Squirrel has open sore from dragging leg.

[DixiesMom]

We have a squirrel ( Dixie) with what seems to be a paralyzed back leg. She drags the back leg and this has resulted in loss of fur and an open sore. We have had her in our enclosure for the last 3 weeks. She has not regained use of her back leg and the resulting sore is becoming a great concern.
She is a returned release but will not let us handle her.
What can be done to help prevent the sore from getting worse and infected? What disinfectant can be safely used?
I would need a spray to get to the wound. Also we had poly-fiber in her nest box but it gets stuck to the wound, so we removed it from her nest. We are in Montreal and the nights are getting colder. What alternative can we use for bedding?

[Rhapsody]

First off I would not let her have a nest box being that she is paralyzed, I would purchase her a cozy cube home --it will be more gentle on her body when she comes in and out of it. Second I would make sure she has plenty of soft fleece material on the bottom of her crate to keep her crawling area comfortable on her body when she moves around..... less chance of rubbing this way.

Third, lets deal with the sore...... you can keep it clean with diluted Betadine and apply Neosporin in between cleanings to help aid in healing. If the sores begins to ooze you can loosely cover the sore during the day when she is active and remove the bandage during the night while she is sleep to give it time to breathe.

Here is a pic of comfy cube and fleece bottom coverage:

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Apollo/Apollo27_zps2a08f56a.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Apollo/Apollo27_zps2a08f56a.jpg.html)

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Apollo/Apollo26_zps1615f1e6.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Apollo/Apollo26_zps1615f1e6.jpg.html)