Need help with potentially temporary paralysis in a baby squirrel

[ActualTradition]

Hi,

About six days ago, two baby squirrels fell from a pine tree in our garden. We took them to the only wildlife rescue organization in the country, but when we contacted them later that day, their behavior was extremely suspicious, hostile, and arrogant. They got angry when we asked about the squirrels and told us to come back the next day to take them as they don't want to take care of them.

When we got them back, one had died during its stay at the rescue, and the other was alive but severely starved and dehydrated. The day before, she had full mobility in all limbs, but upon receiving her, we noticed that her hind legs were no longer moving. We don’t know what to do about it. We spoke to a couple of vets and rescuers, but we haven't received a clear answer—only from one of the vets that her spine isn’t broken and that we should give her a little diluted metamizole for pain relief and to reduce potential inflammation.

She’s about 6–7 weeks old and just started opening her eyes today. She eats well, urinates and defecates after each meal, and occasionally does so on her own between meals. We keep her warm, as we know that baby squirrels cannot regulate their body temperature.

Her tail moves, but her back legs do not. The other day, she tried using her right back leg, but without much success. Today, her hind legs became cold and immobile, so we’ve been massaging them to improve blood flow.

Does anyone have any advice on how to help her regain control of her back legs?

I recently was told that prednisone and gabapentin could help, but I have no idea about the dosage, she is currently about 80 grams.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[CritterMom]

Are you able to get your hands on some prednisone? If so, what is the milligram size of the pills and what is the weight of the baby, preferably in grams?

[ActualTradition]

Are you able to get your hands on some prednisone? If so, what is the milligram size of the pills and what is the weight of the baby, preferably in grams?

Hello,
thank you for your answer.

I can get some prednisone, it's 5 mg per pill. The baby squirrel is currently 80 grams.

Should I also get some gabapentin? There are only pills here and the choice is between 100 mg; 300 mg; 400 mg and 600 mg.

Best regards,

[CritterMom]

I have sent you information to dose the 5mg prednisone by PM.

Everything I see says that giving it with gabapentin is okay but I have zero experience with it. I am hoping one of our other folks can chime in here on that issue. In the meantime, prednisone is most effective given ASAP...

[island rehabber]

Actual Tradition, welcome. The fact that the baby moves its tail is excellent; it's unlikely that there is permanent spinal damage in that case. I agree with CritterMom, because I have seen prednisone work miracles in cases like this. The other thing I strongly suggest is that you do gentle physical therapy with the baby. Hold it in one hand as if it was sitting upright on its haunches, but let the legs dangle. With your other hand let the two hind feet rest against your palm then press in and out five or six times. After that, circle the legs while still having tbe feet against your palm, 6 times to the left and same to tbe right. Do this after each feeding. I have gotten several paralyzed squirrels back into the trees with this method!

Note: gabapentin really isn't anywhere as effective as the prednisone.

[ActualTradition]

I have sent you information to dose the 5mg prednisone by PM.

Everything I see says that giving it with gabapentin is okay but I have zero experience with it. I am hoping one of our other folks can chime in here on that issue. In the meantime, prednisone is most effective given ASAP...

Thank you very much! Much appreciate it, I'll be able to acquire it tomorrow at noon, so I'll start immediately. Thanks again!

[ActualTradition]

Actual Tradition, welcome. The fact that the baby moves its tail is excellent; it's unlikely that there is permanent spinal damage in that case. I agree with CritterMom, because I have seen prednisone work miracles in cases like this. The other thing I strongly suggest is that you do gentle physical therapy with the baby. Hold it in one hand as if it was sitting upright on its haunches, but let the legs dangle. With your other hand let the two hind feet rest against your palm then press in and out five or six times. After that, circle the legs while still having tbe feet against your palm, 6 times to the left and same to tbe right. Do this after each feeding. I have gotten several paralyzed squirrels back into the trees with this method!

Note: gabapentin really isn't anywhere as effective as the prednisone.

Thank you for your valuable input. Will do it definitely. We massage her legs to help the blood flow, but will do this method as well.

I'll be getting the prednisone tomorrow, but should I also get gabapentin and what mgs or it's not needed for the time being?

Best regards,

[island rehabber]

I'll be getting the prednisone tomorrow, but should I also get gabapentin and what mgs or it's not needed for the time being?

Best regards,

I wouldn't bother. I attended a lecture yesterday by a well-known 30-yr squirrel rehabber who pointed out why gabapentin was ineffective. It's never worked when I've used it, frankly. Here is her slide on the subject:

[ActualTradition]

I wouldn't bother. I attended a lecture yesterday by a well-known 30-yr squirrel rehabber who pointed out why gabapentin was ineffective. It's never worked when I've used it, frankly. Here is her slide on the subject:

I understand, thank you very much!

[ActualTradition]

Hi,

A quick update about the squirrel:

She’s doing well—eating, sleeping, and going to the potty as she should. She even opened her eyes!

We started her on prednisone on Monday afternoon and have been following the prescribed dosage. However, today she started biting her right thigh a little.



I’ve attached a photo showing the exact spot. It was a bit tricky to take since she kept moving, so I had to gently restrain her with a finger for a second.

Should we be concerned about this, or could it be a good sign that she’s regaining feeling in her back legs? We’ve also noticed that she’s holding her legs a bit differently.

Additionally, is it safe to bathe her with something in case she has an irritation or insect bites? We haven’t noticed anything, but we’d like to take precautions just in case.

I’ve also attached a second photo of her right before being fed.



Best regards,

[CritterMom]

OK, so whiplash time...

I think that the messing with the leg is likely a good sign that she is feeling something she didn't before. HOWEVER...

This is a really dangerous time. If she opens a wound while messing with it, it will itch as it heals which will make her go after it again and you can soon be riding this terrible spiral down. You need to keep her from being able to access it so you don't get a nice ride on the self-mutilation train.

So to the whiplash - get some of the gabapentin. What it IS used for - which is reflected in the handout island rehabber put in her post - is nerve-related issues. It doesn't matter what size pill you get - we can dose any of those you mentioned.

Anyone else here have the same reaction I did with the idea of her chewing the leg and my idea that maybe with this new situation, it might be a good idea to add that in for now? Not stop the pred - give both.

In the meantime, do anything you need to to prevent her from chewing - burrito her and stuff her down your shirt and carry her if you need to.

[olorin19]

I had a quad NR Ziggy who kept chewing at his forearm. One thing we tried with some success was wrapping it with this self-adhesive wrap that was designed for pets and had an unpleasant taste.

[Spanky]

Anyone else here have the same reaction I did with the idea of her chewing the leg and my idea that maybe with this new situation, it might be a good idea to add that in for now? Not stop the pred - give both.

100% Agree with CM!

[ActualTradition]

OK, so whiplash time...

I think that the messing with the leg is likely a good sign that she is feeling something she didn't before. HOWEVER...

This is a really dangerous time. If she opens a wound while messing with it, it will itch as it heals which will make her go after it again and you can soon be riding this terrible spiral down. You need to keep her from being able to access it so you don't get a nice ride on the self-mutilation train.

So to the whiplash - get some of the gabapentin. What it IS used for - which is reflected in the handout island rehabber put in her post - is nerve-related issues. It doesn't matter what size pill you get - we can dose any of those you mentioned.

Anyone else here have the same reaction I did with the idea of her chewing the leg and my idea that maybe with this new situation, it might be a good idea to add that in for now? Not stop the pred - give both.

In the meantime, do anything you need to to prevent her from chewing - burrito her and stuff her down your shirt and carry her if you need to.

Hello,

Thank you for your response.

Apologies for the late reply—I just managed to get the gabapentin. It’s in 100 mg hard capsules. If someone who knows the correct dosage could let me know, that would be great.



I just weighed the baby before feeding her, and she is exactly 100 grams, which brings up the question—should I adjust the dosage for the prednisone?

Additional updates: She hasn’t chewed her leg apart from a couple of times yesterday before I wrote, thankfully there is no damage. However, she occasionally shakes her head for a second***, like a dog does after getting up from a nap or when wet. I have no idea if this is normal behavior or not.

She eats, sleeps, and goes potty as usual. We put her on a soft surface to walk for a bit, and there seems to be a slight change in how she holds her back/hind legs, with a more noticeable difference in the right one.

Best regards,


***EDIT: I forgot to add that this only happens when she lifts herself up on her two front legs.

[island rehabber]

With the introduction of this new problem, her biting her leg, I do agree with CritterMom that gabapentin could help.

[CritterMom]

dosing sent by PM

[ActualTradition]

dosing sent by PM

Thank you very much! Will keep you updated.

Best regards,

[CritterMom]

Also - you have the eyes on her. If you feel like she absolutely is NOT chewing at herself, you can hold off on starting the gabapentin. In her case it has been added to try to stave off self mutilation caused by the tingling of her nerves and isn't doing anything as far as the actual healing taking place (which I hope is happening).

[ActualTradition]

Also - you have the eyes on her. If you feel like she absolutely is NOT chewing at herself, you can hold off on starting the gabapentin. In her case it has been added to try to stave off self mutilation caused by the tingling of her nerves and isn't doing anything as far as the actual healing taking place (which I hope is happening).

Thank you for the advice.

She has stopped chewing on her leg. After monitoring her yesterday and today, there have been no further incidents. Her recovery seems to be going well—she’s quite active when she’s not sleeping, with occasional twitches in the back legs and a noticeable change in how she holds them.

However, I think she may have had a bad reaction to the gabapentin.

I gave her a dose yesterday evening (about 13 hours ago), as prescribed, and she became lethargic—she couldn’t move her front paws, even though she was trying. She’s okay now, but I’m considering holding off on any further doses for the time being.

What do you think?

[CritterMom]

As I said, if she isn't chewing herself, I wouldn't bother using it. The only reason I started thinking of it is to prevent her from mutilating.