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Thread: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

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    Default Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    This girl is going to give me (fully) gray hair y’all. I don’t even know what’s wrong but I believe in my heart that something is. Apologies in advance from a very worried squirrel mom. Any advice is very welcome. She’s been agitated since Thursday mid afternoon. In fact Thursday and Friday evening I had to don real gloves because she was grooming me so excessively and frenetically she was drawing blood.

    Penny is about 5.5 months now - diet is pretty good,HHBs or boo blocks with HHBs & FV 2050 plus the healthy veggies per Henry’s pyramid. She does not have a sweet tooth and can’t open or eat whole nuts so I almost feel like it can’t be signs of MBD although of course that’s my first thought. Yesterday she DID get a shell pecan which I eventually cracked for her and she ate. This is a once a week treat. The only nuts she gets are in boo balls and a small piece of hazelnut or peanut stick from Henry’s at night time.

    Last night while playing she missed a jump (happens a LOT) and hit the ground. Just prior she was wrestling my hand / a ball / etc and did an exaggerated squeak after getting up. She’s actually been squeaking a lot at night so I’m wondering if she can possibly have developed MBD even though she does get her blocks in whatever form necessary and no nuts or seeds other than that. She got her boo ball last night ate part then started running pacing and I could tell something was wrong. She alarmed for almost half an hour straight and I couldn’t find any trigger for it or calm her down. After she ran in her wheel hard for upwards of twenty minutes, she never runs at night. She was running so hard she kept getting stuck at the top and riding it along until she flew out. I was there to catch her in a blanket but I couldn’t get her to stop it was like she needed to run. It was so bizarre like she was having a panic attack.

    So she’s been squeaking, aggressive grooming (me), and just generally ornery plus last nights panic episode. Physically she’s walking slow with her hips low almost like she’s dragging her belly / lady bits on the ground. She runs and jumps fine and is not acting lethargic, it’s only noticeable walking that she’s kind of Off. She actually peed on me yesterday which is unlike her. Pees and poops are fine, eating picky but fine. I just don’t even know where to start or what to do. I tried to do the emergency MBD treatment but she loathes the syringe and is not slow enough that I can make her do anything. I know advice is it can’t hurt but I also don’t understand how she could get it when her diet is strictly regulated.

    I guess that it seems like either a urinary issue or.... I mean is there any way they can hit sexual maturity this early?? She hasn’t been a early bloomer on anything yet except weaning. Most resources suggest closer to one year but I don’t know. I just want her to feel better and not see her freaking out and inconsolable. Please let me know if you have any suggestions / advice. I’m worried sick.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    QueenP, from your description I think MBD is highly unlikely. We usually see this in squirrels that are fed an abundance of nuts and seeds. Your diet sounds spot on.

    I would check her teeth. It’s odd that she she can’t crack a nut. Make sure her teeth aren’t overgrown. Overgrown incisors will puncture the palate. Check to rule this out.

    We usually don’t let Grey squirrels run in a wheel. Is this a standard 12 inch wheel? A grey squirrel can sustain injuries in a wheel. Flying squirrels are tiny so they do great in a wheel.
    I haven’t had a long term female so I don’t know when they go in heat but 5.5 months sounds young to me. Other can sound in on that.

    Has anything changed in the house to agitate her?
    It’s odd that she misses jumps. How was she found as a baby? Any injuries when found?

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Is anything new happening outside? You might need to really hunt for it. New dog next door that she is suddenly smelling? Foxes denned up somewhere near? The alarming and mad running sounds like she is suddenly afraid of something.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    I just failed at quoting, sorry.

    I will absolutely double check her teeth but she saw Dr. E May 14th (I believe) and she said her teeth were in perfect shape and no medical reason for her to not be able to crack a nut and to release her and that she was healthy. I figured I’d “over-summer” her to see if she caught up. We saw her because I thought she only had 1 bottom tooth - I think you replied when we saw the vet originally in fact.

    She graduated at some point to a 15 inch chinchilla wheel (that has no bar to hit her back on) that she can run in. She loved her 12 inch wheel as a baby so we bought her the next biggest open one we could find once she outgrew it. She loves to run, she does a 1 hour trek of activities in the morning like it’s her exercise routine.

    I agree heat sounds insanely early but I just am at a loss she was breaking my heart last night and I just need to try to figure out what it is so we can help her deal with whatever it is.

    Nothing in the house has changed. Not soaps or smells, no new appliances, no new people, nothing. I actively go out of my way to avoid anything that could agitate her - shower if I see others pets, stick to the routine no matter what.

    And yes. She misses jumps a LOT. Some days 3 or 4 times a day. I feel like she’s a little slow, but no neuro symptoms or physical issues (barring her dragging her bottom last night and today) whatsoever.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    That’s right... I remember that now.

    Oh Wow.... a chinchilla wheel. That’s awesome. It sounds like you do everything right.

    I wish I knew what’s going on but I really don’t. Does she have a cat tree? Those are awesome for climbing and jumping. EBay has some great trees that are fairly cheap. I can’t even build one for the price they sell them plus free shipping.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    Is anything new happening outside? You might need to really hunt for it. New dog next door that she is suddenly smelling? Foxes denned up somewhere near? The alarming and mad running sounds like she is suddenly afraid of something.
    I will go hunt tomorrow after my yard work to investigate since I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. There’s no new pets in surrounding yards that I’ve heard. We have foxes visit a lot (thanks security aka wildlife cameras) usually well after dark. I agree she seemed scared. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Once she didn’t immediately calm down at the alarm (normally I acknowledge it & she is done telling me) I opened her window for a second and sent husband outside to listen for odd sounds. We both didn’t hear anything but her hearing is of course better than ours.

    The only thing I’ve noticed sound-wise in an increase in air traffic in the early afternoon but it doesn’t match the time of when she was upset so likely unrelated.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by QueenP View Post
    Once she didn’t immediately calm down at the alarm (normally I acknowledge it & she is done telling me) .
    That is adorable!

    Have you ever seen them alarm while eating? It is hysterical.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by HRT4SQRLS View Post

    I wish I knew what’s going on but I really don’t. Does she have a cat tree? Those are awesome for climbing and jumping. EBay has some great trees that are fairly cheap. I can’t even build one for the price they sell them plus free shipping.
    She has two cat trees, one is this double one that runs a whole wall it’s really cool. She flies all over it. And yes they’re so cheap. My husband has a wood shop and refuses to buy *most* things he believes he can make cheaper. But he always lets me buy animal furniture without a peep.

    She’s really good at climbing and jumping mostly (we also have a wall mount cat activity center and some modified shelving unit we jazzed up. She just misses her landings sometimes, some days more than others. We’ve tried to prepare her for being Up and out as much as possible.

    Knowing when we saw the vet do you think I need to check her teeth still? She’s may be feeling off but calm enough for me to open her mouth is probably not likely to be easy

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Good grief ... that girl is spoiled.

    You can take a peek at the teeth but I doubt that's the problem. I forgot that DrE checked her teeth.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    So spoiled. And yes I’ve seen the videos of them alarm while eating and it is hilarious.

    She just woke up from her nap and she still has the low backside walk and is mellow (for her)but not lethargic. I. never realized they could make you worry more than kids!

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    I did search and couldn’t find any indication that any wild animals have denned in the area to scare her or what set her off the other night. Hopefully whatever it was never happens again. Her primal response and seeing that she seemed scared for her life was heartbreaking. I almost wish I had filmed it to analyze but I’m also glad that I don’t have to see it again willingly.

    Today she’s back to her wild child self. Almost every movement is fast as lightning so I’ve seen less of her dragging her back half. But she definitely is still holding her belly down and when she stops she gets real low. She doesn’t stop often so it’s been less prevalent today. It almost looks likes trying to pee but she’s not, and then she scooches herself for a few seconds in that position. Again she’s running and jumping fine her low gait was only noticeable when walking or stopped, and now she’s walking normally.

    I don’t know what happened and I wish someone had had this experience as well. She was a little sketched out around the same time frame last night so I’m curious to see it happens again today.

    I would still love to know if anyone has seen or heard of heat kicking in this early. Her urine is normal (pale yellow), no more smell than normal.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    So Penny did have another fit of freaking out yesterday evening but it was shorter (closer to 15-25 minutes total) and with no barking / alarming. She was going through all the pre-alarm motions with a lot of back feet stomping while doing her little chattery purr sounds. She’s gets visibly exhausted through it and does a lot of pancake + bruxing for 10 seconds then back to the (invisible to me) races. During these I can’t touch her to comfort her but she seems to enjoy being acknowledged.

    After the whatever it is episode she went and took a rare late 2nd nap snuggled into all then blankets in her favorite sleep spot and was back to her normal self.

    She’s nesting like crazy and still dragging her lady bits on everything. She’s either picking at her food or eating like she is starving. The good news is she is not acting sick AT ALL. The better news is I know I can take her to a vet, a luxury a lot of others don’t have.

    I’ve never had one this long so I don’t know what to think. She’s kind of acting like a teenager in that everything is all or nothing right now.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    So just to update this so I can reference it or it helps if anyone else comes across similar symptoms in their search. We’ve gone 36 hours without any panic episodes, she’s still running a lot though but not frenetically. She’s gone 24 hours without dragging her bottom. I’m still keeping a close eye on her but hopefully she’s feeling back to her normal little fuzzy self.

    Since no one was able to answer my question on if it were possible for her start heat this early (5.5 months) I guess we’ll never know if what looked to me like hormones was that or not. I must say though in my non expert opinion she sure seemed like her dragging her lady bits and stomping her back feet while whipping her tail in the pre alarm little fit sure reminded me a LOT of cat in heat.

    It doesn’t look like anyone is following this unfortunately but I figured I’d throw it out there.....
    If she doesn’t start opening nuts will she be releasable? I assume missing jumps isn’t a good sign either?

    HRT4SQRLS - I just saw I missed one of your original questions from the first post. She was found seemingly un-injured at 5.5 weeks, her nest was in a tree we removed. Nests were checked before removal but her and her littermate didn’t call out so their nest did come down. They lowered all limbs via pulley system so nothing hit hard at all and they did alert within minutes before any other limbs came down on them. Mom took her sibling back that evening, but never came back for her. I suppose she could have bumped her head, but she had no visible injuries. I know you wanted to know this because I said she misses jumps a lot, I don’t have an answer beyond no visible damage when found.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Well, missing jumps and the issue with chewing aren't a good thing. I wonder if she just needs some more time?

    I think what you saw was certainly some sexually charged behavior. It might not have been a full heat - 5.5 months seems awfully young to actually be able to start having babies, but she may have been reacting to what was going on outdoors as far as other squirrels. My little male slithers around on everything like a snake periodically while doing the same tail whipping behavior you described, and I can usually find a correlation to when it becomes like total "Bow Chicka Wow" time in my backyard!

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Yeah, I really can’t speak from a place of experience/knowledge but it sure sounds like heat doesn’t it. One thing I thought about was there have been a few cases of overwintered squirrels presenting mama with grand babies in the release cage. It’s not common at all and I can’t say as to the age but I think of most rehabs as young ones waiting for release. Of course, up north winter lasts until June so they could be approaching retirement before release. Isn’t that right CritterMom!

    I’m not sure what’s going on with the nuts either. Have you given her an in shell almond. They are much softer so she might be more motivated to try.

    I guess you’ll just have to see if she develops more coordination with the jumps. In FL there is no rush at all to get her outside. You could release until Dec. Some release year round in FL. I personally don’t release in Jan and Feb but that’s just me.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by HRT4SQRLS View Post
    Of course, up north winter lasts until June so they could be approaching retirement before release. Isn’t that right CritterMom!
    June 18th and it hasn't been warm enough yet for me to open my windows at night (40's and 50's). Needless to say I haven't gotten the A/Cs out yet! It is 59 right now. Our high today...

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    Well, missing jumps and the issue with chewing aren't a good thing. I wonder if she just needs some more time?

    I think what you saw was certainly some sexually charged behavior. It might not have been a full heat
    Thanks for sounding in CritterMom. I’m fine with her taking as long as she needs. If she’s never ready I’m fine with that too. I just never thought I’d be in a position to have to make that (impossible) decision for her. Hopefully she figures it out?

    As for the hormones - I guess either the initial panic was completely unrelated and just bad timing or she’s such a drama queen she scared herself half to death.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by HRT4SQRLS View Post

    I’m not sure what’s going on with the nuts either. Have you given her an in shell almond. They are much softer so she might be more motivated to try.
    We did. Almonds were the first shelled nut we tried. The only nuts she can open (not even a nut?) is a peanut. She opens them, throws them at me because apparently peanuts are below her, and hoards the shells. Even a half or mostly cracked almond is a no go. She knows their fun to take, she knows to slap and protect them, grunting and the usual nutty behavior, but she won’t open them. She’ll chew on them a while, flip them around and investigate, but won’t open them. And she won’t even bite a whole nut of any kind. I have to chew whatever into tiny bite sized pieces for her to eat them. It’s so bizarre.

    I think I’m super close to you HRT. I know I for one would happily swap places with someone up north and be high of 59 once. This rain and heat is terrible.

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    Default Re: Panic attack? Urinary issues? Squeaking? I need help.

    Quote Originally Posted by QueenP View Post

    I think I’m super close to you HRT. I know I for one would happily swap places with someone up north and be high of 59 once. This rain and heat is terrible.
    Yeah, I’d like that .... for about a week.

    I’m looking for a place 78-82 year round.

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