Anyone know what this bald patch with scaly skin could be?

[lennysmom]

Was playing with Angel today and I noticed a bald patch on his back thigh that I hadn't seen before.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-CBTzcVN/0/L/i-CBTzcVN-L.jpg

Upon closer inspection I noticed that it was scaly and a little red right around the edge, something I haven't seen before. Does anyone know what this could be?
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-LGxhWDC/0/X2/i-LGxhWDC-X2.jpg

I just wanted to make sure it wasn't the start of some sort of skin condition and if so, I want to take care of it early. It does itch him. I will mention that I have not changed any soaps, detergents or dryer sheets, and I don't wear perfume or lotion around him. I use perfume and dye free detergent, unscented dryer sheets, and all natural hand soap. I am at a loss as to what this could be or why it came up so quickly on him.:thinking

[CritterMom]

Probably a little staph infection. 20 drops of betadyne in 1/4 cup water and use to wet that area down twice a day.

[lennysmom]

Probably a little staph infection. 20 drops of betadyne in 1/4 cup water and use to wet that area down twice a day.

Ok, thanks CritterMom. I will defiantly do that.
Any idea what might cause that?

[Chickenlegs]

I've never seen ringworm on a squirrel but there is a red ring around the bald area. Maybe get somebody who HAS seen RW to rule that out. Love you Angel :Love_Icon

[JPlagg]

I've never seen ringworm on a squirrel but there is a red ring around the bald area. Maybe get somebody who HAS seen RW to rule that out. Love you Angel :Love_Icon

I've seen ringworm on humans and that looks like what I remember. Anyone know an anti-fungal good for squirrels?

[CritterMom]

That is why I suggested the betadyne. It is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.

Mister P gets this in the summer sometimes, and he doesn't go outside at all. I suspect that like everything else, it pops up in the summer warmth.

[lennysmom]

I've never seen ringworm on a squirrel but there is a red ring around the bald area. Maybe get somebody who HAS seen RW to rule that out. Love you Angel :Love_Icon

Ugh, I thought about ringworm when I saw it, but I was hoping that's not what it is. And I have NO idea how he would have gotten that considering that he is not exposed to any other animals or anyone who had it..:dono

[lennysmom]

That is why I suggested the betadyne. It is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.

Mister P gets this in the summer sometimes, and he doesn't go outside at all. I suspect that like everything else, it pops up in the summer warmth.

Ah, ok. I didn't think about the summer heat possibly causing it.
I will go get the betadyne tonight.
Good to know other indoor squee have experienced this before too.

[SquirrelSense]

Poor Baby..i don't have any useful advise..just want you to know I thing abut you and pray for surcess and quick painless healing for lil Lenny each and every day and evening.

We love you :Love_Icon
XOXOXO-Claudia BostonSquirrelyGirl, Gwenzy, Winky,Kalhua, beloved angels Ol Grey, Buster squirrel Squeeee on both my shoulders and the 1st angel Mabel

[TubeDriver]

Other option would be ringworm. Could you have touched an outdoor animal (mouse or squirrel) and then maybe patted Angel?

[MiriamS]

I've seen a lot of ringworm in kittens (and therefore on myself) and that's what it looks like to me. You'll need to apply an antifungal cream a couple of times a day. Anything from CVS will work, such as clotriminazole, etc. I'm currently dealing with it myself. It's very contagious and the spores get everywhere so try to give him a bath or rub-down with a wet cloth as often as possible and keep him away from other animals.

[DaSquirrelMom]

Sunlight exposure is prescribed for humans with ringworm (a fungus that can grow in any damp place including her cage) in addition to topical anti fungal meds. I have no idea how long she could "suntan" without burning. If it's ringworm, her entire cage must be cleaned with 10% bleach solution. Your other pets could soon be infected. :(

[DaSquirrelMom]

Interesting stuff I found:

-A few dermatophyte species are soil inhabitants (geophilic), eg, M gypseum and T terrestre, and cause disease in animals that are exposed while digging or rooting.

-….the housefly, Musca domestica, can transmit M canis mechanically with its outer body surface for as long as 5 days

-Broken hairs infected with spores are important sources for spread of the disease.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integumentary_system/dermatophytosis/overview_of_dermatophytosis.html

-feet are a reservoir of fungus and ringworm can easily make its way into the home on your shoes.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/49666-rid-home-ringworm/

[lennysmom]

Other option would be ringworm. Could you have touched an outdoor animal (mouse or squirrel) and then maybe patted Angel?

No, I'm always very careful to wash my hands right before I visit Angel - he gets upset if he smells another animal on me.. somehow he thinks I belong ONLY to him.:grin2

[lennysmom]

I've seen a lot of ringworm in kittens (and therefore on myself) and that's what it looks like to me. You'll need to apply an antifungal cream a couple of times a day. Anything from CVS will work, such as clotriminazole, etc. I'm currently dealing with it myself. It's very contagious and the spores get everywhere so try to give him a bath or rub-down with a wet cloth as often as possible and keep him away from other animals.

My concern with the antifungal cream is that he will ingest it, since he chews at that place quite a bit. Is it safe for them to ingest?
I hate to hear that it's very contagious if that's what it is though.:( He's not exposed to any other animals and I will be sure to wash my hands after handling him. So far I only see it in that one spot on his body, but I am wiping him down in that area twice a day as CritterMom suggested with the betadyne. So far it seems to be helping - it was very red and irritated last night and after using the betadyne, the redness was greatly reduced.

[lennysmom]

Sunlight exposure is prescribed for humans with ringworm (a fungus that can grow in any damp place including her cage) in addition to topical anti fungal meds. I have no idea how long she could "suntan" without burning. If it's ringworm, her entire cage must be cleaned with 10% bleach solution. Your other pets could soon be infected. :(

It is WAY too hot here right now to put him in direct sunlight - I wonder if a sunlamp would help at all? I do have one of those I could attach to the top of his cage if it would help..
I actually just cleaned his cage last night, but I didn't use bleach - only Dawn dish detergent. To be cautious, I will do that today. I will also add a little bleach to his blankets when I wash them.

[lennysmom]

Interesting stuff I found:

-A few dermatophyte species are soil inhabitants (geophilic), eg, M gypseum and T terrestre, and cause disease in animals that are exposed while digging or rooting.

-….the housefly, Musca domestica, can transmit M canis mechanically with its outer body surface for as long as 5 days

-Broken hairs infected with spores are important sources for spread of the disease.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integumentary_system/dermatophytosis/overview_of_dermatophytosis.html

-feet are a reservoir of fungus and ringworm can easily make its way into the home on your shoes.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/49666-rid-home-ringworm/

I never knew a fly could carry things like that, although I haven't seen any flies in the house this year so far. But on the bottom of shoes... wow, I never thought about that really, but I suppose it could be a possibility that something like that could be carried in on the bottom of my shoes. Interesting facts - thanks for sharing.

[Snowy]

Please don't use a sunlamp.....unless you can put light blocking goggles on him.

When I was much younger, I had a sunlamp and even though I was not looking directly at the bulb, my eyeballs got burned terribly. Worst pain I have ever experienced.





It is WAY too hot here right now to put him in direct sunlight - I wonder if a sunlamp would help at all? I do have one of those I could attach to the top of his cage if it would help..
I actually just cleaned his cage last night, but I didn't use bleach - only Dawn dish detergent. To be cautious, I will do that today. I will also add a little bleach to his blankets when I wash them.

[lennysmom]

Please don't use a sunlamp.....unless you can put light blocking goggles on him.

When I was much younger, I had a sunlamp and even though I was not looking directly at the bulb, my eyeballs got burned terribly. Worst pain I have ever experienced.

I actually meant a reptile UV lamp... guess I should have clarified.:embar
But that does sound awful!:eek Thanks for the warning.

[Snowy]

Yep, it was an experience I'll never forget! Just the word "sunlamp" makes me cringe.

Hope you get to the bottom of Angel's irritation soon.


I actually meant a reptile UV lamp... guess I should have clarified.:embar
But that does sound awful!:eek Thanks for the warning.

[Lighten-Up]

I was just reading this thread, when I saw ringworm mentioned, I did a google search, because I don't know what ringworm is. (I am new to all this).

I found this on Dr.Weils site:[for people, not squirrels]
The main symptom of ringworm is a raised, circular rash that is red, and very mildly inflamed with scaling edges and clear, normal skin in the middle. It is typically very itchy and may blister and ooze. This ring-shaped rash can be caused by a number of different fungi and occur anywhere on a person's skin (tinea corporis), scalp (tinea capitis) , or nails (tinea unguium). When ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot (tinea pedis); when it occurs in the groin area, it is called jock itch (tinea cruris).

When I saw the part that said, "when ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot."

I saw the connection between ringworm and athletes foot, for myself, I found a lovely athletes foot remedy, sesame oil, applied to the feet area twice a day completely eliminated it within a week or two, without any side effects of the skin burning off from chemical applications. This is apparently normal protocol in Ayervedic medicine. Sesame oil has properties in it that kill fungus.

Just passing it on in case it would be of help to anyone, and or Squirrels!!. I would think that it would be safe to use on squirrels. Let me know if anyone knows differently. I am not an expert at all on this, but it seems to me if athletes foot, is ringworm, then sesame oil should do the same thing on feet or body parts....to anything that is of this particular fungus.

[DarkLies212]

How's your gorgeous little man doing today? :hug

[lennysmom]

How's your gorgeous little man doing today? :hug

About the same so far today, thanks for asking. I read online that ringworm can take 10 to 15 days to go away, if that is indeed what he has and based on what I see, I am leaning towards that.

[DarkLies212]

About the same so far today, thanks for asking. I read online that ringworm can take 10 to 15 days to go away, if that is indeed what he has and based on what I see, I am leaning towards that.

Let's start the countdown :grin3

[lennysmom]

I was just reading this thread, when I saw ringworm mentioned, I did a google search, because I don't know what ringworm is. (I am new to all this).

I found this on Dr.Weils site:[for people, not squirrels]
The main symptom of ringworm is a raised, circular rash that is red, and very mildly inflamed with scaling edges and clear, normal skin in the middle. It is typically very itchy and may blister and ooze. This ring-shaped rash can be caused by a number of different fungi and occur anywhere on a person's skin (tinea corporis), scalp (tinea capitis) , or nails (tinea unguium). When ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot (tinea pedis); when it occurs in the groin area, it is called jock itch (tinea cruris).

When I saw the part that said, "when ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot."

I saw the connection between ringworm and athletes foot, for myself, I found a lovely athletes foot remedy, sesame oil, applied to the feet area twice a day completely eliminated it within a week or two, without any side effects of the skin burning off from chemical applications. This is apparently normal protocol in Ayervedic medicine. Sesame oil has properties in it that kill fungus.

Just passing it on in case it would be of help to anyone, and or Squirrels!!. I would think that it would be safe to use on squirrels. Let me know if anyone knows differently. I am not an expert at all on this, but it seems to me if athletes foot, is ringworm, then sesame oil should do the same thing on feet or body parts....to anything that is of this particular fungus.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I found some sesame oil online on Amazon and I will order some today.
I've been doing some research on natural remedies since he may very well lick it off and I don't want to put the human antifungal creme on it for that reason. I also read that coconut oil can help with ringworm. I have some of that on hand, so until the sesame oil comes in, I may try that after the betadine rinse.

[lennysmom]

Let's start the countdown :grin3

I hope it's a short countdown and that it doesn't spread in the meantime.

[lennysmom]

Just wanted to post an update on Angel's rash - seems to be doing much better. So far all I have used is betadine rinse as I am waiting for the sesme oil to come in. The way it is going, I may not even need to use it.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-H5xbwkz/0/X2/i-H5xbwkz-X2.jpg

And here's what it looked like yesterday
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-bkKDbvz/0/XL/i-bkKDbvz-XL.jpg

[TubeDriver]

Glad things are improving for sweet Angel Squeakers!

To be honest, it does not look all that different to me in those pictures, perhaps a bit less red? But often pictures don't really capture what is going on.

[CritterMom]

Sesame oil? You aren't going to stir fry him, are you? POOR ANGEL!!! :eek

Coconut oil does as well and is a common ringworm medication.

[lennysmom]

Glad things are improving for sweet Angel Squeakers!

To be honest, it does not look all that different to me in those pictures, perhaps a bit less red? But often pictures don't really capture what is going on.

Thanks TD. Yeah, the raised red ring part is disappearing but I guess it is kind of hard to tell from the pics. And yes, it is much less red overall as well.

[lennysmom]

Sesame oil? You aren't going to stir fry him, are you? POOR ANGEL!!! :eek

Coconut oil does as well and is a common ringworm medication.

Oh goodness CritterMom, no certainly not to baste him!!:shakehead :grin
It was in response to what Lighten-up said had helped her with a similar issue.

I was just reading this thread, when I saw ringworm mentioned, I did a google search, because I don't know what ringworm is. (I am new to all this).

I found this on Dr.Weils site:[for people, not squirrels]
The main symptom of ringworm is a raised, circular rash that is red, and very mildly inflamed with scaling edges and clear, normal skin in the middle. It is typically very itchy and may blister and ooze. This ring-shaped rash can be caused by a number of different fungi and occur anywhere on a person's skin (tinea corporis), scalp (tinea capitis) , or nails (tinea unguium). When ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot (tinea pedis); when it occurs in the groin area, it is called jock itch (tinea cruris).

When I saw the part that said, "when ringworm affects the feet, it is called athlete's foot."

I saw the connection between ringworm and athletes foot, for myself, I found a lovely athletes foot remedy, sesame oil, applied to the feet area twice a day completely eliminated it within a week or two, without any side effects of the skin burning off from chemical applications. This is apparently normal protocol in Ayervedic medicine. Sesame oil has properties in it that kill fungus.

Just passing it on in case it would be of help to anyone, and or Squirrels!!. I would think that it would be safe to use on squirrels. Let me know if anyone knows differently. I am not an expert at all on this, but it seems to me if athletes foot, is ringworm, then sesame oil should do the same thing on feet or body parts....to anything that is of this particular fungus.

[Lighten-Up]

Sesame oil? You aren't going to stir fry him, are you? POOR ANGEL!!! :eek


:laugh2
New treatments often get interesting reactions... :-)
...a healing oil, not a basting oil!:grin2

I agree that coconut oil has fabulous healing properties, and would not hesitate to use it. From what I am learning in Ayurvedic Medicine, they seem to prefer sesame oil for this type of fungus, so maybe in this application it has an edge over coconut oil. I am not an expert in this, still learning, but I love that it is natural with no side effects.

[MiriamS]

The photos don't demonstrate that much of an improvement but if you see clean skin without the scaliness then it's probably getting better. It can take weeks or even months to get rid of ringworm but it can also resolve itself in a few weeks. There are a bunch of different kinds of ringworm and some are stronger than others. The only way to know it's cleared is to see fur growing back. Are you bathing him regularly and applying an anti-fungal cream? They're not toxic so don't worry about him ingesting it. Also, don't feel like this is your fault. Ringworm naturally occurs in the environment so it could have been tracked in on your shoes or the spores could have come through the windows.

[Skayda]

Sesame oil? You aren't going to stir fry him, are you? POOR ANGEL!!! :eek

Coconut oil does as well and is a common ringworm medication.

I was just going to say that about coconut oil. Rub some on the area at least twice a day and give her little to eat on a treat too, unless she licks it off the area in which case she'll already be getting some inside and out. My girls hate coconut oil because I used it in the past on them to get rid of a bad ringworm case, but even so, it worked like a charm. I noticed a difference within 24 hours.

[Jaime1mia]

It looks like ringworm idk if squirrels can get it.