Balding has not gotten better..worse!

[kissle13]

So I had previously posted about BooBoo's balding spot on the back of her head & suggestions were made to treat with Revolution. I treated her and have waited for her fur to grow back in..... it seems to have gotten worse?! Her sides are thinning and the balding on the back has progressed. Her skin is healthy though, not flaky, red or irritated. And I do not notice her scratching at it at all.
Any thoughts???

First pict is her before Revolution treatement.(1/3/12) Second pict is of her just a few days ago.

[kissle13]

*btw... the lil' bald spot at her back leg was from a scratch she got from her cage. That healed nicely but fur has still not filled back in..... ?

[Jackie in Tampa]

Are the bald areas the same on both sides?
symetrical?
If so, molting, some do molt starnge..
otherwise my guess is dietary...
are her ears dirty?
did she have scaley ears or eyes...if not, not mites or mange..

[kissle13]

Yes the thinning area is the same on both sides. Skin is not scaley anywhere and ears are clean.
Her diet consists of:
Romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, snap peas, boc choy, water chestnut, celery,brussel sprouts, Henrys blocks, rodent block. (She is a picky eater, ive tried alot of other vegis with her but she does not like them)
Occasionally... sweet potato, butternut squash & carrots.
Fruits 3-4x a week - Grapes, green apples.
Special snacks 3-4x a week - Walnuts, almonds & snack packs.
Branches, antlers, pinecones are always in her cage.
Water of course.
And I just recently weaned her off of the formula.

[Jackie in Tampa]

was the formula FV?
diet sounds good if JUST weaned...now will need to add a block type food,
I reco HHBs....Henry's Blocks http://henryspets.com/
Varied veggies are great, but do not have enough essential vitamins & minerals to sustain life without issues later on...serious issues....MBD!
Must add that in to her diet now that she is weaned..
there are many threads with this topic in the nutrition forum..
please add a block to her daily diet!

Molts can be weird looking!

[kissle13]

I have been feeding her block. She has had block since I started giving her solid food, Henrys and rodent block. She loves her Henrys blocks!!!

[kissle13]

And yes FV mixed with goats milk for formula.

[SQUIRRELSAREME]

My flyers also lost hair on their backs it took almost two months for the fir to come back. I think it was due to the esblac they were getting. I swicthed to fv and changed their diet things started turning around but it sure took a long time for the fur to come back .So just hang in there it will come back and it will be soooooo soft.

[astra]

I have nothing to add, really to Jackie's questions.
So, she eats her block daily? - How many?
If it is HHBs, it should be 2-3 daily
If it is commercial block - it should be 3-5 daily (average).

You said you treated her with Revolution.
Was it one time application or a full course of treatment?
If it was just a one time thing, it won't work most likely.
A full course of treatment is 3 weeks, with one application per week for three weeks.
So, you apply it on Monday, then - next Monday, then- the following Monday.
Some people space out applications by two weeks, so the entire course of treatment is 6 weeks, every two weeks.

It's just that I was told by one exp. rehabber that weekly treatments might be more effective.
BUt whether it is weekly or bi-weekly applications, it should be a total of 3 applications.

If she eats the right amount of blocks, has gone through a full course of revolution and otherwise is healthy and fine, then, maybe, it's just some strange kind of molt. It would be helpful if a vet could take a sample and test it, but that is only if you have a good trustworthy vet.

Another thing could be protein.
Squirrels eat meat in the wild and lack of protein often has to do with fur and skin issues. You could try giving her hard boiled egg, worms (meal and wax - never used them, so won't know which are better, but you can always ask ppl), cooked chicken meat. Squirrels love worms.

[kissle13]

She gets 2-3 HHB's a day and two rodent blocks.
I did not do a "teatment" of Revolution I just gave it to her once, I did not know I could treat her like that. I thought it would be as directed per the box - every 30 days.
I will give her a 3 week treatment course. Hopefully that will help.
*Although I dont think its mites because my cat has no signs of mites, but doing the Revolution treatment cant hurt at this point.

Also when I said I just weaned her from her formula, I should have told you how old she is. BooBoo is at 28/30 wks now, she did not wean herself from the formula and because I was overwintering her I figured it wouldnt hurt to give her the extra nutrition. I just weaned her recently because im trying to get her ready for release.....spring is just around the corner!!

Thanks for your input!!!

[astra]

She gets 2-3 HHB's a day and two rodent blocks.
I did not do a "teatment" of Revolution I just gave it to her once, I did not know I could treat her like that. I thought it would be as directed per the box - every 30 days.
I will give her a 3 week treatment course. Hopefully that will help.
*Although I dont think its mites because my cat has no signs of mites, but doing the Revolution treatment cant hurt at this point.

Also when I said I just weaned her from her formula, I should have told you how old she is. BooBoo is at 28/30 wks now, she did not wean herself from the formula and because I was overwintering her I figured it wouldnt hurt to give her the extra nutrition. I just weaned her recently because im trying to get her ready for release.....spring is just around the corner!!

Thanks for your input!!!

yes, try either weekly or biweekly, but it should be at least three applications.
If after three applications it does not go away, it is recommended to wait for 2-3 weeks and repeat the course.

Yes, they should wean themselves, regardless of age.
The longer they eat formula the better it is for their health.
Even with the overwintered babies - let them eat it for as long as they will take it.
There are at least two months till release (do not release till there are leaves on the trees), so she can still eat formula for another couple of months or so.
I think, I remember reading that some people would continue giving formula even to the squirrels in the release cage - don't worry, once she wilds up during soft release, she will know when to wean herself . Eating formula will not stop her from becoming a wild squirrel (if she decides not to become wild, that will be her decision that has nothing to do with formula )

[jo_schmoe]

The sides of the squirrel are classic signs of molting.....just not sure about that head area...although I have seen molts that are this drastic.
Remember that most healthy normal squirrels have mites...their immune system keeps them in check. Mites will become a problem when the immune system becomes suppressed.
Revolution is very good suggestion....its the only one I use. But also keep in mind it can cause even further hair loss. Balding in the area of application is a common side effect....although its never happened with any squirrel I have ever dosed. Ive had success with single doses in cases that were mild.
Keeping in mind that if this is mites....its the immune system thats the problem....you might want to consider an immune booster. Lots of members use a product called Vetri-DMG...and some members use Echinacea.
For whats its worth....if it were me.....I would get him/her on the Vetri DMG and give a dose of revolution...wait a couple of weeks and see if this situation improves. After all...this could just be a strong molt.

[shellyb1018]

Hey Kissle,
Just want to add my two cents here..Skeeter was starting to molt, both sides the same..then...started getting bald spot on the top her head....it actually went totally bald on the top of her head, but in the past 2 weeks, it has started to come back a bit, it isnt a perfect bald circle any more..so it is shrinking. I did, however, give her some worms last week. I found that her coat did get so soft and it was a few days later she started getting some hair growing in.
This pic is of her when it started balding....hopefully, it will take some time, but Im sure it is a part of molting. I was soooo very worried about, til I started seeing it faintly come in.

[shellyb1018]

It did get worse than that, here is another pic
an whatever hairs you see there went completely bald before i started to see some filling in.

[Skul]

Kinda strange.
Haven't seen that with grays.
Since I don't know how the revolution was applied, I hope you don't mind.
Apply only between the shoulder blades, and be very careful about the amount.

[astra]

just sent you a pm.

From myself I will tell you that I have seen this kind of bolding head patches in my wilds. Not a lot, but this does looks familiar.
Although, since they were wilds, I won't know the cause or the treatment, unfortunately. But at least, that tells us that it can found in squirrels.

[Anne]

Found this surfing-

Hairless Squirrels?By Brian J. MacGowan and Harmon P. Weeks, Jr.
People can be taken aback by the sight of squirrels missing hair. This past winter, sightings of partially furred squirrels seemed to be more frequent than usual. Like many wildlife issues, the cause of hair loss in squirrels is not easy to answer and often results in more questions than answers. In most situations, hair loss does not impact populations of squirrels. However, individuals may be impacted during winter.
Most people assume, often incorrectly, that hair loss in squirrels is the result of mange, a disease caused by microscopic mites that burrow into the skin and are unseen by the naked eye. Hair loss attributed to the squirrel mange mite, Notoedres douglasi, has been reported in both fox and gray squirrels. Notoedric mange is different from sarcoptic mange. The latter, caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, occurs primarily among red foxes and coyotes. Questions exist regarding the host specificity of mange mites. In light of new evidence, some pathologists now believe that sarcoptic mange mites are not as host-specific as previously thought. However, notoedric mange mites appear to be more host-specific, and don’t colonize non-hosts (like humans), although a few bites may occur. Transmission of notoedric manage to species other than squirrels has not been documented, including to canine and feline pets.
Symptoms of notoedric mange in squirrels includes loss of hair and dry, thickened and dark skin. Crust does not form on the skin in notoedric mange in squirrels like it does in sarcoptic mange in red fox. Mange is most commonly spread by direct animal to animal contact. Treatment of adult squirrels with mange is generally not recommended because reinfection from their nest is likely. An adult squirrel can survive mange if in otherwise good condition. While mange can be fatal to squirrels as a result of exposure during the winter, full recovery is often observed in squirrels.
While mange is commonly presumed to be the culprit, most hair loss in squirrels is caused by a variety of superficial fungal diseases generally termed dermatophytoses. Hair from squirrels infected with fungal agents is typically broken off at the skin, leaving a fine stubble of short hairs. Damp weather is thought to play a role in some fungal outbreaks. This past autumn was relatively wet for Indiana standards and may have contributed to the apparent observed increase of hair loss in squirrels this winter. Most animals will eventually gain an immune response and recover from the fungal infection without any apparent consequences.
Some hair loss in gray and flying squirrels is thought to be an inherited condition where the hair follicles are non-functional or absent, although studies confirming this have not been done. These squirrels have normal, but bare skin.
The next time you see a squirrel with hair loss, don’t become alarmed. In most cases, the hair will return with no apparent ill affects to the squirrel, other than perhaps some embarrassment and name calling among his squirrel friends.
For more information about squirrel hair loss or other wildlife diseases, check out these resources.
· Davidson, W. R., and V. F. Nettles. 1997. Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases in the Southeastern United States, 2nd edition
· Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, (706) 542-1741, http://www.uga.edu/scwds/
· Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory http://www.addl.purdue.edu/
· Indiana Wildlife Conflicts Information Hotline http://www.entm.purdue.edu/wildlife/wild.htm
· Michigan DNR Wildlife Disease Manual http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...220---,00.html

[shellyb1018]

very interesting Anne...I would also like to ask...how long does it take before hair starts growing back when they are molting. Skeeter has been balding on her sides since Thanksgiving..no signs of redness, flaking, bite marks, and her health and play seems to be very normal.
Kissle, I have also changed her diet around a little bit since the bald spot on her head, per some suggestions here, I have added cherries, avacado (which she doesnt really like at all), snap peas, and of course the worms. As I have said, I do see the fur coming back on her head, but her sides where she is molting still is taking its time filling in???
Any suggestions from anyone?

[kissle13]

I started BooBoo on some meal worms and another 3wk round of Revolution treatment(One drop between the shoulder blades). The only positive change i have seen in the last week is from the little spot on her leg where she had gotten scratched, fur is starting to grow back and it looks great. Still no changes from her head or sides tho.

Where would i get the Vetri-DMG ?

[Anne]

You can order the vetri-DMG from Chris' squirrels and more. Lots of wonderful goodies there for sell-watch your wallet,