Sore eye

[Furrybabies]

Hi , Can anyone advice me about this squirrels eye please? His coat seems fine I do not see any patches or fur loss but his front paws look a little red. He's a new visitor, quite human friendly, lovely little chap. He leans on my hand as he collects his nuts in quite a relaxed manner. but not so friendly with the other garden squirrels lol
I have been advised that he have mange or squirrel pox was advised to join this site for more help. Would appreciate more advice ... Thanks

[Spanky]

Hi , Can anyone advice me about this squirrels eye please? His coat seems fine I do not see any patches or fur loss but his front paws look a little red. He's a new visitor, quite human friendly, lovely little chap. He leans on my hand as he collects his nuts in quite a relaxed manner. but not so friendly with the other garden squirrels lol
I have been advised that he have mange or squirrel pox was advised to join this site for more help. Would appreciate more advice ... Thanks

I am not the most experienced with mange by any means, but if this is a true wild squirrel and he is that friendly it seems likely that is because he is in some way compromised and needs some help... I am glad he found you.

Seeing what is involved with the eye and the top of his head (though blurry) I would say that well may be mange. I do not really see anything wrong with the paws... :dono

Hopefully some others will take a look soon and comment. If there is anyway to get better pics it would help a lot.

That being said, the safest way to treat this little guy is with selamectin; the brand in the US is "Revolution" and we use the "kitten" version of the product for squirrels. If he takes nuts from your hand you may be able to get a drop (that is all that is needed) on the back of his neck; you want to get it on the skin just not just on the fur. The product is not cheap here is the US but like I said, it would be the safest and if you can get it on the back of his neck the easiest.

This will surely help if this is mange. If it is pox, this would still be beneficial as the pox will compromise him and make him more susceptible to critters like mange. If it is pox, fresh water (I see you have that covered!) and a reliable and easily available food supply will go a very long ways in helping his system fight off pox. If others believe this is pox, they may suggest some additional treatments you can try. :thumbsup

[Furrybabies]

Thanks for your advice Spanky, I really appreciate it :) Those were the best I could take of him. I normally take good pics of our squirrels but when you need them to keep still they don't lol

I don't know if you or anyone else use homeopathic remedies?
I would rather try something like that then risking ivermectin & risking any animals life. I use a homeopathic solution for foxes with mange. It works really well with them. I am happy in saying that all our visiting foxes are mange free.
The solution contains Arsenicum Alb & Sulphur 30c
I was told I could use this on squirrels & that it is safe with any animal.
For the last 2 days, I have been placing 2 drops into a walnut & the squirrel is happily eating it. I am not guaranteed it will work but I really hope it does.
I also ordered Ivermectin but to be honest I am not confident about giving it. I will look up Selamectin too & see where I could purchase that.

[Spanky]

Thanks for your advice Spanky, I really appreciate it :) Those were the best I could take of him. I normally take good pics of our squirrels but when you need them to keep still they don't lol

I don't know if you or anyone else use homeopathic remedies?
I would rather try something like that then risking ivermectin & risking any animals life. I use a homeopathic solution for foxes with mange. It works really well with them. I am happy in saying that all our visiting foxes are mange free.
The solution contains Arsenicum Alb & Sulphur 30c
I was told I could use this on squirrels & that it is safe with any animal.
For the last 2 days, I have been placing 2 drops into a walnut & the squirrel is happily eating it. I am not guaranteed it will work but I really hope it does.
I also ordered Ivermectin but to be honest I am not confident about giving it. I will look up Selamectin too & see where I could purchase that.

I recommended the Selamectin because it is safer than the Ivermectin which as you seem to recognize is semi-dangerous.

I am unfamiliar with treating with with the Arsenicum Alb & Sulphur solution, but certainly diatomaceous earth can do nothing but help!

[Furrybabies]

Selamectin seems to be a prescription drug in UK. Can you buy without prescription in the US?

[Spanky]

Selamectin seems to be a prescription drug in UK. Can you buy without prescription in the US?

Bummer. I was not sure if you'd need a script there... you can try Joe's (link below). Update: Just noticed Joe's does not ship to UK so I removed the link...

[Spanky]

I checked the other places I know you can buy on-line but it seems they all only ship to USA. But they ship FROM Australia... Here are a few of the places, just wondering if there is a similar UK site?

https://www.petshed.com/
https://www.joespetmeds.com

With luck they may redirect to a UK version based on your IP? :dono

The product Stronghold is also Selamectin and I believe may be more prevalent in Europe and Australia.

How is your outdoor buddy doing today? If he is worsening you may have to consider the Ivermectin, especially if it is available without a prescription.

[Chickenlegs]

How is your little guy doing?

[Furrybabies]

I am pleased to say he is doing better. I took more pics to show how in 3-4 days his eye is getting better & I can not really see the soreness no more. I don't know if the homeopathic solution helped or not but something positive has definitely happened!

[Spanky]

He definitely looks better in the new pictures! :thumbsup

In the first picture ("cutie.jpg") with the straight on shot of the top of his head it did appear there was something going; maybe some displaced fur and some redness; it looked a little "irritated". Maybe it was just the blurriness in the pic, but he does look much better in the recent photos!

[Furrybabies]

I could tell from a distance that there was something wrong with his eye, but yesterday I wasn't sure if it was him or not because the eye looked so clear. I know it's him from the way he approaches me. The other males tend to snatch the nuts out of my hand. ;)