Charlie Bucket isn't beathing so good!

[Loopy Squirrel]

Need advice: Charlie Bucket is a one and a half yr old squirrel who came to me as a very young juvenile. He was called Charlie Bucket after the character from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. He was a skinny but very feisty little guy. He has a permanently paralyzed arm that I am assuming originated from an injury or may even be a birth defect. It is much shorter than the other but he does try to use it to hold food. Anyway, he has been very healthy, eats really well, and is usually very active until last week. He suddenly developed a respiratory infection and has been having a lot of difficulty breathing despite being on antibiotics for at least four days. He is currently on baytril. I brought him to the vet Wed. morning and he said his heart sounded good but he did hear crackly lungs. He was so bad basically over night. I thought I had heard some wheezing the night before coming from his nest but when I went to listen it stopped. By the morning it was full blown. I did end up nebulizing him w/ Albuterol which does seem to help but only for a little while. First off, I would expect the Baytril to be of some relief after this many days and secondly how the hell would a 1 1/2 yr old squirrel come down with a lung infection? The only thing I could thing of is did he accidentally inhale water? He is gimpy with his arm but not unbalanced when it comes to drinking. I do have babies in the house but non have been sick and they are in different rooms, not that Charlie hasn't visited other rooms in the house. He is a free roaming squirrel. No one else in the house is sick meaning my other NR's and I have no outsiders that I have seen sickly come around to windows and such. Has anyone ever had such a scenario? I would appreciate any ideas. I am considering either switching to or adding Doxy if this doesn't show some improvement soon. I would like to add that despite him not breathing so good his activity level and food intake has improved yesterday and this am. I am just distressed with how badly he is still breathing after this many days.

[stosh2010]

I will pray for healing & relief.... Sorry, I don't have advice...
Hopefully the rehabbers will see this soon.

[Loopy Squirrel]

Thanks...prayers are important too. I am just worried because I feel that this could go either way at this point. He isn't out of the woods yet.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I would add amoxy or the doxy for sure if baytril hasn't touched it in 4 days..
without knowing entire history, he could be susceptible to molds, spores etc that others may not be...just a thought Loopy
I would hit it hard too.
good luck CB...
:wave123 Troy!

[Jackie in Tampa]

I will pray for healing & relief.... Sorry, I don't have advice...
Hopefully the rehabbers will see this soon.
FYI< loopy is a very knowledgable rehabber...old school!

[Loopy Squirrel]

Jackie, I thought of the mold thing too but I just don't understand why all of a sudden, overnight. It's very weird. I also thought of the little squirrel you worked with so long last yr that had the breathing issues.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I had a weird case come in last november, babies started off sneezing, would not go away...
I treated aggressively for mycos, slow to respond, but did.
then after being here over two months, they break out into fibroma..
oye...
Vics vapor rub will help open up the airways..

Think you are thinking of Sammy...loved that guy.
I released him after many many months of inside recovery...
he ws outside for less than two months and collapsed/relapsed with same symptoms, brought him inside and he died. I was destroyed. Rip big boy:Love_Icon

[stosh2010]

How is Charlie Bucket tonight ????
Hoping for a Good report ...

[Loopy Squirrel]

Charlie is still hanging in there. He is still breathing bad but not as bad as a few days ago. He is running around and eating or should I say begging like a dog for treats. Thanks for asking. It's just a wait and see situation. Now my problem is finding the little turd for his medication. He has decided to change nesting sites so I can't find him to give him his meds. He's way too smart for his own good.:)

[Loopy Squirrel]

Thought I would update on Charlie. He is doing much better. He still has an occasional wheeze but he is hanging in there. Her are a few pics of him...

[stosh2010]

Loopy Squirrel wrote: ( Oct.28)

Charlie Bucket isn't beathing so good!

He suddenly developed a respiratory infection .....

GREAT NEWS..thanks for the update....did you ever determine the cause for the breathing difficulty?

[Loopy Squirrel]

No, we didn't. It was really weird. We did a course of baytril and doxy for about 3-4 wks and he finally improved.