Imp needs a Vet

[niapet]

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in a while and I should say that Imp is well, he doesn't have any immediate need of treatment. However There was some news here in MA about a man that got rabies from a bat in his attic while he slept. This concerned be because Imp spends a lot of time in our basement playing and there could be bats and I KNOW there are mice. Lucky imp is scared of the mice lol.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone could put me in touch with a vet that would be willing to vaccinate Imp. It would be best if the vet were a woman since, for some reason, Imp HATES men. Obviously if a male vet is willing to deal with imps little idiosyncrasy it would be ok but he may bite! We live in western Massachusetts and would be willing to travel any reasonable distance (within 100 miles?) to get him some proper vaccinations.

P.S. Imp is a 3 year old northern gray tree squirrel. He is a big squirrel, probably over 1 lb (not fat just a big guy).

[SammysMom]

I am not an expert, but I don't think squirrels can be vaccinated. :dono

[quagmire]

I've read and heard from a few different sources that squirrels can't get or carry rabies. Don't know if it is true or not.

Check the internet to see if it is true. Good luck.

[rocky63]

I'm not an expert but I do know it is very rare for squirrels to get rabies.
Also In mass vets can not treat a pet squirrel. Massachusetts is not a friendly state to people with wild life as pets.:nono :thinking
Maybe some day It will change so poeple can get help from a vet with out having your friends taken away.:shakehead
keep us up to date if you find a vet that loves squirrels :Love_Icon mjs

[pappy1264]

A vet will not vaccinate a squirrel, as it is not safe. The case in MA, they believe it was from a bat bite, they are not really sure what actually happened (I live here, too).

[madtowntom]

Just to clarify - I don't believe anyone knows how likely it is for squirrels to GET rabies. I don't believe they have any natural immunity. What is known is that it is extremely rare for squirrels to transmit rabies to humans, therefore they are not considered a rabies vector. The speculated reasons for this low transmission rate is 1) most creatures that would give a squirrel rabies would also kill it and 2) the latent period between acquisition and death is very short in squirrels.

I have never heard of anyone vaccinating a squirrel for rabies - not sure it would be effective for developing acquired immunity and as noted probably is high risk with low efficacy.

[stepnstone]

It's not that a squirrel couldn't get rabies, they couldn't survive being bitten by something rabid. If the squirrel wasn't killed it would die very soon after being bitten by something rabid because it's immune system can not support the virus. I would think that it would apply to a rabies vaccine as well in that it's immune system could not support it either.

[astra]

yes, squirrels do not get vaccinated.

It will be best to try and make his environment safer. You do not want mice biting him either.
Since you are in MA, which is not a squirrel friendly place, the best policy is prevention and everything-proofing: make sure there are no bats in the basement, no mice, no spiders that can bite him, too, no house plants that he can get to, no exposed cords ... whatever it is that might harm him - prevent it and proof his environment from that.
It will be much safer, cheaper, less stressful and overall easier for both of you eventually (instead of frantically looking for a squirrel-friendly vet in a unfriendly state, risking having him seized etc etc etc).

if at all possible, maybe move his cage to a different place in the house:thinking

[rocky63]

[QUOTE=astra]yes, squirrels do not get vaccinated.

Since you are in MA, which is not a squirrel friendly place, (instead of frantically looking for a squirrel-friendly vet in a unfriendly state, risking having him seized etc etc etc).

Would be nice if this could be changed. :sanp3

[niapet]

I'm generally in favor of no wildlife as pet laws. This is because most humans are not as kind as the people here and don't want to save a life and live with a friend and equal like we do. Rather if keeping squirrels were legal I am afraid people would capture and breed the poor little guys to sell and then people would toss them out in the cold when they grew up and started chewing on EVERYTHING!. Its too bad there cant be exceptions for people like us who basically let the squirrel run the house... if anyone is a pet its us not Imp!

Anyway I would be willing to travel a good distance for vet care. Do other little rodents get vaccinated? Rats? Mice? Hamsters?

P.S. I could clear out the mice but I would feel awful killing them... I don't even eat meat.. I couldn't kill the little guys for just trying to keep warm.. As for spiders.. I have no idea how to get rid of all of them.. we all have spiders in the basement don't we?

[gs1]

:grouphug i don't worry about squirrels and rabies....

and i don't worry about mice and rabies.... (i've never even heard of a rabid mouse)

as for the bats... you'll have to find out if there's any down there.... (maybe if theres bat poop)???

feeze is our member who is probably most knowledgeable about bats... maybe you could pm her?

i don't think you have to worry about rabies... but if there's bats flying around your basement you'll have to attend to it for hygiene reasons.... (also mice .... they can leave pees/poops in his food etc.... )

[shellyb1018]

Squirrels dont get vaccines. My vet had told me that the only small rodent type animals that need vaccines are ferrets. Not even pet rats! I do trust my vet, and what others are saying. I dont think you need to worry about that for Imp.

[Jackie in Tampa]

spiders hate vinegar...put some diluted in a spray bottle and spritz their areas! They will leave!
like others have said about vaccine, not needed.
Need more pics!
Yes, I agree...we are the pets!:D

[niapet]

Well thats all good to know. I have never seen a bat or bat fecees. The mice do steal Imp's nuts when he hides them in the basement, I need to look in to humane traps so i can let them go in a field or something.

P.S. as far as pictures go:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1055373640834.7718.1720634963&type=3

[Trooper]

F.Y.I.

I've been doing some in-depth reading and research on the causes of people believing that squirrels have/carry rabies. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC for short) dos not have a SINGLE case registered of a squirrel giving rabies to any living form.

Surprised ?? well, you'll be more surprised when you hear what the CDC records report about which is the wild animal number one to transmit rabies. In the spirit of not letting you wait for the answer any longer, here it is:

No. 1: Raccoons (36.5% in 2010)
No. 2: Skunks (23.5% in 2010)
No. 2: Bats (23.2% in 2010)
No. 3: Foxes (7.0% in 2010)
No. 4: Other wild animals that include lagomorphs (1.2%)
No. 5: Other rodents (0.6%)

So why is it that squirrels carry such a stigma? It is simply because of the media. Back in 1984 a pack of woodchucks (which are themselves a member of the sciurus family of 278 species worldwide) appeared to be infected by the rabies virus, later to be found that they had gotten infected by a rabied skunk. These woodchuck either bit other animals or people (not confirmed yet as to who they bit) and the story took off to cover all "squirrel" family animals.

"Truth is the accounting of reality in accurate terms so it could be reproduced at a later time in the exact conditions" once said Sir Winston Churchill. In the case of squirrel being rabid, is a matter of probability. The exact way to convey this information is to state that squirrels, just like rats, lemurs, horses, donkeys, venison, bears, dogs, chipmunks or any mammalian living being is capable of carrying rabies or being infected by rabies, but they are not more likely to be in that state than any other wild or domestic warm blooded being not in the CDC list above, at least for he USA.

The singularization of 'squirrels carry rabies' is akin to state that leprosy is highly contagious. After existing on earth for 4,000 years we now know it is only contagious when untreated and then again, it hasn't been demonstrated yet how it actually is transmitted. My point being; the lack of understanding is what causes assumptions and generalizations, and the squirrels/rabies issue is one of them.

Just thought that as the carriers of the torch on behalf of the sciurus families, we should be fully informed.

Thanks,

Trooper:wave123

[rocky63]

F.Y.I.

I've been doing some in-depth reading and research on the causes of people believing that squirrels have/carry rabies. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC for short) dos not have a SINGLE case registered of a squirrel giving rabies to any living form.

Surprised ?? well, you'll be more surprised when you hear what the CDC records report about which is the wild animal number one to transmit rabies. In the spirit of not letting you wait for the answer any longer, here it is:

No. 1: Raccoons (36.5% in 2010)
No. 2: Skunks (23.5% in 2010)
No. 2: Bats (23.2% in 2010)
No. 3: Foxes (7.0% in 2010)
No. 4: Other wild animals that include lagomorphs (1.2%)
No. 5: Other rodents (0.6%)

So why is it that squirrels carry such a stigma? It is simply because of the media. Back in 1984 a pack of woodchucks (which are themselves a member of the sciurus family of 278 species worldwide) appeared to be infected by the rabies virus, later to be found that they had gotten infected by a rabied skunk. These woodchuck either bit other animals or people (not confirmed yet as to who they bit) and the story took off to cover all "squirrel" family animals.

"Truth is the accounting of reality in accurate terms so it could be reproduced at a later time in the exact conditions" once said Sir Winston Churchill. In the case of squirrel being rabid, is a matter of probability. The exact way to convey this information is to state that squirrels, just like rats, lemurs, horses, donkeys, venison, bears, dogs, chipmunks or any mammalian living being is capable of carrying rabies or being infected by rabies, but they are not more likely to be in that state than any other wild or domestic warm blooded being not in the CDC list above, at least for he USA.

The singularization of 'squirrels carry rabies' is akin to state that leprosy is highly contagious. After existing on earth for 4,000 years we now know it is only contagious when untreated and then again, it hasn't been demonstrated yet how it actually is transmitted. My point being; the lack of understanding is what causes assumptions and generalizations, and the squirrels/rabies issue is one of them.

Just thought that as the carriers of the torch on behalf of the sciurus families, we should be fully informed.

Thanks,

Trooper:wave123
:goodpost :bowdown

[niapet]

I LOVE SQUIRRELS!

[Charley Chuckles]

Squirrels do not carry rabies and do not need vaccinations :thumbsup

[niapet]

Aside from the rabies bit, I would still very much like to find a vet for Imp. I would be willing to drive a very long distance to get him there. I don't need him to be looked at at the moment, since he is very healthy. However I would feel so much better knowing we had options if something did happen to him....

[Charley Chuckles]

Yes it is a good idea to have a vet lined up one you can trust and knows about squirrels......hopefully someone in or around your neck of the woods can help you I know there are good vets all over that others here use :thumbsup As far as taking a squirrel to a vet that is not ill I wouldn't stress them out/but to have a vet lined up just in case is wise :D