My boyfriend just informed me that Squeakums' ear is bleeding and that he isn't moving much. At first when he mentioned it was bleeding I thought it might be possible self-mutilation (however that's usually by biting) or maybe just an accidental scratch (from scratching/grooming or possibly from the cage)? He mentioned he was being snappy and wouldn't let him touch him at all and then he said that he wasn't moving. He's breathing, but not moving. Do you have any idea what could be going on or what to do?


Correction: Boyfriend says he's bleeding FROM his ear, as in NOT a scratch.

The only thing that I can recommend is a vet.

I'm sorry I couldn't really help with our facebook conversation. =/
I still think you should place an e-collar on him so he doesn't mess with the ear.
Please keep us posted.

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Originally posted by Moriko

I'm sorry I couldn't really help with our facebook conversation. =/
I still think you should place an e-collar on him so he doesn't mess with the ear.
Please keep us posted.

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On a side note about e-collars, how do you remove them? From the how to videos I've seen they are all stapled on.

I know of some people who use duct tape for their e-collars, which would be easier to remove. I personally have the snap e-collars that TGI sells so I never gave stapling and duct taping the collars much thought.

Moving on..
Have you separated him from his buddy yet? (ETA: Whoops. Just remembered that he's kept as a single until he can be intro'd to his soon to be buddy, right? Leaving that in anyway though)

Have you checked the cage to see if there are any unsafe parts? Perhaps a sharp edge that you didn't see before? A good idea is doing the cotton ball test.. Take a cotton ball and rub it all over the cage, and everything in there.. If the cotton ball catches and tears, there's a sharp edge.

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Originally posted by WintersSong

I know of some people who use duct tape for their e-collars, which would be easier to remove. I personally have the snap e-collars that TGI sells so I never gave stapling and duct taping the collars much thought.

Moving on..
Have you separated him from his buddy yet?

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He just finished quarantine, so he hadn't even met her yet.

Yeah, I remembered right after I posted that. Response above has been edited, with a new question added as well.

Ah, okay. Not a scratch.. Saw your edit...
Do you have an emergency vet you can go to?

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Originally posted by WintersSong

Yeah, I remembered right after I posted that. Response above has been edited, with a new question added as well.

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I told my boyfriend to check the cage for sharp edges, he said he did and couldn't find any and that's when he said he was bleeding from his ear and couldn't find any scratches on it. He sent me a picture, but it's very blurry and I'm not sure it's worth posting since it's of very poor quality.

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Originally posted by WintersSong

Ah, okay. Not a scratch.. Saw your edit...
Do you have an emergency vet you can go to?

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Currently no vets are available til morning =/

How is the movement of the glider? Has it increased? Please keep a close eye on him and check on him often.

Could it be ear mites..? I have not read of ear mites causing bleeding, but it doesn't seem too outlandish to assume that they could.

From the facebook conversation I had with her, the glider's movement had ceased or was moving very little, I know ear mites wouldn't cause this.

Please get a vet visit as soon as you possibly can in the morning and use this experience as a reason to find an emergency vet that will take a look at your gliders 24/7.

it's 12:44 and I've just been informed that Squeakums is dead....

Oh no. :(
I am so sorry to hear of Squeakum's passing.

I'm so sorry. RIP, little Squeakums. I know this isn't what you want to think of right now, but please have a necropsy done to find out what caused this.

Bless his little heart. I agree with snusie. Though it is a tragic time a necropsy would shed valuable light into what happnened and could help other gliders in the future. I will keep you in my prayers.

OMG I'm so sorry to read all this :( I must agree with the others about the necropsy. I hate even speaking like this but you'll need to refrigerate Squeakums...no freezer. It should also be done in the next 48 hours. I'm so, so sorry.

I'm sorry to inform you all that a necropsy is not possible. Soon after his passing my boyfriend's mother told him to get rid of the body so he has already buried him. WintersSong, shadow, and myself were talking about it last night and what this might have been since it's already too late to take him in for a necropsy.

Not to introduce distrust into the mix, but this sounds super fishy. An internal ear-bleeding head wound would not happen to a glider in a cage. My first guess is that someone had him out for play, got bit and threw him harshly or did even worse. Honestly, I dont even think just an accidental fall of any kind would damage the head enough to make it bleed out the ear. Gliders are pretty durable critters. I would look for bite wounds on the thumbs of your male friends. The ear bleed and lack of movement suggests severe head trauma or perhaps entire body trauma.

Did the dog get him and your bf just isnt sharing that?

This is so sad, I am sorry for the loss.

I posted about this on the sweet spot, asking for some insight. One of the responses that I received (from Val) also stated that it would likely have been caused by trauma.

Another response was the possibility of a tumor inside the ear, but to be honest I am more likely to believe that it was the result of a severe trauma. I hope that was not the case though.

He doesn't have a dog, but he does have a cat which I had asked about. His cat is usually kept in the garage and he mentioned that Squeakums was with him in his pouch all day. It wasn't until he pulled him out for his usually play time that he noticed he was acting strange and then saw his ear. He then notified me and I asked him to send a picture. During this time he was freaking out and didn't know what to do. James (Moriko) was on facebook so I asked for his advice first since it would be the quickest. The only thing he could suggest was an e-collar and keeping an eye on him throughout the night until I could get him to a vet. I then came here to see if anyone had any advice that might be different.

To be honest, when he told me of Squeakums condition, I knew his fate was sealed and was already preparing myself for the news of his death . Of course, I didn't tell my boyfriend that until after Squeakums' passing.

To give you more in depth of his disposal, his mother does not like germs and didn't much like Squeakums because she saw him as nothing other than a filthy animal. So when she heard that he died she told him to dispose of the body immediately. I'm just glad she didn't make him throw Squeakums in the trash.

im sure your boyfriend wouldnt hurt squeakums it sounds like he really cared for him. does he have any other brothers or sister that live in the house? if kazko is right how long could it have happened before the blood was coming out of the ear? could it have happened earlier in the day before he got him out or maybe sometime the day before or somethin? or does it happen right away?
im glad that your bf was there for squeakums and comforted him before he passed.

As I said before, this should be enough reasoning to make sure you find a 24/7 emergency vet. I wish I could have helped you more over facebook, but this is something that I have never experienced. I'm really sorry for my lack of help and your loss. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Im so sorry for the loss of little Squeakums. Poor little baby...

There is nothing any of us here could have done. Those of you who tried to help should not apologize for the ending. This is another reason to ALWAYS have more than one emergency vet's information available at all times. Make certain you know their hours.

I. too, agree that this sounds like trauma. Do you think your boyfriend's mother could have done something since she didnt appreciate having Squeakum's in her home? You really need to find out before antoher glider gets hurt.

Again, Im so sorry, KuroNeko. We all know you weren't there at the time this all happened. Im sure you are just devastated.

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Originally posted by shadow

im sure your boyfriend wouldnt hurt squeakums it sounds like he really cared for him. does he have any other brothers or sister that live in the house? if kazko is right how long could it have happened before the blood was coming out of the ear? could it have happened earlier in the day before he got him out or maybe sometime the day before or somethin? or does it happen right away?
im glad that your bf was there for squeakums and comforted him before he passed.

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My boyfriend is and only child.

I just spoke with my dad and gave him the news about Squeakums and he came to the conclusion that you guys did. Trauma. Mind you he knows nothing about gliders. He was thinking it might have been possible that my boyfriend, or someone in the house, unknowingly sat on him while he was in his pouch and if he made any noise might have just dismissed as his usually crabbiness.

A friend of mine also came to that conclusion just now when I said he was bleeding from his ear.

go talk to your bf and tell him that if something like that did happen then he just needs to tell you so that you can find some peace in knowing what happen and that you wont be mad at him or hate him or his family if that did happen. sadly things like this happen. i think there was a member on this site that accidentally killed their glider when they were kneeling down to find or grab another glider and the glider ran under their knee. and they felt so bad about it and that is way worse then finding your glider dead in the cage. maybe something similar to that happened and your bf is just afraid to tell you and panicked with everything happening. and even if he tells you thats not what happened just tell him its ok just in case.

It is always a risk to leave animals in some other care, and it is more of risk in my opinion always taking them out and dragging them around in pouches and such. People are absent minded at best and you will forget that you have an animal in your pocket.

That poor thing was in severe body pain not wanting to be touched at all, so it may very well have been squished. Blood from the ear could be caused by body trauma and not just head trauma. Cat coulda done it.

You hear endless stories about gliders self mutilating, ripping off limbs, breaking things and so on and they live. Animals are generally resilient. So whatever happened to it must have been very traumatic.

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Originally posted by shadow

go talk to your bf and tell him that if something like that did happen then he just needs to tell you so that you can find some peace in knowing what happen and that you wont be mad at him or hate him or his family if that did happen. sadly things like this happen. i think there was a member on this site that accidentally killed their glider when they were kneeling down to find or grab another glider and the glider ran under their knee. and they felt so bad about it and that is way worse then finding your glider dead in the cage. maybe something similar to that happened and your bf is just afraid to tell you and panicked with everything happening. and even if he tells you thats not what happened just tell him its ok just in case.

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I had already talked to him about it. He honestly doesn't know what happened, but he mentioned putting the pouch on a chair to grab something and he said it's possible that Squeakums might have been sat on during that time.

REGARDLESS of how things happened, the fact of the matter is that Squeakums is gone, and if anything, should serve as a reminder of just how careful all of us need to be with these guys, even when they're just in their pouch dangling around our necks.

I'm sorry about Squeakums, Kuro. {{hugs}}

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Originally posted by Moriko

As I said before, this should be enough reasoning to make sure you find a 24/7 emergency vet. I wish I could have helped you more over facebook, but this is something that I have never experienced. I'm really sorry for my lack of help and your loss. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

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Yes -- please do look into getting an emergency vet.
In this ones case though, I don't feel that there is anything a vet could've done.