Wild squirrel walking crooked and falling over

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bugmankeith

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There is a gray squirrel here walking crooked with its head tilted and the other squirrels are chasing it away, but it's a healthy weight and I don't see any visible injury. It's hiding in a shrub now and keeps slmost falling over, what might be wrong with it?
 
Malhavoc's

Malhavoc's

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Trauma to the head or neck from the sound of it, possibly from faling or being hit by a car, such an injury may not present itself with wound you could see if beyond od behavior.
 
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bugmankeith

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I was reading further and discovered could be an inner ear infection, but without being able to catch the squirrel I don't know if there is anything I can do to help the squirrel.
 
xhexdx

xhexdx

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Yep, ear infection.

Same thing happens with rats.

If untreated, they will never regain their equilibrium. If treated, it's possible to make a full recovery.

So without taking the squirrel in to a vet, you have no idea if it still has the infection or if it's long gone.
 
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bugmankeith

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The squirrel is well enough to climb trees and runs away first sight of people so I have no way to trap it. I called a wildlife place waiting for a response but on there site they suggest scooping the animal or guiding it into a trap, how does one corrall a crafty wild squirrel into a trap that's what I'd like to know...,
 
Shrike

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I know one thing; if you don't take it to the vet, it will probably wind up in another animal's stomach. Ah, the circle of life.
 
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Malhavoc's said:
Trauma to the head or neck from the sound of it, possibly from faling or being hit by a car, such an injury may not present itself with wound you could see if beyond od behavior.
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At first I was thinking it may have eaten something that has fermented and it was perhaps drunk. I've seen stuff like that before and it can be funny so long as it doesn't die... But sounds like you know what you're talking about. my friend actually had a pet rat which had the same sort of symptoms and died soon later.
 
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bugmankeith

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The wildlife center called me back and said it sounds like it could be old trauma, or roundworm from raccoon feces that attacks the squirrels nervous system, this is very possible we have plenty of raccoons. It doesn't affect humans or cats and dogs but it can affect squirrels. Unfortunetly the wildlife place is too far for me, I'm waiting to see if there are any others close to where I live. With dogs, cats, and lots of cars and this squirrel moves slower because of this it's in a lot of danger. I wish there was some edible cure or vaccine for this I could feed the squirrel, similar to the edible rabies vaccine they made to give raccoons.
I put out tons of birdseed so at least the squirrel won't go hungry as long as it visits each day.
 
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zonbonzovi

zonbonzovi

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Thanks for the info, ladies. I live in a raccoon & squirrel 'beltway' and wondered about the opportunities for spreading nastiness between them and the roving band of neighborhood pets, deer, bear, etc.
 
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bugmankeith

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Formerphobe said:
This is incorrect. Baylisascaris procyonis can be fatal in humans, especially children.
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/12/03-0039_article.htm
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Wow thank you for letting me know that makes me mad the only Wildlife site for my area is saying this isn't dangerous to people, I mean kids get dirty but if we know precations to take at least that is hopefully enough. What about to outside cats and dogs a lot of pets around here.

Besides this the local raccoons and possums are healthy we haven't had rabies scares in over 20 years which is good. It's too bad there is no vaccine against this for wild animals.

I still like all wildlife no matter what I would never hurt a raccoon like some people around here who shoot them with paintball guns just for fun and run them over on purpose.
 
Malhavoc's

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I am suprised that a wildelife center would say such but then arnt they manned by volunteers? either way call them and point out their error.
 
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Formerphobe said:
Long Island had documented cases of Rabies in 2004.
http://www.wadsworth.org/rabies/AnnualSummaries/2004/index.htm
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As usual Formerphobe and I are on the same page. ;) lol

One other thing to mention, having been a vet tech for a long time, just because rabies cases come up, doesn't mean the public is made aware. If you asked most people in my area, they would say we have no rabies here. HOWEVER, every year our clinic gets a list of confirmed rabies cases for the previous year, in dogs, cats, horses, cows, all wildlife etc etc. Those are just the confirmed cases, more go by without being tested and confirmed. If you ask for the info you can get it, but it's just not always made public.

Rabies is very much out there, that's why vaccinating our pets for it is so important. About 8 years ago, we had a confirmed case at our clinic, in a bat that we sent away for testing. It had been brought in by a client whose (indoor only) cat had tried to kill it, the cat had not had rabies shots and the bat came back positive....
 
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bugmankeith said:
I managed to get a quick video of the Squirrel so you can see it. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v492/keithpetrosky/misc/?action=view¤t=M4H05727.mp4 My pets are up to date on all their vaccines.
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I'm not a huge fan of squirrels, but I do feel bad for it. It's impossible to say just from a video, but it certainly could be neurological from roundworms, or it could be an inner ear infection...there are a number of different things that can cause a head tilt like that. The other squirrels definitely seem to know there's something wrong with it though.

The only thing you could try, is a live trap and then calling animal control. I'm not sure how it works in the US for that though, here animal control collects wild animals that need medical attention and then makes sure they get it, rehabilitation, whatevers needed.

Glad to hear your animals are current on their vaccines. You'd be surprised how many people don't realize just how important they are.
 
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bugmankeith

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There is a place willing to take it and rehabilitate it if I can trap it which might not be so hard the squirrel is eating any food I put out for it now, but the place is far away from my house and I dont drive so I would have to have someone take me, and nobody wants to take me. This sucks I want to help the squirrel but the transport situation is out of my hands, and the wildlife place doesnt do pick-ups they only come to re-release the animal. Being squirrels are small and places here allow you to rent a trap and catch it safely, these places dont see any reason why a person could not catch the squirrel and bring it in, making me look like a cruel person. :(
 
Shell

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bugmankeith said:
There is a place willing to take it and rehabilitate it if I can trap it which might not be so hard the squirrel is eating any food I put out for it now, but the place is far away from my house and I dont drive so I would have to have someone take me, and nobody wants to take me. This sucks I want to help the squirrel but the transport situation is out of my hands, and the wildlife place doesnt do pick-ups they only come to re-release the animal. Being squirrels are small and places here allow you to rent a trap and catch it safely, these places dont see any reason why a person could not catch the squirrel and bring it in, making me look like a cruel person. :(
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It doesn't make you look like a cruel person, you're doing what you can do in your situation. That's all you can do.

Are there any veterinary clinics near you? Try calling them and explaining the situation, if you can get it to them, one of their staff may be willing to transport it. I know at my clinic, we often went above and beyond for animals and people needing it. It's worth a try. Good luck.
 
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