6 week old grey drags his front left paw should i be concerned?

[Pippy]

Hello, I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this is a big ole nothing burger. Lil pip is a 6 week old grey I've been taking care of for about 3 weeks she just opened her eyes about a week and a half ago and is starting to run around and do squirrel things ,but something I noticed is that when she climbs she drags her front left hand about 75% of the time when climbing but will use it to grip. I've checked her paws and it seems to be fine no obvious injuries or signs of deformation(are they only supposed to have 4 fingers on each front and 5 on each rear?), like i said might be a nothing burger but I'm a concerned parent. and I figured it doesn't hurt to ask some experts

[Mel1959]

That’s not normal. It may be due to an injury in the shoulder area that prevents her from using it to pull herself. Is she still getting formula? Please don’t wean her. Allow her to wean herself. Sometimes they will voluntarily wean between 9-12 weeks and other times later. Do you have access to a squirrel safe vet? An X-ray might be in order if you do. If you post your general area we might be able to locate a squirrel safe vet near you.

If her arm can’t be used correctly it may hinder her release and survivability in the wild. This may all be premature, too. As she grows it may get better. She can also be dosed with infant ibuprofen that would help with swelling if this is the result of an injury. We would have to have her weight in grams to properly dose for you.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Pippy,

Welcome to TSB. Do you have any way to upload a video to youtube or similar?? You can then post the link here. (TSB do not have video upload capability.)

Can you check her arm/shoulder mobility ? Have her grab something with left hand above her head - does arm extend up straight? Any signs or squeaks of being uncomfortable? Try same with hand down by her side. Does arm move naturally or have anything looking out of joint (like a rotating bump at shoulder?). Do all these test slowly and follow her lead. Keep eye on elbow and wrist joints.

As Mel indicated, this might be just growing pains and work itself out but if some kind of injury, catching early will be good.

Mr.SSG

[olorin19]

are they only supposed to have 4 fingers on each front and 5 on each rear?

Yes

[olorin19]

Any chance Lil Pip had a fall? What sort of cage or environment is he in?

When they are that young, it is better to be in a cage where the top and bottom are not far apart.

[Pippy]

She's from a tree that fell over in a storm. The nest was inside the tree so it probably jarred her but it wasn't a straight fall and for some reason Pip was left behind and her siblings were taken to a secondary nest. The tree was fallen for a good 16 hours before i stumbled upon her. she was right around 3-4 weeks with a semi severe flea issue and the normal hunger you'd have with a abandoned baby. As for current environment shes in a 45 gallon tote. I have a few bits and branches from the oak she lived in previously, she doesnt climb on the wood a whole lot but when i have her out to feed and socialize her she loves climbing my jacket and trying to sleep inside my mullet or under my collar. I have a Congo Cage but im waiting until i see her climbing something other than fabric with confidence.


i checked her two front arm movements and she had no complaints vocally and i observed no differences in rotation or extendibility between the left or right foot.

(sorry for the late reply i just figured out how to look back on my post I'm very new to this forum format)
and Thank you everyone for the replies

[olorin19]

Has there been any improvement?

There are folks here who have had good results doing "squirrel physical therapy" with various exercises, etc. to restore mobility.

There is some discussion in this thread as well as many other threads on TSB if you use the search feature:

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...irrel-brain-do

Note in particular posts of this thread by islandrehabber and TubeDriver.

[Pippy]

Has there been any improvement?

I've been strengthening and encouraging her by having her climb upside down to use all her arms. She wasn't as quick on her front left leg but even in the short amount of time she's made stellar improvements from taking three times as long to reach with the left limb roughly compared to her other front arm to where now id almost compare it to having a preferred hand to use.

I put her in the Congo cage today, but I've draped the bottom with a cotton blanket (I cant imagine those metal bars feeling too good) and covered half of it so its like a nice shady lil spot ,not too dark, not too bright, for lil pippy. I just tucked her nesting box in the shaded corner.

I've also switched from the esbilac to fox valley 20/50 to improve her overall nutrition and have been giving her half of a Henrys Healthy blocks by her nest box (she's even started holding it!)

thank you everyone for advice and the community for the for the fountain of knowledge I've come to discover of this forum (i was worried i was going to have to ask my crazy neighbor who raised them as a kid 50 years ago!)

Special thanks to Olorin19 for the Awesome link

[island rehabber]

Great progress, Pippy! The P.T. really does work and the climbing exercise you're doing is perfect. Please try this one, too: hold her up under her arms while she sits on her butt and see if you can get her to push on the open palm of your hand with that weaker arm. Gently push in and out, like she was doing a "row" exercise. Keep us posted!

[olorin19]

Working out!

[supersquirrelgirl]

Wonderful News!

We now need pictures. Keep up the good work.

[Pippy]

update: moved her the the enclosure and she isn't a very good wood climber and she seems like she's halfway drunk im hoping this is just natural 6 week old baby thing

videos are taken i just gotta figure out how to send/post them it'd be useless to show photos of her walking

[olorin19]

I doubt any squirrel that age can climb wood!

Wire works well, or even put in something with fleece securely covering it for climbing - not towels, as their claw can get stuck in the loops.

[olorin19]

There are lots of good ideas, photos, etc. on cages, etc. here -

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...ials-and-ideas

Wire cages are typical, as they are fairly easily adaptable.

One significant caution with wire cages (especially from wire panels): Make sure there are not places where a claw can get stuck, as squirrels may injure themselves while struggling to get free.

[Pippy]

H
ere is the setup I have for her my buddy owns a wood shop so I'm gonna be making all sorts of apple wood bridges for her to climb! I'm glad its normal for her to not be super steady on wood at her age, and about what age should she be showing her squirrel crackhead energy?

[olorin19]

in the wild, she would be poking her head out of the nest and maybe starting to explore really close to home. There is a huge difference in mobility if we compare a 7 w.o. to say a 10 w.o. squirrel.