SquirrelRefuge
04-25-2012, 07:14 PM
I received in an eastern gray squirrel about a week old (47 grams) that looks to have met the business end of a weedwhacker. Most of the injuries (about 20) are superficial but two are particularly nasty. It really should have stitches on a long and deep laceration running up the side of the face (to give you perspective, when I got it, its cheek flapped open when it cried and 1mm more and it would have cut clean through to the mouth) but it looks too young to survive anesthesia for stitches. Besides, its skin is so paper thin, I am afraid the sutures would tear through.
I flushed the wound with saline solution and BZK, packed it with neo-poly-dex antibiotic gel and gently pressed the wound together and wrapped its head in vetrap with just the mouth exposed. I have had in on Baytril and pain meds and am tube feeding it so the sucking doesnt disturb the wound. Its tolerating the 'helmet' but I am wondering how old it would need to be to get proper stitches or if I should just keep doing what I am doing.
I know it sounds nasty, but the little girl is doing really well - Fat and pink with no signs of discomfort so I decided against euthanasia.
I flushed the wound with saline solution and BZK, packed it with neo-poly-dex antibiotic gel and gently pressed the wound together and wrapped its head in vetrap with just the mouth exposed. I have had in on Baytril and pain meds and am tube feeding it so the sucking doesnt disturb the wound. Its tolerating the 'helmet' but I am wondering how old it would need to be to get proper stitches or if I should just keep doing what I am doing.
I know it sounds nasty, but the little girl is doing really well - Fat and pink with no signs of discomfort so I decided against euthanasia.