Atrophy in Hind Leg?

[Corvine]

Hello, I'm Corvine and this is my first post.

Yesterday I rescued an adult squirrel from my back yard.
He looks to have been injured some how, has a laceration to the left side of his head, just below his ear. I have cleaned the wound and it looks like it will heal nice.
He has a split lower lip and his upper front teeth are loose.
He will lick up some peanut butter but so far hasnt touched the carrots I chopped up for him. (Small baby carrots, chopped into thin round slices, can easily fit in his mouth)
I also crumbled some walnut meat from the walnut tree in my yard that he hasnt touched. (Think he has been calling that tree home.)
He has a small bowl of water that i think he is drinking from, it has debris in it that wasnt there when i put it in.

Where I am concerned is his back right leg. He drags it and makes no effort to put weight on it.
I did a physical exam on it and the bones dont feel broken or injured.
Trying to move the leg it bends just fine but wont extend past a 90 degree angle.
The foot also hangs limp, but the toes do move a little. The muscles in that leg are also noticeably smaller, making me think he has muscle atrophy due to a prior injury.
As a former paramedic I am comfortable treating his wounds but at a loss as to what I should do to help him with that back leg.
Do I need to wrap it to provide support? Should I be worried about him dragging it and possibly rubbing the skin raw? Do i leave it alone?

There are no vets in my area willing to treat wildlife that arent brought in by a licensed rehaber, and the closest rehaber to me is about a days drive away and i cant get ahold of them.

Any advice would be great. I want to do right by this little guy, he deserves the best I can do for him.

[Charley Chuckles]

and thank you for taking in this squirrel awesome you have experience!
I'm not sure what to tell you except with loose teeth, leg and head lip injury he really does need a vet/ rehabber.
Someone hear may know of rehabbers in your area. So wait for advice.
Mean time keep him warm in a dark quiet area👍
Prayers to you both🙏

[Spanky]

If you are close to Vancouver, these folks should be able to assist and provide expert assessment of the leg.
https://www.squirrelrefuge.org/

Lacking that, I would give it a day or 3 (since you do not believe it to be broken) and see how he does. Sometimes they simply need some time to recover and heal; with luck in a few days he'll be 75% improved (the leg).

Any signs of head trauma? Classic circling or turning only on one direct for example.

I'd recommend steaming / boiling the veggies to soften them up and make it easier to eat... his upper teeth will likely fall out and then grow back, but that may take quite some time. They can actually manipulate and move the lower incisors... so if you had said those were loose it may have just been this "articulation".

Avocado might be something he'll eat with the loose teeth. Boiling / steaming (softening) the veggies may help as well. Along with avocado, sugar snaps are probably the other almost universally liked common "human" veggies.

If there is a chance these are wounds caused by a cat, antibiotics are needed as cat's carry pasteurella which is deadly for our squirrels.

[Corvine]

If you are close to Vancouver, these folks should be able to assist and provide expert assessment of the leg.
https://www.squirrelrefuge.org/

Lacking that, I would give it a day or 3 (since you do not believe it to be broken) and see how he does. Sometimes they simply need some time to recover and heal; with luck in a few days he'll be 75% improved (the leg).

Any signs of head trauma? Classic circling or turning only on one direct for example.

I'd recommend steaming / boiling the veggies to soften them up and make it easier to eat... his upper teeth will likely fall out and then grow back, but that may take quite some time. They can actually manipulate and move the lower incisors... so if you had said those were loose it may have just been this "articulation".

Avocado might be something he'll eat with the loose teeth. Boiling / steaming (softening) the veggies may help as well. Along with avocado, sugar snaps are probably the other almost universally liked common "human" veggies.

If there is a chance these are wounds caused by a cat, antibiotics are needed as cat's carry pasteurella which is deadly for our squirrels.

Not near Vancouver, but have a few calls out to several places, waiting on call backs to see if they would be willing to meet half way. I am wanting to find someplace willing/able to keep him because I dont think he can survive in the wild with his leg being so weak/useless. Hope i'm wrong on that tho.

Zero signes of head trauma, the only questionable signs would be that he is really chill about being touched or handled. When i cleaned his wounds he just kinda sat there like "Ok, this is fine." Though I first suspected that was due to shock. But even today when I looked at his wounds again to check on them he was perfectly fine with the touching and even having to be picked up.

Dont think a cat got him, where i'm at there are no stray cats for probably a mile or so. (Out in the country, surounded on 3 sides by state forest)

I'll try boiling the veggies, dont know why i didnt think of that, lol.
Are there any fruits/veggies i should avoid giving him. Looking it up all i founds was no chocolate or processed foods.

Thank you so much for your help!
-Corvine-

[Spanky]

Zero signes of head trauma, the only questionable signs would be that he is really chill about being touched or handled. When i cleaned his wounds he just kinda sat there like "Ok, this is fine."

This is not uncommon, they often will get "the wild knocked out of them"... for a while anyways. I have encountered this personally with many that had been hit by cars. So be forewarned he could become very uncooperative and combative once he is feeling better.

Are there any fruits/veggies i should avoid giving him. Looking it up all i founds was no chocolate or processed foods.

This link should be helpful:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

FWIW The Squirrel Refuge is one of the very best places in the country he could end up. This is not an exaggeration in any way.