chipmunk+pneumonia

[Agnieszka]

Please HELP!my 3-4 week old chipmunk, Taco, who recently just opened his eyes is very sick. It all began when my mom had to feed him for me because I had to go out for graduation. When I came home I found him overbloated, weak, lathargic, rapid breathing, and he looked like he was dieing. It turned out that I also noticed a "clicking" noise coming from somewhere while he took fast rapid breaths. She also admitted that she fed him way too fast, so its more than possible fluid went into his lungs resulting in possible peumonia.I almost killed my mother after I realized what she has done. As I quickily ran to walgreens for some baby gas drops I came back and the results where even worse, my baby was now doing this wierd motion of gasping for air, like he was choking (i.e. a fish gasping for water). I stayed up all night with him fed him some of the gas drop and did the whole proceedure of massaging of his bloated belly in warm water to try to make him poop or pass gas, I kept doing that until finally he started pooping again. Right before going to sleep at 4 am he looked so tired and weak I decided to give him pedialyte right before going to bed. In the morning (6am) he looked alot better and getting more and more energetic throughout the day. Right now I'm diluting the esbilac with one part powder and four parts water to start off with. He still from time to time does the clicking, is it pneumonia? is baytril the right medication to use? if so please let me know where I can buy it without a prescription and the right dosage (dilute with water or yogurt I really dont know) I'm really new to this anibiotic thing so pleae help. I'm willing to pay anything to make sure this guy doesnt die on me and remains healthy.

[LynninIN]

Baytril or a sulfa antibiotic would be the best medications to treat aspiration pneumonia. I don't know of anyway for you to get it without taking Taco to a vet. Are chipmunks legal where you are?

[Agnieszka]

Is there any way I can by baytril online without a vet prescription?

[Loopy Squirrel]

They do sell antibiotics in the pets stores for hampters & gerbils that contain sulfa antibiotics. It is usually used for wet tail and sometimes respiratory. I haven't used them in years and if I remember correctly some of them needed to be diluted in their drinking water. With out taking him to the vet I don't know what else to offer. Anybody else w/ experience with pet store antibiotics?

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome hang in there ..someone will be on shortly..hopefully close to you. Is your chippie on a heating pad...under container, half on half off, on low setting..
if you do not have heating pad, a rice buddy will do. Fill sock with rice, tie off. Heat in micro wave 20-30 seconds until warm. You must keep chippie warm.:grouphug Glad you found us:)

[Agnieszka]

:wave123 :Welcome Glad to have you with us. I just wish it were under happier circumstances! :( The clicking is signs of aspirational pneumonia, and antibiotics will be needed to save your baby. Do you have ANY type of antibiotic in your house that your family may have been on? If so, let us know the name of it, and we can tell you whether you can use it or not, and what the dosage might be. If not, I would call all the vets in your area and see if one might just help you out. Sorry, I don't know anything about "pet store drugs". :tilt If your baby is still bloated, stop all the formula, and just give it very warm pedialyte for a day, and see if that makes any difference. When these babies are ill, they do like the extra heat, so Jackie gave you GREAT advice in keeping your little one warm. I'm hoping and praying you can get your little one on the road to recovery. :grouphug
Yes, the baby is getting plenty of heat and the bloating is gone now after staying up all night with him. I gave him several servings of pedialyte, now fallowed by heavely diluted esbilac, slowly making the formula thicker. He has his energy back. I'm just worried about the clicking. Um my sister recently had a urinary track infection, I have a prescription of nitrofurantoin...but is there any other anibiotic I can use that's safe for sure and works best? My doc will give me prescription without a problem, I just need to know what to use. I cant get baytril or any other animal antibiotics because the vets on the other hand wont give it to me. please help me out.

[Loopy Squirrel]

Human grade equivalent to baytril is ciproflaxin but it would have to be a very small dose going from human to chipmunk. The sulfa antibiotics would be safer and they are SMZ, Bactrim, or Septra. All are typically given to children w/ ear infections but it would need to be in liquid form. It would be too hard to try to break up a pill or capsule and dilute properly. Last resort meds would be amoxicillin or clavamox. Those are controversial for use in rodents. Some people have used them w/out a problem, but others feel safer not using in rodents. I have used it for a squirrel w/ a bone infection and she handled it o.k.. I don't know enough about chipmunks though. It isn't the best for respiratory but its better than nothing.

[LynninIN]

Nitrofurantoin is only indicated to treat urinary tract infections because it's bacterial coverage is very limited. It does not cover almost all possible respiratory bacteria.

[Mike_in_Japan]

Anychance of an update? I worry about ill baby chipmunks too much.

[Agnieszka]

hey everyone! I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but just thought I'd let you know how Taco is doing. He's a strong little buddy and took the illness very well:thumbsup Right now I am giving him diluted cipro with a recommended dose thanks to Loopy Squirrel and LynninIN. Thank you everyone else for being so helpful and caring aout Taco, your prayers helped me through:grouphug The little guy is as energetic as can be:Love_Icon

[Sciurus1]

My friend, a licenced rehabber, teaches on the use of homeopathics, to treat squirrels, shared with me that the use of Homeopathic Phosphorus, NOT the herbal form. It has resulted in far fewer fatalities, than the use of traditional treatments alone. Contact Mars on the board, and she will help you with anymore questions you may have on that. Best wishes for a full recovery of your little chippy. S1

[tatcat]

:wave123 angie, glad to hear taco is doing better!!!!:wahoo :alright.gif