Losing fur on neck under chin

[bratann617]

Hello everyone! Hoping you guys might be able to help me figure out why my baby girl is losing fur on her neck and a little on her right arm, all on the underside of her. Her name is Akiva and she is a Southern Flying Squirrel. On Monday March 7th she will be 10 weeks old. I got her from a breeder in Texas on Feb 15th. I live in Vancouver, WA. Not that location matters LoL. Just a little info about us I guess. :-) Anyway, her fur is coming off in clumps and has, I guess like a crust, attached to it at the base. Her skin is not red, irritated, sore, bleeding or broken open or anything like that. She is on goats milk esbilac formula. After feeding I try to dry her off, but she gets really squirmy and runs back into my shirt as quickly as possible when she is done eating. So some times are more successful than others when drying her off. She is still learning to groom herself and can't really reach her neck where the fur loss is occuring. I was wondering if maybe the formula drying on her skin is causing the fur loss? And would explain the crust on the chunks of fur that are coming out? Her skin does not seem irritated at all, so it's not like her skin is seeping causing the crust. Is it possible that this is the problem and if I take a wet, warm washcloth and clean her after feedings that maybe this will help and her fur can grow back? Any advice, thoughts or opinions would be wonderful. If necessary I will take her to the vet as early as Monday. But if it is possible that this is the problem, I would be willing to try to fix the problem myself. I know her fur won't grow back over night or anything, but if I try cleaning her up better and she stops losing fur, then I could hold off on the vet visit if you guys think that would be ok. I used to have a Northern Flying Squirrel and never seemed to have this issue when she was on the same formula. So, I'm not sure what to do, or if the formula is even the culprit. I don't know if this is a common issue with formula fed flyers if they are not getting cleaned or dried off properly after feeding? Please help! Thank you!

[Nancy in New York]

I suspect what you are seeing is what they call "milk burn".
It's when the forumla is left on their fur, it "eats" the fur away.
You have to make sure that you not only wipe it off, but do so with
a warm damp cloth to get it completely off.
Give that a try and I suspect in no time, you will see new growth
and your little one will be perfect.

May I ask why she is on Goats Milk formula?
Was this recommended for flyers?
May I add, I am not familiar with flyers, other
than I babysat them a couple of times. :)

I posted a link below that you may find helpful.
Good luck with your little one! :hug


http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?37700-HEALTHY-DIET-for-PET-Flying-Squirrels

[bratann617]

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it! I had never heard of the term "milk burn" before. I suspected maybe it was the milk, but didn't really know why it would do that. I will definitely clean her up after feedings whether she likes it or not! LoL. She is just stubborn and wants to go hide immediately after eating. She probably won't like it, but that's just too bad! :grin2
Yes, I was told that goats milk was recommended by the breeder I got her from and that was what I had read online previously when I had rescued a Northern Flying Squirrel too. She won't be on formula for too much longer, but she is still just a baby. Thank you for that link! That is one of the threads I haven't seen yet. Very helpful info!

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it! I had never heard of the term "milk burn" before. I suspected maybe it was the milk, but didn't really know why it would do that. I will definitely clean her up after feedings whether she likes it or not! LoL. She is just stubborn and wants to go hide immediately after eating. She probably won't like it, but that's just too bad! :grin2
Yes, I was told that goats milk was recommended by the breeder I got her from and that was what I had read online previously when I had rescued a Northern Flying Squirrel too.

She is a typical kid! They hate their faces cleaned off.:grin2
Just make sure you use a little warm water on a soft
cloth and get any place the formula would have landed.
She will be good as new in no time. :w00t
Just copied some threads below.
I did not apply neorsporin to the ones I got in, I
just kept them clean and the fur grew back.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51648-Milk-burn&highlight=Milk+burn
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?36686-How-to-Treat-Milk-Burn&highlight=burn

[bratann617]

Yep! Haha! Thank you!

[bratann617]

I'm not sure if I'll do the Neosporin part either. I'll just see how she heals with me keeping it clean now.

[Nancy in New York]

I'm not sure if I'll do the Neosporin part either. I'll just see how she heals with me keeping it clean now.
Yeah that's what I did with the little ones that came in with milk
burn. I wasn't sure about getting that so close to their little mouth. :thinking

[bratann617]

Yeah, that's true, and her skin doesn't seem to be irritated. If it was and there was risk for infection, that would be a different story.

[island rehabber]

Nancy's got you all straightened out on this one :great -- I just wanted to add that I find the unscented baby wipes are excellent for getting all the formula off babies' faces and fur. I take one out before I begin feeding and place it somewhere on the heating pad so it warms up -- they can be VERY cold, as you know. Then after feeding everyone gets a thorough face washing. Years ago I neglected to do this and had a baby who actually developed a sore under his chin because of milk burn :hidechair. I didn't realize it until I saw blood! Milk burn often happens on the front paws, too, where they reach up and hold the syringe.

[bratann617]

Thank you! And the baby wipes are a good idea too. She has a little bit of the burn on her right forearm area because she reaches up and grabs the syringe and the milk drips down her arm.

[island rehabber]

Thank you! And the baby wipes are a good idea too. She has a little bit of the burn on her right forearm area because she reaches up and grabs the syringe and the milk drips down her arm.

Don't waste your hard-earned rehabbing money on Huggies --- the grocery store brands are just as good and way cheaper!

[bratann617]

I swear, baby wipes work for everything! LoL

[Nancy in New York]

I swear, baby wipes work for everything! LoL
They ARE great.:w00t
You know I just thought, I also sometimes
use cotton balls with warm water on these wee ones.

[bratann617]

That's a good idea too. Thank you both so much for your tips!

[Anne]

The Goat's milk Esbilac is fine for your baby. I haven't used it and so have no idea if it perhaps drys harder than regular formula powder.
But this does sound like milk burn to me also. And though the unscented baby wipes are wonderful their size can sometimes over whelm a tiny flyer pup. I usually go for the warm cotton facial pads pressed so the warm water isn't dripping off. The pads are small and thin and easily used one handed. I just drip mine into the cup of water I use to heat/keep warm the formula, press it and wipe the formula off. If you are holding baby upright to feed she should be in a great position to wipe down. I wouldn't use any antibiotics on the area. I am a bit concerned about the "crustiness" on her balding spots, but do think that will improve with a good cleaning after feeding.
So now were are our pictures of your precious baby? We love getting to know all the squirrels through lots and lots of pictures! :Love_Icon:hug

[bratann617]

I don't have a lot of pics of her yet, but here are a couple. I had a couple I was trying to attach and it isn't letting me. I'll try again in a minute.

[bratann617]

Actually, it's not letting me because the pic size is too big. Bummer. So just those two pics for the time being. I'm going to see if cropping the pics will help.

[bratann617]

It worked!

[Nancy in New York]

:klunkCUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:klunk

[bratann617]

The set of 3 pics, the one in the middle and on the right she was 7 weeks. I had just gotten her, the one on the left is about 8 weeks old. The top two, the one on the right she is about 9 weeks old and the one on the left with the purple border was just yesterday, almost 10 weeks old.

[Nancy in New York]

The set of 3 pics, the one in the middle and on the right she was 7 weeks. I had just gotten her, the one on the left is about 8 weeks old. The top two, the one on the right she is about 9 weeks old and the one on the left with the purple border was just yesterday, almost 10 weeks old.

They are ALL adorable but I especially love the one from yesterday, she looks so :serene

[bratann617]

I love her little teeth in the pic from yesterday! :grin3

[Shewhosweptforest]

I'm telling you...I think there's very few things in this world cuter than a flyer...and that's saying a lot :klunk I'd be soo owned :owned

I'm really glad you found this site...you and your lil one are in wonderful hands :serene

[bratann617]

Thank you! And I am very glad I found you guys as well! Flyers have a way of stealing your heart immediately! They are adorable and I love them so much! I was in love with Akiva the moment I saw her. She is so sweet! I'm so glad that she is a part of my family! :Love_Icon She is so spoiled!

[Anne]

That is one seriously adorable flying squirrel! :Love_Icon

[bratann617]

Thank you! I think so too! But maybe I'm a little biased because she is my baby! LoL :grin2 :Love_Icon

[Fireweed]

SO CUTE! :klunk:Love_Icon
In that one pic she's all like "Wow, trippy. I thought that green thing on my hoomin's arm was FOOD!"

[bratann617]

Just an update, it was indeed Milk Burn on my little Kiva. I feel really horrible that I let it happen in the first place. But she has stopped losing fur and she has some new fuzzy growth! Thank you all for your help! We both appreciate it! :grin2 :grin3

[Nancy in New York]

Just an update, it was indeed Milk Burn on my little Kiva. I feel really horrible that I let it happen in the first place. But she has stopped losing fur and she has some new fuzzy growth! Thank you all for your help! We both appreciate it! :grin2 :grin3

Great update. :thumbsup
This happens a lot, not to worry.
You saw a problem and looked for help!
Perfect! :hug

[bratann617]

Thank you! You guys are awesome!

[Jessecara321]

Hey my little grey squirrel is showing the same exact symptoms the only problem is that I'm having trouble getting it out of his fur. I'm using a flat cotton ball dipped in really warm water (because I know it's clean and sterile) but for some reason the crust won't come off no matter how hard I scrub. I'm trying to be gentle with him because he's 4 weeks and I don't want more hair to fall off.
Any suggestions on how to get it off to stop the burn from happening?

[bratann617]

The only thing I can think of, is to just continue washing him after every feeding and it will eventually come off. It's likely that he is going to lose the fur right there anyway. If you continue to keep him clean, his fur will grow back in no time. I personally think that he is too young for a bath. So keep doing what you are doing and just wash him after every feeding. Maybe some of the other pros have some advice. In the previous comments, if you haven't read them yet, there is advice on a couple of different ways to wash them. Good luck!