Swollen red front foot

[Cindy]

My squirrel Skiddles came back home yesterday morning and he was favoring his right front leg. I couldn't get a good look at it because he went right into his box. He ate regularly yesterday, but my work schedule didn't allow me to spend much time with him. Today I noticed he was still favoring the leg and finally this evening I got a chance to really look at it. It is very swollen, but there doesn't appear to be any scratches, holes or punctures. It looks as if it is infected. I tried to mess with it a little this evening and I can tell it is causing him pain. I wanted to give him some infant ibuprofen, but need help with dosage. He is about 16 months old and I had him since he was about 4 weeks old. I also could give him an antibiotic, but 500 mg capsules of Amoxicillin is all that I have. I wanted to give him some pain med and then try to look very closely to see if there could possibly be a hair or something else wrapped around his foot or leg. Any ideas on how to do this is really appreciated. I'll attach a couple of photos, but they are a bit blurry. Last I checked skiddles weighed about 14 ozs. and that was in early January. The first pics are for looking at skiddles size for meds, and the second two are for the foot swelling. To me the actual foot is more swollen than the picture shows. He uses it to eat and he can still move it, but he puts no weight on it and it seems to be painful to him. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks Cindy

[redwuff]

Are you able to keep skiddles in so he can get regular treatment? You definitely want to give antibiotics. Do you think 500 grams is about right? When did you weigh him at 14 oz. that is close to 400 grams and that seems light. Can you weigh him now?

I'll send you dosing for ibuprofen in a pm.

[Cindy]

He is a little smaller than average. Last time I got his weight was in December sometime. He has probably gained a little since then because I have him on a better diet including HHB. I don't believe he is over a lb though. At this time he is sleeping above my kitchen cabinets. I believe he made his summer nest up there considering he hauled all of my silk ivy over to 1 corner cabinet, and then proceed to line it with paper towels and TP. I can check in the am if he doesn't want to come out now, but I really believe he is right at the 1 lb weight. I really appreciate your help.

[Cindy]

I don't know how much antibiotics he should have. That (500 mg amoxicillin) is what I currently have available to me at this point.
Thanks,
Cindy

[redwuff]

Dosing sent.

If his foot does not show any signs of improvement in 3 - 4 days let us know. In the meantime can you ask around to see if you can get any augmentin. You can dose up to 4xs a day on the infant ibuprofen.

Sometimes a foot that looks like that can also be a fungal infection. It is funny that he makes himself right at home on the cabinets. Is he an inside outside boy?

I also had a release come back with a nasty looking foot that I was sure was an electrical injury. There was another small hole on the back side of a hock.

[Cindy]

I rescued Skiddles from my gutter when he was 4 weeks old. That was last Mar - April. It was to cold to release after he was weaned so I built a larger cage for him, then I built an outside cage for him. I have a PVC pipe going through my window in the breezeway, therefore he can go in and out as he wants. We started doing outside the cage adventures and as he got older they became a routine of I open the cage in the morning and he is free to go, he returns during the day to nap and again in the evening before bedtime. He always has food here and is a real joy, although I felt he needed to be a squirrel, run and play with other squirrels etc. He isn't liking it today, me not opening his cage. He has been quite stressed running around and wanting out, but I'm being patient. He will tire down in a bit and then I will try to work with him. As far as the antibiotics, how many times per day do I dose him? I saw the message about the iboprofen and how often I could give him a dose of that. I will attach pictures of his cages, but right now he is liking my ivy from my cabinet tops all wrapped up in a doughnut shape lined with paper towels and TP. The day he was gathering all those sprigs of ivy and taking them to my corner cabinet was so funny. Some of those sprigs I had under things and they were pretty tight. He didn't miss 1 sprig though. Thank you for all you help and I will keep you updated.
Thank you so much,
Cindy

[Cindy]

I rescued Skiddles from my gutter when he was 4 weeks old. That was last Mar - April. It was to cold to release after he was weaned so I built a larger cage for him, then I built an outside cage for him. I have a PVC pipe going through my window in the breezeway, therefore he can go in and out as he wants. We started doing outside the cage adventures and as he got older they became a routine of I open the cage in the morning and he is free to go, he returns during the day to nap and again in the evening before bedtime. He always has food here and is a real joy, although I felt he needed to be a squirrel, run and play with other squirrels etc. He isn't liking it today, me not opening his cage. He has been quite stressed running around and wanting out, but I'm being patient. He will tire down in a bit and then I will try to work with him. As far as the antibiotics, how many times per day do I dose him? I saw the message about the ibuprofen and how often I could give him a dose of that. I will attach pictures of his cages, but right now he is liking my ivy from my cabinet tops all wrapped up in a doughnut shape lined with paper towels and TP. The day he was gathering all those sprigs of ivy and taking them to my corner cabinet was so funny. Some of those sprigs I had under things and they were pretty tight. He didn't miss 1 sprig though. Thank you for all you help and I will keep you updated.
Thank you so much,
Cindy

[redwuff]

Dose the amoxicillin 2 x/ day

Ibuprofen the same amount

Did you open the pm sent?

[Cindy]

Yes I did.
Thanks

[Cindy]

I just had skittles on my lap and I believe I caught a glimpse of a fiber wrapped around his first toe close to the second knuckle. Any suggestions on how to remove this? I don't see an open end. Right now he is just to active running around, and he won't stay still at all. I will be vigilant and patient. Would rubbing over it with a cotton swab or even a little ice maybe get this started? I don't want to hurt him,but I know it needs to come off if it is in fact a tiny nylon thread.
Thanks again,
Cindy

[JLM27]

Do you sew? I would use a seam ripper, a little tool that is shaped like a screw driver, but the tip looks like a teeny thumb and index finger. You can get under the smallest thread with it.
289888. There is a razor sharp part between the two prongs that would cut the thread.

[cava]

Do you sew? I would use a seam ripper, a little tool that is shaped like a screw driver, but the tip looks like a teeny thumb and index finger. You can get under the smallest thread with it.
289888. There is a razor sharp part between the two prongs that would cut the thread.

I was thinking suture scissors, but who has those laying around? Good idea!

289889

[Nancy in New York]

I was thinking suture scissors, but who has those laying around? Good idea!

289889

Oh great idea.:w00t
I wonder if this would be a good thing for ALL of us
to have on hand. :thinking
https://www.amazon.com/SUTURE-SCISSORS-Straight-Stitch-Scissors/dp/B004VJ1BHM/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1498828723&sr=8-4&keywords=suture+scissors
https://www.amazon.com/Spencer-Stitch-Scissors-one-half/dp/B001D1K9Z6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1498828619&sr=8-3&keywords=suture+scissors
https://www.amazon.com/Suture-Scissor-Curved-Super-Sharpness/dp/B01FYPMC2E/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1498828795&sr=8-5&keywords=suture+scissors