (no artificial sweeteners). Some will nibble on them.

Bonzai just loves navel oranges. When I give him a tiny orange wedge, he will clean it and leave the peel. He likes the sweet ones. If it’s a little tart he will leave it. Some will eat full fat yogurt. Both my boys like avocado. These are just some healthy ideas for added nutrients. Clearly, you have been doing A LOT right to have a 12.5 yo flyer so I’m not criticizing your diet at all, just offering some ideas that my boys like. This bad mama has not given it in a while (he’s getting it tonight) but Bonzai actually loves formula. He will drink warm FoxValley out of a bowl. The 32:40 is recommended for flyers because of the extra protein but he will also drink the 20:50 as well. Speaking of protein, does she eat meal worms? Flyers need worms for protein. My boys prefer Wax worms.

[HRT4SQRLS]

One thing I wanted to add. In regard to the calcium carbonate, occasionally I will dust their food with the calcium carbonate with Vitamin D3. This is the type you commonly see in the reptile section at pet retailers. I don’t do this often thought. They do need the Vitamin D3 for proper absorption and utilization of calcium but in excess, Vitamin D is toxic to squirrels. I once spent the time to calculate the amount of D3 in reptile calcium w/ D3. I use the Flukkers brand. It is a very small amount but I still use it sparingly due to the toxicity. Occasionally I will dip the end of their nut ‘treat’ into the calcium powder to offset the negative properties of nuts. They don’t get nuts very often.

[ravenwing1234]

I agree with stepnstone. This is most likely due to age. I have a soon to be 11 year old flyer.
I thought of overgrooming as well but based on the pics that is unlikely. They will even ‘barber’ which is pulling their own hair. This can only be done in areas they can reach like the abdomen, arms, legs, etc. They can’t reach their back. I almost wonder if it’s fungal or even a mite but without a definitive diagnosis I would be reluctant to blindly treat a 12.5 year old flyer. You might want to change out the bedding just in case.

Of course, a little extra calcium won’t hurt but I wouldn’t overdo it either. Dusting the food she likes with a little calcium carbonate powder would be fine. You could even give her a fruit flavored Tums (no artificial sweeteners). Some will nibble on them.

Bonzai just loves navel oranges. When I give him a tiny orange wedge, he will clean it and leave the peel. He likes the sweet ones. If it’s a little tart he will leave it. Some will eat full fat yogurt. Both my boys like avocado. These are just some healthy ideas for added nutrients. Clearly, you have been doing A LOT right to have a 12.5 yo flyer so I’m not criticizing your diet at all, just offering some ideas that my boys like. This bad mama has not given it in a while (he’s getting it tonight) but Bonzai actually loves formula. He will drink warm FoxValley out of a bowl. The 32:40 is recommended for flyers because of the extra protein but he will also drink the 20:50 as well. Speaking of protein, does she eat meal worms? Flyers need worms for protein. My boys prefer Wax worms.

Most of her protein has come from almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Occasionally I've given her yogurt and henry's blocks as well. She never would eat avocado when I gave it to her, so I don't think I'll try that. It's been a while since I've given her yogurt, I will try feeding it to her again and will look for some formula if I still can't get her to eat enough. Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely doing a cleaning of her housing and replacing her bedding today as well.
She does have small missing patches of hair on her underbelly as well, but it may all be related to the same underlying issue as the hair loss on her back.

Thanks,
Andrew