Sneezing Fox Squirrel

[rm9329]

Hello all,

I have a 4-5 week old (opened her eyes today) fox squirrel that was attacked by a hawk and left for dead on Sunday (9/13). Thankfully she wasn't hurt (by the hawk OR my dachshund), but today she started sneezing. There is no clicking in her breathing, and everything sounds normal, except she gets sneezing fits. She did choke on formula yesterday, but like I said she isn't clicking. I'm wondering if it could be some kind of allergy? None of our local vets will do anything for wildlife, so antibiotics are pretty much out of the question. :sadness Do y'all have any advice on treatment? I thought she may be allergic to something on the rags I'm using as bedding so I have removed them and am washing them now. The sneezing seems better but it's only been like 5 minutes without the old bedding. I've read some older threads on here that suggest Benadryl, but I don't know if that is the current treatment. I need to get a weight on her still but I can add pictures of her. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[lennysmom]

Welcome to TSB rm9329! :Welcome Thank you for helping this little one. She looks absolutely precious!:Love_Icon
Just a word of advice - I noticed a towel in one picture. Towels are not good bedding for them as their little claws get hung up in the rings of them and can cause damage if they pull to free themselves. They love materials like soft fleece to snuggle and burrow in if you happen to have anything like that. Having said that, she may very well have an allegry to your detergent or fabric softener. Little squirrels have very sensitive noses and even subdued scents can cause issues in some of them.
Before dosing any Benadryl, I might see if re-washing or changing out detergents to something scentless helps.
You can use children's Benadryl on squirrels if need be, but you will need an accurate weight to dose it correctly. Hopefully, a change in detergent will help with the issue.

[rm9329]

Thank you for easing this first time squirrel mamas mind! Could her congestion and sneezing be contributing to her lack of appetite? She begins to eat, but then loses interest or stops sucking.

[lennysmom]

Thank you for easing this first time squirrel mamas mind! Could her congestion and sneezing be contributing to her lack of appetite? She begins to eat, but then loses interest or stops sucking.

Very well could be, especially if she is congested and is struggling to breathe out of her nose. Do be very vigilant about listening for clicking - sometimes it's hard to detect at first, but aspiration phemonia can take them down quickly if left untreated. Do you happen to have any antibotics on hand just in case it does happen to be phemonia? Hopefully it's just allegries. I would just keep a real close eye on her.

Also, what are you feeding her? Is she kept warm while eating? They won't eat if they are cold. I feed my littles using a heated sock rice buddy for them to lay across. Also, sometimes adjusting the temp of the formula, making it warmer will help too.

[rm9329]

I don't have any antibiotics on hand :( The local vets don't do wildlife. I keep her wrapped in one of her heated rags while she eats, so I know she is staying warm. Right now I'm feeding her the powdered Esbilac with pre/probiotics mixed 2 parts water to 1 part powder. She bloated/got constipated when I added the heavy cream so I took it out. My FV order for the 20/50 should be here Friday! Today I tried taking the elongated feeding nipple off of the end of the syringe and she seemed to like it better that way. I'm going to use my 1cc syringe for her next feeding and keep a little "double boiler" of formula next to me and see if that keeps it warm enough for her. I'm using a 3cc syringe right now because I haven't had time to sterilize the 1 cc.

[lennysmom]

Have you ever tried the miracle nipples? Henry's Pets sells them, among others, and all of my babies have just loved them! Might be something to look into if you continue to have issues getting her to eat. As far as the antibotics go, sometimes if you ask around with friends and family, they may have a pill or two left over. Even just one pill would be enough. She may not even need them, but I tend to stay on the cautious side when it comes to respitory issues in these little ones.

[rm9329]

Alright. I tried a different nipple I had that was a bit faster flow and she liked it better and ate around 7-9 ccs!!! :bliss

She's 4-5 weeks old, so feeding her every 4 hours during the day should work well, right?

I can ask around for antibiotics. Which ones work best?

I finally got a weight on her and the little porker weighs 161 grams!!! :Love_Icon