Medicine Questions

[Vox]

In working on my Rehabber's License paperwork, there were two things I wanted to ask about here.

First: As horrifying as it sounds, there's literally a question regarding how long flea/parasite medications will stay in an animal and affect humans if they consume that animal. I blinked a couple of times, but I guess it's a valid question. Does anyone know where I can get that information for flea/parasite medications, such as Advantage, Revolution, etc.? And what flea/mite/parasite medications are actually okay for a squirrel? I bought kitten flea drops for the Duke Kids, and that worked; a drop on the back of the neck cleared up their issues but they were MUCH older than wee babies, which I know to just carefully wipe down and just de-flea them the way I used to do for my mom's cat.

Second: There's the exact same question about how long meds stay in the body and how long till an animal is safe for human consumption (I absolutely DARE anyone try to come onto my property to harm my furkids!) but for Disease. What are common meds for squirrel diseases, and while I have zero experience with squirrel diseases (PRAISE THE LORD) what diseases do they get, and what's good for them?

By the way, thanks to the recommendation here, I now am the proud owner of Wild Mammal Babies: The First 48 Hours and Beyond, 3rd Edition. That book is awesome! Glad I saved up my pizza money for it. :)

[CritterMom]

Normally I would say to go to the manufacturer's website for this information but I doubt you will find anything, given that Advantage and Revolution are marketed for dogs and cats, which in the US, we don't eat. Meds used in livestock always have this info right on the label.

[CritterMom]

OK, having given this more thought, what I would do is google for "half life of Revolution" and the same for the others. There are lots of sites with half life information on different drugs that will tell you how long it takes before the drug has left the system.

[TubeDriver]

Those are trick questions, no one has 1/2 lives of every medication used in squirrel rehab memorized. A reasonable answer would be that you look up the 1/2 life for each medication when you are using it.

For both questions, you need to google the 1/2 life of each specific medication (and how is was delivered (orally, SC, IM etc and with what type of animal, even the gender of the animal can affect metabolic breakdown) . Generally, after 4-5 1/2 lives, a medication is considered mostly absent from the body HOWEVER the effect of the medication may be gone much sooner OR much later. It can also be complicated when you talk about safe because the primary medication might be gone but secondary metabolites can be active and potentially affect humans or other animals as well.

For example The active ingredient in Advantage is imidacloprid. Rats excreted 96% of radio-labeled imidacloprid within 48 hours following an unspecified oral dosing, with 90% excreted in the first 24 hours.40 Radio-labeled imidacloprid was present in low amounts in organs and tissues 24 hours after male rats were orally dosed with 20 mg/kg.38

See here for more details:

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/archive/imidacloprid.html


As for commonly used meds in squirrel rehab, just start reading your brand new WMB book! You will see the VAST majority of commonly used medicines with dosing specifics! :great



In working on my Rehabber's License paperwork, there were two things I wanted to ask about here.

First: As horrifying as it sounds, there's literally a question regarding how long flea/parasite medications will stay in an animal and affect humans if they consume that animal. I blinked a couple of times, but I guess it's a valid question. Does anyone know where I can get that information for flea/parasite medications, such as Advantage, Revolution, etc.? And what flea/mite/parasite medications are actually okay for a squirrel? I bought kitten flea drops for the Duke Kids, and that worked; a drop on the back of the neck cleared up their issues but they were MUCH older than wee babies, which I know to just carefully wipe down and just de-flea them the way I used to do for my mom's cat.

Second: There's the exact same question about how long meds stay in the body and how long till an animal is safe for human consumption (I absolutely DARE anyone try to come onto my property to harm my furkids!) but for Disease. What are common meds for squirrel diseases, and while I have zero experience with squirrel diseases (PRAISE THE LORD) what diseases do they get, and what's good for them?

By the way, thanks to the recommendation here, I now am the proud owner of Wild Mammal Babies: The First 48 Hours and Beyond, 3rd Edition. That book is awesome! Glad I saved up my pizza money for it. :)

[Milo's Mom]

In working on my Rehabber's License paperwork, there were two things I wanted to ask about here.

First: As horrifying as it sounds, there's literally a question regarding how long flea/parasite medications will stay in an animal and affect humans if they consume that animal. I blinked a couple of times, but I guess it's a valid question. Does anyone know where I can get that information for flea/parasite medications, such as Advantage, Revolution, etc.? And what flea/mite/parasite medications are actually okay for a squirrel? I bought kitten flea drops for the Duke Kids, and that worked; a drop on the back of the neck cleared up their issues but they were MUCH older than wee babies, which I know to just carefully wipe down and just de-flea them the way I used to do for my mom's cat.

Second: There's the exact same question about how long meds stay in the body and how long till an animal is safe for human consumption (I absolutely DARE anyone try to come onto my property to harm my furkids!) but for Disease. What are common meds for squirrel diseases, and while I have zero experience with squirrel diseases (PRAISE THE LORD) what diseases do they get, and what's good for them?

By the way, thanks to the recommendation here, I now am the proud owner of Wild Mammal Babies: The First 48 Hours and Beyond, 3rd Edition. That book is awesome! Glad I saved up my pizza money for it. :)

For the purposes you're asking I strongly suggest you reach out to KT or Kelley. What we rehabbers do and what we tell the state...sometimes they don't match too well. Talk to someone that's completed the state paperwork. Your state is going through A LOT of changes right now as it relates to rehabbing.