Wild mom with swollen eye

[SammysMom]

I feed a lot of wilds and yesterday one of the nursing moms appeared with an irritated looking eye. Today it is much worse. It is swollen shut and it almost looks like the whole side of her face is swollen. What can I do for this poor girl? I have no ABs and I don't think I can get them from a vet. I will try to get a vet to give me a script but what do I ask for? What dose etc.? Thanks for your advice!!!

[astra]

bump

[Jackie in Tampa]

does it look like a battle wound?
or ????
a pic may help...:grouphug

[SammysMom]

It's pretty hard to tell what caused it. It does look like a wound that became infected. I will try to get a photo but not sure how she wil feel about it. Infection is really what it looks like to me because of the swelling. :dono

[JLM27]

You might have to trap her if you seriously want to give her antibiotics. It is very hit or miss otherwise. You also need to act fast. A havaheart trap. Available at many hardware stores, Home Depot

[SammysMom]

I have a trap, but she is a nursing female. Not sure how to handle that part.

[JLM27]

Yeah, that's a tough one, but on the other hand, she needs extra food, so maybe you can get some in her everyday. I put holes in an avocado slice with the blunt end of a chopstick, put a reduced liquid solution of the abx in it, and offered it whenever I saw my guy with the eye infection. Some days he got his two doses. but some days only one. It seemed to work because his eye did heal.

[Jackie in Tampa]

if she is moving well and eating...I would not trap a nursing mom...they are really tough and can usually overcome infections...
if she is not able to see, that would be different...but you have to weigh the outcome...babies or treatment...
feed her well, make sure there is clean water easy access...make life easy for her...
good luck momma sq:Love_Icon

[SammysMom]

Thank you! That is exactly what I have been doing for her. Blocks and boo balls every time I see her. She is so clever that she comes to the back porch and begs Once she has her stash she moves it so her back is to the sliding glass door and Heaven help the sq who tries to get a sniff of anything she has...lol One eye doesn't prevent her from seeing intruders! I will continue to feed her extra good stuff. If I could get a vet to give an AB what would I ask for and whhat would the dose be? So that I could spike a snack if possible.

[SammysMom]

Here's the picture I got this morning. It isn't good since I had to se my blackberry. The camera is large and she was afraid of it. It still looks very swollen and crusty. I would like to call a vet, but I need to know which antibiotic to ask for since I don't know one who is experienced with squirrels.

[SammysMom]

Here are some more pics of Momma. I really don't know what to do about her.

[Busysqrl]

Oh that does look nasty. I'm not a rehabber, so I'll let them comment. I wish your mama good luck. Sounds like her nutrition is great if she eats booballs. Keep up the good work. Many hugs to you for helping this mama :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[SammysMom]

Thanks Busygirl! I hope someone chimes in soon. She is so sweet and it looks so sore.

[SammysMom]

Momma's "good side". She is really quite sweet and loves boo balls and squirrel blocks for breakfast.

[SammysMom]

Here are a couple of pics of Momma's face today. Hard to see in these because the only camera available was my blackberry. It almost looks like puncture or bite marks that are weeping. I just wish that I could clean it for her, but it isn't feasible as she is wild an nervous. Even if I got her into a carrier I don't think I could actually handle her to clean it. I will have clavamox tomorrow. She is still eating and drinking water from her bowl at least twice a day and often 3 times a day. Is the fact that the abscess is draining on its own even slowly a good thing?

[mugzeezma]

Here are a couple of pics of Momma's face today. Hard to see in these because the only camera available was my blackberry. It almost looks like puncture or bite marks that are weeping. I just wish that I could clean it for her, but it isn't feasible as she is wild an nervous. Even if I got her into a carrier I don't think I could actually handle her to clean it. I will have clavamox tomorrow. She is still eating and drinking water from her bowl at least twice a day and often 3 times a day. Is the fact that the abscess is draining on its own even slowly a good thing?

she may lose that eye but you should not try to trap her
drainage is good
I would leave her be
Unless you can treat her 2xs/day a set dosage for 10 days you may do more harm than good....antibiotic resistance
Trust me on this ...I have seen far worse pull through without intervention

stress can kill too...remember that

I know you wish to help...:Love_Icon

[SammysMom]

Thanks Mugz! I thought the same thing. I think the stress of trapping will be too much and that she will lose the trust that we have built. I am only going to give the ab if it seems like it has to be done. She does come eat boo balls at least twice a day, but I do worry about ab resistance too if it doesn't get into her properly. It is one of those things that you just want to press on it to get the "yuck" out of it. Even my husband looked like he was stalking her to grab her...lol She is definitely still nursing and seems to act fine. She just looks so sore that I worry. :thankyou

[mugzeezma]

Wild animals are inherently stoic. Whether or not she feels pain is irrelevant to her I'm sure.
These animals are amazingly resilient.

[SammysMom]

I'm not sure if you will be able to tell from these pics, but she is much better today. I think she may even still have sight in the affected eye! She definitely had it open and was blinking and I could see the eye moving. Maybe it's the magic boo balls or maybe all the prayers, but boy am I hesitantly optimistic today. Thanks for all of the advice! :thumbsup :thankyou :thumbsup