AboutEdward Expertise I am a wildlife rehabber in North America and can answer questions on many species, especially North and South American Species
Experience I have handreared many different types of animals, mainly raccoons, oppossums, raptors, songbirds, crows, deer, and bears. I also have worked in animal centers and zoos.
Organizations World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International.
Publications Ranger Rick Magazine
Education/Credentials Degree in zoology and wildlife biology.
Expert: Edward Date: 7/23/2008 Subject: my squirrel
Question please dont lecture me but i was a mother of a male squirrel that i found almost dead in my driveway in may. i researched everything and he developed into a beautiful squirrel i was going to have him rehabbed back into the wild, but he died suddenly today and i am heart broken. he was fine this morning and my husband saw him at 8am and he was fine when i went to his cage he was laying on his side and seemed to be paralyzed from the waist down we were holding him his breathing was labored but he ate a blueberry and took some drops of water. he kept making his noises like he was in a panic. we were pulling out of driveway and he took 3 big breathes and died. what could of happened to him? i went on line and saw someone from 2007 write the same thing about her squirrel what happened? please respond as soon as u can thanks sharon
Answer Hello Sharon.
I am not here to lecture but to help. And I always take the animals side. Thanks for having the heart to help the squirrel, the world needs more people like you.
I am 99% sure your squirrel suffered from Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). MBD is the result of not having enough calcium and vitamin D in the body. If the squirrel was not getting enough sunlight (which helps to process calcium), that may have caused it. Or if the squirrel had too many of the wrong nuts in its diet (hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts) which are low in calcium, that may have caused it. There is also a possibility that you were caring properly for the squirrel, but that it was a genetic issue, that its body couldn't properly process sunlight or calcium or vitamin D, and therefore you could have done nothing to stop it.
There is much evidence to support my diagnosis as well. MBD often comes in waves, where symptoms are shown, but then disappear for a while, finally proving fatal in a large attack. When you found the squirrel, it was probably having an attack. Then the disease recessed, and came back in its final bout. Symptoms of the disease include: labored breathing (3 final breaths), paralysis (not moving waist down), seizures (shaking and noises), activity level decline, and lethargy. The disease usually manifests itself around 10 weeks of age, and apart from the attacks of the disease, it is almost untraceable, so the squirrel would appear normal.
I am truly sorry for your loss, and keep up the good work. Should any of this happen to you again, here's a very helpful website.
