What to Do When a Squirrel Has a Seizure

Do not touch it. A seizing squirrel bites reflexively and has no awareness of doing so. What actually helps is a phone call to someone licensed to take it.

What to do, in order

1. Keep people and pets back. Dogs in particular — a dog that mouths a rodenticide-poisoned squirrel takes a dose itself
2. Do not handle the animal, not with gloves, not with a towel. Handling wild squirrels without a licence is an offence in most places, and the bite risk is real
3. Reduce stimulation. Quiet, shade, no crowd. Noise and light prolong a seizure
4. Note what you are seeing — the time it started, how long it lasted, whether the animal is circling, paddling, rigid or limp, and whether there is visible injury
5. Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or your local animal control. Your state or regional wildlife agency keeps the list
6. Follow their instructions exactly. If they ask you to contain the animal, they will tell you how, and they will usually bring equipment

What is likely to be causing it

A bystander cannot reliably separate these, and does not need to. The useful contribution is an accurate description down the phone.

The hand-raised squirrel problem

Metabolic bone disease is worth understanding because it is entirely preventable and extremely common in squirrels people have raised at home.

Nuts and seeds are high in phosphorus and low in calcium. A growing squirrel fed on them alone draws calcium out of its own skeleton to keep blood levels up. The result is weak bones, fractures, tremors, hind-limb paralysis and eventually seizures.

It is the single strongest practical argument against raising a found kit at home: the diet that seems obvious — nuts, because squirrels eat nuts — is the one that causes it. Rehabilitators use formulated diets with a calcium source for exactly this reason.

If you find a kit, not an adult

Different situation, different answer.

• Keep cats and dogs away
• Place it in an open box at the base of the nearest tree, in shade
• Add gentle warmth underneath — a bottle of warm water wrapped in cloth. A cold kit cannot digest and will not be retrieved
• Withdraw and watch for two to three hours. Mothers routinely retrieve
• Do not feed it. Cow’s milk and human formula cause fatal diarrhoea
• Call a rehabilitator if nobody comes, or if it is cold, limp, bleeding, or has flies on it

Afterwards

If a squirrel dies in your garden, handle the carcass with gloves or an inverted bag, double-bag it, and wash your hands. Keep pets off it.

And if you see several sick or dead squirrels within a few weeks, report it to your state or regional wildlife agency before disposing of them. Clusters usually mean rodenticide somewhere nearby or a disease outbreak spreading at a feeding station, and both are things they track.