Baby squirrel with possible head trauma

[Citysquirrel]

Good evening!

I found a baby squirrel about 6 weeks old, she weighs 165g and looks in generally good condition. I've had her on a heating pad for a few hours already and have given her pedialyte every 30 min or so since then. She has drank a little formula but not much. When I cleaned her mouth I noticed a little dried blood by her nose after I saw the rust color on the white towel. She sneezes every so often. I believe she may have fallen from the nest and mama squirrel won't have her. She sniffed her and hopped away to eat a peanut. It was the second day she was on the ground. She sometimes walks in a circle but does have use of all limbs except she is not so much as walking as she is "swimming". She'll grab forward with front paw and push with her back legs. Her tail has gone up and over her back and she's stood up for a second to stumble and fall to her side. Her eyes are bright but look like she is in pain. I am also a recently license wildlife rehabilitator, and have released two babies already but this is my first not so good looking little one. Please help.

[Chirps]

Hi! Videos would be really helpful for the experts to assess what you may be dealing with. If you can upload to YT or somewhere and post the link here, someone can help.

[Citysquirrel]

Hi! Videos would be really helpful for the experts to assess what you may be dealing with. If you can upload to YT or somewhere and post the link here, someone can help.

Hi there I am having a really hard time uploading the video. I can add it and when I click upload it never appears. I am using an iPhone 12. Please advise.

Thank you!

[CritterMom]

Can you upload it to a hosting site - like youtube or others - and then paste the link into this thread?

[Citysquirrel]

Can you upload it to a hosting site - like youtube or others - and then paste the link into this thread?

Thank you! Great idea!

https://youtube.com/shorts/FxMqTDuqP...zasLH7eUKc0tkf

[CritterMom]

She looks like she has some sort of spinal issue - notice how her front paws knuckle under? She corrects it but very slowly.

The best thing this baby could get right now would be some prednisone or prednisolone. The spine isn't totally compressed or severed because she moves around. I bet there is swelling somewhere pressing on the spine causing this. There are few things that will knock down inflammation as quickly as steroid meds like prednisone. The faster this happens, the better her chances for recovery, because if the inflammation continues to press on the nerves it can damage them to the point where they won't recover.

Many people take prednisone - for asthma, COPD, bad respiratory infections; my dentist uses it prior to doing dental implants, so hopefully if you do some heavy networking you can find some. If you can snag a pill or two, let us know the size in milligrams and the weight of your baby. You will need a 1ml syringe to correctly dilute and dose it. We can give you detailed info to do that.

You can give infant ibuprophen for the pain but if you do, you will have to wait 24 hours before you give any prednisone, so if there is a chance you can get some soon I would hold off.

[Citysquirrel]

She looks like she has some sort of spinal issue - notice how her front paws knuckle under? She corrects it but very slowly.

The best thing this baby could get right now would be some prednisone or prednisolone. The spine isn't totally compressed or severed because she moves around. I bet there is swelling somewhere pressing on the spine causing this. There are few things that will knock down inflammation as quickly as steroid meds like prednisone. The faster this happens, the better her chances for recovery, because if the inflammation continues to press on the nerves it can damage them to the point where they won't recover.

Many people take prednisone - for asthma, COPD, bad respiratory infections; my dentist uses it prior to doing dental implants, so hopefully if you do some heavy networking you can find some. If you can snag a pill or two, let us know the size in milligrams and the weight of your baby. You will need a 1ml syringe to correctly dilute and dose it. We can give you detailed info to do that.

You can give infant ibuprophen for the pain but if you do, you will have to wait 24 hours before you give any prednisone, so if there is a chance you can get some soon I would hold off.

Thank you I'll try and find some!

[CritterMom]

Thank you I'll try and find some!

You will need a 1ml syringe to give this (no needle). You SHOULD be using a 1ml syringe to feed. You HAVE to have one to dose so get one of those if you have any luck.

[Citysquirrel]

You will need a 1ml syringe to give this (no needle). You SHOULD be using a 1ml syringe to feed. You HAVE to have one to dose so get one of those if you have any luck.

I am trying to get my hands on some so far no luck but I do have Meloxican 15mg.

[Citysquirrel]

I am trying to get my hands on some so far no luck but I do have Meloxican 15mg.

Hi! I have been giving the squirrel meloxicam 15mg .01-.02 mg per day since Saturday. I got my hands on some Prednisone 10mg. The baby weighs 175g. Thank you so much for your help with the dosing!I will add another video to show how she was doing yesterday in case you feel I should change anything.
https://youtube.com/shorts/TlsDCes5m...l6CpQFJj52yNdJ

https://youtube.com/shorts/qROqT34Eb...bmxSDuDgYNv7rg

Thank you!!!

[CritterMom]

He is so cute!

I sent you dosing for the prednisone via PM. It is a dairly complicated schedule, so please ask if you have any questions.

I said this in my PM and I reiterate here: You must stop the meloxicam immediately and you need to wait 24 hours from the last meloxicam dose to begin the prednisone.

[Citysquirrel]

I am trying to get my hands on some so far no luck but I do have Meloxican 15mg.

Hi! I have been giving the squirrel meloxicam 15mg .01-.02 mg per day since Saturday. I got my hands on some Prednisone 10mg. The baby weighs 175g. Thank you so much for your help with the dosing!I will add another video to show how she was doing yesterday in case you feel I should change anything.
https://youtube.com/shorts/TlsDCes5m...l6CpQFJj52yNdJ

https://youtube.com/shorts/qROqT34Eb...bmxSDuDgYNv7rg

Thank you!!!

[Citysquirrel]

I also got my hands on this, would this be better or the prednisone 10mg? Last dose of Meloxicam was yesterday afternoon so I was really waiting to see which would be better before I gave anything else today so it has been 24 hours since the pain meds. THANK YOU!

[CritterMom]

Nope, it is all basically the same.