probable UTI

[olorin19]

Ziggy is a 13 month old male NR, a happy guy with lots of character.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?55222-Ziggy

I am pretty sure he has a UTI. He has been looking inflamed at the tip of his penis, and there was some white substance that came out today, sort of the consistency of neosporin. It came out much like something squeezed from a tube, about a centimeter.

What would be the best treatment? Is there something topical? An oral antibiotic?

Thanks!

[Lighten-Up]

I don't have any experience with UTI's, so I can't validate by your description that that is what Ziggy has. And, I also am not versed in antibiotics, so I can't recommend an antibiotic.

So I will only offer thoughts that I have., based on my quick reading about the nature of UTI's
From a natural perspective, if it is a UTI, than high doses of vitamin C can raise the acid in the urinary track and help wipe out the bacteria. So if this is true, then I would see if he likes Rose Hips, fresh or dried, which are super high in vitamin C. At least with this treatment, if it is not a UTI, the Rose Hips will not have hurt him in any way, but only have benefited him by the extra minerals and antioxidants that they contain.

Please know, I don't have experience in this, I am only making a suggestion that you can choose to think about.

Maybe others will respond with different info. :-)

[Lighten-Up]

Is there something topical?
Thanks!

It came into my mind to consider applying coconut oil to his genital area. I found this on the internet, written for humans:

--While urinating pour a cup of warm water over the genital area. It will help relieve burning and stinging.
--Apply unrefined coconut oil liberally to the entire genital area, and ensure you are also consuming unrefined coconut oil along with the candida diet.

Note: To those who read posts that I write, I know..... I recommend coconut oil for everything....:eek
If I keep this up, I'm going to have to change my avatar name to 'Coconut'..... :shakehead

[redwuff]

Are you sure it is a UTI and not just, ummm.....a moment of pleasure?

Semen looks like what you described:serene

[olorin19]

It came into my mind to consider applying coconut oil to his genital area. I found this on the internet, written for humans:

--While urinating pour a cup of warm water over the genital area. It will help relieve burning and stinging.
--Apply unrefined coconut oil liberally to the entire genital area, and ensure you are also consuming unrefined coconut oil along with the candida diet.

Note: To those who read posts that I write, I know..... I recommend coconut oil for everything....:eek
If I keep this up, I'm going to have to change my avatar name to 'Coconut'..... :shakehead

Thanks, LU

I see you are venturing into the exciting new field of "squerbology" (i.e. herbology for squirrels) - good on ya!

Note to others: Beneath the anonymity of TSB, we actually live in the same small town and swap squirrels tips and stories.

We are working with warm water plus coconut oil - good ideas, thanks.

I am also giving Ziggy oral antibiotics to help from above, plus applying some of same directly to the end of his squirrel wiener.

[olorin19]

Are you sure it is a UTI and not just, ummm.....a moment of pleasure?

Semen looks like what you described:serene

I had wondered about whether this was semen given the color. What came out retained the tubular shape - imagine a long bead of caulk or toothpaste from a tube. So unless squirrel semen does that, the only way this might be semen is if it was stuck in the penis then came out when he needed to pee.

Ziggy is 13 months old now. It has only been recently that I have seen anything other than the very tip extend out. While it has looked redder than I would have thought normal, I do not have any basis of comparison.

The last week or so, he has had trouble urinating, both getting going and a good stream.

My best guess is still UTI.

[olorin19]

Update: We started giving Ziggy lots of an oral probiotic that I have taken daily myself since 1995. My maintenance does is about 60 ml daily. Ziggy got about 5-6 ml yesterday, so adjusting for his relative size that amounts to me taking about two weeks worth in a day. I used this same probiotic both times when treating Dustin for abscesses to offset the antibiotics, and it worked extremely well.

While Ziggy still looked swollen and inflamed and had the tip of his penis sticking out last night, this morning there is no sign of inflammation, the tip is hidden, and he had a normal pee with a decent stream. (He lies on his side in the grass to pee. When he gets lined up right, most of the pee other than the last bit hits the grass rather than Ziggy. With the inflammation, it would tend to end up all on him.)

Also this morning: There was a crust the color and consistency of dried booger on the end of his foreskin, which I picked off. I am guessing this shows that he is clearing out the infection.

I am going to keep giving him lots of probiotics for maybe a week, then continue with about 1 ml daily as maintenance.

[olorin19]

Okay, here are two good photos of what came out out of Ziggy's penis today. He had been trying to pee and not succeeding, in his normal position on his side in the grass. (Unlike Zoolander, Ziggy is an ambi-turner - he can pee after turning onto either side. But I digress....)

Anyways, out came this white tube, and then out came the pee. This was at about 2 pm, and he had peed twice this morning, most recently at about 9:30. (He may have peed since then, as sometimes he does so when belly down in the grass.)

If straightened out, this white thing would be about 1.25 cm long. While it may look like a worm, I am highly skeptical that it actually is, as it readily separates into pieces as it dries.

Anybody know what this is?

Ziggy does seem much better, i.e. not all red and inflamed, and generally the tip is not visible. But he is still not peeing easily.

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[redwuff]

Looks exactly like ejaculate substance to me. I don't understand why he keeps doing this though. :thinking

[olorin19]

Looks exactly like ejaculate substance to me. I don't understand why he keeps doing this though. :thinking

Thanks.

So I actually saw this come out onto the grass, followed immediately by pee. I have a had time believing that he ejaculated then immediately peed. So if this is ejaculate, then he must have ejaculated in the previous few hours then had this got stuck somewhere along the way before getting forced out by the pee.

I have never seen squirrel ejaculate. But other than being white, this bears little resemblance to human ejaculate. It is not at all liquid or gooey, and this peculiar specimen (after splitting into three pieces when I examined it after the photo) is otherwise maintaining its cylindrical shape as it dries and shrinks.

[UDoWhat]

I agree with Wuff ..... I have seen this before but not sure why either for this boy. Male squirrels ejaculate a "waxy plug" after mating to keep the female from being impregnated by other males. I would definitely put him on an antibiotic if you even suspect a UTI. They are painful and can become dangerous.

[redwuff]

I am taking another squirrel to our vet on Tuesday. Will see if he can give any advice.:grouphug

[olorin19]

I agree with Wuff ..... I have seen this before but not sure why either for this boy. Male squirrels ejaculate a "waxy plug" after mating to keep the female from being impregnated by other males. I would definitely put him on an antibiotic if you even suspect a UTI. They are painful and can become dangerous.

Okay, thanks to both of you. Waxy plug is a fine description of this, so good to at least know what I am seeing.

The redness and inflammation seems to be all gone. The main symptom now is the difficulty urinating.

Does this sound like UTI? If so, then what would be the best antibiotic for a UTI?

[redwuff]

His condition lends itself to UTI's with his belly crawling. I also wonder if it tends to stimulate his penis. I notice that our young males tend to have a worn/wet look around their penis at times. In fact I took an overwinter boy to a vet cos I thought he had a UTI.

Clavamox would be a good antibiotic to have on hand for possible UTI.

[UDoWhat]

This definitely could be a UTI. Can you get any antibiotics?

[olorin19]

Went to the vet yesterday and started Ziggy on clavamox. These folks know me well from helping with both Dustin's recoveries from abscesses.

And while there, they gave me a bonus squirrel - here's Mookie....

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[redwuff]

Yup, after one squirrel, others tend to find you! :grouphug

Mookie is beautiful! Glad you got antibiotic for the Zigmeister.

[stepnstone]

Went to the vet yesterday and started Ziggy on clavamox. These folks know me well from helping with both Dustin's recoveries from abscesses.
And while there, they gave me a bonus squirrel - here's Mookie....

I received two that way, guess I need to change my way of thinking... :laugh2

[olorin19]

Yup, after one squirrel, others tend to find you! :grouphug

Mookie is beautiful! Glad you got antibiotic for the Zigmeister.

Oddly enough, we do actually refer to him as Zigmeister, as well as Zignatius and Zigatory. He does collect nicknames.

[olorin19]

I received two that way, guess I need to change my way of thinking... :laugh2

I was quite excited about getting a third. Dustin is back outdoors, but these two guys will make for a busy summer.

[UDoWhat]

I received two that way, guess I need to change my way of thinking... :laugh2

Yep .... Step, I guess that is one way to look at it...... bonus squirrel. Not my first thought. :rotfl:rotfl

[stepnstone]

Yep .... Step, I guess that is one way to look at it...... bonus squirrel. Not my first thought. :rotfl:rotfl
I bet it isn't!
Ya'll be the bonus collectors over there.... http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/laughing/crying-with-laughter.gif

[olorin19]

Ziggy is much improved as far as the urine flow. As of tonight, he has been on clavamox for 3.5 days. I know with abscesses we went ten days, but what about UTI? Is seven days enough?

With probiotics, his poop has not been markedly altered by the Clavamox, but I would prefer not to keep him on the clavamox longer than necessary.

P.S. - Mookie is doing well. Very scrawny upon arrival, but vigorously eating FV 20/50, Henry's block, and next we try peeled grapes.

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[olorin19]

Ziggy update:

I had Ziggy on clavamox for nine days. It did seem to help, so most likely a UTI was at least part of the issue. However, there still seems to be some difficulty peeing due to the semen wax plug. This morning, for example, while he did not look at all swollen or red, there was a tiny bit of crustiness at the tip, which I managed to work loose. A small segment of the white wax plug was attached. Ziggy peed after that.

Does anyone know if this (semen wax plug getting at least temporarily stuck in penis) is common? Or more importantly, is there anything that can be done about it?

[UDoWhat]

Ziggy update:

I had Ziggy on clavamox for nine days. It did seem to help, so most likely a UTI was at least part of the issue. However, there still seems to be some difficulty peeing due to the semen wax plug. This morning, for example, while he did not look at all swollen or red, there was a tiny bit of crustiness at the tip, which I managed to work loose. A small segment of the white wax plug was attached. Ziggy peed after that.

Does anyone know if this (semen wax plug getting at least temporarily stuck in penis) is common? Or more importantly, is there anything that can be done about it?

I don't think this is a common problem. Just not sure why it is happening. I would check his penis everyday and keep it clear from the waxy stuff . Maybe try to soak it off or loosen with Vaseline so you don't irritate the skin. If you have a Vet I would take Ziggy in. Maybe someone else on the board has experienced this before?

[olorin19]

I don't think this is a common problem. Just not sure why it is happening. I would check his penis everyday and keep it clear from the waxy stuff . Maybe try to soak it off or loosen with Vaseline so you don't irritate the skin. If you have a Vet I would take Ziggy in. Maybe someone else on the board has experienced this before?

Thanks UDW

It is easy enough to clean the outside of Ziggy's penis, also to remove any crust and whatever is attached to the crust but still inside. but if there is a wax plug still inside, at this point all i can do is wait for it to be ejected.

When we found Ziggy (precisely one year ago today when he was about six weeks old), he had little movement in his rear legs. While that did improve quite a bit, he never became able to walk or even sit up without support. He gets around on his side and belly using both front and back legs. It seems almost as if the middle does not work. Perhaps the area of the spine that was presumably injured enervates the viscera, and this is related to this issue? Or perhaps it is really just as simple as he is on his belly a lot and his penis gets lots of stimulation as a result.

Anyways, I am open to any and all suggestions, thanks.

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[olorin19]

Two updates:

#1 - A couple of days after the antibiotics were stopped, Ziggy had a few days of diarrhea. The timing was odd, as with probiotics there had been little change in his poop during the antibiotics, and the probiotics have continued since. There were a few days where (as far as I could tell) Ziggy only peed once or twice. (He usually is lying on his side with opposite rear leg raised, but he occasionally does pee while on his belly.) Lately, however, he has peed at least three times a day, and four times most days. This is about what was usual prior to the UTI and/or wax plug issue, although 5x was also common. There have been a few more wax plugs, but no signs of inflammation. So, Ziggy seems over the hump here - thanks to everyone for your advice.

#2 - When I got my bonus squirrel at the vet, they told me it was a boy. Well, Mookie has been renamed Amy, as she is definitely not a boy. (For anyone who has read Justin Cronin's marvelous trilogy, she is named after "Amy, the girl from nowhere", thus "Amy, the squirrel from nowhere.")

[cava]

Did you know:

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/13885/male-horse-hygiene

It's an article about horses and smegma, a waxy or flaky build-up in the sheath around the penis caused by accumulation of dirt, urine, secretions, oil, skin cells...

Check it out. It's not about squirrels but may shed some light on the situation.

[olorin19]

Did you know:

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/13885/male-horse-hygiene

It's an article about horses and smegma, a waxy or flaky build-up in the sheath around the penis caused by accumulation of dirt, urine, secretions, oil, skin cells...

Check it out. It's not about squirrels but may shed some light on the situation.

Thanks cava

I will check it out, but what is coming out of Ziggy is white, waxy, and cylindrical, and (as far as I can tell) coming from inside rather than around the penis. On several occasions, part of a plug has been sticking out and I have removed the rest by pulling on the protruding portion. On several other occasions, I have seen the plug come out, followed almost immediately by urine.

With that said, hopefully this will give me some ideas about how to improve his hygiene in the area.

And like I said, "99% sure" - so definitely worth considering.

Thanks.