In need of a good squirrel vet in FL

[djarenspace9]

Does anyone in Florida have a vet that is very experienced with squirrels?
I am having a skin problem with a squirrel and she has one area that is an open sore that is not healing after months of vet visits and treatment. I feel my vet is guessing and wasting my time and money with repeated visits and no real answers. I am in the Orlando area...willing to drive a few hours if needed.

[Legomom]

Can you post pics of the skin? What's the squirrels history? I live in N. Lake County & have a vet that will see my squirrels, but he's not an expert. One of our other members has two or three in the Tampa area that are very experienced. I'll call/pm JackieInTampa & ask her to jump in here.

[island rehabber]

Send a PM to Jackie in Tampa -- she always seems to know who the good vets are! :thumbsup I am not going to take a chance and just give you names from my directory, because we don't know whether any of those vets actually know anything about squirrels.

[island rehabber]

Great minds think alike, Shanon...:grouphug:D

[Legomom]

LOL, IR! I pm'd her & tried to call her. I'm sure she'll be on here soon.

In the meantime, the more info you can give us, the better we can help. :thumbsup

[Nancy in New York]

This actually was our member that recommended the vet to mommy2boo, I just copied her post and I will put it here...don't know how close you are to this area though....

Here is her post from another thread....

Please call Dr. Emerson at Ravenwood Veterinary Clinic in Port Orange. They are truly the best vet office I have ever dealt with. Dr. Emerson sees squirrels and knows her stuff. It would be worth a try to call and see if you can talk by consultation to get more info from her. She's had to give my squirrel metacam 2x's for a broken arm and after surgery. We have a rehabber that is a member on TSB that uses Dr. Emerson for her rehab squirrels too. I'm thinking Baytril might be needed if the other med has not worked.

I know when Fallen had his accident while released she treated him as wildlife and reduces the fees. Dr. Emerson (386) 788-1550

[island rehabber]

Good job, Nancy -- I remember all the good reports about Dr. Emerson :thumbsup

[Legomom]

Just talked to Jackie. She'll be in touch soon. :)

Great info about Dr. Emerson! FallensMommie has nothing but good things to say about her. :thumbsup

[momma2boo]

Yes, please call Dr. Alicia Emerson. She is the absolute best in the state of Florida. She knows her squirrels! I wouldn't trust another vet after bringing my Boo to her. As a matter of fact, Meg and Hunny Bun (aka: Little Bunny Foo-foo & Bun-bun) have an appointment with her this coming Saturday.

[Jackie in Tampa]

:thumbsup

[djarenspace9]

Thanks everyone for your replies!
I am open to check with any vets you refer and send them the vet files and photos if I can and see if they are up to tackling it. :thumbsup

I could not get clear photos because it’s on her underside and she does not like to be held.
I think she was squirming too much and they all came out fuzzy.
Will try again if I can trick someone else into helping me. :D

The problem has persisted for months…started with tiny sores on her lower belly and inside of legs from urine scald (from urinary infection).
At the same time she had a patch of hair loss (not thinning) on her neck.
The perimeter of the patch had crust at the base of the hair and it grew outward spreading quickly.
New hair was starting to come in at the center by the time she got into the vet.

The course of treatment was Tresaderm (topical) Sulfa (oral) and Revolution monthly.
It started to improve then after the meds were done started back up.
One of the sores has now grown and is dime size.
We treated again with Tresaderm and now Baytril.
It does not seem to heal completely, just gets a little better and then regresses.
The hair loss on the neck has grown again. In that area the skin is not irritated in any way, just growing hair loss area.

On the first visit they did a skin scrape to look under the microscope, also sent out samples to lab for testing (growth/fungal).
Nothing found in either exam.
I removed all outer influences (branches, pine cones, etc) from the first visit to see if anything came in that caused it.

It has been repeated visits with guesswork and no answers:thinking …very frustrating for me and I’m sure she’s not loving it. :shakehead
It may be prolonged if she is grooming that area too much if it bothers her.
I asked if she could be treated for an allergic reaction just in case with cortisone like used in cats and was told it was not an option for rodents to use steroid treatments.

I feel it’s time for someone else to give it a shot and can’t find anyone here in my area that is experienced with squirrels.
I will check out any of the vets and see which one can best treat something like this.
Please reply or PM me if you think of anything else after all this extra detail.

Thanks!
Karen

[djarenspace9]

PS. I will definitely check with Dr Emerson and also a few Jackie referred.

Thanks!
:thumbsup

[djarenspace9]

Are there any good vet referrals for South Florida (Ft Lauderdale and sorrounding)? It looks like I will be staying in that area for work starting Monday so maybe I can bring her with me and do a follow up with any vets around there. I am not sure how I'm going to work in a trip to Tampa or other areas with me going south instead. Please PM or email me with any info you would like to share. Thanks!

[aleyj]

I need some reccomendations in tampa please asap

[Spanky]

I do not know Tampa area but THE BEST Squirrel vet in the country is in Port Orange. Dr Emerson. Ravenwood Animal Clinic. I have made the trip there myself from extreme N. Georgia.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I agree with Spanky. Dr Emerson is the best squirrel vet in the country but we do have some local vets that will see squirrels.

Actually it depends on the problem as to which vet I would go to. What type of vet care do you need?

[HRT4SQRLS]

I will send a PM with 2 local vets. One in Brandon, the other in Largo.
Maybe we can help?