Squirrel with two scab spots from Itching

[Michelle1]

Hi I have a 6 year old Male Foxer Squirrel, I noticed yesterday he had a raised scab area under his one arm. I looked at it further it looks like dry skin & a scab. I also noticed he is biting & scratching on his foot it looks red there. I am not sure what could be causing him to do this. I have looked him over as best as possible and the rest of his skin looks like healthy skin. He is still molting & hasn't got a complete winter coat in yet. There are still a few spots on his back that need to come in yet. But molting has never caused this before to happen to him. So I am not sure what it would be I don't see anything on him as far as mites,fleas etc. I know sometimes its hard to see these so I thought maybe I should just use something just in case it could be that but I don't see bites on him, so don't want to use this on him if it isn't needed. Not sure if it could be something in his diet maybe. I feed him daily 2 to 3 Henri's healthy blocks, a mix of vegtables 2 -3 times a day, a few fruits & I give him nuts & seeds & sometimes dried fruit as snacks. I also put Electrolyte Vitamin D3 drops in his water. However this is not new I pretty much have always kept his diet the same. Another thing he does have flab lumps under his arms on both sides same area same size they aren't like hard more like flabby. Not sure if this could be anything related. I have talked to rehabber on this &read up on this & have heard its possible this is like fatty tumors but probably benign. I have personally seen a tumor in a rat before which was cancerous & it doesn't look or feel to be anything of this nature. If anyone has any information on what could be causing him be itching like this please post any information would be helpful.

[SammysMom]

Hi there! When I read what you wrote, a couple of things come to mind. Personally, I would get some Revolution flea treatment and use a 1cc syringe to put 2 drops between his shoulder blades, being sure to get it right on the skin. This will take care of any parasitic issues. The other one is that I would not add anymore Vitamin D to his water. I would take down his water bottle, rinse it out and fill it with plain water. Vitamin D is toxic to rodents in high doses and it is fat soluble so it stores up in the fat cells in their bodies. It is a cumulative thing so it can end up being too much for them over time.
I am not sure about the lumps under his arms, but the fact that they are under both seems like it is likely not cancerous tumors.

[Michelle1]

Hi thanks for your reply and information. I will definitely stop putting vitamin d in his water then. Revolution can I buy this from a veterinarian? Is there a specific Revelution treatment I should ask for since his weight is a lot less than like a dog or cat?

[SammysMom]

Just get one tube of the one for cats. You will only need a couple of drops from a 1cc syringe. Don't squeeze it from the tube as it will be too hard to tell how much you dose.
Revolution is from a vet.

[Delo729]

did you change anything that you clean the cage/squirrel area with? I changed detergent one time and it caused little scabby things where Arya was itching. Took her to the vet. Dr. C said it wasn't parasitical and then Ms. Judi asked if I'd changed detergent recently. Soon as I went back to my regular detergent Arya got all better. She's also a pet squirrel btw. So it made sense that something as simple as a cleaning agent change would cause her symptoms.

[CritterMom]

Could possibly also be a little staph type infection. Buy a bottle of 10% betadyne (generic 10% povidone iodine) in the wound care aisle at the drug store. Add about 20 drops to 1/4 cup water - it should be the color of iced tea. Use this to wipe the spots down several times a day - don't rinse . You can start this immediately while looking for Revolution (wwwjoespetmeds.com sells it - ships from Australia).

[Michelle1]

Hi I will try the bentydne mix and will get Revelution On him hopefully this will help with the itching. Thanks for the reply and information.

[Michelle1]

did you change anything that you clean the cage/squirrel area with? I changed detergent one time and it caused little scabby things where Arya was itching. Took her to the vet. Dr. C said it wasn't parasitical and then Ms. Judi asked if I'd changed detergent recently. Soon as I went back to my regular detergent Arya got all better. She's also a pet squirrel btw. So it made sense that something as simple as a cleaning agent change would cause her symptoms.

Re:I have used the same detergent so it wouldn't be that. But thanks for the information I will definitely try not to switch ever if this has caused your little one problems.