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View Full Version : Ear Infection?



skunkangel
04-06-2012, 07:41 PM
I have a group of 3 squirrels that I affectionately call my "Auschwitz Kids" because they look terrible. Finder fed them just born for a week-ten days before handing them over and now I'm trying 32/40 with ultra boost to get them back up to par. They weigh between 80 and 90 grams now, but they SHOULD BE 120-150 right now. So basically, they're juvies in every way, they act like juvie's, they play like juvies but they weigh nothing.

Anyway, the male of the group has been a problem child since the beginning. The girls suck on him, he scabs over, then can't pee. I treat it at every feeding, but they do it all over again each night. I gave up and put him in a sock after too many nights of 2hour feedings. That's finally healing, but now his ear has something going on. It's just one ear, and it feels 'crusty' on the ear flap as though he is dehydrated. But he's not. I took a Q-tip to it and pulled out what looks like lint - little balls of lint. I wet the lint to see if they had any blood tinge to them, but nope. Just little grey balls of lint. It doesn't look like it could be his own fur, but I don't know what else it would be. Plus, that ear flap is folded in the middle - no matter how much cleaning and messing with it I do, it's just perpetually folded in half vertically. I'll have to take a picture of it at some point. The other ear is perfectly squirrely normal. Fluffy and supple, reacting to every noise. He does seem relieved when I clean the yucky ear out, but I don't know if that is because it needed cleaning or if he's happy I'm done messing with him. Poor guy - first I picked a scab off his penis every day, and now I'm sticking stuff in his ears. He owes me a couple of good chomps on the finger before I release him! Anyone have experience with ear infections? It doesn't smell bad, but I am cleaning it with Q-tips and Tresaderm, just in case it is an infection. Ideas? Thoughts?