10/30/2026
So I have been holding out on you folks relative to a new intake because of his condition at intake, and how unsure I was about how his story would unfold. This young guy arrived here in late September after being discovered dragging his hind legs and approaching kind finder Seline in her driveway.
Upon his arrival, I did an intake exam with a pinch test on his toes to see what might be happening with his legs and feet. When I pinch the toes with hemostats, I want to see two reactions, pulling back of the legs/feet, and an angry response in the face like, "knock it off, lady!!" The reason behind wanting to see some response in the face, or a verbal response of annoyance is because pulling back of the legs can merely be a reflexive response, like a doctor tapping under your kneecap and your leg kicking out. The reflexive response means that the nerves are working in the limbs, which is a good thing, but the facial/verbal response means that those nerves are also connecting to the brain to tell it that the pinching hurts.
Well, this guy presented with good reflexive responses, but no facial/verbal reaction, and my heart sank. His back did not feel broken, his pelvis felt fine, and he was not acting like he was in any pain. Pinched nerve? Maybe, but that often presents with some sort of facial reaction. If he was unable to use his legs and feet, he cannot climb, and without being able to climb, he would be non-releaseable and would sadly have to be euthanized as we cannot keep wildlife as pets in Vermont, even as a licensed rehabber.
I decided to do what I always do in these cases and let the citter tell me how we move forward. He settled in very well, figured out his water bottle, food, and used one of the "head trauma mats" that I designed to sleep inside on the floor of the cage. We forged forward for over two weeks with him dragging himself around his cage with no real improvement in the legs. Then, one evening while I was cleaning his cage, he jumped up on the side of the cage, started climbing around using his arms and hands, and was gripping the bars of the cage with his left foot!!! I was absolutely stunned. I took him out of his cage for a pinch test, and we had an ever so slight annoyance reaction to the left toes being pinched and I was thrilled.
Since then, this guy has been more active in his smaller cage, but we need more time to improve and build strength so I have made the decision to overwinter him. Now that Bia is outside in the front release pen, and the Rebel Alliance Crew is in the back release pen, this friend will be moving to the top section of one of those cages in the rehab room to give him some more space to practice climbing and strengthening his legs.
Just like with humans, sometimes we just need to give things a bit of time, and I am happy to do that instead of making an instantaneous decision at intake. I feel very good about this guy's prospects of getting to a point where he can be released in 2027, and we have another plus one for our overwintering guestlist.
He has a silly name that I just started calling him based upon how he moved himself around his cage initially and we are going to let it stick. Please say hello to Froggy the squirrel, welcome to Monty's House, where you are better for a bit of time, and where we are happy you're here 🐸
