04/16/2025
I don’t often post the stories of animals that come in such bad shape that I don’t expect them to live. We still try because miracles do happen, although, they are rare. This is a miracle story.
This skunk came in after being found laying flat on the ground all day. The homeowners noticed him around 6:30 in the morning and monitored him throughout the day to see if he would perk up. He did not. So they brought him to us.
During his exam, he was so bone thin that I didn’t know why he was still alive, quite honestly. His skin was loose and he was clearly dehydrated. But the concerning thing beyond that was that he didn’t appear to be able to move any of his legs . I did the usual gentle pinch test to see if I got any reaction with any of his feet. I could tell by his eyes that he could feel, but I still didn’t get much of any reaction with him trying to pull his feet away. Sometimes that tells us if they have a broken back which explains a lot. But he did not appear to have a broken back.
I decided to give the little guy supportive care to give it time so I could monitor him more to try to figure out what was wrong.
He was not able to lift his head to eat or drink very well, so he got subq fluids, and he was fed a special formulation of liquid food that I could drip into his mouth and let him swallow on his own.
A few days after intake, he was up on his elbows in a position that allowed him to lap food from a dish on his own. A day after that, I found him on the other side of his cage in a new position that he had done all by himself.
Continued monitoring showed that while he flopped around a bit as he “walked“, he was able to use all four legs, but was just so extremely weak that this had caused his entire situation.
I now believe that this may have been a trapped and relocated animal situation. People do not understand the damage they cause when they put an animal in a new situation where the animal does not know where to find food or water. If they have spent too much time in a trap before being discovered , they can be in a critical condition while they try to locate food and water and a safe place to sleep.
Skunks don't spray unless they feel their life is at risk and they have no other option left. They are wanderers by nature and will move from place to place constantly with the exception being over winter, when denning to stay warm, and in spring when there are babies involved. If you have a skunk in your area and don't want them to stay, then be sure you do not leave food sitting outside for them to eat. They are most active at dawn and dusk so feed outside animals in the middle of the day and take up the food before dusk. Keep crawlspaces repaired to prevent an animal from choosing to den there. And BE KIND if you see these precious creatures out doing the job God gave them....which is eating bugs! (Their favorite food!)
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