Swollen Mouth

[teenytinysquirrels]

Hi!
I have posted on the squirrel board in the past as tallysqueals but for the life of me I could not figure out how to get my old password from my email address. I had five baby squirrels that I raised from eyes closed and I kept having terrible luck with random bad situations like a fall, seizures, and horrible pneumonia with one of my babies. However, everyone made it through, I over-wintered them at the advice of people on the squirrel board, and I released them all several months ago. Two of my five babies still come home very regularly to eat. I leave food out on the porch and now I have several stranger squirrels that come, too, which is great. One of the two, Teeny Tiny, was totally fine as of two days ago but yesterday when she came home I noticed that her snout/mouth was swollen on one side. She was just on the porch and I went out to dump some soft food and I noticed it seems worse today. It also looks like she has some white discharge along her "lips" where her mouth is swollen. She is a rascal-y squirrel and always getting into trouble and getting hurt (she came home with the very tip of her tail taken off literally within 5 minutes of being released...I have NO idea how that happened). I am worried it could be her teeth but I assume she has been stung or bitten by some nasty little bug...does anyone have any ideas? I absolutely cannot catch her to get a better look but I have a picture of her mouth that I am not sure how to attach. Also, I could potentially get antibiotics to lace her food with but I would prefer not to medicate her (and all the other porch squirrels) if it is avoidable. Thanks!!!
Oh yeah! She is eating normally and still wiping her face, even the swollen side, on the patio furniture like squirrels do after they eat and it doesn't seem like it hurts her but it looks crazy.

[Rhapsody]

:bump :bump :bump

....... ANY ONE? ---What MEDS can She USE

[JLM27]

Teeny Tiny,
To post the picture
1. click the little paper clip above the text area.
2. Then browse your computer photos to find your photo and select it.
3. Then click upload.
4. If it comes back saying too large, or it doesn't upload, then right click the picture and click resize.
5. Select "smaller". The computer will create a new smaller sized picture in the same folder that is a separate file marked "[filename] (smaller)".
6. Select this new picture and click upload.
7. Then go back to your text writing area, and position the cursor where you want the picture to appear
8. click the paper clip and see a drop down with the file to select.
9. Click attach and voila! Picture will be in your post.

We need to see the injury.
We like rascally squirrels.

[NaturesGift]

Can u get pics? That may help us determine what it is!

[teenytinysquirrels]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your replies...sorry I have been working and haven't been by the computer until now. Here is Teeny Tiny...she looks really raggedy in this picture because she is wet from rain. She is actually quite a healthy looking squirrel except for her swollen face. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
P.S.-the left side of her face (her left) is the swollen side. This picture isn't that great but hopefully someone can tell me if they have seen this before or if it looks like shes been bitten or if it could be her teeth. Thanks!
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i402/teenytinysquirrels/TEENYTINY.jpg

[teenytinysquirrels]

Oh yeah!
Also, her eyes are not red and her face just became swollen 2 days ago. She lets me get really close to her and she totally didn't have any sort of swelling 2 days ago. Thanks!

[JLM27]

Hmmm. Does the swelling have a center spot in it? I can't tell from the picture. Could be a spider bite or a bot fly. Or she could have an abscess from another injury.

[teenytinysquirrels]

I can't tell if it has a center spot or not. It could possible be abscessed from another injury I suppose. I guess it just happened so quickly I assumed that wasn't it. I will try to get a better picture today and I will update on her condition as soon as I see her.

[JLM27]

I got a spider bite last week and it swelled up nasty over night.

[mpetys]

Here is picture. Does it look like the left side (her left side) oh her nose is swollen? and red around the eyes?

[JLM27]

Yes, but it looks like a little red spot in the center of it. Is that right or are my eyes playing tricks?

[teenytinysquirrels]

Thanks for enlarging the picture. It does sort of look like it has a central red spot. I haven't noticed that in person but as I am sure you all know, it is difficult to get her to hold still to get a good look. Her right eye does look red around the rim, but I haven't noticed that they look very red in person. She fell when she was a baby and busted her nose. It took about a week for the swelling in her nose to go down enough that she could breathe through just her nose again. I always worried about her teeth after that but I have seen her chew on bones to sharpen them and she doesn't seem to have problems eating. Along with this newest trouble, several hawks have been screaming from the trees for the past two days and I am pretty much beside myself with worry about my outside squirrels. I have even found myself outside throwing pine cones and cursing the hawks to make them leave but they will.not.go.away. Anyways...thanks for the support. I was unable to get a picture today but I will try to get one tomorrow!

[teenytinysquirrels]

I got some more pictures of Teeny Tiny's mouth this morning. Unfortunately, it looks even bigger. I am still not sure what it could possibly be. My biggest concern is that it is a problem with her teeth but I don't really think that it is...she was totally tearing up some food this morning so I don't think that her mouth is hurting her too bad. But it is definitely bigger...should I start trying to give her antibiotics?

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i402/teenytinysquirrels/TEENYTINY222.jpg

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i402/teenytinysquirrels/TEENYTINY333.jpg

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i402/teenytinysquirrels/TEENYTINY444.jpg

[teenytinysquirrels]

Hi! I just wanted to post an update on Teeny Tiny's situation. I went out with her this evening while she was eating. She doesn't seem to have any trouble chewing her food and she acts totally normal but her face is getting bigger and bigger. Her lip is very swollen and appears to be draining a white, coagulated pus. I would assume that this signifies infection but it is totally white and doesn't seem to be hurting her. Of course, it is difficult to tell how badly it hurts because I am not touching it, but she still wipes that side of her face and it doesn't seem to bother her. Her lip is so swollen that it is turning out a bit and it looks like the white discharge is coming from just inside of it. Does anybody have any idea what this could be? Does anyone have any recommendations for what I should do about it? My vet does not open until Monday and I am worried that if I take her in they might think she should be euthanised or something because she is a wild(er) squirrel now and she is very hard to handle. I would be really upset if this happened because ultimately, if this situation was life-threatening, I would prefer for her to be able to pass as a wild squirrel and not terrified, inside of a vet clinic. I have people amoxicillan in pill form and I could probably get liquid amoxicillan or some other antibiotic...but I don't want to put her through that stress if she doesn't need it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!!

[SammysMom]

One of my wilds had a terrible abscess on the side of her face and without any treatment it got better. It did get bigger and bigger then began to drain all on its own. (really messy and scary looking) I just made sure she had good healthy foods to eat and nature took its course. Not sure if this is the best way to handle it, but I'm sure experts will appear soon. :grouphug

[teenytinysquirrels]

Thanks for your reply...I think I read a thread where you were telling another member about this. The more I think about it, this route sounds best to me. I can't imagine capturing her after her spending so much time in her beloved yard. I think that might make her worse than if I just let it go. I think I will make some healthy blocks tomorrow like you did for your wild one and just let it go. Its just hard to not worry about my little buddy...she has been such a good little girl. Thanks again everyone and I will update any news!

[SammysMom]

She loved boo balls too! Easy to eat I think. Prayers and healing thoughts to your little one!

[teenytinysquirrels]

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to post an update on my released squirrel with the (possible abscess?) swollen mouth. As of this morning, the swelling has gone way down! I am so happy...I have been so worried and frustrated about the situation. She seems as healthy as ever and I just wanted to thank everyone for being supportive and offering me advice! THANKS!!!!!

[JLM27]

OMG! Those photobucket pics were really scary! I would have been beside myself with worry. I'm so glad to hear she is better. Don't be surprised if it goes up and down for a while, as that is what abscesses seem to do. If you can slip her some antibiotics everyday for 10 days, that would probably help her too. Sulfatrim.