Swollen knuckle and skin irritation

[Anthonythesquirrel]

315401315400

My 1 year old neutered grey squirrel, Anthony, has developed a swollen knuckle over the past few days and yesterday I noticed that the skin on one of his legs was slightly red and irritated.

My squirrel vet is not open until tomorrow, so I was hoping for some advice on anything I could do in the meantime or potential remedies I could try.

Other than cosmetically, these issues do not seem to be impacting him; he is still very active and is eating and drinking. His diet has been the same for many months, he has a mixture of squirrel blocks, variety rat food, and fresh produce.

I have not noticed him scratching or biting at the areas. From my reading, it looks like it might be an abscess and a prescription may be needed for treatment as well. I am not sure about the rash on his leg.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions and advice.

[CritterMom]

What is he caged in? Toes are notorious for getting caught in pinch points in caging - places where the bars are too close together. It happens in the corners where panel cages with bars go together alot. Also, am I crazy or can I see what looks like a scratch that goes down the leg in the middle of all of the red area?

Do you have or can you get a bottle of Betadyne (10% povidone iodine)? It is sold in the wound care stuff at drug and grocery stores. It is the red orange stuff they prep for surgery with. Mixed at a dilution of 25 drops to 1/4 cup water it is great for cleaning and treating any surface stuff like this. Just wet a cotton ball or bit of paper towel and wipe the areas down and just leave them wet to air dry. Twice a day s good, three times is better. It doesn't sting. If you warm it up they won't even know you have done anything.

[Anthonythesquirrel]

He is in a flight cage and the bars are spaced half of an inch apart. I examined the cage and it looks like the smallest gaps are close to the doors, so maybe he got his finger stuck in the door?

He doesn’t try to escape except when someone walks by his cage, so he may have gotten excited and accidentally jammed his finger.

The scratch and skin redness is still a mystery to me. He is not exposed to other animals and is always inside the house or in his cage.

Thank you for the betadyne suggestion, I will try that today.