Rabies?

[BrucetheSquirrel94]

can you get rabies shot for your squirrel?

[stepnstone]

Good question but I would think not, since a squirrels immune system can not support the rabies virus in the first place I would think the shot itself could be fatal as well. I would also be interested in hearing other's take on this...:thinking

[astra]

as far as I know, squirrels do not get shots like dogs and cats do.
Agree with ss - shots might prove too much for a squirrel's system.

Moreover, if you get bitten by a squirrel, chances are they won't give you rabies shots either. At least, that's what a doctor told me once when I got bitten by a wild squirrel accidentally. He said:" Usually, we do not give rabies shots for a squirrel bite as they are not rabies vector species."

[stepnstone]

as far as I know, squirrels do not get shots like dogs and cats do. Agree with ss - shots might prove too much for a squirrel's system.
Moreover, if you get bitten by a squirrel, chances are they won't give you rabies shots either. At least, that's what a doctor told me once when I got bitten by a wild squirrel accidentally. He said:" Usually, we do not give rabies shots for a squirrel bite as they are not rabies vector species."

That is true but... Usually?? If doctor's insisted on giving rabies shots for squirrel bites 99% of our members here would be dead azz broke! :rotfl

[SammysMom]

It would be one way to get a rabies shot covered by insurance...:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl

[astra]

That is true but... Usually?? If doctor's insisted on giving rabies shots for squirrel bites 99% of our members here would be dead azz broke! :rotfl
:rotfl "usually", unless the patient insists :D

[Jackie in Tampa]

:rotfl I have got to be the record holder for being bitten...
I may be rabid...:dono :rotfl

I say NO NO to being vacinated...I am talking me...
I would then have to start doing coon'ies and bat'ties...:shakehead
when would I sleep?:rotfl where would I sleep??:rotfl :rotfl
:osnap :osnap :osnap :osnap :osnap :osnap :osnap
In my 10 years, I have never seen anything that warrants shots in sqs or peeps..none of my many vets have ever even mentioned it...
most attacks to sqs from RV animals ends in the death of the sq...
after all everything is bigger than a one pound sq!:(

Rumor has it there has never been a recorded case of sq to human rabies...:dono

[island rehabber]

Not rumor but true, as far as I've read. Even the New York City Department of Health, a notoriously alarmist over-the-top rabies-obsessed government agency, states on their website:

Rabbits and small rodents (such as chipmunks, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, and squirrels) are rarely found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to people. Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal appeared sick or was behaving in an unusual manner. The one exception has been woodchucks or groundhogs, which have occasionally been reported to have rabies. In all cases involving rodents, the health department should be consulted before a decision is made to initiate postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).

[stepnstone]

:rotfl "usually", unless the patient insists :D

In that case I haven't met a doctor yet that wouldn't be glad to take one's money... He's no fool! :dono

[justAddNuts]

The official policy of the Center for Disease Control - the CDC - is that in North America there are NO known cases of squirrel-to-human transfer of rabies. Squirrels are not a rabies carrying animal.

The fact that states license us as rehabbers to care for orphaned squirrels is proof of belief in this theory. Racoons on the other hand require special licensing because they MAY carry rabies.

If squirrels posed any risk whatsoever of rabies we would not see them running across the lawn in pictures of the White House with POTUS walking by. Nor would we allow them to fill the trees and the lawns in our world. They are harmless animals as long as you leave them alone.

A rabies vaccine has to be developed for squirrels before you could give them one. There is none.

We do not typically vaccinate wild animals for rabies. We destroy animals found to carry it.

Cats and dogs must be vaccinated by law. The side-effects from these shots seem to vary by size - all animals get the same dose. It's hard to imagine a 1-lb squirrel getting the same shot a 100-lb dog would get. I've known dogs to get rabies from groundhogs even after getting those shots.

Here's a link to the CDC rabies page: http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html

[astra]

In that case I haven't met a doctor yet that wouldn't be glad to take one's money... He's no fool! :dono
well, from what I understand rabies shots are free. They have to give you shots if you were bitten by a dog (or a raccoon or whomever) - free of charge. Don't remember all the "law" specifics, but you should not be charged.

Vaccines for rehabbers (sorry, again, forgot what the technical term is, but it's the shots you must have before you can rehab rabies vector species) - those are different, those you have to pay for.

[justAddNuts]

Shots for animals must be given by a licensed vet. There is a rabies vaccine available for ferrets called Imrab 3 - that's as close as it gets to squirrels - there are none approved for squirrels - which could be because people do not typically have pet squirrels. The veterinarian pharmaceutical industry is only concerned about common human pets. That's all the laws typically cover.
I imagine a vet could administer that to a squirrel at their own discretion. It has to be given once a year. According to all the data we have it would be a waste on a squirrel. I wouldn't do it since the side-effects cannot be predicted.

[stepnstone]

well, from what I understand rabies shots are free. They have to give you shots if you were bitten by a dog (or a raccoon or whomever) - free of charge. Don't remember all the "law" specifics, but you should not be charged.
Vaccines for rehabbers (sorry, again, forgot what the technical term is, but it's the shots you must have before you can rehab rabies vector species) - those are different, those you have to pay for.

Don't know that I can believe that as far as for humans, I know one can get free rabies shots for their pets cats/dogs. I'm not going to debate it as far as for a human goes without proof of knowledge and I cannot find any evidence to support that. What I do know as a fact is a man I personally know, not a rehabber, was recently bitten by a raccoon. The costs he personally had to endure beyond what his insurance covered for the series of injections he had to take was astronomical! I'm sure if the injections were free not only would his insurance not have paid out, he certainly would have taken advantage of it.

[BrucetheSquirrel94]

:) thanks guys for the info that was one of my big worries is if my lil bruce got Rabies i couldnt watch what happeneds in the few weeks it takes it would just break my heart :(

[astra]

Don't know that I can believe that as far as for humans, I know one can get free rabies shots for their pets cats/dogs. I'm not going to debate it as far as for a human goes without proof of knowledge and I cannot find any evidence to support that. What I do know as a fact is a man I personally know, not a rehabber, was recently bitten by a raccoon. The costs he personally had to endure beyond what his insurance covered for the series of injections he had to take was astronomical! I'm sure if the injections were free not only would his insurance not have paid out, he certainly would have taken advantage of it.
hmmm....
well, in Canada I got my rabies shots for free when I was bitten by a dog. Same - free- it was in the former USSR.
As far as I remember, it's free the same way as you would get a free flu shot (something like the basic necessary health services that government guarantees the public, so that even the poor can get them)... i wish I had read more closely the explanation of why it's free, but when I read it, it seemed to make such a perfect sense, that I accepted it as something that goes without saying and forgot.

Maybe, it's different in the US?... have never been bitten by anything in the US, so would not know... maybe, it is different there... although, I recall an acquaintance of mine got bitten by a dog, and, as far as I remember, she had to go for her shots and those were free (She was very tight financially, so if she had had to pay for them, I would have heard and remembered that). But that was in NYS... maybe, it varies with states?

[stepnstone]

hmmm....
well, in Canada I got my rabies shots for free when I was bitten by a dog. Same - free- it was in the former USSR.
As far as I remember, it's free the same way as you would get a free flu shot (something like the basic necessary health services that government guarantees the public, so that even the poor can get them)... i wish I had read more closely the explanation of why it's free, but when I read it, it seemed to make such a perfect sense, that I accepted it as something that goes without saying and forgot.
Maybe, it's different in the US?... have never been bitten by anything in the US, so would not know... maybe, it is different there

Yep! That explains it!!