My jitters needs help..

[angel21403]

i have little red squirrel that i have raised from just a baby... I recieved him from a customer who's cat brought him home to them when his eyes were still closed.. He has been doing well untill about 3 days ago i noticed his lips were swollen and slightly scabby and red... I dont know if he could have an allergy to something ive fed him or what... It is very itchy for him and i see him rubbing his mouth on the hammock in his cage... I feed him shelled and unshelled peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pears, rat lab blocks, and a small variety of other small animal treats (most of which are different seeds) I do have pictures attatched... plz any help is welcome... thank u =)

[island rehabber]

Aww, that poor sweetie! If these are raised, red bumps with some crusty areas, it could be pyoderma which is an inflammatory dermatitis caused by bacteria. The good news is that it can resolve itself quickly if the animal's immune system is strong. Try cleaning him with an antibacterial soap or shampoo, or a cleanser like Chlorhexiderm scrub. An antibiotic skin cream can be used also but not where he could lick it with his toungue, so that might be a problem. If it doesn't go away with the cleaning, he may need oral antibiotics to shake it off. There is also the possibility that these are insect bites of some kind, in which case a thorough sterlizing of his bedding may be necessary as well as a real close look at his fur to see if mites or fleas are getting him.
I'm not a vet by any means so please don't take this as gospel -- just the result of my research after seeing your pictures of him. Good luck! (Oh and by the way, he really doesn't need peanuts of any kind so if he wouldn't mind you should just forget about them.) :peace:)

[Bell & Noah]

Island rehabber, you know far more then I do, but I was just thinking :dono I have read alot about how cat saliva is deadly to a squirrel, could this possibly be a reaction from the cats saliva. :dono

[island rehabber]

Island rehabber, you know far more then I do, but I was just thinking :dono I have read alot about how cat saliva is deadly to a squirrel, could this possibly be a reaction from the cats saliva. :dono

Anything's possible when it comes to reactions to bacteria, B&N. It could be internal parasites or skin bacteria originally caused by the cat -- although it seems strange that something on the outside (his mouth) would react so long after the incident with the cat. I'm hoping it's just a dermatitis kind of thing that can be healed topically, and not anything internal. That's why if a few days of antibiotic scrub & ointment doesn't help him he should get some antibio's from a vet.

[Somebody's Mother]

other than the rash or dermatitis itself how is his behavior? is he still active or has he become sluggish or more tired all the time?? i think that if this is a result of his contact with the cat saliva that his basic behavior would be affected.
just my opinion here.
i hope he gets to feeling better real soon. if you are on here i will play sentinel squirrel until someone arrives that can help you.

[Gabe]

Island's thoughts on dermatitis sound right on. But, what is causing it? Because it is near the mouth, I would guess something he is eating could be doing it. Try reducing the amount of nuts you are giving just to rule things out. You might even try to crack all nuts for a while and reintroduce one at a time with shell on. Red squirrels need a slightly higher protein diet than grays, I give mine small insects, mealworms, crickets.


Never buy mealworms from bait shops, they are often loaded with steroids to make them big enough to be used as bait. Always get them from pet stores.

[MissDolittle]

My first guess was ringworm. My dog had it and it looked just like it! The vet
said he got it from the plastic food dishes. Once I exchanged those for metal
dishes and put some anti fungal creme on the sores, he healed up within 3 days.

[Somebody's Mother]

i googled images of ringworm. i can't get an identical picture but it seems like that is a very real possibility. but seeing as this is around the baby's mouth i would be very careful with antifungal medication.

[MissDolittle]

This is what my dog had:

http://amazes.us/photos/ringworm.jpg

[Gabe]

Be careful, if you think it is ringworm, as it is very contagious to you.

[MissDolittle]

You got that one right!!! Been there done that hehehe.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Ringworm (a fungus...not an actual worm) can be detected with a UV light. These are commonly sold in kits designed to detect cat urine stains in the house. They look like miniature flourescent blacklights. Most of the time the ringworm fungus will flouresc under these lights (looks like day-glow green!). It is not foolproof though. So a skin scraping on a slide, taken to the vet will be much more accurate.

Wishing Jitters a speedy recovery!

[angel21403]

thank u all soo much but no further help is needed, Jitters passed away last nite.... =( I talked to someone that mentioned "fibromatosis"?.....i'm gonna investigate more when im feeling better, its just really tough right now.
Thank You all again.
Shanon

[Bell & Noah]

I am sooo sorry to hear about Jitters :grouphug

[Kathy56]

I'm sorry to hear about Jitters. I will keep you in my prayers.:grouphug

[MissDolittle]

Ooooh, I'm so sorry Hun!!

[GhosTS]

So sorry to hear about Jitters.:grouphug ..My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Momma Squirrel]

I am so sorry about Jitters. You did everything humanly possible to help, but in the end he knew you were there and the love and care he felt was much much more than he would have received in the wild. Thank you so much for being there for Jitters, our thoughts are with you :grouphug