Medications to have on hand

[Vox]

What medications are often needed to treat squirrels? I hear quite a bit about some, like Ciprofloxacin-- which is VERY easy for me to get since I suffer from UTIs like most people get sniffles. I also have a prescription for Valacyclovir because once in a blue moon I'll get a cold sore. Because of some deployment-related injuries I also have a tendency to have things like Tramadol and Percoset on-hand which usually go beyond their expiry date and I just dispose of them at the clinic, since honestly I don't tend to need them all that often. I also just got rid of an entire bottle of Doxycycline because the military loves handing that stuff out as an anti-malarial, and they don't like to worry about refills in the middle of the desert so they give you about 500 capsules.

I'm due to visit my GP this week, and I was curious if there were any commonly-used medications that would transfer to critter care that I could request to have on hand. My GP is a wonderful doc who has no problems with offering scrips for my various ailments, since I tend to only need refills on most things perhaps twice or three times a year.

Are some human medications better than others for treating squirrels? What should I request in order to have them on hand?

[island rehabber]

CLAVAMOX. hard to get and expensive but so useful for squirrels

Clindamycin . Essential for infections of the head and neck

[HRT4SQRLS]

Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazole (Septra)

Doxycycline should not be used beyond the expiration date. It is the only AB that can’t be used after it expires.

The human equivalent of Clavamox is Augmentin.

Metronidazole.

I doubt your doc will write a script for all of these. I would try to get the script for at least the Augmentin. That one is more difficult to get. We have sources for all of the others.

[Vox]

Thanks for helping me figure out what to request-- I have no problems asking for some medications because often the "standard" prescription doesn't work for me or causes some really odd issues-- apparently, my body chemistry doesn't always react the way it should. For example, I can't take naproxen sodium (Aleve) because it causes me the worst kind of stomach issues. They prescribe celecoxib (Celebrex) for me instead.

I will look into requesting Augmentin.

[island rehabber]

Also -- just my opinion -- unless you are a math lover & good at it, try to avoid large dose human pills (500mg). The dilutions required to break these down to a squirrel-sized dose can be tricky AND dangerous unless you are good at medical math.

[Milo's Mom]

Prednisone
Baycox (I don't think your human Dr. can write a script for this though)
Metacam (humans do take this in tablet form but might be harder to get from your Dr.)

[Nancy in New York]

Tramadol
Gabapentin

Not a medicine, but good to have on hand, Fox Valley Dia-Stat.

[Milo's Mom]

Tramadol
Gabapentin

Not a medicine, but good to have on hand, Fox Valley Dia-Stat.

And Electrostat too!

[TubeDriver]

Not as common but Diazepam (schedule IV drug) is nice to have to stop/reduce and/or prevent seizures. Prednisone is often helpful for head trauma (with squirrels, not humans).

[Vox]

Okay; so far from what I have been able to gather from this thread:

Augmentin (Clavulanate potassium): Used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria
Baycox (Toltrazuril) VET ONLY: For treatment and prevention of parasites
Clindamycin: Used to treat certain serious bacterial infections, lincomycin antibiotics
Ciprofloxacin: Antibiotic
Diazepam: Stop/reduce and/or prevent seizures
Doxycycline: Used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria (DO NOT KEEP AND USE PAST EXPIRATION DATE); broad-spectrum antibiotic
Gabapentin: Nerve pain medication and anticonvulsant
Metacam (meloxicam): Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication used to treat pain, stiffness, and inflammation
Metronidazole: Antibiotic
Prednisone: Adrenocortical steroids, anti-inflammatory; useful for head trauma in squirrels
Tramadol: Pain
Valacyclovir: Antiviral medication; useful for treatment of squirrelpox

The ones in bold I have in my medicine cabinet right now. I had no idea that Meloxicam was the human version of Metacam. I have tons of that stuff that they give me for the torn labrum in my hip. I had no idea it would actually help squirrels. What amuses me a little is that the government apparently likes handing out stuff that is very usable on animals. Tramadol and Meloxicam they push hard. I'll look into some of the others.

[Milo's Mom]

Order Baycox from beardeddragon.co

https://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=246

[Mel1959]

Okay; so far from what I have been able to gather from this thread:

Augmentin (Clavulanate potassium): Used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria
Baycox (Toltrazuril) VET ONLY: For treatment and prevention of parasites
Clindamycin: Used to treat certain serious bacterial infections, lincomycin antibiotics
Ciprofloxacin: Antibiotic
Diazepam: Stop/reduce and/or prevent seizures
Doxycycline: Used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria (DO NOT KEEP AND USE PAST EXPIRATION DATE); broad-spectrum antibiotic
Gabapentin: Nerve pain medication and anticonvulsant
Metacam (meloxicam): Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication used to treat pain, stiffness, and inflammation
Metronidazole: Antibiotic
Prednisone: Adrenocortical steroids, anti-inflammatory; useful for head trauma in squirrels
Tramadol: Pain
Valacyclovir: Antiviral medication; useful for treatment of squirrelpox

The ones in bold I have in my medicine cabinet right now. I had no idea that Meloxicam was the human version of Metacam. I have tons of that stuff that they give me for the torn labrum in my hip. I had no idea it would actually help squirrels. What amuses me a little is that the government apparently likes handing out stuff that is very usable on animals. Tramadol and Meloxicam they push hard. I'll look into some of the others.

You are so right about the government handing out some types of medication in abundance!

[TubeDriver]

Ivermectin and Revolution.

[Vox]

Update:

Following surgery, I received quite a few medications for recovery and pain mitigation, listed below. It's been 4 months and I'm solidly no longer in need of the medications for myself, but instead of disposing of them at the clinic I'll keep them around for now just in case for future care until they're gone. They prescribed a boatload of this stuff-- and honestly, I didn't need the vast majority of it so I'll hang on to it for spring baby season.

Huge thank-you's to everyone who chimed in to let me know what's good to have on hand!

Augmentin: Used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria
Ciprofloxacin: Antibiotic
Diazepam: Stop/reduce and/or prevent seizures
Gabapentin: Nerve pain medication and anticonvulsant
Prednisone: Adrenocortical steroids, anti-inflammatory; useful for head trauma in squirrels
Tramadol: Pain

[HRT4SQRLS]

Sounds like you scored a gold mine there. :thumbsup :grin2