5 mo old paralyzed?

[Sacrifice]

Our 5 month old squirrel started displaying symptoms of her back legs not moving like they should anymore.

She was running around fine last tuesday but then Wednesday we saw her limping. Unfortunately we were out of town thurs-sat to do anything for her.

Sunday she still showed symptoms but did climb down from her cage to be with us. Now she just sits there all day unless we hold her.

We have tried drops of children motrin to relieve some pain. But it doesnt seem her legs are getting any better and she is getting a little temperamental if we put her down to see how she acts. She can still move her feet some.

Is there anything we can do further or is it going to be time to put her down?

Thanks in advance!

[Grinderhead]

What is her diet?
Tell everything that she gets and eats daily.
What formula was she raised on and is she still taking?
Do you know if she has taken a fall?

[CritterMom]

This isn't an idle question from Grinderhead. This sounds like Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which is caused by dietary imbalance between calcium and phosphorus intake. If your baby is getting things like nuts and seeds and is NOT being fed a rodent "block" which is food designed to prevent this, it will happen, and the first symptoms people see are the difficulties moving you are seeing with bone weakness and problems with muscle contraction. It is NOT a death sentence if you start treating NOW.

I will link to our protocol, but basically you need to STOP feeding nuts and seeds now, purchase and begin feeding appropriate food, and begin to immediately start supplementing with calcium. The Tums mentioned in the protocol are a fast, easy, flavorful (buy the fruit flavor) source of calcium carbonate.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

[Sacrifice]

What is her diet?
Tell everything that she gets and eats daily.
What formula was she raised on and is she still taking?
Do you know if she has taken a fall?

She was raised on fox valley squirrel replacement formula until she stopped drinking milk on her own which was a while ago. Maybe 2 months? I cant recall the exact timeline.

Currently she gets mixed nuts (cashews/almonds/walnuts/peanuts) and we give her carrots/cucumbers/tomatoes/berries/acorns. She doesnt always eat the vegetables and fruit though.

We are not aware of any falls she had but that isnt to say she didnt have one while we were at work. But she went from being ok on tuesday to the limping issue on Wednesday evening when we got home.

This isn't an idle question from Grinderhead. This sounds like Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which is caused by dietary imbalance between calcium and phosphorus intake. If your baby is getting things like nuts and seeds and is NOT being fed a rodent "block" which is food designed to prevent this, it will happen, and the first symptoms people see are the difficulties moving you are seeing with bone weakness and problems with muscle contraction. It is NOT a death sentence if you start treating NOW.

I will link to our protocol, but basically you need to STOP feeding nuts and seeds now, purchase and begin feeding appropriate food, and begin to immediately start supplementing with calcium. The Tums mentioned in the protocol are a fast, easy, flavorful (buy the fruit flavor) source of calcium carbonate.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

Thank you for the information.

I will source a rodent block immediately and some tums!

Thank you for the immediate help!

[CritterMom]

You need to start the Tums TODAY. This is hair on fire time. Then order some of these:
https://henryspets.com/squirrel-blocks/

Mine love the hazelnut. They are both a vitamin supplement and a food, and once your squirrel has stabilized they will prevent this from happening again.

[Tashahaven]

To reiterate what Crittermom said: it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to start her on the emergency MBD treatment NOW. Based on the diet she has been on, this is inevitably MBD.

MBD if caught early enough, and treatment is followed all the way through AND the diet is corrected, they can recover.

MBD causes very brittle bones, muscle weakness and pain. It is caused by a diet too high in phosphorous with inadequate balancing of calcium. It causes their body to leach calcium from their bones which makes the bones brittle and very easily broken. Sometimes a normal landing from a jump or twisting a certain way is enough to cause a fracture.

On top of starting the calcium supplement NOW, and ordering healthy blocks, you MUST remove ANY nuts from her diet (ALL the way through MBD treatment, and only as an ocassional treat afterward). You must also restrict her enclosure and environment to prevent additional injuries from jumping, climbing, falling. Block off the lower portion of the cage, and make sure the bottom is covered in a nice cushion of fleece to pad her if she does fall.

She may be in pain, so it will help if you can get your hands on some liquid children’s or infants ibuprofen. Post the strength of the medicine along with her current weight and admins on the board will help you correctly dose it.

Also know, that she will protest and resist when the nuts are taken away. Continue to offer healthy veggies, and the blocks when they arrive. You can also try offering her some formula again in a shallow dish with marbles or small stones in it to prevent her from sticking her nose into it and aspirating. If she will take any formula, that’s great, as it is loaded with nutrients and calcium as well.

Fingers crossed for your little one! I hope she makes it through this 🥰

[CritterMom]

It isn't even so much the brittle bones when it gets acute like this. Calcium plays a large part in muscle contraction. It doesn't work as well as it should. And not just the legs.

The heart is a muscle. One you need to have contracting correctly...

[Sacrifice]

To reiterate what Crittermom said: it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to start her on the emergency MBD treatment NOW. Based on the diet she has been on, this is inevitably MBD.

MBD if caught early enough, and treatment is followed all the way through AND the diet is corrected, they can recover.

MBD causes very brittle bones, muscle weakness and pain. It is caused by a diet too high in phosphorous with inadequate balancing of calcium. It causes their body to leach calcium from their bones which makes the bones brittle and very easily broken. Sometimes a normal landing from a jump or twisting a certain way is enough to cause a fracture.

On top of starting the calcium supplement NOW, and ordering healthy blocks, you MUST remove ANY nuts from her diet (ALL the way through MBD treatment, and only as an ocassional treat afterward). You must also restrict her enclosure and environment to prevent additional injuries from jumping, climbing, falling. Block off the lower portion of the cage, and make sure the bottom is covered in a nice cushion of fleece to pad her if she does fall.

She may be in pain, so it will help if you can get your hands on some liquid children’s or infants ibuprofen. Post the strength of the medicine along with her current weight and admins on the board will help you correctly dose it.

Also know, that she will protest and resist when the nuts are taken away. Continue to offer healthy veggies, and the blocks when they arrive. You can also try offering her some formula again in a shallow dish with marbles or small stones in it to prevent her from sticking her nose into it and aspirating. If she will take any formula, that’s great, as it is loaded with nutrients and calcium as well.

Fingers crossed for your little one! I hope she makes it through this 🥰

Thank you.

I have the blocks on order now and will begin the mbd treatment tonight with removing her nuts. Ill try giving her some formula as well.

[CritterMom]

You don't want to give all the calcium (via the Tums) at one time; space it out through the day in multiple smaller amounts.

We lost a baby here the other day from MBD and I don't want you to.

[Sacrifice]

You don't want to give all the calcium (via the Tums) at one time; space it out through the day in multiple smaller amounts.

We lost a baby here the other day from MBD and I don't want you to.

I gave her some in a syringe with water and left a peanut butter ball mixed with ~100mg with her. She didnt seem too interested in that but ill keep an eye on her.

She weighs 360-380 grams as well for any motrin doses i should be aware. I was only doing a drop or two from a 10cc dropper

[CritterMom]

Just get it into her any way you can.

I sent you ibuprophen dosing via PM.

[Tashahaven]

Thanks for helping with the ibuprofen dosing Crittermom!

we really want your baby to make it through this!

Many babies are able to recover as long as it is caught in time, a proper treatment protocol is followed, proper diet is followed, and she has a safe environment where she can’t fall, or suffer a serious injury. But the importance of these things, cannot be emphasized enough. Ignoring any one of them will prove fatal for her. 😢

What type of enclosure is she in? What size/type of cage is it?

If you typically allow her to freely roam for a portion of the day, it is best to discontinue this for the next week or two until her bones have the chance to recoop some of the calcium loss, and her muscles have a chance to get stronger. With the weak muscles and brittle bones, you want to remove any possibility of falling, and injury. If you have a closet (preferably with carpet) with nothing to jump on, to, or from, where you can hang out with her and cuddle and love on her, that would be fine.

Keep updating us on how she is doing! And share some photos with us too would you!?! We would love to put a face to the name! I’m sure she is absolutely scrumptious! Prayers are with you both! I have faith you will get through this very difficult situation. 🥰🥰

Stay strong! Give her LOTS of love! I truly believe in the healing energy of love and affection. (Won’t heal by itself, but definitely works as a partial catalyst to medicines and the like!)

❤️❤️❤️

[Sacrifice]

Thanks for helping with the ibuprofen dosing Crittermom!

we really want your baby to make it through this!

Many babies are able to recover as long as it is caught in time, a proper treatment protocol is followed, proper diet is followed, and she has a safe environment where she can’t fall, or suffer a serious injury. But the importance of these things, cannot be emphasized enough. Ignoring any one of them will prove fatal for her. 😢

What type of enclosure is she in? What size/type of cage is it?

If you typically allow her to freely roam for a portion of the day, it is best to discontinue this for the next week or two until her bones have the chance to recoop some of the calcium loss, and her muscles have a chance to get stronger. With the weak muscles and brittle bones, you want to remove any possibility of falling, and injury. If you have a closet (preferably with carpet) with nothing to jump on, to, or from, where you can hang out with her and cuddle and love on her, that would be fine.

Keep updating us on how she is doing! And share some photos with us too would you!?! We would love to put a face to the name! I’m sure she is absolutely scrumptious! Prayers are with you both! I have faith you will get through this very difficult situation. 🥰🥰

Stay strong! Give her LOTS of love! I truly believe in the healing energy of love and affection. (Won’t heal by itself, but definitely works as a partial catalyst to medicines and the like!)

❤️❤️❤️

She has a wire cage but no longer goes in it. She just hangs out on top where its a flat smooth shelf.

She hasnt bothered trying to come down yet. She is now eating the peanut butter balls with calcium as well. She looks like she is doing better, she has sat up on her own and grabbed food/eating the veggies more.

We will move her someplace where she cant climb as soon as we see her attempting.

We wanted her to go outside and be free but she hadnt felt like doing that prior to the injury.

[Sacrifice]

Well it appears MBD was the correct disgnosis. Ive been able to give her 400-500mg of calcium the past couple days and she is perking up.

She is sitting up and walking around on her cage and comes to the edge when she hears us. We are happy to see the progress!

Currently she is loving blueberries. But is also eating carrots/brocolli and the peanut butter balls with calcium. Squirrel chews come in monday or tuesday.

Is there anything else i should be trying to give her in the meantime?