Tooth Abcess

[squirrely_girl]

Hi Everyone....I am new to this site so any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a sweet little boy who is 7 years old. He has a huge lump on the side of his face and under his jaw (he has foul breath too). I am on my own because of the laws, however, I can get meds for him. I see that Batril is a med that could possibly help. Can anyone tell me the dosage for a grey squirrel? Also, should this abcess be debulked and flushed? I desperately need advice. He is eating and acting fine.....so far. I love this little guy so much and any help would be honored!!!!!!

[Nancy in New York]

Hi Everyone....I am new to this site so any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a sweet little boy who is 7 years old. He has a huge lump on the side of his face and under his jaw (he has foul breath too). I am on my own because of the laws, however, I can get meds for him. I see that Batril is a med that could possibly help. Can anyone tell me the dosage for a grey squirrel? Also, should this abcess be debulked and flushed? I desperately need advice. He is eating and acting fine.....so far. I love this little guy so much and any help would be honored!!!!!!

You would need a weight on your squirrel in order to dose meds. Can you tell me what state you are in? Perhaps we can find a squirrel friendly vet.:)

[squirrely_girl]

Thank you so much for your reply....however, location would have to stay anonomous. I will purchase a scale and get a weight on him. Would you recommend batril, lancing the abcess, flushing, hot packing (he will let me do this) :) Thanks again for the response. This means alot to me because I feel I am on my own.

[island rehabber]

Thank you so much for your reply....however, location would have to stay anonomous. I will purchase a scale and get a weight on him. Would you recommend batril, lancing the abcess, flushing, hot packing (he will let me do this) :) Thanks again for the response. This means alot to me because I feel I am on my own.

Facial abcesses on rodents can be hard to cure. Try the Baytril, or even chloro if that doesn't work. Be prepared to treat him a few times with this before it really "takes". (I hope not, but just saying from previous experience.) Does he have a tooth that needs extraction? If so, there are a couple of excellent squirrel vets on the east coast who would see him through a rehabber referral :thumbsup.

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you so much for your reply....however, location would have to stay anonomous. I will purchase a scale and get a weight on him. Would you recommend batril, lancing the abcess, flushing, hot packing (he will let me do this) :) Thanks again for the response. This means alot to me because I feel I am on my own.

Totally understand about your location. I was just thinking that if you were in New York, I do have a vet that would see him.
You are not alone on this board....we will do anything to help a little friend, legal or not!:D

[squirrely_girl]

Thank you for your kind responses. If I could just take him into a vet that would be great (I would spend anything on him :) but it is not an option for me. I tried that earlier and almost got him taken away from me. I will get him weighed for the Batril, but any ideas on the dosage? Also, will this abcess break on its own?

[CritterMom]

What we are trying to say without saying it is that there are lots of people her with lots of different contacts, and there ARE vets out there who may be willing to see your baby without all of the confiscation nonsense. We don't do that here unless people need us to or want us to because they are unable to care for them. It is a different kind of place...

Even a general area, like "around Boston" or "near Albany" would give folks a little something to go by. Because if this is an abcess, I don't believe simple antibiotics will be sufficient.

[rygel1hardt]

I have lost two squirrels to cheek abscesses. They are not a simple thing to beat. I have tried every antibiotic including Baytril, SMZ, Clavamox, Amoxicillin, and a couple of others. I have had the abscesses opened and drained repeatedly. I have opened and cleaned them out twice daily for months and have never beat them. I had a cultutre and sensitivity run and the antibiotics they said would be effective didnt work even with them given for extended periods of time. If this is a tooth abscess the tooth/ teeth need to be extracted!!! Even with the tooth or teeth extracted it may not be enough. I have thought I beat them and two weeks later they come back with a vengence. I also know of several squirrels besides my own that have not beat this issue! I wish you luck and pray you beat this problem. If you do please document every step you take. Stacey

[squirrely_girl]

Thank you all for your responses! I will document how he does so maybe this can help others too. Please keep the suggestions going :) I think I am going to need the help!

[astra]

Thank you all for your responses! I will document how he does so maybe this can help others too. Please keep the suggestions going :) I think I am going to need the help!
just my two cents...
these tooth and other abcesses can be very insidious and unpredictable...if not caught early, they are almost always fatal because the processes tend to develop and deteriorate progressively fast, often to the point of no return.
So, it will be in your little guy's best interest to be seen by a good vet asap.

As everyone has already tried to hint strongly, there are ppl here whose "ppl" can be trusted (and you can always double-stress-repeat that you want him back;-))

[muffinsquirrel]

I really think that you are going to have to face the fact that you are going to HAVE to make a choice, and SOON!! You must trust someone, whether it be us here at TSB or someone else you know, or you can probably watch your squirrel die a painful death. There is really no other way to go. I know it is scary to trust, and that you don't want to put your squirrel in possible danger, but you will put the squirrel in DEFFINATE danger otherwise.

I have NRs of my own, and always will - I take the ones that can not survive otherwise. After hurricane Rita, our house was destroyed, so we had to buy a mobile home. We are retired and there is just the two of us, but we had to buy a 3 bedroom trailer - one bedroom for us, one for the flyers, and one for the tree squirrels! We also rehab squirrels, but they have to be raised in the living room and/or dining room.....guess we should have gotten a 4 or 5 bedroom trailer! :rotfl

I am lucky - I have a good vet that I can count on. People here at TSB have helped me, and I have helped many of them. Some of my best friends are TSB members - most of them I have never met in person. But I trust them enough to send them, sight unseen, any squirrel I have.

Please make the decision to trust someone to help you with the life of your squirrel. I am not saying that you should give your baby to someone - just to accept help so we can get him the care that he so desperately needs. I, like many others here, have often taken a squirrel for a week or a month - however long it takes - and then returned them as soon as the squirrel was stabilized.

We say that it takes a village to raise a squirrel, and we have a really great village here. :D

muffinsquirrel

[squirrely_girl]

Okay....I understand and am VERY afraid but what are the next steps. Who can you recommend me take him to that he will get the treatment to help him but I need him back.....he is part of my life, and my family and my heart. This is breaking my heart.....what state would I need to bring him to to get the help he needs?

[CritterMom]

You say "Northeast" in your profile. I think that very likely the absolute best vet is in NYC. There may be others if we had some idea of the area. This isn't a plan to just send you in someplace cold. Believe me, you are in the midst of a bunch of people in exactly the same boat you are in, so we have had to get creative sometimes to get them help, because we, too, would pretty much give our squirrels a kidney if they needed one. NOBODY here wants you to have to give up your baby!

[squirrely_girl]

NYC would be fine.....I will travel to do what I need for him no problem :) What would the next steps be? Is New York a squirrel legal state? How quickly could he be seen?

[Milo's Mom]

squirrely_girl :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[babybleu]

I have an outside squirrel that has had an abcess (that I know of) 3 times. The first time, I gave her avacados to eat because that's all she could open her mouth and they're very soft. (no skins or pits) The next time, I treated her with baytril (although I don't know it that helped or not) it ruptured and she was good for about 3 months or so. It came back again, and I treated again with the baytril. Same story, it ruptured and she's good now... for a while.

[island rehabber]

They do tend to re-occur. :(
squirrely_girl, I will send you a PM....

[momma2boo]

My Boo died from complications of a tooth abcess. It can be fixed successfully but you must be agressive in treatment.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21454

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22138

Boo was so close to beating this but unfortunately a blood clot (from so many surgeries) broke off and I believe he suffered a masive stroke. You said you live in the north east. I am certain you can find a terrific vet and if you want your vet to consult with mine (a dental expert) please have them call Dr. Alecia Emerson 386-788-1550. Your vet can tell her that I referred her. My name is Julie Rocco.