Bot Flies possible this time of year?

[jonmclester]

I am pretty sure that some of the outdoor squirrels around my home may be infected with bot flies. I tried getting pictures, but they are just too quick. One has multiple spots on her. The hair is missing around the sores, so it's basically round and pink, with a dark center. This particular squirrel I noticed about 3 weeks ago and she had a fresh scab over her eye, and now she is missing the eye all together. I would say she has probably 4 of these sores on her now. One on a front leg, and some on her back. We also have a couple of other squirrels that have one apiece on them. None of them seem to be bothered by the sores, as they continue to come down and feed, so I'm hoping nature runs its course and then they'll be fine. Are there any other ailments that anyone knows of other than bot flies that make a similar looking sore? I just want to make sure it's nothing infectious. Is this time of year common for them? I'm just not familiar with them.

We raised two babies from pinks, and released them in our yard (we have 3 large oaks.) The pair we released are doing well and still come to see us daily. They don't seem to be infected with anything, but I'm concerned for the ones that are. If I can get some pics I will post. In the mean-time I did post some before and after pics of Bonnie and Clyde208674208675

[Unikorngrrl]

Another possibility is pox! Photos will be necessary for help most likely. Pox are contagious for sure... There is a botfly post on Sweeper's page. Lemme see if I can find it for you...

[Unikorngrrl]

Here are some botfly photos compliments of Shewhosweptforest!

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?41276-How-can-I-tell-the-difference-between-an-abcess-and-a-bot-fly-warble&highlight=botfly

[Unikorngrrl]

and here's the link to the forum about squirrel pox

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?165-Squirrel-Pox

[TubeDriver]

I don't know if a BotFly would be in the actual eye? That could be pox which certainly can lead to loss of an eye.



Where is the OP located?

[farrelli]

You might also PM Bobby Taylor who I think is also in Titusville. He might know of something going around and should be alerted if he doesn't.

[jonmclester]

Thanks for the advice from all of you. I'll look into messaging Bobby Taylor. If he's in Titusville I might be able to get him to come by and take a look. Again, I will post some pics soon I hope.

[jonmclester]

208692
I don't know if a BotFly would be in the actual eye? That could be pox which certainly can lead to loss of an eye.



Where is the OP located?208692

I'm thinking you all may be right about Pox. attached is the closest picture I could get for now. Will try again.

[farrelli]

I looked it up and Bobby isn't in Titusville, sorry. The two members who are are "Roky's mom" and "stellarangel86".

I'm worried about pox. Have you looked at the pictures link to? It's hard to tell from your photos. Pox is super contagious and all you can do is provide good nutrition and immune boosters.

[jonmclester]

I looked it up and Bobby isn't in Titusville, sorry. The two members who are are "Roky's mom" and "stellarangel86".

I'm worried about pox. Have you looked at the pictures link to? It's hard to tell from your photos. Pox is super contagious and all you can do is provide good nutrition and immune boosters.

Yes, I looked at the pictures, and that's what make me more worried about pox. Plus I saw numerous pictures with pox on the eye. I will still try to post better pics, but for now I'm going to order the Immune Booster that I saw on this site. Hopefully it will work. I think at least 3-4 squirrels have it right now. Some of the blisters have popped and are oozing. Definately no flies coming out of there, so pretty certain Bot Flies are not the answer.

[djarenspace9]

Unfortunately, yes, it is that time of the year right now.
(It's the larva that grow under the skin then it erupts and they exit,
not flies that come out btw.)
I am north of you in Sanford and some years I don't see any and some years,
like last year it was really bad.
This year it's so-so, not too bad on them.
If you feel the larva is in a compromising part of the body they can be removed,
but it's a delicate matter and should only be done by an experienced vet or rehabber.
Of course you need to catch the squirrel first...

If it's not in a bad spot it's better to just let it run its course,
once the larva pops out they heal up nice and neat and you'd never know it was there a few weeks later!

I can't really tell from your picture though what is the issue with that particular squirrel.
Can you get a better shot?

[jonmclester]

Unfortunately, yes, it is that time of the year right now.
(It's the larva that grow under the skin then it erupts and they exit,
not flies that come out btw.)
I am north of you in Sanford and some years I don't see any and some years,
like last year it was really bad.
This year it's so-so, not too bad on them.
If you feel the larva is in a compromising part of the body they can be removed,
but it's a delicate matter and should only be done by an experienced vet or rehabber.
Of course you need to catch the squirrel first...

If it's not in a bad spot it's better to just let it run its course,
once the larva pops out they heal up nice and neat and you'd never know it was there a few weeks later!

I can't really tell from your picture though what is the issue with that particular squirrel.
Can you get a better shot?

I am going to try to get better pictures this evening when she comes to feed. My concern is that she is the first one I noticed with these sores, and as I mentioned in my original post the first time I saw her, her eye was scabbed over and now it is gone. In the past 2 weeks I've noticed her going from just having the missing eye, to now having these sores/lesions on her body, and now I'm seeing a couple of other squirrels come up with similar sores. I'm assuming it's pox, or bot flies. While I raise a couple of abandoned squirrels last year, I've never dealt with anything like this. I was hoping it was the bot fly rather than pox, but I'm starting to think it's the later of the two.

[TubeDriver]

Keeping my fingers crossed that your critters just have botflys and not the Pox. :shakehead

[jonmclester]

Ok. Here is a picture of another squirrel with the same condition. Still not the best picture, but better than the ones before. The hair is missing around the immediate area, and is dark pink or purple right in the center.208870208871208872

[djarenspace9]

That's a bot fly larva...it looks flat like it may have already exited and is closed and healing.
The fur will grow back in soon!

When the larva is in there it's raised and pretty awful looking.
I will usually only try to intervene if the location is interfering with the squirrels ability to survive
(impairing movement or ability to eat, an excessive amount of larva, or otherwise causes distress).

[Shewhosweptforest]

Ohhh poor babies :shakehead ...it does(botfly) look like an oozy sore in the beginning stages....but within a week you would see it become raised...it runs it's course in about a month...so it progresses pretty fast...I would definitely get your released squirrels onto immune boosters or anything else suggested.... And try to provide drinking water for the wilds with some boosters...

Jackie in Tampa was just commenting on her thread about all the rain and fears of Pox developing...she will be able to give you some good advice ....I would PM her if I were you:thumbsup

My squirrel's botfly was right above her eye so they can travel anywhere in the body ....but they tend to be on the torso...they want to do the least harm to their host...they even excrete a natural antibiotic fluid to stop infections in the host :dono creepy :yuck but effective.

[TubeDriver]

Those last pics look more like a single botfly and not the Pox. :D

[jonmclester]

Thank you all! I will get some immune boosters for them to put in their drinking water.

[Lkbmom]

I have appx 1 yr old squirrel Sigmond that I raised from a baby thanks to the great instructions here!! We released her back into the yard, but she comes twice a day to eat. About 6 weeks ago I noticed what I thought to be wound, captured her, took her to vet, and the removed bot fly larvae and stitched her up. Now she has another in the same place and now 2 more wounds/larvae. She will not let me pick her up, but I get a good look when she sits on my leg to eat. They look AWFUL!! What should I do? Will she Get better or do I need to capture her to take he to the vet again. It is very traumatic and she is very stressed when I enclose her to take her?!? Help!!211034211035

[farrelli]

I;m so sorry that you haven;t gotten a response yet. I'm not an expert but the one on the throat I woud worry about causing breathing or swallowing problems, so I'd go for the vet. Poor baby.

[Charley Chuckles]

The first look like bots, I mean the one coming out of the tree/my Wiggles has similar:dono, I am wondering if his may be fighting, because of mating season

[TubeDriver]

I think for the most part, Bot Fly look worse than they actually are. At some point the larvae just leave and the squirrel should recover quickly with no lasting injury. If as mentioned, the bot fly near the throat is cause breathing or eating issues it could be removed by your vet. Otherwise I would just leave it alone.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Lkbmom ...I'm so sorry for your friend...but yes believe it or not they are relatively harmless...and only if there're a large number on one squirrel would it be wise to stress the squirrel out by removal....they really look much worse than they are...Baby, my squirrel, looked horrible. It weeped and she lost hair..it oozed :shakehead but when it finally popped out, about 30 days, it wasn't a week later and you could hardly tell she had had it:thumbsup
Click here and you can see the progression of Baby's botfly :yuck

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?41276-How-can-I-tell-the-difference-between-an-abcess-and-a-bot-fly-warble&highlight=botfly

[Jackie in Tampa]

got your PM....yes Bot fly....a nasty parasite.
please wait it out... unless life threatening best to leave them in tact..
others may advise differently.
if their bodies are damaged during removal they usually create a wicked infection.
they are part of life for cattle and wild animals, in some third world countries, humans have them as well...
they are species specific ...they thrive in damp conditions and are not uncommon.
They do not compromise the host.They'll be gone before ya know it.

[Charley Chuckles]

Yep my wilds get them every year, never seems to bother them, I leave them alone and they do fine, hair grows right back, next season same thing , just part of the wild ////now I am itching :sanp3