please help, 20 week old wild has eye injury

[California Squirrel Lover]

Hello,
I'm brand new to the squirrel board, and new to posting anything anywhere! All of our squirrels are wilds, but we've grown so close to them nontheless. Serena is the big mama squirrel, whom we've known the longest. She has a grown up baby girl, over a year old now (the sibling did not survive a fall out of our tree when still young), and her two newest babies are about 20 weeks old now. We see them every day, and are very close with them. I was so frightened today when I noticed one of the young ones has something wrong with his eye. It looks like he really got hurt. I've seen the young ones get chased away by bigger squirrels who come into the yard, and even saw a pretty bad fight a couple of days ago. I don't know if this little one got hurt in that fight, or got hurt another way, or if it's infected, or what. The eye looked injured, not completely open, kinda swollen. Is there nothing I can do to help him, since he's a wild squirrel? Is there any professional advice I can seek? Is it possible it can heal on it's own? Would posting a picture help? He was still taking nuts and hiding them, so he wasn't lethargic or anything. I'm just so worried about his eye, and I want him to be alright. I had no idea you could grow so attached and care so much for these little guys.
Thank you all so much.

[Fireweed]

You've come to the right place! We understand EXACTLY how it feels to care so deeply for our little fuzzy yard buddies. :tilt

Please post a picture, if possible. That way the experts can help you decide whether he needs trapping and/or help for his eye or whether it will likely heal on its own. There are lots of members on this board with one-eyed wild friends--so don't worry too much (easier said than done, I know :shakehead). If worse comes to worse and he can't use the eye or even loses it, you will be amazed at how they heal and how they get around Pirate-Style. :thumbsup

Everyone has a different take on "letting nature take its course". But here at TSB we feel we are part of nature, too... so we just can't turn away from our little friends when they are suffering. Seems you're gonna fit in juuuuust fine.
Welcome to TSB. :wave123 Hoping the little guy will be ok.
And I'm looking forward to your new thread about Serena, her older daughter, and her younger kids... :poke :D

[California Squirrel Lover]

Fireweed,
Thank you so much for your kind reply, I really appreciate it. I haven't been able to stop worrying about the little guy (or gal). I saw both little ones playing together this morning. They both came running over when they saw me, looking for a nut. They move around so fast, but the eye still looked bad. I was able to watch him jump from place to place, and noticed it looked as if he's having some trouble seeing out of that eye clearly, based on the way he'd land and kind of stumble. I was amazed to see him playing with his sibling though, and hope that's some kind of a good sign? He ran off with a nut & hasn't been back yet, but usually comes around at some point again in the day. I'll try to get a picture to post. It's hard, because when he eats, he sits with his good eye watching me, so it's hard to get around to get a picture, but I'm going to try. Thank you again.

[Kelly Brady]

Hi CSL,

Welcome, I am sure pictures would help tremendously. I do want to share a story. For years now my husband and I have observed our wilds closely also and always are so attached.
A little one we call Lucy hurt her eye too!! This was bad. We were so worried.
Unfortunatly she lost the eye and it is permanatley closed but she is now four years old living in the wild that way! Never leaves the radius of our property and has had more sets of children than we can count. Four years she has lived with us in the wild.

We call her one eyed Lucy and she is one of the toughest gals out there.

So if you can get a picture for us great, but as fireweed said. Welcome to TSB.:wave123 You have found the right place.:grouphug

[California Squirrel Lover]

Kelly,
Thank you. I'm so grateful to both you and Fireweed, for welcoming me, for giving me hope, and not making me feel "nuts" for caring about these squirrels so, so much! That's amazing that they can survive and even thrive after such injuries. I've been so worried about him and the thought of possible infection, but that's incredible to hear Lucy's story. Go Lucy! I will try to get a photo. Thank you again.

[CritterMom]

Ha! You have entered the land of hard core squirrel "nuts" here!

I have had a chipmunk named One Eyed Jack or "L'il Jack" who has lived in my yard for 2 years - and he is top chippie, too. Please try to take a photo - sometimes Mother Nature needs a little help from her friends in mending these guys and a photo will help us to see and determine that.

[California Squirrel Lover]

CritterMom,

Thank you! Yep, I know I'm totally squirrel nuts at this point! I'm totally sick, and spent my day bundling up and running outside looking for my injured baby so I could try and take pictures! Of course my camera is jammed, and wouldn't take pictures, so I sat outside with my little video camera, and actually captured him and his eye really well. It definitely did not look as bad as it did yesterday, thank goodness, but you can certainly see he got hurt. I have 3 mini, short videos with close ups of the eye, from slightly different views, and my husband put them on his online storage space and gave me links to view them. I don't know if that's ok to post video links? Can anyone tell me please? Otherwise I'd have to try and figure out how to freeze a shot from the video to post, if that's possible. Thank you all.

[Fireweed]

Yes, it's fine. Post the links! :thumbsup

[California Squirrel Lover]

Thank you Fireweed!

https://www.box.com/shared/static/4c53bfd55d39062eb18b.wmv

https://www.box.com/shared/static/369db6c01d5068d4011d.wmv

https://www.box.com/shared/static/ee830a80ee0827ba0f63.wmv


Thank you all for caring.

[stosh2010]

CritterMom,

Thank you! Yep, I know I'm totally squirrel nuts at this point!
.......gave me links to view them. I don't know if that's ok to post video links? Can anyone tell me please? Otherwise I'd have to try and figure out how to freeze a shot from the video to post, if that's possible. Thank you all.
Please post the VIDEOS....
Photos and videos are the CURRENCY ($$$) of TSB...
Get's Ya LOTs of BONUS POINTS...Ha !
W-E-L-C-O-M-E to the NUT-HOUSE

[Fireweed]

These are links to download (which is fine with me--downloading right now--but not everyone will be ok with that). Do you have links so we can view them online?

[California Squirrel Lover]

Sorry, standby while I get some help with that!

[California Squirrel Lover]

OK, I will have help to fix the video links tomorrow. Thank you for pointing that out, this is not my specialty! Sorry I didn't realize that before posting the videos.

[Fireweed]

If his online storage is photobucket, I can help. We gotta get some video links for everyone to see or they'll all be going: :hissyfit We wanna see the baby! We wanna see the baby!

Oh, btw, what did you name this little one?

Ok, I watched the first one. Phew. I was actually waiting for the squirrel with the bad eye to show up and then it was over... :poke It's definitely not as bad as the horrors I was imagining (you are SO one of us! :D ) . But it looks like a scratch or small puncture or insect bite that is now irritated and swollen-- and let's hope it's not infected. Edit: I finally got the second video downloaded--from that angle the eye looks better. Looks like a scratch or bite from the sibling, perhaps. You can see above his eye there is, what looks like, its continuation.
From that angle it doesn't look infected. To me, it just looks like a wound that is in the middle of healing. :thumbsup

I've seen way, way worse heal like magic, so sending good vibes to our newest little TSB squirrel friend that s/he heals in no time.
BUT, I'm no expert, so you'll have to wait for them to get up in the morning... Easterners, most of them. We're the weirdos in the West. :highfive And the colorful dude who just said hello is in Costa Rica. :D

Anyhoo, make sure they are eating good food (what are they chowing down on?) and have access to fresh, clean water. Chances are he'll heal fine on his own with a little TLC from you (in the form of healthy treats and cooing squirrel-talk ;))...

[California Squirrel Lover]

Oh gosh, thank you for your help and input. Yes, it did look better than yesterday. I think it was more closed yesterday, and from a distance, actually had the appearance that his eye was gone! (Ya, I was freaking out.) It also looked a little red and more "icky" yesterday. I got such a better, up close view of it today, and I thought it looked cleaner. I was really wondering if he's the one who got jumped by a bigger male a couple of days ago. It happened right in front of me, I thought it was a little one in a small tree, and a larger male was peering down at him from our fence, and just pounced and they were locked in a full on roll around, out of the tree and onto the ground, and the larger one would not let up. Those things happen so fast, and I started second guessing myself as to who was who, but maybe my first guess was right, and it was the little guy getting beat up from the big guy. I see a lot of that, is that common? Thank you again, so much. I'll have to finish this up tomorrow, being out in the crazy wind today waiting for the little guy (no names yet) has turned my sore throat into a nasty cough now, and I'm so wiped out!

[Fireweed]

Yeah, sounds like it could've been an injury from some big meanie jumping him. Those kinds of "I'm bigger than you" fights are really common.

Well, goodnight. And thanks for getting video even though you were sick. Now I can have a restful sleep myself, hee. (I was worried about the little one-eyed guy! :tilt) Get well soon, CSL and No-name!

[California Squirrel Lover]

OK, my husband put them on youtube for me, and here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOMCHWmdq3o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuYVBNCURO8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdqudbV6Q0c

I saw both little ones this morning, they both ran over to me, but the one with the eye issue has followed behind me and into the house twice now! I think the swelling may have looked a little better this morning. It looked a lot worse a couple of days ago for sure, but I'm going to keep a close eye on it...yah, I just got that! I'll be in touch, and talk later about what food I give them, etc., I've gotta go back to bed. OH, but hello and thank you also to stosh2010, I just connected the dots about the "colorful dude in Costa Rica"!


Thank you Fireweed, and thank you everyone, I was losing sleep worrying about him. I forgot to add the cute video of the siblings together, also taken yesterday. Will do it soon, they are so cute together!

[stosh2010]

I was able to open both type links that you posted...and I agree it looks to be in a healing direction.
But THANK YOU so much for your concern...and keep a close watch to see if it doesn't start to go the other way.
Our rehabbers can prescribe the specific antibiotics (ABs) if it does get infected.

[Fireweed]

Watched the third and final video. "Ow. My eye!" :D CUTE! So, how is the little one?

I forgot to add the cute video of the siblings together, also taken yesterday. Will do it soon, they are so cute together!
Why, You! :oldwise Wellll, I guess I'll wait (im)patiently. :tilt

[island rehabber]

Good work, TSB Team West! :thumbsup
CSL, I think your little guy will be ok. It does not look like a corneal ulceration, which we do see in squirrels sometimes, and which causes the eye to look completely white and 'foamy'. There isn't much you could do with a wild boy like this except sneak him some antibiotics on a tasty nut, twice a day. If you have any of the following on hand, or can get them, I would do so just in case: Sulfatrim (SMZ-TMP), Baytril, amoxicillin. We can help with the dosage if need be.

Welcome to the Squirrel Board -- you are absolutely One of Us! :Welcome:rotfl

[California Squirrel Lover]

Sorry I've been offline, I'm still sick (went into my lungs, oh the coughing!). I've still been checking on the little guy every day, though, and the eye definitely does look like it's much better. The swelling went down pretty quickly, but I can still tell the eye looks a little different, like not 100% healed yet. Today when I saw him for breakfast, he came at the same time as his baby sibling, as well as his much older sister ("Original Baby"). He was running around and hiding things after he was done eating, and the next time I saw him, there was a gash on one of his hind legs! I don't know what to do with my mischievous baby, he's keeping me worrying. Original Baby does not like running into him, so I don't know if they got in a scuffle or what. I can definitely see a wound, but he's still been running around and eating. It's not that large, but you can see what looks like a little piece of flesh poking out. I'll see if I can post a pic.

[California Squirrel Lover]

Island Rehabber,

Thank you for welcoming me, and for your help! My camera is busted, so at the moment can only take video, but I tried freezing some frames from today's leg injury video, and will try to post them now. One is of this morning's leg wound, one is of all of him to show eye improvement, and one is to show leg this afternoon, which looks like he cleaned wound and smoothed fur over it.

Note the top pic: the wound is kind of a "C" shape, with a little piece of flesh poking out. The thing laying across the midway point of wound is just a little stick from the bushes, that got stuck to the wound. The second pic shows how he must have cleaned it and the fur is smoothed over the wound.

Regardless of any of this, he was running around like crazy this afternoon, playing with his sibling and jumping around and eating.

Thank you all for any advice.

https://www.box.com/shared/static/5d2fa9e12bdb68f0e347.jpg
https://www.box.com/shared/static/5544ccf066f3f9df0b1c.jpg
https://www.box.com/shared/static/f36ef4787be4f48b26c1.jpg

[Kelly Brady]

Yep someone is being real mean in your neck of the woods.

You will find your wilds to look like this quite often. The wound looks good to me. The eye too. I always have antibiotics on hand in case it starts to look red or swollen. As mentioned I have loaded ab's in a nut twice a day for many of injury. One boy I called road rash, came to us after being hit by a car or meeting the street somehow. He came for those nuts loaded with ab's every day twice a day. Healed well.

He needed them badly though. I'd keep an eye your precious one.

Sorry you got the cold and cough. I am still getting over it a month later. yuck stuff. Feel better:thumbsup

[Fireweed]

Yep someone is being real mean in your neck of the woods.
Yeah...and it sounds like it is the little imp, himself! :D If O.B doesn't like running into him, could it be the little guy who is being the brat of the bunch and getting wounded as others defend themselves? I just wonder because I have a 3 month old (adorable) brat in my yard who is that very way.

I think his wound looks good, too. All too often their wounds--even scary ones--will heal nicely on their own without any of our help. I have a young ground squirrel in my yard who was probably lucky to get away from the talons of a hawk. She has a massive gash across the whole of her back that looks like it went right down to the bone. I didn't even see her like this until the wound was covered in dirt and already healing. I couldn't believe she had lived with such a large, raw, bleeding, open wound for all that time... But when I saw her, the wound looked fine (although a tad scary!). And she is running around and even playing as though she doesn't have a huge chunk of flesh taken out of her back. :carzy2 Of course, she now gets special little almond-butter treats from me because, hey, she's special. ;)

Anyhoo, looking forward to pics when you feel better and have the time. :thumbsup

[California Squirrel Lover]

Itty & Bitty

Thank you, thank you everyone!!

Kelly & Fireweed, thank you for your help with the leg wound, I saw your posts when you first posted them, just still been sick & wasn't up to responding til now, sorry. I was so relieved to hear your stories of much worse wounds healing, in that, these little guys are tougher than I realized (but I'm quickly learning with this little mischievous one!). You are both right, there IS a tough older boy who won't leave our yard, bullying & chasing EVERYONE...BUT, the little guy who keeps getting injured is a little booger himself! When the little ones show up at the same time as Original Baby, O.B. will sort of shake & click/chatter her teeth together to tell him to bug off I suppose? Well, the day after he hurt his leg, he did back off when she did this, BUT, as she grabbed her nut and tried to pass by him to leave, what did he do?? I see him do a crazy jump in the air and pounce on Original Baby's back! She jumped and turned, shot him a look, he jumped back, I clapped my hands and told them to be nice, and that was that! I couldn't believe that little guy. So, I can see he's getting hurt for all these different reasons, and I just hope he's careful out there. (No sooner did I type this, went out, saw both babies, and his leg looks like he hurt it again, or it opened up. Looks like an open wound again! Or could a scab have come off? I took video.)

I have two cute videos to post, one from when he first hurt his eye, sitting in the tree with his sibling. Second video is the following week, after he hurt his leg, the two siblings wrestling and playing. I'm assuming the one who keeps getting hurt is a "he" and sibling is a "she", based on their wrestle/play time, when they do their pretend or imitate mating? He's the one grabbing and thrusting from behind, and she's the one getting grabbed, so is this a correct "he" and "she" assumption? (third video of his leg this afternoon, you can see a good close up at the end of it, approx 1 min video)

When I first met these two, I kept telling them they were so cute, and so itty bitty, and thought I'd name him Itty and her Bitty. So, there's mama Serena, older sister Original Baby, and the two little ones, Itty and Bitty. West coast Italian squirrel family, proud to join you, and we all thank you for your help and welcoming!!! :thankyou

(Crazy, shaky parts of video are usually me trying to move one way or another, or get down to sit on the ground. I'm trying to get down and get a better view. Sorry, bear with me!)

http://youtu.be/jk2wtuv4MxI

http://youtu.be/5mnvFwkmm2o

http://youtu.be/cLxM0ooWr8M

[Kelly Brady]

I am so sorry I am just seeing this. These videos are adorable.:D

Itty and Bitty are soooo cute together. I love watching siblings play.

Itty's eye looks wonderful and really so does the leg. I think it will be fine. Although it has opened up again from the video, keep a close eye on it for swelling or discharge. Let us know if anything else develops with it. I don't see any reason to give antibiotics at this point. But someone else may wiegh in. I was so happy to see those two.

They are precious and can't wait to see more pics of videos of them. Welcome West Coast Italian Squirrel Family:)

[California Squirrel Lover]

Thank you Kelly! It was that last close up shot of Itty's leg (the one at the end of the video, after I rattled the camera all over the place, trying to sit down on the ground in my long bathrobe!) that made me think "uh oh", but I'm sure I'm just over worrying, as I always do. I sure do appreciate your & everyone else's help with these things. Itty & Bitty are my first experience with siblings, really, since Original Baby's sibling fell out of our tree and died when still young. It broke my heart to watch O.B. grow up alone, with no one to play with, and she's my special girl. Itty is my first experience with seeing injuries, so when he first hurt his eye, I was terrified! I appreciate the help and knowledge and understanding here. :)

[jbtartell]

sooo pretty.. I want to have them soo I can squeez and love them and kiss their little faces.:D

[California Squirrel Lover]

sooo pretty.. I want to have them soo I can squeez and love them and kiss their little faces.:D

Thank you! Oh, that's my dream to be able to cuddle them! :Love_Icon