Smoky ate some azalea flower

[Emmdano]

my grey sq Smoky ate a small piece of azalea flower maybe 1/4inch big. should I be worried that he will get sick or is that not enough to be toxic?

[island rehabber]

Emmdano do you know when he ate it? If it was just now, within the last half hour or so, you could get some activated charcoal to mix in water and get him to drink as much of it as he will.....helps to flush toxins from the body. Unfortunately azalea are very poisonous, but I am not certain how much would actually be lethal for a squirrel. I think you should try to get him to drink...a LOT....maybe flavor some water with apple or pear juice so he really takes more than he would normally. The idea is to get it through his system ASAP.....
THere is an excellent on-line vet and poison control service but it will cost you a few bucks to use....I can find the link for you if you like.

[Emmdano]

he ate it around 5:00pm est, he only took 1 bite from the flower not the leaf witch is the most toxic part.

[Jackie in Tampa]

hang on...we are doing some research...leigh and i...and if we need to do some activated charcoal from walgreens...now

[CritterMom]

Activated charcoal would be a very good idea. You will need a syringe for the liquids - you really are going to want to push a lot more on him than he is likely to want.

[CritterMom]

he ate it around 5:00pm est, he only took 1 bite from the flower not the leaf witch is the most toxic part.


Did he consume any of the inside parts of the flower - the pistol or stamens - the part where the nectar is, or JUST petal?

[Jackie in Tampa]

ok
toxic in nectar and leaves...
thinking he ate a small amount ...saying 3mg per kl


so 1.5 ccs for a fat grey would be dangerous...thinking he did not eat enough to be toxic...
but flushing like ir said is what you should do
be back

[Jackie in Tampa]

http://www.floridaveterinaryspecialists.com/
here is emergency sq friendly vet if needed...right off busch blvd.

[Emmdano]

I just gave him 3ccs of 50/50 water/grapefruit juice then he ate part of a nugg and went back to bed. he only ate the petal

[Jackie in Tampa]

keep flushing...
he should drink as much as possible
keep us posted

[Emmdano]

I just checked on him and he is acting normal just alittle upset that I woke him up, I know someone with the charcoal so I am going to get it and try to feed him some tonight

[PBluejay2]

I just checked on him and he is acting normal just alittle upset that I woke him up, I know someone with the charcoal so I am going to get it and try to feed him some tonight

It's a bit on the late side to try activated charcoal (AC). AC is not an antidote but is used to absorb the poisons in the stomache. After 2-4 hours whatever was ingested has already been digested and entered the system.

[Emmdano]

Smoky is ok this morning. he was awake around 2am acting alittle odd but now he is back to normal. thanks all for the help

[PBluejay2]

Glad to hear he's okay!

[island rehabber]

Whew....hope he's completely back to normal, emmdano. I'll bet he was acting odd at 2am because he had to pee, after all the fluids we told you to give him. :D

[scoobysnack]

Not sure if this helps, but many years ago i had a cat eat Azalea. I called poison control and they said it's very unusual for anything to die of Rotadendron (sorry for spelling that wrong) poisoning. Most likely result is a sick tummy unless they've eaten huge amounts.

[Jackie in Tampa]

how's Smokey?

[Emmdano]

He is doing great!! :thumbsup

[Jackie in Tampa]

:D :thankyou :thumbsup