Received a call about a squirrel and need advice. I have not yet seen this him and the information is so scanty. I have been asked to see him tomorrow and would love to be able to give a remedy that will be beneficial, not just for him (which is primary, of course) but because it is a small city zoo and I'd like to help homeopathy make a good impression!

All I know is that he was taken to this zoo by a *rehabber* who thought he might be of interest to have on exhibit. Can you feel me cringing and hear the anger in my voice?

Male, 4-5 months old
Circles left, when walking/moving (told he can sit up normally to hold food when eating but body may curl a bit left)
Head (maybe body) bent/turned to left (torticollis?)
Blind
Hard of hearing (quote from someone who has seen him)
Has been at this zoo for about 10 days with no change in the above symptoms
Eats and drinks OK (though the idiots...sorry... there don't have the proper foods or water containers for him)
Does not wobble or move unsteadily while circling to the left (seems to not have vertigo)
Is pure white (albino, extremely unusual in this area) but has normal squirrel eyes (like pools of black ink, not pink or red)
Have no idea how this condition came about, if from injury or was born this way.

That's all I have. Using rubrics for walking/circling left gave Thuja, Stram, Bell. Blindness includes Bell and Stram and adds a number of other rubrics. Have no idea if the squirrel suffered an injury that caused the blindness and circling or if he was born this way. No one has any background on him at all. Turning head to left has Lyc and Tarent. Torticollis (if this is what he has) keeps Bell, Lyc and Stram but loses Thuja and Tarent. I don't know if the only really odd thing about him, being white or an albino, should be used. I can't find anything under albino, albinotic, etc., leukoderma, achromoderma, etc., etc. My first thought is always Arn with these little guys because they usually are in need of help due to a trauma, falling or someone chopping trees, mom being killed, that sort of thing. Or Hypericum if looks like nerve trauma. But since there is no history of any circumstances leading to his being brought in, would the use of Arn still apply? Certainly the problems could be a result of trauma but could also be congenital. Since the spring babies are just getting out and about, it may be that he was fine as long as he was in the nest.

Any ideas would be much appreciated. Love to get good results and maybe promote the idea of homeopathy for more of the animals at the zoo.

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Seems as if there is a thrombus in the right half of the brain. I suggest Bothrops can be tried for the poor animal.

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Unfortunately, I don't have Bothrops (L?). I will have to order it. I know that no remedy can be substituted for the correct one but is there any suggestion for something that could be used today that wouldn't interfere until I can locate Both?

Thanks so much to anyone who may have some thoughts on this.

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Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

As far as the etiology is concerned Lachesis is the most similar remedy to bothrops. ButI am not certain if these cab be interchanged.

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Dr. B<br /><br /><a href="http://www.doctorbhatia.com" target="_blank">www.DoctorBhatia.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hpathy.com" target="_blank">www.Hpathy.com</a><br />Homeopathy for Everyone

In Phatak

Gait-stepping left towards- gives Lachesis.

Please keep us informed of his progress- poor thing !

Thanks Hoppitt and Dr. B and those who have emailed me privately. I have had an intensive day gathering information. Now have the squirrel here and will do a better report of what I have found as soon as I can get it into some semblance of order. Hope we can help this poor guy...much thanks to you all.

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Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

The squirrel is a one year old male Albino that was raised by a rehabber in another state. He was released about 4 months ago, suffered two falls the first day out, one causing a bloody nose. He was put back into a cage after the second fall. The rehabber stated she hadn't known he had vision and hearing problems prior to releasing him. (I find that hard to believe.)

I don't think he has any vision or hearing at all and has probably been this way since birth. There are conflicting opinions regarding Albino squirrels all having hearing/vision limitations. Some say all do but a rehabber (who has raised a large number of albinos) I spoke with in the town in Illinois that has a large population of them, said she hasn't seen any Albinos with these problems.

I was told that 2 months after the falls, his left eye began to protrude. It is now 4 months since his falls.

This squirrel's left eye globe protrudes about 3 times the size of his right and is set lower on his face. The left, protruding eye is red, with very gray iris and has visible whites, much like a human eye except the pupil is red. It looks like what used to be called a *watch eye* in horses whose white blaze extended over the eye causing the eye to look almost white from a distance. (I think this is called choroid iris. Choroid definition is: vascular tunic of the eye, continuous with the iris in front and lying between the sclera and the retina: the choriod membrane.) The protruding eye seems transparent, if viewed from the front. Total Albinism, I've read, is associated with astigmatism, nystagmus and photophobia. . The first day here, an over head light was turned on about 12 feet from his cage and his reaction was instantaneous and violent, circled furiously. Yet later, trying to get a picture of his eyes at close range, the flash of the camera did not seem to register or bother him at all. Oddly, though *red eye* in kid and animal pictures is common, this guy who really has red pupils, did not have *red eye* in the photo!

His right eye also has whites showing, blue iris, pink/red pupil but doesn't have the *watch eye* look. It sits normally and is not protruding.

Squirrels normally have solid black eyes with no white, iris or pupil showing.

He *circles* (rapid, crazed) if badly startled. Since he can't see or hear, startling is constant. In the 4 days since he has arrived, changes have made to avoid him being startled as much as possible and this has greatly reduced the occurrences. He is in the same cage he must have lived in with the other rehabber (and I am being kind calling her that) all his life but seems to have no familiarity with where anything is within it. It is only 24 inches by 24 inches, yet he doesn't know where things are like his hammock, the food and water containers or the corners when he is moving around it He can stop circling on his own and walk straight with no wobbling or lack of co-ordination, if something gets his attention. Otherwise, he will go till he drops from exhaustion. He only circles left. When circling his neck bends to left, head tilts with nose to the right and left ear turned downward. He seems to turn the left, protruding eye toward movement.

He has circled since a young infant, long before the fall 4 months ago.

He hides inside bedding most of the time. If out of the bedding, he sleeps upright, rolled back on his hips, holding onto the wire of the cage with all four feet. Or, if not next to the wire, he sleeps upright on all fours, back slightly humped with head tucked so nose is level with and almost touching his knees. Most squirrels curl on their sides to sleep.

I also feel sure his sense of smell is very limited, if he has any.

The swollen/protruding of the eye is the only real *change* (dis-ease) since he has surely been blind and deaf and circled since birth. He also has always slept in these odd ways, if anything can be believed of what the former "rehabber" said. He was found in the housing area of a Delaware Air Base, not on a runway as first advised. He is one of three Albinos "rehabbed", I was told. Can't get a straight answer what happened to the other two. Other male also deaf and circled. This is not an area that has Albino squirrels. I think this "rehabber" brought a male and female from Illinois, bred them and this poor soul is the result. My feeling is she intended to raise and sell Albino squirrels. When his eye began to bulge (unless that's another lie and it always has been this way) she decided to dump him somewhere. Or, she began to worry about the Wildlife investigators.

Very odd for an adult squirrel, particularly one in such a state of startling so easily, is that he will let me pet and scratch him as if he had been handled all his life. I was told that she didn't touch him since weaned because everything bothered him so intensely. (Grrrrr....and she didn't know he was blind and deaf?) Yet he seems to really enjoy this and makes no attempt at all to bite, even when very upset. This is extremely rare in any squirrel, let alone an adult who has never been handled. Not a mean bone in his little body.

If anyone has any experience in treating genetic defects involving blindness and deafness at birth and /or Albinism, or has any suggestions, I would be most grateful. Sepia has been suggested for Albinism, a lacking of melatonin.

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Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

GPM,
Just my humble suggestion:
Startling at noises
MAgnetized desires to be (strange in a squirrel)

PHOS.

You've done some wonderful research here.
HOpe things work out for the poor chap. BUT I think (from all your info) he's basically suffering from a very poor genetic inheritance of all recessive abnormal genetic traits, including the albinism, the visual problems and the deafness. IT would be interesting to see what a good remedy can do for him.

Warm regards,
doctorleela

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gpm, I feel your frustration and believe you are right to be suspicious. For what it is worth, your eye problem reminds me of a horrible genetic defect of a manx I had a few years back. (He still managed to live to be 5 years old!). Your description fits very much with what happened to his eyes. When I first got him it was obvious that his vision was impaired and slowly over the next few months, cataracts formed over both eyes and then one of them started to protrude. Only doing allopathy back then with no success, eventually the fluid and swelling behind the eye became too great and very painful for kitty and we removed the eye after running out of time. The other eye remained functional with limited sight for the remainder of his life. Don't know if my story helps, but I know my guy didn't suffer any traumatic bumps and his condition was genetic. Good luck!

dear gpm

it's not clear what is a disease symptom here, nor what is curable, so here is just a guess:

hepar sulf

rubrics:
eyes protruding
sleep position sitting
injuries &lt; [speculative]

hepar is perhaps worth a cautious try because it is one of the deepest acting remedies