Worms?

[nholvick]

Hey everyone! I have 2 baby squirrels (male and female) which are about 5 weeks old. The male didn't poop at all yesterday so I gave him some pedialyte. There was some poop on their bedding but because I keep both squirrels together I'm not able to determine which one left it. The female is peeing and pooping just fine and the male finally pooped today. I noticed that the first poop had a bit of yellow, mucus-like gunk on it and the next poop was normal. The third had what appeared to be a worm, similar to one a dog would have, attached to one end with more yellow stuff on the other end. I'm not too sure if it is actually worms or because he didn't poop at all yesterday. I haven't seen anything that might suggest tape worm. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for using the word poop so much lol.

[Pointy Tale]

Nholvick—:Welcome Hi, would you be able to get a picture to help with identification??? or describe what the worm looks like??? I’m NOT a rehabber, but if you suspect tapeworm, here are some links to help with identification. Tapeworms come from ingesting fleas.

WARNING: Don’t look if you have weak stomach.
Picture: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/wormstapewormphotos.htm
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uk_aCZxmWY
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjBZmEwcd3s&feature=related

I’m sure a rehabber will be on soon to share their advice and experience, but here’s my 2¢. I'm not sure if this protocol "could" be administered to a squirrel so young either.

Deworming involves the use of rather strong chemicals which may put additional stress on the body. The following milder natural alternatives are more gentle. Natural Remedies for Tapeworms in “canines” would be:

Pumpkin seeds—Freshly-ground pumpkin seeds can be fed to to treat tapeworm infestation. Use whole raw seeds and grind them immediately before feeding. Depending on the size of animal, you can give ¼ to one teaspoon of ground pumpkin seeds for each meal.
Wheat Germ Oil—Depending on the size of your dog, add up to 1 teaspoon of the oil to each meal to discourage tapeworms.


Good luck and I hope it's not tapeworms.

[nholvick]

Sadly I'm not able to get any pics up at the moment. I would say that the "thing" that was attached was about 3/8 inch long and as big around as .5 lead that you would put in a mechanical pencil. That was the only "thing" that I saw attached to anything, the rest was like mucus. The other poop didn't appear to have anything on it or in it. Hope that helps, sorry :/