Baby w/ possible injured arm and possible respiratory problem

[Cesta]

Wednesday night I got a baby girl, approximately 5 weeks old, one eye open, 73 grams. I literally have no back story. I thought I heard a click as soon as I got her, even listened with a stethoscope, and decided it wasn't happening regularly and wasn't a concern. I did the standard warm/ rehydrate/ feed.

Every day I've heard something that sounded 'off' but it's never stuck around long enough to be concerning. She has not aspirated in my care. I've been feeding her small, frequent meals-- on demand really, because she's living in my shirt. :) (Don't worry, it's PLENTY warm in there!!) When she wakes up, I feed her a little, and then she goes back to sleep. She weighs 76 grams today. Today it seems that she's having a little bit of exertion with respiration-- still no clicking. Just very obvious breathing-- almost like slight panting, but not all the time. Otherwise she looks healthy. Bright eyed, hungry, curious about her surroundings when awake, bonding well with me. Does this sound like something I need to get on with ABs? I have lots on hand, would need help with dosing, but I'm sure I have an appropriate med.

Also, I put her down to potty this afternoon, and noticed (not for the first time, but this time I really paid attention) that she's really favoring her right arm. Like she won't put any weight on it, even to keep her balance. Is it correct that you don't try to tape a broken limb on a baby squirrel because they heal so fast? It's bent at the right angle, there are no contusions, swelling, etc that I can see. Just an extreme reluctance to use the arm. Should I do anything or just expect that it will heal on it's own, if in fact it is broken. She doesn't even act like she's in pain, except for not using the arm. I do have a vet I could take her to on Monday if necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help. :Love_Icon

[mel_la_fee]

Being that you have heard some 'off' clicking, I don't see that using the antibiotic baytril would be particularly harmful at this point. It doesn't sound serious enough to try an off-label human AB, as these can cause many other health issues that might end up being worse than what you're dealing with now. But as long as you get the proper dose and provide healthy probiotics to replace the good bacteria that might be destroyed during the process, you'd probably be pretty safe preemptively treating for infection now before there's a chance for some irritation in her lungs to manifest into something else. You don't know her backstory so it's possible she got fluid into her lungs somehow before you got her and her immune system was initially strong enough to hold off infection, but now she's suffering with mild congestion.
It could also be the baby is allergic or sensitive to the detergent or soap you use (she is hanging out in your shirt all day after all!). A short course of baytril would help rule this out as a possibility.
As to the favoring of the leg, all I can recommend is giving some infant ibuprofen to help with pain and inflammation. Hopefully someone here can tell you more on that end, as it is not something I have experience with - it sounds like things are going well otherwise, so best of luck with this little one! I'm sure things will work out :)

[Shewhosweptforest]

:wave123 Cesta...sounds like a real sweetie pie :squirrel4 :Love_Icon I don't know about anyone else...but my new baby was not clicking when I got her...but she seemed sniffly and her nose seemed to be wet all the time...so I did a 5 day course of AB's with advice from here:thumbsup She's doing great...I personally would rather nip it in the bud....we've lost a lot of babies to respiratory issues this season :dono Give her some extra lovins from me :Love_Icon

[Cesta]

I'm wondering if the panting might actually be related to pain.
I need to get dosing for infant ibuprofen... anyone?

When she came she was a typical dehydrated squirrel-- curled in a ball, not moving much, and her front leg was something I just didn't notice. It's becoming more and more pronounced the more she 'wakes up' and tries to move around.

I can't tell if it's broken-- I do think it's the arm/ wrist, not the shoulder-- it's causing weakness in the hand/ fingers. She doesn't nurse properly with that hand.

Ugh, can't believe I missed this for 3 days. It probably REALLY hurts. Any knowledgeable advice appreciated!! :Love_Icon:Love_Icon

[Cesta]

Hi Sweep, we overlapped there...
Yes, I'm thinking antibiotics and Motrin...
I have Cipro, which is the preferred for URI's, no?

However, I have NO dosing expertise so will have to wait for someone who can help.
Glad your baby is well! I hope mine is too, soon...
:grouphug

[LaurelLynn]

I have one that I know probably didn't have pneumonia and I didn't aspirate that started having weakness in one leg and wasn't using it one morning, then labored breathing and other symptoms. Thought it was likely heart issue but now not really sure about anything

She just presented with the same weakness in one back leg same side this morning. Interestingly another baby that came in with her also had the same front leg weakness just show up one morning about a week prior to her but he recovered after a couple days without medication?

Vet thinks something congenital but don't know for sure.

I have no diagnosis to suggest for you or advice. .... just that there's weird issues lately. And also to reassure you that you might not have missed anything, mine had no warning signs and had been here a MONTH

[stepnstone]

Hi Sweep, we overlapped there...
Yes, I'm thinking antibiotics and Motrin...
I have Cipro, which is the preferred for URI's, no?

However, I have NO dosing expertise so will have to wait for someone who can help.
Glad your baby is well! I hope mine is too, soon...
:grouphug

I can get that information for you, will need...
Weight of baby
strength/ml of Cipro

[Cesta]

Being that you have heard some 'off' clicking, I don't see that using the antibiotic baytril would be particularly harmful at this point. It doesn't sound serious enough to try an off-label human AB, as these can cause many other health issues that might end up being worse than what you're dealing with now. But as long as you get the proper dose and provide healthy probiotics to replace the good bacteria that might be destroyed during the process, you'd probably be pretty safe preemptively treating for infection now before there's a chance for some irritation in her lungs to manifest into something else. You don't know her backstory so it's possible she got fluid into her lungs somehow before you got her and her immune system was initially strong enough to hold off infection, but now she's suffering with mild congestion.
It could also be the baby is allergic or sensitive to the detergent or soap you use (she is hanging out in your shirt all day after all!). A short course of baytril would help rule this out as a possibility.
As to the favoring of the leg, all I can recommend is giving some infant ibuprofen to help with pain and inflammation. Hopefully someone here can tell you more on that end, as it is not something I have experience with - it sounds like things are going well otherwise, so best of luck with this little one! I'm sure things will work out :)

Thanks a bunch for the advice-- I have a few questions/ clarifications. What do you mean by an "off label human AB"? :dono Most antibiotics are generic these days, it's unlikely that anything I have is brand name Cipro or anything else. Insurance won't pay for the brand unless there's a real reason. Also, which probiotics do you prefer for your squirrels? I mix full fat yogurt into their formula for the probiotic benefits, but can see adding more with an antibiotic. Do you know if you can overdose probiotics? One last thing-- you alternate the anti and pro biotics, correct? As in 8 AM antibiotics, noon probiotics, etc. ? I appreciate your time and help!
:thankyou

[Cesta]

I can get that information for you, will need...
Weight of baby
strength/ml of Cipro

Ah, thank you! :Love_Icon I will PM it to you. Cipro is the preferred AB, right? I'm asking because I have TMP/ SMZ (?) in suspension, all ready for a squirrel! :) That would be the easiest for me to dose, but of course I want to use the most effective medicine.

[Cesta]

I'm sorry to hear you are having a similar problem. But... that's weird. I didn't consider that the two could be linked, except that maybe she was in pain and that was affecting her breathing. Shout out-- has anyone else had a problem like this? One sided limb weakness and labored breathing w/ no clicking? Or, has anyone ever HEARD of something like this? I'm kind of intrigued now. The breathing problem Star is having really doesn't seem like pneumonia. Her leg problem really DOES seem like an injury, but I'm not a vet or a squirrel expert. LL, when you have time, what were the other symptoms you didn't list?
I have one that I know probably didn't have pneumonia and I didn't aspirate that started having weakness in one leg and wasn't using it one morning, then labored breathing and other symptoms. Thought it was likely heart issue but now not really sure about anything

She just presented with the same weakness in one back leg same side this morning. Interestingly another baby that came in with her also had the same front leg weakness just show up one morning about a week prior to her but he recovered after a couple days without medication?

Vet thinks something congenital but don't know for sure.

I have no diagnosis to suggest for you or advice. .... just that there's weird issues lately. And also to reassure you that you might not have missed anything, mine had no warning signs and had been here a MONTH

[stepnstone]

Ah, thank you! :Love_Icon I will PM it to you. Cipro is the preferred AB, right? I'm asking because I have TMP/ SMZ (?) in suspension, all ready for a squirrel! :) That would be the easiest for me to dose, but of course I want to use the most effective medicine.

Cipro is our go to med for respiratory issues, SMZ is an excellent choice to treat infections as it can
penetrate deeper into tissue that other ab's can't. Both are good broad spectrum ab's.
Sent dosing for cipro and ibuprofen in pm. If you need for SMZ let me know...

[LaurelLynn]

I'm sorry to hear you are having a similar problem. But... that's weird. I didn't consider that the two could be linked, except that maybe she was in pain and that was affecting her breathing. Shout out-- has anyone else had a problem like this? One sided limb weakness and labored breathing w/ no clicking? Or, has anyone ever HEARD of something like this? I'm kind of intrigued now. The breathing problem Star is having really doesn't seem like pneumonia. Her leg problem really DOES seem like an injury, but I'm not a vet or a squirrel expert. LL, when you have time, what were the other symptoms you didn't list?

Symptoms all over the place, one night of multiple seizures, edema and fluid in abdomen giving a bloated but not bloat look, pain... comes and goes. Even her leg weakness has gone away twice and returned

I can't even say they ARE linked. But I also thought leg was injured at first