Breathing Weird

[BeeFernandez22]

When I went to take Ollie out of her cage last night I noticed she looked like she was breathing weird. She was making a noise, too, which I assume is the clicking I heard another TSB member talking about once. NaturesGift was really helpful in explaining what to do as far as Baytril but I was unable to get any because it was so late here. I called the local wildlife center who told me to sit in the steamy bathroom with her to help her breathe and it seemed to help. She said it could resolve itself from doing that since it helped her so I should wait on Baytril. This morning I'm not hearing the clicking. Should I still try to find some Baytril? I'm so worried for my little girl :(

[BeeFernandez22]

Anyone?

[SoccarMomSquirrelSaver]

I would even if you end up not needing it this time. It never hurts to have it around just in case.

[SoccarMomSquirrelSaver]

Is she still breathing funny?
Or where you only concerned with the clicking?

[SoccarMomSquirrelSaver]

WOW not enough coffee yet. What I was really trying to get at is if she is distress.

[Jackie in Tampa]

with pnuemonia, clicks will be with EVERY breath.
warm and cozy...listen close.
we are batting for your little one, thank you for helping.:Love_Icon

Ask around and see what anti biotics friends and family may have...human or pet meds..
we can help with dosing if a vet is impossible.
Good luck baby sq:Love_Icon

[JLM27]

This may be an emergency for her to get the abx STAT. Can anyone help?

[Jackie in Tampa]

This may be an emergency for her to get the abx STAT. Can anyone help?
do we have a location???
we may have an able member to help

[BeeFernandez22]

Well good and bad news. Ollie's clicking has resumed and she still is having a difficult time breathing. I have, however, found someone who has Baytril and is willing to give some to me. We are meeting this afternoon so Ollie will be getting a dose around 3. Not ideal at all but it's the best she could do and so far she's the only person that has had any. Is there anything else I should do for her besides the Baytril? Once she gets the Baytril is she out of the woods or is she still in great danger? Thanks everyone for your help. I hate feeling so helpless watching her feel so bad :( It happened so fast..

[BeeFernandez22]

I'm in St. Louis. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. To my knowledge, the only members in my state are NaturesGift and Missouri. NG is about 4 hours from me and Missouri does not have Baytril :( The only abx I have in my possesion are Keflex (human) and I did not give those per NGs advice. Not good for rodents.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I'm in St. Louis. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. To my knowledge, the only members in my state are NaturesGift and Missouri. NG is about 4 hours from me and Missouri does not have Baytril :( The only abx I have in my possesion are Keflex (human) and I did not give those per NGs advice. Not good for rodents.
keflex/cephalexin will work...:thumbsup
probotics MUST MUST MUST be given. {yogurt, benbac, acidiopholis, etc}
hydration is key with this AB...

are you hearing clicks definately????????
is keflex oral suspension or tablets??
is it expired????, very important as ABs have short shelf life, especailly liquids.

I have two conflicting dosing charts for this med, but can make an executive decision and help with dosing if needed. { I play it safe and ask my vet}

In general giving ABs unnecessarily are not dangerous, yet resistance can be a factor.
Fingers crossed you are hearing mouth noises, very common.
kiss the little monster for me!:Love_Icon

[BeeFernandez22]

I am not at home right now so I am not positive if they are expired or not. They are from my surgery last Aug/September so I don't THINK they are. They are a capsule and I believe 500mg apiece. (Could be wrong on that. I looked at them last night in a panicked state). The clicks seem to lessen and at times they are almost gone but she is visibly having trouble breathing and is only drinking about half of her normal formula amount. Usually she's super excited for formula. She's still active though, so that is good. I will definitly have Baytril this afternoon though. Is that better?

[Jackie in Tampa]

I am not at home right now so I am not positive if they are expired or not. They are from my surgery last Aug/September so I don't THINK they are. They are a capsule and I believe 500mg apiece. (Could be wrong on that. I looked at them last night in a panicked state). The clicks seem to lessen and at times they are almost gone but she is visibly having trouble breathing and is only drinking about half of her normal formula amount. Usually she's super excited for formula. She's still active though, so that is good. I will definitly have Baytril this afternoon though. Is that better?
:alright.gif baytril rules...also MUST use probotics..
ABs destroy the natural gut flora, so you must help establish new good bacteria..baytril is really hard on the GI, but it kicks bad bugs butts!
I use a cheapo vics vaporizer with all pnuemonia cases. Found on baby food isle at grocery store $15...
I tent vaporizer and cage under one big blankie..I also rub vics vapor rub on inside of that tent blankie..right on the fabric and reapply some daily, big globs. I continue this until breathing is normal.
happy you were able to get sq safe meds...
Sq angels:bowdown

[BeeFernandez22]

Will just adding some full fat yogurt in her FV be enough or do I need to give her more than that? Also, how soon should I expect to see her improve? Do I still need to be really worried once she gets the Baytril in her system?

[island rehabber]

Just to clarify about the meds: NG called me last night on this, but said the only AB available was clindomycin. Clindomycin is NOT good for rodents. Keflex is an entirely different drug. :thumbsup

[BeeFernandez22]

Thanks for the info IR!! Must have just been miscommunication! So for future reference, if Baytril is unavailable, Keflex is OK? Also I forgot to ask you guys.. Baytril will need to be given over an extended period of time, correct?

[island rehabber]

Thanks for the info IR!! Must have just been miscommunication! So for future reference, if Baytril is unavailable, Keflex is OK? Also I forgot to ask you guys.. Baytril will need to be given over an extended period of time, correct?
Baytril will generally cure pneumonia, in my experience, in 4 days. Continue to 7 just to be sure. Other preferred squirrel AB's for respiratory illnesses are: Sulfatrim (SMZ-TMP), and chloro (chloramphenicol). Clavamox is a distant third. I do not have experience with Keflex but maybe someone else can weigh in.

[Wonkawillie]

Keflex is Brand name for Cephalexin. It is related to penecillian family but is very often tollerated in folks who are allergic to penecillian family. Works fairly well on sinus infection and ear infection which is the sam ebacteria as lung infection right? I never mess around with clicking squirrels, they die way to easy from this. I would give a dose of the keflex now while waiting for the Baytril. You could search dosing children and break it down to the weight of the squirrel. I have done it before and saved my girls life. She was down and not eating. The next day she was up again.

[Wonkawillie]

Childrens dose of cephalexin is 50mg per 1000 grams of body weight. You would need to weigh your squirrel. if she was 100 grams you would give 5 mg of the meds. if it is in pill form, this would not be possible unless you could break it donw into a suspention form ( liquid ) or in yogurt ( somthing thick enough to hold the meds suspended). Measurments would have to be precise.

[JLM27]

The answer here is for someone to overnight her some Baytril with instructions. I will pay for the overnight postal charge, but I do not have Baytril. Please contact me for a paypal transfer.

Come on, let's save this person's baby, Ollie!

[island rehabber]

I will definitly have Baytril this afternoon though. Is that better?

Long as you're definitely going to have it, that's perfect! You can give a loading dose (double) as the first dose, then tomorrow morning go to the regular dose, twice a day. :thumbsup:thumbsup

I have no problem with giving her the keflex now, if you think it will be more than 5-6 hrs before she gets Baytril.

[BeeFernandez22]

Thank you EVERYONE who's been responding to this thread and helping me out. All the TSB members are beyond fabulous. J- your offer to pay the shipping to get me Baytril was SO generous and really touched me. Thank you so much. I DID get Ollie some Baytril and immediately gave her a dose. The rehabber who gave it to me said she doesn't sound very bad and that she should be just fine after the abx. I'll keep you all posted! Thanks again!! Ollie thanks everyone too she says :)