Sweet Pea has a boo-boo!

[cnmnnaturalist]

So Sweet Pea presented with a small wound a couple of days ago that didn't look too bad, no redness or swelling and a small scab. Yesterday she came and it was a bit bloody, looking like she had been scratching it. This evening she came and it had scabbed over, but was pretty swollen around it.

I applied some Bacitracin Zinc to it just to help with some irritation and maybe provide a little barrier. I'm a bit worried about infection with how hot and humid it's been (90F+ and 70F dewpoint). I'm also a little concerned she may develop a bot fly warble. Ointment/cream may not be the best option as she may wear it off easier. She's treating it like it's itchy, so I know she'll scratch that scab again.

So what kind of antibiotics should I pick up just in case? I was thinking about getting some anti-fly strike ointment to deter bot flies/other flies, but I'm concerned about ingestion, so I'll probably forget it.



213248213249
These were taken on 8/23. Under the fur there is just a small light colored scab.



213250213251

These were taken this evening (8/25). The glob on the wound in the second image is the bacitracin ointment. It shows the swelling/puffiness a bit better.

[stepnstone]

Are you sure it's not a bot fly already?
Most botfly bites start out looking like a regular mosquito bite or as itchy sores
before turning into boil-like sores that ooze. That's already looking like a boil.
Not experenced with them myself, not sure what would help besides extraction.

[Rhapsody]

If its not a bot fly.... I would keep antibiotic ointment on the wound until it heals (3x a day).

[cnmnnaturalist]

Sadly I only see her once a day in the evening, unless they have 'other plans'. I will see what the progress is on it on the next two days and decide whether or not I have to get her back in the cage for treatment.

[cnmnnaturalist]

Caught her today. The wound on her shoulder is more swollen and typical of a bot fly, but she has multiple (5+) small lumps on her chest/stomach that may also be bot flies. Do you recommend I capture her and put her in the release cage for treatment/observation? Or do I leave her and the flies to do their thing?

[farrelli]

I think it depends on their location, whether they'd compromise breathing, and if there are too many and would put a strain in the system.

[cnmnnaturalist]

I'm worried that the number of larva and their associated wounds would put her at risk of further injury and infection. She's here tonight, but she's pouting in the tree because I held her. Brat! I will set the cage up again and figure out a way to get her in tomorrow.

Any recommendations on antibiotics to help abate any infection she might have going on? Ointment tends to get rubbed off. Poor girl!

[farrelli]

I think it's the usual three, Cipro, Baytril, or SMZ. A vet or someone experienced would have to remove them, if that's your plan.

[cnmnnaturalist]

The last thing I want to do is something invasive like having the warbles removed, but it may end up that way if things go south. We have the ABs on hand so that's one thing not to worry about.

[cnmnnaturalist]

So Sweet Pea isn't apparently the only one with evidence of Bot Fly infestation. Calvin came by this afternoon and he's exhibiting signs of bot fly maggots as well. He was not pleased with me trying to get photos of him, and went up the tree and onto the roof to pout.

I almost wonder them being 'orphans' without a mom with them up in the trees is why they are experiencing these attacks. Perhaps without having their family members up there, they don't get groomed or attention like they should?


213360213361

[Shewhosweptforest]

Ok someone correct me if I'm wrong....but when Baby had her Botfly I did a lot of investigating and called the wildlife vet I worked for years ago.....first the botfly does not bite the squirrel and give the larva ....the botfly lays the larva usually around the dens of squirrels .....the squirrels then brush against it and pick it up usually on their fur....then they either ingest it while grooming or it is close enough to an orifice to go in on its own....your babies could have ingested it from their mothers fur...then it floats around in their system....until it settles where it will form...it usually takes a while because the botfly wants to end it's cycle at the end of the summer where it drops out and burrows into the soil to lie dormant until spring when it emerges as the adult fly and starts the cycle over again....the stress of the release (excitement) maybe started the process or it may have occurred regardless at this time...Baby's developed in the middle of Sept. oral antibiotics will do no good...infact sometimes makes the squirrel feel worse...the wound (if a botfly) will not become infected because the botfly excretes an antibiotic itself to protect its host ....now everything I found said if a squirrel had multiple bot flies it could hurt their system...one or two probably not...

One way to check to make sure it's a botfly is to put Vaseline over the opening...the botfly will open the hole back up...you can't see it but it starts to bubble and it's open again...it looks creepy....and eventually Baby had another smaller wound at the other end of the botfly.

This was all I learned :dono and Baby did fine ...it looked horrible but almost 30 days later it fell out.

I would be concerned about 5...a vet would know for sure...but a healthy squirrel can survive...but it's hard on them.

Good Luck:Love_Icon

[CrazySquirrelLady]

poor babies. get well soon.

[cnmnnaturalist]

Here's some pictures I got of Sweet Pea this evening. I'm trying not to handle them and get it so I can't interact with them at all while I'm monitoring the issue. I'm hoping that it will be something that I just give them some extra nutrition/immune support and wait until the bot flies run their life cycles out.

213373213374

[sqrlmum]

Here's some pictures I got of Sweet Pea this evening.

213373

This first pic looks just like my oldest squirrel Ollie's botfly. What it did was start to poke out from the muscle underneath the skin like a round, hard abscess. You may notice that the scab, which is the opening for the botfly to eventually escape, may not stay at the end/point of the swelling. That threw me a little as I'd seen pics of mature warbles with the elongated shape and the scab at the tip.

What I did was bring him to my local rehabber, and she burritoed Ollie and went in a pair of curved tweezers with handles. His larva was almost in EXACTLY the same place as Sweet Pea's, on his chest on the right side. She removed it by pulling off the scab first and then going in with the tweezers and pulling it right out. She then flushed the wound with some antibiotic flush, and it healed right up in a few days. I'm attaching a pic of Ollie's bot larva in case anyone's interested. He thought it was no big deal. ;)


213420

Since Sweet Pea is outside and not easily captured, I would wait it out as bot flies aren't usually fatal in Eastern Greys. In mice and smaller rodents they're deadly. If the other squirrel may have five, keep an eye on him as it is probably very taxing on his system. Personally, I would recommend taking them in to someone who has experience removing them, or even trying to remove them yourself if you can ensure that the squirrels won't be traumatized or hurt in the capture/larvae removal process (and if you're not squicked out by that kind of thing!). If you don't have a resource in like that in your area, jut just keep an eye on the wounds - especially after the bot larvae make their way out. That's a BIG wound that needs to be monitored closely for possible infection.

[cnmnnaturalist]

I whipped up a new batch of squirrel blocks to boost their nutrition, since they are mostly foraging for foods in the trees now. I'll try and use an ointment mix of glycerine and bacitracin to soften the scabs a bit in preparation for potentially removing them. Neither one will like being captured at all, and I may have to get some assistance in restraining them.

Would Rescue Remedy make this any easier on them? Perhaps calm them a little so they're not so traumatized by the process? I've removed bot flies from other animals (mostly livestock) as well as doing necropsies on wild animals, so I know how tricky they can sometimes be.