Rain bit me, drew blood, do i need to be worried? get shots?

[Wolfe]

Rain has been with me since she was all wrinkly and tiny, I have no other squirrels. shes like 3 months old. Should i be worried about disease? or infection? i already cleaned it with peroxide and alcohol

[SammysMom]

Nope...welcome to the squirrel club!

[Wolfe]

Really? Can I have a few more replies as confirmation? I would feel better. Im sorta the paranoid type. I don't want to get some weird disease or infection or have get my finger cut off :/

Right now I kinda want to have my finger submerged in peroxide.

[DarkLies212]

You're up to date on all your shots right? If so, that should help ease your mind more

[Rhapsody]

Here is your 2nd confirmation....... just clean the cut as you would any other cut and keep it clean --and I Promise
YOU will NOT lose your finger. :grin3 I have been bitten and chewed up so many times in my seven years of
rehabbing and I am still standing........ matter of fact I just took a bite to the finger tip last week. :tilt

[island rehabber]

Get your finger outta that peroxide -- it will do more tissue damage than the squirrel ever could :nono
Squirrels do not carry rabies, distemper or anything else that's going to give you more than some pain and swelling. AND you raised her from a pinky so guess what -- she's truly harmless.
If squirrel bites were deadly there would be no Squirrel Board.....none of us would be alive :grin3

[Wolfe]

<.< ok ok I feel about 98% better. Thank you so much. I can't believe she bit me that hard though. ;(

[Rhapsody]

If squirrel bites were deadly there would be no Squirrel Board.....none of us would be alive :grin3


:sanp3 :wave123 :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :osnapmjs

[Rhapsody]

I can't believe she bit me that hard though. ;(Hence why we make a point to say "Squirrel are NOT Pets" and should be released if at all possible. Squirrels are Squirrels and will act in such a manner at one time or another. My two favorite squirrels and nicest squirrels have even bitten me at different times when I had them...... Oh let me count the scars. :tilt

[Chickenlegs]

If squirrel bites were deadly there would be no Squirrel Board.....none of us would be alive :grin3


HAAAAAAAAhahahahahaha! I'd love to have a dollar for every bite. I'd be one of the 1% of the population with all the wealth. My worst bites have been sweet squirrels I raised. I just got in the way or startled them. I teach nursery school. I'd MUCH rather get bit by a squirrel than a kid--I'd be soaking in peroxide then.

[MJS]

HERE IS YOUR SIXTH CONFIRMATION...DRAWING BLOOD IS NO BIG THING...YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'VE REALLY BEEN BITTEN WHEN YOU HEAR THE "CRUNCH." WE'RE ALL STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN'...IT'S OK. :grin3

[Ziggyspal]

HAAAAAAAAhahahahahaha! I'd love to have a dollar for every bite. I'd be one of the 1% of the population with all the wealth. My worst bites have been sweet squirrels I raised. I just got in the way or startled them. I teach nursery school. I'd MUCH rather get bit by a squirrel than a kid--I'd be soaking in peroxide then.

I had to laugh. I have worked with kids with behavioral issues that do bite. Human bites are nasty. Ziggy bit me pretty hard Saturday night, but my finger is still attached. I see no evidence of it falling off.:tilt

[Wolfe]

>< now i feel kinda silly, thank you all so much as always! yall are the best.

[SammysMom]

No, many of us have felt like you! We aren't meaning to make you feel foolish. You are now a member of a very elite group!:grin3

[Ziggyspal]

>< now i feel kinda silly, thank you all so much as always! yall are the best.

Please don't feel silly. I was totally freaked out when Ziggy chomped on my finger. Folks on TSB have been very supportive. :grouphug

[CritterMom]

Do make sure your tetanus shots are up to date. ANY puncture wound, regardless of what it is from, is a tetanus issue - not from the squirrel, but tetanus is in the environment everywhere and a puncture wound can drive it into the skin where it is difficult to clean. Frankly, keeping up with tetanus boosters is a good idea for EVERYONE and they are only needed every 10 years...

[rocky63]

:Welcome to the world of raising squirrels! This may be your first bite :eek and won't be your last :nono:grin3

[TubeDriver]

Do make sure your tetanus shots are up to date. ANY puncture wound, regardless of what it is from, is a tetanus issue - not from the squirrel, but tetanus is in the environment everywhere and a puncture wound can drive it into the skin where it is difficult to clean. Frankly, keeping up with tetanus boosters is a good idea for EVERYONE and they are only needed every 10 years...

:goodpost. This is absolutely correct. Any type of puncture wound (regardless of what caused it) is at risk for tetanus. You should have had a tetanus shot booster within the last 10 years, if not you should get a tetanus shot ASAP. Tetanus can kill you but a simple booster every decade will prevent that from happening.

Any animal bite/injury that breaks skin has the potential for infection and a squirrel bite is not any different. Standard treatment for a bite should include placing the bite area under clean, running water and attempting to gently squeeze blood out under the running water. Do this for several minutes, clean the bite with soap and water, dry and place some neosporin and a bandaid. Keep clean and watch for signs of infection (redness, swelling, discharge, pain).

An animal that has been in your care since it was little has virtually zero chance of rabies or other diseases. In general, a squirrel bite has almost no chance of transmitting rabies. In all recorded medical literature, there is only one case in history that appears to have recorded rabbies transmission from a squirrel to human. It is EXTREMELY unlikely that a bite from even a wild squirrel would transmit the rabies virus. While it is theoretically possible (almost all mammals can potentially carry rabies), it is extremely, unlikely.

If you contact your local health department after getting bit in the finger while feeding a wild squirrel by hand (not that uncommon :grin2 )they will typically NOT recommend rabies vaccine. The only reason for concern would be if the animal was acting strangle aggressive or lethargic/uncoordinated, in other words if it was clearly severely ill.

In your case, since you have had little Rain for over 3 months, you will not have to worry about Rabies. You will get bit again, it is one of the primary ways for a squirrel to communicate that it is angry, unhappy or maybe just a little too enthusiastic. Getting bit just comes with the territory.:)

[SugarBugFerret]

YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'VE REALLY BEEN BITTEN WHEN YOU HEAR THE "CRUNCH." WE'RE ALL STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN'...IT'S OK. :grin3

:eek Now that is not something I am looking forward to. I will just live in La La Land where Skiddil would never do that...until she does it. :sanp3


keeping up with tetanus boosters is a good idea for EVERYONE and they are only needed every 10 years...

Well it's a good thing I got a tetanus shot several years back when I stapled two of my fingers together with a rusty staple from a staple gun. Come to think of it, a squirrel bite can't be any worse than that... I almost passed out! Oops...

[merman]

Cannot count how many times i have been bitten by Mia in these 5 years, and she will do it again if she is scared or if i make her angry when we play. Am still alive :grin3
And i NEVER get upset when she does. She is a wild (tame but wild) witteellll creature :thumbsup :Love_Icon

:Love_Icon
:wave123

[Trooper]

Wolfe: I know I come in late on the second confirmations you requested, but let me post two facts about squirrels bites:

1- My Trooper does not like my hands and feet, but he loves me to death (my face that is!). yet I get bitten and draw blood from him every other day, literally. Asides from the natural common infection that could spring up when not cleaned properly, I never gotten any "diseases"
2- My tetanus is up-to-date and by the way: two years ago when Trooper fell (literally) into my heart, I checked personally with the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and they assured me they do not have a "SINGLE" case of squirrels (sciurus carolinensis) giving either rabbies nor black plague. Their fame to carry both diseases came when in 1986 a woodchuck (which is in the same family os squirrles) got bitten by a rabbid skunk and it transmitted rabies to other living things. And since the scientific name for woodchucks also starts with the Latin word 'sciurus", all 278 species of squirrels around the world got the bad wrap!

Thought this would be good food for thought!

Regards,

Trooper's dad,

[BigNibbler]

Thank you for that factoid Trooper. Good to know. Some time ago I suggested to Admin that a non rabies data sheet should be posted and sent a link regarding good verbiage on the subject. Your response should be added to it.

I hope Wolfe is feeling better. From my experience with human nature, it takes a much more serious calamity to put a squirrel bite into perspective. There are people here who have been bitten through their knuckles and yet they will show up late for work to help a squirrel! Biting is how squirrels assert themselves in little and big things. It is also how they learn about the world. Squirrels are curious. There need to know what something is made of. I think that is why they are such great athletes. They jump from, use gravity to descent onto and ricochet from a variety of surfaces. As an artist, I often talk about the ability to work by feel. But working by feel, truly needs the foundation of understanding of facts. Squirrels jump by feel from one place to another and with experience, they develop the skill to make the right life risking decisions, a thousand times a day. They must understand the fabrication of rocks, and leaves and bark and soil and sand, and loose vs hard debris. They have to understand fabrics and faces if they are jumping on, or climbing around you. It is natural for them to grip, grind, tear into and tease everything they come across using their two ever growing teeth. You can train them to bite less. But you cannot rely 100% that they will never bite. You could get rich by demonstrating how gentle and loving they are, and betting strangers, that they would one day bite you. You will always loose win that bet. Its just a matter of time. In a sense, if nothing else it could be out of abandoned joy, excitement, or in the spirit of fun.

But all animals are dangerous in one way or another. Consider the bacteria in a cat's saliva. And consider that if you walk any urban street, you are probably picking up dog doo-doo and tracking it back within the micro crevices of your soles, to your carpeted floor, where you will lean on with your scratched hand. That could be very dangerous.

If a squirrel bites you severely it could kill you indirectly. Next day you maybe driving around a perilous curve and unable to grip the steering wheel with your injured hand, lose control of your car and make the statistics in the paper. But if you really love and respect these special creatures I think it is fair to accept them for their special traits. I love water. I drink quarts each and every day. No soft drinks, no sodas, no candy. But loads of water. When I was a kid, I nearly drowned. Water was what did that, and I still cannot swim. Does not mean I hate water.

You can, via treats and scares, greatly reduce the biting though. If you can get him to bite, and just shout, or move, or something to scare him, just as he is about to do so, he will greatly reduce his biting , and try to be a better friend, not a bitter friend, just cause he is a biting friend. My underlying philosophy is that a squirrel cannot make a mistake as he does not know better. When I get bit, its cause I made a mistake.

And as you know, everybody makes mistakes.

My condolences :)