Need advice for my 7-year old beloved squirrel Roxi.

[Roxi's mom]

She was treated for a possible UTI a few weeks ago for a second time with a longer and a bit stronger dose of antibiotics because the first course did not do the trick. The vet thought that maybe because of her age she could also possibly be in kidney failure because of the urine test results showing a higher specific gravity and protein in the urine. She is overweight but she was not showing any sugar at the time. Her UTI seems to have cleared up because she is drinking normally again and she is not leaving wet spots where she was sitting while eating anymore but her urine really smells now. I have noticed this in the about the last two weeks. She has been urinating over the side of the cage and I have had to start putting news paper around that side of the cage on the outside to catch it. She does have a potty corner with a plastic ferret potty that she usually uses, so I don't know why she is doing this now. It is not unusual for her to do this but she is doing it more. I am just more concerned with the odor. My vet is out until Monday for the Holiday. I was just hoping someone was experienced with the elderly squirrels and could give me some advice. Thanks. I love my girl with all my heart and I know the day is coming. It will tear my out heart too. She is my first and last pet squirrel as they are a lot of work and time. I have had to take her on two vacations with me as she is a one person squirrel and no one else has been able to handle her let alone feed her, but I don't regret ever having her. Thanks for any info anyone has for me. :serene

[farrelli]

I have to go, but list diet, what kind of antibiotics you were giving, what the dosage was, and for how long.

[Roxi's mom]

I give her fresh kale, zucchini and spring mix every morning. She won't touch any of the rodent blocks so I don't give them to her anymore. I have made boo balls but she won't eat them. I bought a small animal supplement from Petco that is a balanced omega 3 & 6 formula for ultimate health that I sprinkle on her food a couple of times a week. That has given her some energy since I started giving it to her this year. It says for daily use but I was not sure about using it daily. I also give her 2 hazel nuts and a pecan after she is finished with her greens. She doesn't get much exercise anymore because of her age. She is let loose in my office every day to run around but she is bored with that and just lays around. She is fat. The rest of the family cannot get around her or she will jump them. That said, she is otherwise pretty healthy. Her urine had no sugar in it when it was checked for a UTI. I do not know the name of the antibiotic. It was initially for 5 days at .4 ml I believe twice a day. It did not clear up for long. We then retreated at .7 ml for 10 days. It did clear up and seems to still be gone but now her urine really smells and I have also been noticing a very bald spot on her tail above her anus about an inch long. I have noticed her rubbing her tail on the things but I thought she was just wiping from the uti. I hope it is not a parasite. Vet said to use OTC hydrocortisone cream, less than 1% if I could find it up to four times a day. Thanks.

Roxi's mom.

[island rehabber]

Roxi's mom, it sounds to me as if she's got a chronic UTI situation and is becoming resistant to whatever antibiotic it was that you were using. Can anyone at the vet's office look up her records and tell you what it was? I believe that another antibiotic might finally clear up that UTI and the odorous pee as well. If you have the human med Cipro, it can be dosed for your little one and is very effective on UTI's. In the meantime, see if she likes cranberries.....dried, fresh, diluted juice, what EVER type you can get her to take. This will help balance the pH in her system.

[farrelli]

We will also have to scold you about diet. If you ask for help, we've helped hundreds of people whose sqs wouldn't eat block, eat them. It's really not optional if you want a healthy sq who has a long lifespan.

[Roxi's mom]

I did go to Henry's Healthy Pets website after the first post and looked at their blocks again. I was surprised to see that there is actually a block for squirrels now, and one for picky squirrels to boot, so I ordered those. I really pray that she likes them. I do give her her vitamin supplements with her greens though to supplement for the blocks and she has deer antlers in her cage that she gnaws on all the time. I just couldn't force her to eat the blocks :sadness. I do not have the cipro. I will contact my vet, who is a rehabber herself on monday when she gets back to office. Thanks.

[farrelli]

Cipro is for humans and is very widely prescribed, so you might ask your friends. Baytril is basically the same thing for animals. Other things can work, so if you have anything, list it and we call tell you.

[Otech Gma]

My squirrel never needed antibiotics,but from my pediatric nursing experience some antibiotics cause smelly urine.

[Roxi's mom]

Looking at the receipt from the vet, she prescribed Baytril for her. It was 0.4 ml the first time bid for 5 days and then 0.7 ml bid for about 10 days the second time. It was about a week and a half after she finished the first course that she started the second course. The smelly urine gradually started I would say right about after the second course but that was at the end of November. How do you clear that up? Someone said cranberries.

[island rehabber]

Roxi's mom, if baytril is what she got before then the cipro won't make any difference -- they are nearly the same drug except that cipro is for humans. Cranberries may actually help if you can get her to eat them; otherwise maybe another antibiotic is necessary to get rid of this infection once and for all.

[czarina]

Yes. Please try the cranberries. In my opinion, they are like a wonder drug, for all the good they do!

They are readily available, fresh right now. My fuzzers love them. I don't even count them as part of their diet. They are just such a health boost. They each get 2, twice a day.

IR is right, they will help stabelize the PH of the urine, and also, if she is having discomfort, and that horrible " gotta pee every 2 minutes " feeling, where you can only go 3 drops, it will definitely help that, and give her some relief.

You could also try giving her cranberry juice, if she will drink it.
Is there anyway you can get her to play more, to get some exercise? A sedentary lifestyle isn't the best, for anyone.

Maybe start with an extra 5 min of play 2 times a day, and increase as tolerated. It would really help het overall health.

Good luck.

[CritterMom]

If you believe that she still has a UTI, it is entirely possible that the baytril simply didn't work. Baytril and cipro are a Godsend for UTIs because they work so fast - when they work. I used to get them all the time and for years they were treated with sulfa meds which did the job but took a long time. The first time I was given cipro my mind was blown by how fast it worked.

But it is not as broad spectrum as the older meds are, and sometimes you just have to go old school to tackle them. You would not be the first person to have a squirrel with a UTI that was not cured by baytril. I would suggest a long round of SMZ-TMP, sold under brand names as Bactrim, Septra, and Sulfatrim. I would do a least 14 days. If you have access to a vet they likely would have the Sulfatrim type, known to us critter lovers as "the pink stuff" because it is compounded in a pink, sweet tasting suspension syrup.

If your vet will supply this it is obviously your fastest route to the meds. If not, send me a PM as I have this in pill form. You would need a current weight on your squirrel and will have to grind and dilute it to use (we will give you the directions to do this).

[Roxi's mom]

The odor problem seems to be clearing up. I guess it took a little longer for the smell to clear up as well. On another note, while back on this site ( I haven't been here for a few years), I went to the nutrition thread and copied the diet for picky eaters, and as soon as I get my squirrel block for picky eaters Roxi will be officially on a diet. I just pray I can resist her little face when she is staring at me over the top of my computer monitor while I am working. She has shared my office at home for the last 7 years where I type transcription and I guess that is how I got her fat, because I can only let her out for about two hours while I'm working and then for a bit when I'm done to hold her and love on her or I can't get any typing done. She will sit at the top or the middle of her 5 foot cage where she can see me over the top of my computer monitor, which faces her cage, and she will just stare at me, or she will stand up with her hands wrapped around the bars like someone in jail and just stand there staring at me, and I feel so guilty that I just have to give her a nut! She will eat it and then go back into her nest. I know she has probably has me trained but I feel so guilty at times. I can't let her run the house because she doesn't like anyone else and will bite them, and they don't understand the squirrel thing. It's just me and my Roxi in my office (actually her office lol!) She is currently 1.8 pounds and she is not a large grey I don't think. I guess she is about average size. I know she is considered fat absolutely and even after she loses the weight she will still have the extra skin like we humans do. She is going to be so irritable and I know I am going to be miserable try not to look at her and ignore her. There is really no other place to move her cage. My office is crowded. Well, that's it in a nut shell :grin2 Any ideas on how to get through the first two weeks without breaking down would be great.

[farrelli]

Think of it this way, you'll have a lot more time with her than you would have if she was fat and unhealthy.

[czarina]

Its really hard, and we call it tough love. We have all been through it.

But, taking some weight off, and getting some exercise, AND EATING A PROPER DIET, can literally add years to your squirrels life!

We only give 2 nuts a day.

Basically, what you should understand, is that the diet we feed is based on the calcium to phosphorus ratio. We want high in calcium and low in phosphorus. There is actually a sticky about it.

Maybe you could switch your nuts. The best are almonds, walnuts and hickory nuts.(please correct me if I am wrong)

We give our HHB'S first thing when they wake up. And NOTHING untill they eat it! Trust me, a squirrel will not srtarve itself to death!
I know, thise eyes are pitiful, and when my squirrel gives them to me, I would do anything for him, BUT, you must remember that you are actually saving your squirrels life, by feeding properly.

Then, after the HHB is eaten, a plate with healthy vegetables. Be creative. Go to different stores, buy vegetables your squirrel hasn't had before. Vegetables have very few calories, so your squirrel canhave at it with things from list one, like broccoli and cauliflower.

Then, for exercise, again be creative. I make games out of everything. For instance, I have a little plastic step stool that I got at the dollar store. I put a baby blanket over it, and it becomes a tunnel, and we play the "gotcha game".

Squirrels love to play, so it shouldn't be too hard to get yours moving. But start slow, see what your squirrel can tolerate.
But you can make it fun for your squirrel. Because, if you think of it, all they really want, is to spend time with their best friend, who is you!

You just have to be diligent about the food thing. When she is begging, instead of giving a nut, get real excited, and offer a sprig of broccoli.

It won't be easy, and as I said, most of us have been through it. Just say a little mantra,
"Its for the life of my squirrel!".

Good luck!

[Roxi's mom]

I also meant to ask about a bald spot on the back of her tail above her rectum. I think it might be a yeast infection from the antibiotics. Is anyone familiar with this? She is completely bald in about an inch long space up the back of her tail. I would attach a picture but I can't see where to make an attachment at on this page. I had been applying hydrocortisone cream 1% at the moment because that's all I have only twice a day. The vet said to apply it 4 times a day but try to get 0.25 or 0.5 and use that. does anyone know if that is the correct remedy for a bald spot.

[farrelli]

You use the Manage Attachments button when replying in order to add pics.

[Roxi's mom]

249370 I am hoping this attachment worked out. This is the area with the missing hair. Any suggestions? Could it be yeast from the antibiotics. I have seen her dragging her bottom a few times.

[farrelli]

Could she be rubbing it on the cage or dribbling a little pee there and getting urine scald?

[Roxi's mom]

I have never seen her rubbing her tail on the cage and I don't know how it could be urine dribble because the area of the tail is above her rectum. That is why I was thinking it might be a yeast infection from the antibiotics. The vet said use hydrocortisone cream on it.

[Nancy in New York]

I am going to move your thread to the non life threatening forum.
Hopefully more people will see it there, and can answer some of your questions. :thumbsup

[Nancy in New York]

Looking at the receipt from the vet, she prescribed Baytril for her. It was 0.4 ml the first time bid for 5 days and then 0.7 ml bid for about 10 days the second time. It was about a week and a half after she finished the first course that she started the second course. The smelly urine gradually started I would say right about after the second course but that was at the end of November. How do you clear that up? Someone said cranberries.

Do you know what the strength of the Baytril was?
This dose seems really high if dosing twice daily, but that would really depend
on the strength.
Typically it's 22.7 mg/ml dosed at 10 mg/kg.
Did she take a probiotic when on the antibiotics?

[Roxi's mom]

I did not realize I was in the life-threatening forum. Sorry. I thought I had started another thread. Thank you for moving it. I know that the medication strength was increased the second time and so was the length of time it was taken, and no probiotic was recommended. I believe this vet really loves squirrels but is not really fully aware of all that is out there. I did mention this site and she was not aware of it. Maybe I will mention it again. She did surgery on a baby I brought to her with a broken upper leg and then had to amputate his leg, my Roxi's brother, because he lost circulation to the foot. He eventually moved out of the house to a tree house outside of the vet office. She has several little houses in the trees outside of her office for her little rehabs. She often takes them to a place in Florida called Bach Tower where she will spend the day picnicing with them. She will let them wander around and spend time in the trees and have fun, and when she is ready to go at the end of the day, if they want to come with her she will take them home, if not, she will leave them there. It is a beautiful place with many oak trees and a big tower that a husband built for his wife a very long time ago. Anyway, my squirrel block is being mailed today, I have most of her hidden caches of nuts picked up, she has only been getting about 2 nuts a day and hating it. She does not want to play right now. She is a grouchy girl. I can't quit giving her nuts because I don't have any blocks to give her yet but I want her around for a few more years so I have to do this. Thanks again for moving my thread. I hope more answers will come about her missing tail hair. :thumbsup