Swollen Puncture wound or Bite on foot (maybe spider)

[Rainy9]

I just now noticed this on Totoro's left hind foot. It was not there last night when I cuddled her and tucked her in.

Whatever it is probably happend this morning. I must not have noticed it when I went to feed her because I was still half asleep and didn't have my glasses on.

I don't know if she bit herself or if something else bit her.(She has a tendancy to chew on her front hands, but never does it hard enough to cause any damage.)

Maybe the recent resident mouse even? I'm not sure. But I would think that if she or the mouse had done it, she most likely would have screamed a bit from the pain.

Could be spider...though I have no idea what a spider bite would look like. Or it could be from an ant. I have been battling ants for awhile now. They are pretty much gone, but we get the stray one every now and then. Not sure if an ant bite could cause this though.

The wound is slightly inflamed/swollen looking. Doesn't appear to be bleeding or any discharge. Just looks like a small hole on the top of her foot. I was not able to see the bottom of her foot to check for any wounds there(in case she had bitten herself) as she is being to playful for me to hold her. Will chack when she gets sleepy.

Also, the area around the wound looks bald. No fur.

Sorry I could not give a better photo. She was so rambunctious when I pulled out the camera. Aside from the wound being there, she is acting normal so far.

142484

Is it okay to clean the wound with peroxide and apply some neosporin?

[Rainy9]

I'm going now to wash all Totoro's fabrics and wipe everything down really good. In case the foot isn't already infected, I'd like to reduce the risk.

Should I apply a bandage after cleaning wound?

Will be back in a bit. Hoping you guys know more about these things than I do.

[Rainy9]

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this matter? :dono

[stepnstone]

Definetly looks like she was bitten by something other then herself. I would be inclined to clean it and put something on it not harmful to her if she should lick it.
I suspect the swelling is making it look worse then it is but keep an eye on it for sure...

[JLM27]

One of my wilds had something that looked like this on his right cheek. It got really swollen and ugly and I was afraid for him, but it eventually healed. I never knew what did it, but it was likely a spider bite.

[4skwerlz]

Almost looks like a small bot fly wound.:dono

[muffinsquirrel]

I wouldn't worry with a bandage of any sort - it is doubtful that she would leave it on. And in my own opinion, I would worry that a bandage would just give her the idea to chew on it. Ointment would be fine, but mostly just keep an eye on it.

muffinsquirrel

[Rainy9]

Thanks guys. I cleaned it as much as she would allow me with peroxide. I didn't use the neosporin because I wasn't sure about it. It has that numbing pain reliever in it and I didn't know how that would work out in her mouth...lol. But I guess it would be okay to try some on it today.

Bandage was out of the question. Dunno what I was thinking attempting that!

It looks alot better today. Swelling has gone down alot. It doesn't look like a hole anymore. Just a thin flat scab.

So, I'm guessing it was probably a spider, just not a nasty one. I googled images of spider bites...lets just say I didn't have much of an appetite afterwards. :sanp3

[Rainy9]

Oh yeah, one more question. What are bot flys exactly... I mean, what do they look like? The adults.

[Tara]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2767

Try this link. It tells you alot of info about bot flies. If the link doesn't work, go to specific ailments, and click on bot flies. HTH!

Tara