Red squirrel is going crazy with itchy skin.

[Wally]

Hi folks. I've got a 2 year old red who is so itchy that he's doing somersaults and rubbing up against branches to try and relieve it. This was after a nasty bout of constipation last night that had me squeezing a dry hard plug from his back side so he could go. It only took me 45 minutes to catch him and 10 seconds to squeeze it out and he only drew blood once LOL.
Anyway, some of the surgery included the use of olive oil, some of which got on his back. I don't think that would cause an itch this bad but I'm not sure.
He's always had an itch problem but this is over the top. Hoping for ideas. Antihistamine maybe?
Thanks, Wally

[Chirps]

Poor love. Does he have dry skin? Just thinking if he does the olive oil could be good for that actually. :dono
Maybe add organic coconut oil to his food if he doesn't already get that in his diet?

[CritterMom]

They can be dosed with CHILDREN'S BENADRYL (the strength which will be printed on the bottle is 12.5mg/5ml). We would need his weight to dose this correctly.

Given that he had such bad constipation, I bet he is dehydrated for some reason. It can be that the water bottle is stuck, it can be that the water source has been left to get yucky (I clean and refill water sources twice daily - many people will leave water bottles for days and it is a bad, bad idea). I would start trying to rehydrate him. You can even add a few drops of honey to some water to make it taste better and encourage him to drink. Use a syringe like when he was a baby if need be. Dehydration can cascade into some things a lot worse than dry, itchy skin and constipation...

You may also want to add a humidifier. I am up north too and the artificial heat during the cold months dries everything out. Your best bet is a warm mist humidifier - much safer than the cool mist types which need to be emptied and disinfected along with their filters DAILY or you are just creating a Legionairre's Disease vector... A nice side effect is that more humid air feels warmer and you can turn your thermostat down a bit.

[Wally]

Hi Crittermom.
Buddy weighs about 5 oz. He's not dehydrated as he is still drinking one small bottle about every 2 days and is still peeing like a horse!
He seems to be chewing on his branches and the wood in his cage and then sits on his perch nibble at the chunks he gets off. I think he may be eating it! I suppose that could cause constipation but I don't know how to stop him.
If you can calculate how much Benadryl to give him I would appreciate it.
Looking forward to your reply, Wally

[CritterMom]

Dosing sent. You will need a 1cc syringe to safely dose this for him. If you have questions about reading the syringe, please post here so someone can help.

What type wood is in his cage? You mentioned branches...

[Mel1959]

He could have mites from the branches. Can you get ahold of some cat/kitten Revolution. It requires a Rx to purchase online, except for purchasing from Joes Pet Meds in Australia. Otherwise, if you or someone you know has a cat you can usually get it from their vets office. It only requires one drop either on the skin between the shoulder blades or one drop put on a nut and eaten.

[Wally]

He could have mites from the branches. Can you get ahold of some cat/kitten Revolution. It requires a Rx to purchase online, except for purchasing from Joes Pet Meds in Australia. Otherwise, if you or someone you know has a cat you can usually get it from their vets office. It only requires one drop either on the skin between the shoulder blades or one drop put on a nut and eaten.

I suppose he could have mites but the branches have been in the cage for three months now and the crazy itching just started last night.

[Wally]

Well folks, whatever was bugging Buddy is all but gone. He's back to his normal behaviour except that he still has this crazy new thing about chewing wood. Just a new habit I guess. And no more constipation, which makes him and me very happy (I don't like losing blood over it!!)
So thanks for all the help, I'm sure I'll be back, Wally