Naska has a new injury

[Squirrellove10]

I noticed that one of my oldest wild rehab squirrels (she is on her 4th summer! woo!) has a new injury on her right arm. It looks like an open gash that she has been licking up by her shoulder on the inner part of her bicep. It has made her whole upper arm swell. I did not notice any puss but it is definitely swollen. She is lactating right now, so it is hard for me to justify treating her inside. (Meaning I won't treat her inside). I'm not sure how to go about treating her for this as far as what meds, dose, and how often. She does come get food from my hand still daily (I know, not the best but she has survived the longest so something must be working) so that makes it easy to be sure she is the only one receiving meds since I will be dosing her in the wild.

She is an average sized squirrel, not real sure what she weighs. Advice? Thanks!

[redwuff]

When I read the location of your baby's laceration, I thought a possible cat might have grabbed at her.

Any idea what could have caused her wound? If it could be a cat, she must have antibiotics. The fact that she is lactating is an issue but I know Clavamox can be used for a wound of that type. It also is the drug of choice for a cat bite, and is safe with nursing mothers.

Can you post a picture so we can see her size? Could you get Clavamox. If so, we will need strength of med. is this a fox squirrel?

[Squirrellove10]

I will try to get a picture of her tomorrow because she has gone to bed for the night. There are many cats in the area, but for many years she has escaped them. She is a very smart cookie so I'm surprised one would have grabbed her. It could be a cat otherwise we have many hawks and fox in the area that often hunt down squirrels. She is the queen of this area and no other squirrels dare to mess with her so I know it isn't likely to be caused by another squirrel. I have clavamox from about a year ago...it might not be good anymore? If not, then I don't have a way of getting more.

[Nancy in New York]

I will try to get a picture of her tomorrow because she has gone to bed for the night. There are many cats in the area, but for many years she has escaped them. She is a very smart cookie so I'm surprised one would have grabbed her. It could be a cat otherwise we have many hawks and fox in the area that often hunt down squirrels. She is the queen of this area and no other squirrels dare to mess with her so I know it isn't likely to be caused by another squirrel. I have clavamox from about a year ago...it might not be good anymore? If not, then I don't have a way of getting more.

What is the strength/mg of the Clavamox?
The Clavamox is still good if it is in pill or powder form, but not if it's in suspension.
I will write this up, and personally I would start this immediately, just need a
weight and the strength of the Clavamox.
Can you post a picture of her so we can "guesstimate" her weight?

[redwuff]

The reason I say a cat is their unique claw structure that grabs and rips the skin so easily. A fox might grab a tail or a leg, but it would not have an injury like that. Same with a hawk, your baby would have a different type of injury. She could have gotten injured from a fence or something else and you could not give antibiotics and she might be fine. However, if the wound gets messy from infection, you might need to bring her in to clean and treat and that would be a problem with nursing young.

If your Clavamox is in powder or pill form it is ok. If it has been reconstituted and sitting for a year, then it is not. I would think squirrels in Minnesota would be on the bigger side. Is she a foxer?

[Squirrellove10]

The Clavamox I have is a capsule. it is 100mg. No, Naska is a Eastern Grey Squirrel :) I will post a picture right when I get home after work today. Poor baby...she's never had problems and is my strongest rehab squirrel thus far.

[Nancy in New York]

The Clavamox I have is a capsule. it is 100mg. No, Naska is a Eastern Grey Squirrel :) I will post a picture right when I get home after work today. Poor baby...she's never had problems and is my strongest rehab squirrel thus far.

Just double check the Clavamox again. I've never heard of a 100 mg capsule.
Do you think it could be 100mg amoxicillin and 25mg clavulanic acid?

[Squirrellove10]

Hi-you're right I went and looked. Turns out it's a giant white tablet and it is 875/125.

[Nancy in New York]

Hi-you're right I went and looked. Turns out it's a giant white tablet and it is 875/125.

I would gladly dose, but I need a picture to "guesstimate" the weight,
or a weight on your squirrel.

[redwuff]

You mentioned that this sweet mom had a swollen open gash 3 days ago. If this wound is infected or caused by a cat, it is much better to start treatment sooner than later. We have med, med strength, and now what is needed is a guess of the wt of the squirrel which can be done if you can get a picture of her. Ideally it would be great if we had a picture of the wound also.

We are here for you....help us help you.:grouphug

Trysh

[Squirrellove10]

Hi guys! Sorry for the delay-Naska has not been around lately and I actually started seriously worrying that she may have died :sniff. Thank GOD she showed up today and I was able to get a video of her coming to get treats from me. Her wound looks better than it did last time I saw her, but it is still a bit swollen. It is on her right inner upper arm right above her elbow.

https://youtu.be/BfXD6DPL59g


You can jump to 1:09 in the video to get a better look at the gash (which now doesn't look like a gash). Jump to 1:57 to see how swollen it is from her other arm as she is further away.

[Squirrellove10]

Anyone???