Help with lice, urgent!

[MissDolittle]

I just got another baby girl in, about 7 weeks old. She's dehydrated, thin, and
her skin is crawling with lice. I had her wrapped in a piece of cloth, and when
I moved it, out fell at least 20 of those thing. I never had that happened, what
do you do about it?

She's very feisty and drank lots of pedialyte and I think she has a chance, but
I need to get rid of those lice. Can I use the stuff that's available at the stores
for human head lice?

[CliffordandDaisy'sDad]

MissDo, try this.

http://www.squirrel-rehab.org/rehabinfo/fibroma.shtml

Read the paragraph that starts " by the afternoon, of Sat 18th", she used Ovitrol Plus.

[MissDolittle]

Thanks!!! I surfed and looked and searched, I didn't find it lol.
It's a way to start!! I did rinse her with a lil lemon and water solution, and
I got most of it off and she has settled down some, but this is something
I've never seen, not even on the worst infested dog at the shelter! I can't
tell if those are lice of fleas, they look different from the fleas I see on dogs
or cats...they are long and crawl, while fleas are rounder and jump, but
whatever those things are, they need to go, all of them!

[CliffordandDaisy'sDad]

Well MissDo, I'm batting zero today. That product I listed here is no longer made.

[Secret Squirrel]

I don't know if this will help or not I got a boy squirrel in last week and he was covered in fleas. He was cold too. I warmed him up, then fed him
p-lyte and finally treated the fleas ( which bit me too at least 8-9 times!) with a little bit of Adams flea powder. The main ingredent is Pyerthrins .10% and just applied a little bit to my hands, rubbed them together and then just worked the small amount in to his coat. I did try to pick most of them off by hand and then after treatment they were falling off like crazy. He is fine now.:crazy I read that Adames flea powder was ok the use on the babys...just don't shake it directly onto the squirrel.
The adult lice are killed easy buy a mild shampoo, it's the nits you have to watch out for...just like in humans. Be sure to change clothes and shower after handeling her

[island rehabber]

MissD, if they are lice they can be treated with KITTEN flea powder (it must be only for kittens, no other type) dusted directly on the baby squirrel. Are you sure they are not maggots, though? If they are I think Ivermectin is used.

[Secret Squirrel]

[quote=Secret Squirrel]. The main ingredient is Pyerthrins .10% and just applied a little bit to my hands, rubbed them together and then just worked the small amount in to his coat.

Pyerthrins is a extract made from chrysanthemums.( Iam not saying it's safe to use.:dono Just covering my booty!) Adams flea & tick dust II kills lice too....I was reading the fine print and noticed the use for lice. I would be sure the baby is in good enough health first. If not, just use a mild shampoo on him.

[MissDolittle]

Thank you all sooooooomuch :).

I have some kitten flea powder, will try it out and let you know!

[CliffordandDaisy'sDad]

and just in case.......

http://www.epinions.com/images/opti/1b/4f/Johnson_s_No_More_Tears_Baby_Shampoo-resized200.gif

[MissDolittle]

Well, I have to say she's doing great here. She's fully rehydrated and I have
not found anything crawling on her for the past 90 Minutes. I have not used
anything yet but clear water with lemon juice. I will repeat that tomorrow
just in case and change her bedding with every feeding.

Her eye was crusted shut when she was dropped off and her hind leg was
swollen, she favored the other. I took a cottonball with warm water and
soaked her eye lid, and there it came open, no visible injury and she's reacting
on it too. The leg is not swollen anymore either and she's using it just fine now.

That is some fast improvement for a change :crazy

[Momma Squirrel]

Miss Doolittle that is such great news :multi keep us posted. You and all the others are so dedicated, all little critters are blessed to have all of you around and I say a big Thank You. It sure is worth it when they grow up and run off into the trees, makes you feel so proud. Been a long time since we did any baby raising but the feeling never goes away.

[island rehabber]

Good work, Miss Dolittle!! Keep us posted as to how she progresses -- sounds great so far !!

[MissDolittle]

She's perfectly alright this morning! I named her Milly and put her in with Molly.
She must be the ame age or a a bit older than Molly, but is much much much
smaller. Looks like her head is too big for her body, looks kinda funny, but she'll
grow into it it looks like. :crazy

[Squirrelly]

Miss Do, I'm very glad that Milly is doing so much better. Out of curiosity, were you able to tell if it was lice or something else that she had? And:thankyou for taking good care of our little friends! They appreciate it and so do your squirrel loving friends!

[MissDolittle]

Miss Do, I'm very glad that Milly is doing so much better. Out of curiosity, were you able to tell if it was lice or something else that she had? And:thankyou for taking good care of our little friends! They appreciate it and so do your squirrel loving friends!

Thanks :). There were 2 kind of bugs on her, ones were fleas for sure, but the
other ones I have never seen before..but she's all clean now :).

Molly opened her eyes a few days ago, Milly seems to have hers open for some
time too. Molly's ears are still close to the head, Milly's are starting to stand up,
so Milly should be older, right?

The people who brought her said she was pushed out of the nest. They
waited a couple of hours if the mother came down to get her, but she didn't
seem to care. When the baby started crying, they picked her up and called
me.

Look, Milly is the smaller one:

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/millymolly1.jpg

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/millymolly.jpg

[Momma Squirrel]

Miss Doolitte that is great news, sounds like everyone is on the right course now. They should have alot of fun growing up together until the big release date. They couldn't have had a better mom to start them out. Keep us posted.

[Squirrelly]

Hello, again! I'm just a person who loves and feeds the local squirrels, I'm not a rehabber. But it seems like Millie would be older, judging by her upright ears. Maybe she is just small, because she is the runt of the litter? I wonder if it's possible that the mother kicked her out of the nest because of her parasite problems? If I understood you correctly, was it that the mother squirrel wasn't concerned about her baby, who I assume was on the ground? If that's the case, SHE might have expelled her baby?! What do you think of that theory? Is it possible? And:thankyou for the pictures, they are ALWAYS appreciated.

[MissDolittle]

I'm not sure yet if I should post this in one of the new forums about emergencies
(great addition by the way, thanks!), and since I already got a thread here, l'm
just going to write it here.

Molly is not doing well today. She can't walk 2 steps without falling over and
going to sleep, same with feeding, keeps falling asleep.

She did manage to crawl off the heating pad again and climbed 2 inches up the
cage and just hung there with her head to the side, already getting cold.

Now she has also diarrhea. She started to get the runs as soon as I added
Esbilac to the Ensure. I take it out, just give her Ensure, she's fine. But she's
so fat by now, I'm suprised she can still move at all. She is not bloated, and
she always drinks lots.

Her lunges sound clear now, she is not wheezing anymore (she sounded
awful yesterday, but it all came out of her nose, not milk but slimy clear
stuff, but now it's all clear, no fever or anything) and she hasn't asperated
since.

Is it possible to raise a baby solely on Ensure? I added a tiny bit of Esbilac,
just a pinch, tip of a butter knife to it (mixed with water first and then added
it) and she gets the runs right away.

Any ideas what could be wrong with her?

[BuckeyeSqrl]

Make sure she stays hydrated. Do you have dextrose you can give her. She might have sugar level problems with the loose stool as well. Do you have a place to send a stool sample. She may also have internal parasites that require treatment.

[MissDolittle]

Yes, she is hydrated just fine, but everything else is going downhill.

Blood showed up in the diarrhea and she refuses food now, hasn't opened her
eyes in an hour now and her breathing is shallow. She only fight she puts up
is to get off that heating pad. I keep her on my lab on the pad, but she does
not want to get warm...I don't think she's going to make it through to the
night.

I've never seen a squirrel gain this much weight so fast. The only thing that
grew was the belly, but the rest seemed not grow with it. I'm sure there was
something wrong when I got her 10 days ago.

She does not seem to be in pain though, and that is a blessing.

I doubt a vet can help her anymore, even if they were still open here...

I'll be in the chat for next couple of hours.

[BuckeyeSqrl]

I'm sorry to hear that. I think your assessment is correct. When they leave the heat, that usually signals a will to die.

I just picked up two tonight that fell two stories and landed on concrete. They both have fractured skulls and are bleeding from the nose. Hopefully, they will pull through.

[MissDolittle]

She just passed...but she did not seem to suffer. :sad

Mind you, this is Molly who passed, not the new one I named Milly, she
is still going strong.

I want to thank everybody again who helped us out earlier in the chat and
for all the prayers and help. Thank you!!!!

[BuckeyeSqrl]

I'm so sorry. Hang in there. You did the best you could and nature won out.

[Squerly]

I’m sorry MissD. I was really hoping that this would turn out differently but I think that we both knew it wasn’t going to. You did your best; nobody could have tried any harder. You made her life better than what it would have been had you not been there.

Damn, reality sucks.... :(

[FosterMom]

I am so sorry about Molly.Last year I raised 5 babies together.Two developed a bad case of diarrhea.I treated them for intestinal parasites and this did not clear the diarrhea.I spoke with another rehabber in the area and she told me to try some Bene Bac gel and to try cutting back on how much the babies were eating.She said that sometimes introduction of new foods can upset intestinal flora and cause diarrhea and that over eating would cause diarrhea.Made sense to me.Man let me tell ya...those 5 babies sure could eat!And they would suck it down so quickly and would not stop...they alll looked as if their bellies would pop.They did not know when to stop.I did as she said and in about a weeks time the diarrhea started diminshing until it was all gone.

[FosterMom]

For lice and fleas I just sprinkle a small amount of flea powder that is safe to use on kittens onto a terry cloth towel and wrap the baby's body inside of the towel with the head showing (not tucked into the towel...dont want the little one inhaling that dust into its lungs).Fleas can actually cause what we call a flea bite anemia which can cause death...sad to say I have seen this happen with many a baby kitten.

[island rehabber]

Foster Mom, I love your avatar :) I've also used a flea spray for cats and kittens made by Zodiac, which is usually available anywhere including supermarkets. I spray it on a cloth and wipe the squirrel babies with it when I first take them in. Within 10 minutes anything hitching a free ride on my squirrel baby has fallen off, dead.

[Mouse]

I just became a new mom of 4 wonderful little red squirrel boys (of 6)

was a freak accident there mom was caught in a have a heart trap and removed from the garage that she was making home for her babies

the next day the babies were heard crying for her caught and taken to a friend of mine

my boys were caught the next day well two of them were. the other two the people who had them today decided one day was enough and gave me all 4 when i went to pick up only 2

well all four have lice, mites and fleas i was told to give them esbilac formula that you get at a petstore which is for dogs because it is higher in needed nutristions it says it is good for wild babies also

if this is wrong please please let me know so i can get whatever they should have they are drinking very well though and jumping all over me ect

did get them lab blocks which another site said to give them instead of just seeds

they are in a cat carrier right now will go thru the cabinet to find kitten flea powder and put it on them

this site is GREAT thank you

[Sarabi]

Hello all:wave123 I have a new one, she is about 5-6 weeks and feisty, her poor brother did not make it, victim of dog mauling, and bless her heart she would not leave him. The lady brought both to me Friday late afternoon. Question she has lice and Iv'e tried picking them off and washing her with warm soaked cotton balls I thought I had them all off her Friday night and put her with my 3 week olds, now I'm finding more. Can I use the Adams Spray on a cotton ball? Its safe for Puppies and kittens and has %15 pyrethins, would it be safe to use diluted with a little water? I cannot find the powder.:dono

[Sarabi]

Thanks Gamma, It was awful! I hate that she bought me a dying squirrel, but what can you do, the lady said as scared as the little girl was she wouldn't leave her injured brothers side, isn't that just the saddest thing.:Cry He died shortly after she dropped them off. Who can move this thread for me?

[mrgntrusdl]

Since were talking about parasites here. Do flyers ever need to be de-wormed???

[Jackie in Tampa]

Since were talking about parasites here. Do flyers ever need to be de-wormed???
not normally.

[Margie]

You can use Adam's Flea spray by spraying it on a towel and wrapping it around the baby for a few minutes. The fumes will kill the parasites, without actually applying the chemical to the body. That is the safest way to treat.
If using Esbilac powder, remember you have to mix it with water and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the fat molecules break down before feeding or it will cause diarrhea.

[GeralynK]

I discovered lice today on the orphan baby squirrels I'm raising for Gulf Coast Wildlife Resue. Never, delt with these before. Here are photos I took of the ones I picked off. They are floating in a water bottle cap of alcohol to give you an idea of their size. These are the fresh lesions after being scratched at.

[farrelli]

Can you give her a bath of dilute Dawn dish soap (blue) or at least wipe him down with this solution? It kills insects pretty well.

Seeing that this is your first post, can you tell us their diet? We always ask. It's what most people get wrong.

[farrelli]

Also, if you have or could get puppy Revolution, a drop of that will work too. Some people also use a dusting of diatomaceous earth.