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View Full Version : Squirrel with large growth on side of face, what could this be??



puddinpie
06-27-2014, 06:39 PM
I noticed a wild grey squirrel sitting on my back porch rail just laying there. It could be because it is warm outside and he is just resting. He has quite a large growth on the side of his face. It is very concerning. What could this be? I am going to try and attach a picture.

CritterMom
06-27-2014, 07:20 PM
Oh dear, that is an enormous abscess. I hope it is from a bite and not tooth related - if from a bite it may drain very soon and the squirrel may be just fine.

puddinpie
06-27-2014, 07:31 PM
That is what I was thinking as well. What do you mean if it is from a bite? Sorry, I am still trying to learn stuff :). Do you mean if he maybe bit down on something and injured it? I also wondered if it was maybe a tumor of some sort. I hope if it is an abcess, it will drain on it's own soon! He left and went on his way. I am not sure where he went or where he even lives. He looks young though, somewhat small. Poor little pumpkin. I hope he is not in pain... :(










QUOTE=CritterMom;1020778]Oh dear, that is an enormous abscess. I hope it is from a bite and not tooth related - if from a bite it may drain very soon and the squirrel may be just fine.[/QUOTE]

CritterMom
06-27-2014, 07:51 PM
A bite from another squirrel. They fight, and it is summer so mating season and that means fights. Their teeth are like daggers - thin, sharp and pointy, so their bites are puncture wounds, which become infected because the surface skin bacteria is driven deep into the wound by the teeth (and why everyone is afraid of "puncture wounds.")

I had one of my wilds show up with a very similar mess on his face a few years ago - it was horrible, and eventually grew to the point where it was actually larger than his head. I feed my outdoor squirrels rodent block but it is fairly hard and he was having trouble eating, so I ground some up, and mixed it with a fair amount of peanut butter and made peanut butter balls out of it for him. Every day I was sure I would not ever see him again. Then one day he showed up and his fur was all matted and gory from the mess that was inside - it had drained. By the next day he had himself all cleaned up and the swelling was reduced by about 85%...in a couple days I could no longer pick him out of the pack. If this is an abscess, it is getting close to the bursting point.

puddinpie
06-27-2014, 08:05 PM
Thanks Crittermom for the reply. Ok, I see what you mean. That makes sense about the bite. I hope it is just that and it bursts soon! You know, I saw him a couple days back and he had that lump. It looked a bit bigger today. I am hoping the thing pops. I am sure he would be more comfortable if it did. I am saying prayers that it pops and cleans itself out!!! Poor baby...