PLEASE URGENT.....Gravely Ill Non-Releasable Adult Fox Squirrel

[Nicole]

Hello everyone,

I have a 5 year old non-releasable female fox squirrel who has 24/7 indoor/outdoor via an enclosure. There has been some weight loss over past couple of weeks and she has been a bit less active/wobbly. Starting yesterday she is very lethargic, wobbly, weak and seems to have more difficulty with moving the back half of her body. She will eat nuts, but was unable yesterday to open a walnut even though she half-heartedly tried for an hour. There is a huge wild rabbit population in the area she lives, but the rabbits are not able to enter her habitat- it is completely enclosed top/bottom/sides with 1/2" wire mesh and has roofing panels.

I have been trying to give her re-hydration fluids with some blueberry juice, she hates the syringe but she would eat it in an ice cube. Her current weight is 0.59kg and I did dose her with 0.1mg of ivermectin yesterday. She will eat some fresh veggies, a bit of Henry's blocks, blueberries and pieces of opened nuts. I am looking for any possible ideas as to what is going on or how I can help her. Please, I appreciate any and all replies! She is my best friend and I'm a mess, please help!

Thank you,

[stepnstone]

Hello everyone,

I have a 5 year old non-releasable female fox squirrel who has 24/7 indoor/outdoor via an enclosure. There has been some weight loss over past couple of weeks and she has been a bit less active/wobbly. Starting yesterday she is very lethargic, wobbly, weak and seems to have more difficulty with moving the back half of her body. She will eat nuts, but was unable yesterday to open a walnut even though she half-heartedly tried for an hour. There is a huge wild rabbit population in the area she lives, but the rabbits are not able to enter her habitat- it is completely enclosed top/bottom/sides with 1/2" wire mesh and has roofing panels.

I have been trying to give her re-hydration fluids with some blueberry juice, she hates the syringe but she would eat it in an ice cube. Her current weight is 0.59kg and I did dose her with 0.1mg of ivermectin yesterday. She will eat some fresh veggies, a bit of Henry's blocks, blueberries and pieces of opened nuts. I am looking for any possible ideas as to what is going on or how I can help her. Please, I appreciate any and all replies! She is my best friend and I'm a mess, please help!

Thank you,

What I'm reading is pretty classic signs of having MBD....
How many nuts does she eat in a day?

[Nicole]

She eats about 3 nuts a day, lately it has been a hazelnut, walnut and almond. She also gets fresh veggies, small amount of fruit and 2 Henry's blocks a day. In past 2 weeks she has not been eating all of her blocks so I started putting some coconut oil on them and since then she will get most of them. I had no idea MBD could even happen in an adult. What do you recommend I do? In my car going to get calcium carbonate right now....

[CritterMom]

The HHBs make MBD a little less likely but too many nuts and other high phosphorus foods could still do this. Lacking a vet, I would move her inside for now, push fluids like crazy - add whatever you need to get her to drink it - or eat the ice cubes, and begin supplementing her with the additional calcium. Continue the HHBs but discontinue the majority of the nuts (you may need bits and pieces as bribes/rewards but cut her WAY back).

[Nicole]

The HHBs make MBD a little less likely but too many nuts and other high phosphorus foods could still do this. Lacking a vet, I would move her inside for now, push fluids like crazy - add whatever you need to get her to drink it - or eat the ice cubes, and begin supplementing her with the additional calcium. Continue the HHBs but discontinue the majority of the nuts (you may need bits and pieces as bribes/rewards but cut her WAY back).

Thank you SO much CritterMom for all of your help!! I'm not great with computers, so I can't figure out how to thank you on the forums. I have started calcium via tums and the people at HenrysPets were so kind to agree to send the MBD kit overnight- should be here around this time tomorrow. Until then I will continue with the fluids, calcium every 4hrs and try to get her to eat some of her blocks with tiny amount of PB on it.