Peanuts fur loss pics

[pappy1264]

You can see pretty good in the pics. Under both armpits, as well as both groin, where the leg and body meet. He also has a spot at the base of his tail, although that is not red. He does scratch. I did put revolution on him two days ago but he almost seems to be itching more since then. Any ideas???? He also has a spot on his head, it is sort of crusty but its grey, not red or pink.

[pappy1264]

Nobody? Jackie, I pm'd you, did you get it? Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Peanut has been here a year now, and has no visible critters on him. This is relatively new (past month or so) and been a gradual thing.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

If he is itchy and you put revolution on him, give it a few days to work.

Have you done anything different lately?
New detergent, softener, have you changed hand lotion on yourself? perfume? Something new in his cage he hasn'
t had before. Anything new or different since right before this started??\Not always bugs, sometimes allergies or just plain irritants.
How about something in his cage ?? any new branches he never had before or food??

[Pashen]

I have no idea. I'm sure others with more experience will post.

My first squirrel had issues. She wasn't eating enough rodent block, eating too many fruits and she lost fur.

It didn't show up until she was about 4-5 months old. Had to get her on a better diet.

And to help her skin, the vet had me put her on Sunshine Factor. I would smear a little bit on her rodent block then roll it in wheat germ oil -- both are good for their skin and coats.

Do you have her sleeping on bedding? Cloth? if so, could it be an allergy to the detergent you're using?

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

I have read that low protein in their diet can cause hair loss.

[pappy1264]

He eats hhb's, veggies, greens, very little fruit, avocado, waxworms, some days he will still drink fv but not every day. He does get nuts (some in, some out of shell). Nothing new in his cage, although they all have eaten the pods from the maple tree (helicopters). We do not spray, and the tree is in our yard. He is itchy, although not nonstop or anything.

[virgo062]

Ola Pappy..Knothead gets this on occassion...Exact same place...I dont know what the problem is but Knothead does not seem to mind...Whenever I see his fur thinning I get out the Ensure...I swear by Ensure...After a week or so of it his hair starts growning back...Also when I see it around his privates I give him extra cleaning...Knothead is not the cleanest squirrel on the board

[pappy1264]

So think I should give Peanut a bath? I tried to give him butter pecan ensure, he won't touch it. I will try vanilla. Someone had suggested trying to get him outside for natural sunlight. He PANICS completely (he won't even go near a window and if he runs across my bed and the sun is shining across it he won't even go into the rays from the sun, he stops dead in his tracks and goes the other way!) What do you used to clean him? Never gave him a bath (he seems to keep himself clean, but then maybe not judging from this.) He still sleeps on the bottom of his cage (will not go into anything, he sleeps on his cat bed, covered by another one, both of which get washed, but we have not recently changed laundry soap.)

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

:thinking

[Uno's Mom]

Does Peanut get any unfiltered sunshine? I remember Dr. Emerson saying at the Gathering that if they were not able to get vitamin D from sunshine then they needed to be supplemented by exposure to special lighting. I think IR put it in a sticky...I'll look.

[Uno's Mom]

I cannot find a sticky about lighting only calcium but it is all tied together. Maybe Charley Chuckles, Sweet Simon's Mommy, or someone else who attended the Gathering will see this soon and can point you to a post that has the info.

From my memory Dr. E said that squirrels need vitamin D3 daily to process their calcium intake. Sunshine provides this. If there is no sunshine they need to be supplemented with a reptile light for approx. 30 minutes (?) a day. Make sure to remove the plastic cover on the light...it cannot be filtered and must have the D3 spectrum listed. If no light is possible then there are some special D3 supplements that can be added to the diet.

If I have any of this wrong please correct me...I didn't take notes:sanp3

[pappy1264]

No, he is terrified, panics completely if you even try to take his cage outside (won't even go near a window). I am thinking of getting a light, as I know they need it. Just strange where the fur loss is (and that it is very pink/red).

[psychobird]

i would try to ease his cage very very slowly towards the window
light from the window isn't enough but it's better than nothing
maybe a few inches a day
maybe by the time it's nice outside you can get him out on the deck
till then def go get a reptile or bird bulb, i have extra dome light for ya

[pappy1264]

I can try, but he stresses so much its crazy! (You would think the boy is a vampire or something the way he avoids the suns rays!!! lol)

[kcassidy]

Weird that he doesn't like sun, how long have you had him (sorry if this is a known item).

I know in horses, dogs I give Flax and Sunflower seeds, makes a huge difference.

But no sun would definitely be an issue too.

Poor guy, sorry I don't have anything useful to add.

Can anyone elaborate on why Ensure is helpful?

[virgo062]

We do give Knothead a bath (or rick does):rotfl But usually I get the unscented baby wipes (no acohol) and just rub him down he really enjoys that...Might try a block soaked in some ensure...Is his cage mobile? Move it at a window so he can soak up some rays:troll Knotty freaks when I take him out too but he likes the afternoon sun..I think the sun is important for their nutrition but be carefule I had knothead on the southside of the house and it was to much for him...believe he got a little sun tan :0

[virgo062]

Can anyone elaborate on why Ensure is helpful?

Ensure is full of nutrition...It has vitiman c and e...C is good for bones and the immune system...Vitaman e is good for the blood and muscle strenght...Vitamin C is usually found in fresh veggies...Its also high in sugar so moderation is the key...I only have to give Knotty a couple cc's a week and his coat is beautiful now...Both vitimans are good for the skin so imagine how healthy the coat would be with good nutrition...

[Mrs Skul]

:wave123 Hi Mary :wave123
Does he itch when he is in the sun? It almost looks like Mange.
He is also missing fur on his toes. :shakehead Can you get him to a Vet for a Skin scraping test? Have you treated with Revolution yet? :thinking

[pappy1264]

I can, but I did put Revolution on him. He has been here a year, would he just get mange out of the blue, with no contact with other squirrels? I think it looks like a 'touch irritant' too, as to where the spots are, are all spots that 'touch' (the cage, his fleece, etc). Will pull all his bedding, maybe something with his bed (although have had it for a long time and yes, it has been washed. maybe the detergent?) I can move his cage, and I don't know why he won't go into the sun, its weird.

[pappy1264]

I just wiped him down with a wet, warm face cloth (just water) and he seemed to enjoy it (well, he won't sit still for long, but what I could do without forcefully getting him in a headlock...lol) Course, drying him is another story....he isn't soaking wet, but I put extra fleece to snuggle in. Washing all his bedding again (just in plain, hot water, including his stuffies, since they got washed too. Beginning to wonder if it isn't a reaction to the detergent. It just really seems like a contact dermatitis to me (I am super sensitive, even to water...everything makes me it. And watching him, it seems like a reaction of some kind. Can squirrels get benedryl and if so, does it work the same way it does for others?) I don't think the revolution did anything (honestly, it seems to have made him itchier. He is eating an hhb right now while I get his bedding done (he is not too happy with me, I took all his stuff!) He actually even chattered at me for the first time ever when I first was trying to wash him....lol

[pappy1264]

Only been a few minutes, but already the redness is mostly gone. I wonder if maybe giving him regular wipe downs will help? Maybe he is not grooming and is a dirty boy (although never thought that before). It seems to have helped, anyway. Cleaned his cage with a very dilute bleach solution and dried it, washing his bedding and toys in super hot water, with no detergent or fabric softner (never used fabric softner on his bedding, just saying.) I just want him to be ok, and comfortable. He has been more itchy since using the revolution. Could be coincedence, Idk.

[Kristal]

I remember reading that glass is opaque to ultraviolet light. That means that it won't pass through a window. We need UV to make vitamin D. I just looked around to corroborate that and found this:

http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/sunlight.htm

I also remember Crittermom explaining why reptile lights are inadequate for squirrels. If memory serves, the animal needs to rest right under the light for quite a long time. Reptiles do this, but squirrels never do.

Are you feeding a block like Harlan? I am sorry if you already answered that and I missed it. AFAIK, Harlan is formulated for use on lab rats and so it is sure to have good vitamin D supplementation. If not, then I wonder if calcium availability could be an issue? :dono We do need D to process calcium, as well as some other stuff, so could this be like MBD-lite where there is calcium but not all of it is totally available in the body?

I am just throwing out thoughts, here. :dono

[Kristal]

He eats hhb's, veggies, greens, very little fruit, avocado, waxworms, some days he will still drink fv but not every day. He does get nuts (some in, some out of shell). Nothing new in his cage, although they all have eaten the pods from the maple tree (helicopters). We do not spray, and the tree is in our yard. He is itchy, although not nonstop or anything.

And yes you did mention diet here...:dono