please help...sick squirrel!!!

[marilyn5]

I have an 8 yr old grey squirrel that up until this point has been very healthy. Last week i found him on the bottom of his cage curled into a ball crying and face swollen with some difficulty breathing. I gave him approx. 1mg of prednisolone as i have that on hand at all times for my addison's dog. Anyway, by morning he seemed better and by lunchtime he was eating and seemed back to normal. I just went up to his room to tuck him in for the night and he is not himself with some similar symptoms that he had last time...he scratches his head/ears, holds his front feet up close to his head and wants to lean forward almost resting on his face. I also noticed some whitish looking discharge run from his one eye...I dont even know how to describe it other than it looked like milk in his eye...not normal lookin ocular discharge. Didn't see that the last time. He's clicking and sorta starting to whine but not crying. Seems very restless yet lethargic and almost drunk looking. The last time I assumed he must have been bit by a spider or something as he has no contact with anything that could make him sick, but now I'm not so sure!!! Any ideas??? I'm gonna try the steroids again now to see if will keep him from swelling up again as he's starting to look puffy around his eyes again but i really want to find out what is goin on with him. He has alot of difficulty breathing and must be in some sort of pain as he cries loudly and doesnt want to be touched or he screams even louder... very concerned as to what could be goin on... any input would be appreciated!!! thanks....peace!

[TexanSquirrel]

Hello there! Hopefully a rehabber will be on shortly to help!

[Legomom]

Marilyn, I'm sorry that this is the reason that you are here, but I'm glad that you found TSB. First, I want you to know that I have just texted a few rehabbers that will be on the board soon, hopefully.

Hang in there & help will be here soon! :grouphug

Is there anything new in his cage or surroundings? Laundry soap, fabric softener, bedding materials that he hasn't had before?

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

:Welcome how are his teeth? The white discharge from the eyes to me says infection, can you get a hold of baytril? (I seen on your info your a vet tech)

Tell us about his diet, not what you give him but what does he actually eat?
Can you put him on a heating pad without risking that he would chew the wires? Please hang around for more advice.

[island rehabber]

yay -- rippie is here, she's in PA :thumbsup. I agree that white discharge suggests infection, and the fact that he is rubbing/pawing at his eyes and ears does, as well. How is his diet? Did he eat, drink normally today or has he been "off"?

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

I will check back again early a.m.!

[PBluejay2]

Have you changed ANYTHING about his environment--type of bedding, detergent or new fabric softener, substrate, new toys, new food, new treats--ANYTHING? To me, this sounds a lot like an allergic reaction.

[Tomo]

I'm not so certain about infection. Sometimes when squirrels are very stressed, their eyes have a white discharge. I've seen this while my black squirrels were at the vets and the vet said it was nothing to worry about, just a stress response.

Instead of steroids, I'd try benedryl. It could be a bug bite or some other allergic reaction. I don't know what the right prescription would be, but not an entire pill. Perhaps 1/8 of a pill crushed up in 5cc of water and syringe fed? Anyone have any suggestions for benedryl dosage?

[island rehabber]

I'll try to look it up.....BRB

[marilyn5]

Thanks for such quick responses from everyone...he eats an assortment of things as he gets picky at times and changes his mind about what he likes...he likes fruits and veggies, different kinds at different times, he gets an assortment of nuts in shell and he loves cereals and cookies which he gets as treats from time to time...oh and the occasional pb and j which is his favorite. he chews on a vitamin block when he gets in the mood, has the same toys as he has always had in there with him and nothing is different about his bedding cage or what i use to clean everything. His teeth are in excellent condition and he has never had as much as a sneeze as far as illness goes...i do have baytril on hand so that is something i can use if needed. since the steroids helped last time i really felt that whatever was goin on was some sort of reaction to something, mainly a bug or spider bite...the swelling and itching went away and he seemed better....so i dont know....argh!!

[Tomo]

I think the steroids masked what happened last time because if they didn't, he wouldn't be ill again; they're good at doing that. Hang on and see what IR comes back with for dosage of benedryl.

[island rehabber]

ok here goes: you need the PEDIATRIC ORAL SUSPENSION form of benedryl. The dosage for a 1-lb adult squirrel would be 0.6 mls, THREE times a day. (Wild Mammal Babies, p 223.

[Tomo]

Can the pediatric benadryl be made into a homemade oral suspension? In other words, how much to use and what to dilute it with?

[island rehabber]

I sure hope the Benedryl helps him, marilyn. I'm going to crash now because I picked up some awful virus or something today and the room is spinning :( .....maybe I should dose myself with some Benedryl :D. See you in the am, everyone :wave123

[island rehabber]

Can the pediatric benadryl be made into a homemade oral suspension? In other words, how much to use and what to dilute it with?

The book cautions that only the prepared strength of pediatric solution should be used on wildlife....the adult dose has alcohol and other medicines in it. :dono

[Tomo]

Okay, Thanks IR! Feel better!

I was just on benadryl.com and the children's regular formula doesn't have alcohol, but I don't know what to recommend for dilution.

[PBluejay2]

I agree that the steroids would treat the symptom (inflammation) not the cause. The scratching/pawing at his head--was it like they do when they clean themselves--rubbing both paws over his head and eyes? Like maybe his eyes were irritated? I'm still thinking something in his environment. Sometimes we (I) don;t even think of things until later that we might have overlooked/not considered. Do you have a temp cage or carrier you could put him in for the night, even in a different room, and see if he's better in the morning? Just thoughts.

[marilyn5]

i did try the benadryl last time...sorry i forgot to mention that, but it didnt help and that is why i gave the steroids...his breathing was getting very labored and i was starting to get really scared that he was gonna close up and not be able to breathe at all so i figured it couldnt hurt to give it...i called my boss late at night while he was away on vacation freakin out and he said to give it a try so i did...it took time but it did help and maybe it was the combination of the 2...idk

[Tomo]

Benadryl is a histamine blocker, so if there was anything causing that type of allergic reaction, it helped. I'm sure the steroids helped as well and maybe the combination did the trick, but the cause needs to be found.

I'm signing off. I have to be in PA tomorrow afternoon, but will check back in the late morning. I'll be praying for your little one to be better.

[marilyn5]

he rubs his head like he wants to clean himself but seems to weak to actually really clean himself. he scratches around his head and ears and i figured he was rubbing around his eyes cause they felt strange from being swollen. last time his head neck and eyes and front legs are what seemed to be puffy from what i could tell...i do have a small cage that i use for transport and i put him in that the last time so if he wasnt better in the morning i could take him to work with me....i feel so bad for him cause usually when i throw nuts in with him he goes crazy and tonight he just sat there and ignored them....

[marilyn5]

i know its late and i truly appreciate all your help and suggestions...you guys are awesome!!!! i will check back in the morning and hopefully he will be ok during the night and will be feeling better by then ...i just wanna find out what could be goin on so we dont have to keep goin through this...thanks again to everyone on here for caring!!!!

[Tomo]

Hoping your little one is better today!

[toni92097]

I just want to add that Benadryl can depress breathing as well, so its iffy whether you should give it to a squirrel who's already having issues, unless the breathing prob is DEFINTELY allergy related.

Benadryl (children's liquid) has 25mg per tsp (5ml) so one of my 25 mg adult tabs equals one 5 ml. tsp. Hope that helps. I use Benadryl for ferrets....and they are sensitive boogers.

[island rehabber]

Good info toni92097.
marilyn ...sorry I pooped out on you last night; I think I had a fever of 120! :osnap how is our boy this morning?

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Just checking in, IR I hope you are feeling better today! With a 120 fever I think I should be coming to help you.
I hope we can get to the bottom of our sick boys problem?
Does he eat rodent block or monkey biscuit by chance?

Anytime that I have had a squirrel with the discharge from the eyes there was an infection starting.

[LynninIN]

If he responded to the steroid, he may need several days in a mg taper.

Write down anything he'd eaten the day of reaction. He could be responding to a chemical used on the veggie's or fruit. Are you washing the produce really well before giving it to him?

Hope you are feeling better IR.

[marilyn5]

unfortunately he seems worse this morning...very agitated yet weak and lethargic...not as bad as the last time but worse than last night....his whole body looks puffy but eyes arent as swollen as last time and breathing doesnt seem as distressed. i think im gonna try another dose of pred with the benadryl just like last time as he responded well to it....just not sure what else to do for him at this point...I'm trying to let him rest cause he seems very restless when i go in there...

[PBluejay2]

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but he seems agitated when he sees you, he may want out! Please just try putting him in a carrier or temporary cage to rest for SEVERAL hours. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but it won't hurt to see if that helps.

[marilyn5]

I've already moved him to another cage. he did the same thing last time til i got the meds into him and then he curled up and went to sleep. he's not as bad off as he was last time and so he's not as willing to let me work with him this time around...

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Im just checking in here to see if theres any change in your boy, Im sorry to see he's not feeling better.
Hair standing on end is a sign of not feeling well or stress, if theres anything I can do to help please let me know?

[Nevara]

Please try to post a picture of him. It may give us some clues as to anything else it could be. Thanks.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Good idea Nevera

[Loopy Squirrel]

In a squirrel this age I worry about a possible infection. It can be something as simple as a bad tooth. I really think this guy needs antibiotics at this point and an xray of his skull.

[marilyn5]

k, so he's not gettin better but not getting any worse since this morning. I gave him a dose of baytril a few minutes ago so we will see what happens. i just want to thank you guys so much for all your help and for checkin in and all. he's always been such a healthy boy so ive never had to deal with such craziness before. of course i see all kinds of stuff at work but its so different when its one of your own kids thats sick, right???? well hes resting comfortably in his hammock and will hopefully sleep well...im sure i wont...lol! ill post an update in the morning....thanks again!!! peace!!

[Ontario Rehabber]

Hope the little one is feeling better today.

[island rehabber]

I sure hope you see a little improvement today. I don't know if you gave him a 'loading dose' of Baytril but often I will see a difference even after just that first one. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed for this little guy......

[marilyn5]

well as of this evening my lil guy is still not well...fortunately, he's no worse so im gonna try to give him fluids (sq) tomorrow at work...continuing the baytril and just letting him rest...i'm also gonna try and snap an xray, but im afraid ill have no choice but to gas him a lil and i dont know how he'll handle that. he's never been under before and given his current condition i hope his lil body can handle it. any suggestions as to a better way to get a good shot without some sort of sedation???

[PBluejay2]

How's your baby? Please update for us. I hope the xray and such went well!

[marilyn5]

well, i must say that today is a much better day for both of us....for the most part, anyway. Unfortunately i didnt get to take him to work with me as i planned. He started running around his cage and playing with a paper towel that was in there and playing hide n seek from me!!!! i was almost late for working trying to catch him...lol...so i decided not to stress either one of us any further and i left for work. when i came home i was surprised to see him sitting in his normal place grooming himself and lookin all cute. so i tried to offer him some food and he took it and started eating like nothing was wrong. i was shocked!!! i still wanna get him in for the xrays but i think hes so happy to be feelin better that all he wants to do is be silly now... im gonna try and give him some time to calm down a bit and see how he does for the next day or so. thank you guys so much for your help and support in dealing with such a stressful situation. i will keep ya posted and he finally allowed me to get a good pic of him so im gonna post for all to see his cute lil self...thanks again so much!!!!! your guys rock!!!! peace

[island rehabber]

What an adorable boy!! I would keep up the Baytril for another 3-4 days or so, if he were mine. Just in case, :thumbsup

[Ontario Rehabber]

Absolutely, I agree with IR, once you start with the ABX you have to finish. Glad the little one is feeling better.