3 year old female grey squirrel with possible UTI, cannot get medications...

[maj2436]

I have a 3 year old female Grey Squirrel that I raised from 7 weeks old and recently she has developed a UTI from what I can tell. I think it was her estrus at first because her vulva got really swollen and I can usually tell when it’s her time, but now it seems it has become an infection if it wasn’t already one and not estrus due to the swelling. Her vulva is still somewhat swollen a week later and is a normal color, but she has very cloudy urine and even has a cheesy, slimy like discharge that is white and yellow in color that comes out when she pees. She seems to strain just a little bit when she pees, but she pees a good amount each time she does, so she doesn’t really dribble. The mucous like discharge and the cloudy pee are what lead me to believe it could be a UTI. She still eats and drinks and I’m giving her frozen cranberries now, but I cannot get ahold of baytril or any other medications because the vet would have to examine her and make sure it was a UTI before administering. The vets offices around here are not letting people in due to Coronavirus, just taking pets in from vehicles and they wouldnt be able to touch her anyway. Shes only ever liked to be held by me, nobody else that didn’t raise her, so seeing a vet would nearly be impossible anyway as they wouldn’t be able to handle her. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated and if anyone has any extra meds, I would be very appreciative if she can’t get over whatever she’s got going on. Can UTI’s go away on their own?

[Diggie's Friend]

Hi, I hope this information will be helpful; it has to others with females I know of that have had this same condition. DF

From Merck Veterinary Manual:

(During heats) "Bacteria from the normal vaginal flora or subclinical urinary tract infections are the most likely sources of uterine contamination. Escherichia coli is the most common bacterium isolated in cases of pyometra, although Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Proteus spp, and other bacteria also have been recovered.".

"For these cases, AB should be used with Pre/Probiotics concurrently with the AB and continued after the AB treatment has been completed to replenish the gut with good bacteria."

The 'cheesy' discharge is Candida from being in heat, yet as noted above often contain bad bacteria forms Our Vet said this is vaginitis, not a UTI where you see evidence of blood. This cheesy discharge that gets thicker towards the end of the heats, gently pressed laterally above the urethra towards the opening helps to expel the cheesy discharge and keep the orifice open. Our girl had this for years during her heats, that as the vet told me would get longer and harder as she age, as is common to rodents. Then all we had was AB, yet they didn't support her immune system to counter these common bacteria during or after treatment. I knew a person with a female squirrel in the UK that tried treating this condition initially with Soil Based Probiotics that resolved this same condition.

In plain language, this Veterinarian explains in this article why SBO are needed to counter bad bacteria, with over 70 percent of the body's immune system is located in the gut. https://thewholedog.com/soil-based-organisms-probiotics-sbos-for-pets/

In the wild, tree squirrels obtain good bacteria from ingesting soil; this most commonly is observed when squirrels pull up the tufts of grasses and flip them over to chew on the soil that surrounds the roots that also provides them with a key source of calcium and other minerals and a source of good bacteria that limits the overgrowth of bad bacteria in their gut, which contains over 70 percent of their entire immune system. SBO included in the diet provide a vital replacement of this component which lends significant support to their immune and digestive system in captivity.

https://www.amazon.com/Vitality-Science-Pet-Flora-Gastrointestinal/dp/B005PJN2HO/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=vitality+science+pet+flora+for+cats&qid=1595675520&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

[HRT4SQRLS]

I have a 3 year old female Grey Squirrel that I raised from 7 weeks old and recently she has developed a UTI from what I can tell. I think it was her estrus at first because her vulva got really swollen and I can usually tell when it’s her time, but now it seems it has become an infection if it wasn’t already one and not estrus due to the swelling. Her vulva is still somewhat swollen a week later and is a normal color, but she has very cloudy urine and even has a cheesy, slimy like discharge that is white and yellow in color that comes out when she pees. She seems to strain just a little bit when she pees, but she pees a good amount each time she does, so she doesn’t really dribble. The mucous like discharge and the cloudy pee are what lead me to believe it could be a UTI. She still eats and drinks and I’m giving her frozen cranberries now, but I cannot get ahold of baytril or any other medications because the vet would have to examine her and make sure it was a UTI before administering. The vets offices around here are not letting people in due to Coronavirus, just taking pets in from vehicles and they wouldnt be able to touch her anyway. Shes only ever liked to be held by me, nobody else that didn’t raise her, so seeing a vet would nearly be impossible anyway as they wouldn’t be able to handle her. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated and if anyone has any extra meds, I would be very appreciative if she can’t get over whatever she’s got going on. Can UTI’s go away on their own?

It’s possible that the swelling/inflammation from estrus has caused the urine to be difficult to void. This can definitely cause infection. If it’s a true infection it won’t go away on its own but if it is just from inflammation the problem could go away when things return to normal.

Do you have any human antibiotics? If not ask friends or family. We only need one pill. We can dose it for you.

Are you in the US or England? I wouldn’t contact a vet in the UK about a squirrel. Even in the US it is risky.

[maj2436]

Hi, I hope this information will be helpful; it has to others with females I know of that have had this same condition. DF

From Merck Veterinary Manual:


The 'cheesy' discharge is Candida from being in heat, yet as noted above often contain bad bacteria forms Our Vet said this is vaginitis, not a UTI where you see evidence of blood. This cheesy discharge that gets thicker towards the end of the heats, gently pressed laterally above the urethra towards the opening helps to expel the cheesy discharge and keep the orifice open. Our girl had this for years during her heats, that as the vet told me would get longer and harder as she age, as is common to rodents. Then all we had was AB, yet they didn't support her immune system to counter these common bacteria during or after treatment. I knew a person with a female squirrel in the UK that tried treating this condition initially with Soil Based Probiotics that resolved this same condition.

In plain language, this Veterinarian explains in this article why SBO are needed to counter bad bacteria, with over 70 percent of the body's immune system is located in the gut. https://thewholedog.com/soil-based-organisms-probiotics-sbos-for-pets/

In the wild, tree squirrels obtain good bacteria from ingesting soil; this most commonly is observed when squirrels pull up the tufts of grasses and flip them over to chew on the soil that surrounds the roots that also provides them with a key source of calcium and other minerals and a source of good bacteria that limits the overgrowth of bad bacteria in their gut, which contains over 70 percent of their entire immune system. SBO included in the diet provide a vital replacement of this component which lends significant support to their immune and digestive system in captivity.

https://www.amazon.com/Vitality-Science-Pet-Flora-Gastrointestinal/dp/B005PJN2HO/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=vitality+science+pet+flora+for+cats&qid=1595675520&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

Should this or no other SBO is available in the UK, or you can't order it from the US source, let me know; I may be able to send you a bottle to support your squirrel.



Thank you so much for this reply! This sounds exactly like what is going on and I’ve actually been giving her probiotics the last two days along with some urinary support food for rodents and it seems to be clearing up pretty well today and her pee is back to being normal and she’s not straining to pee. It definitely has to do with her estrus and I’m going to look into buying that SBO because I want to make sure things go smoothly for her and her estrus cycles in the future. It all makes sense after reading your post. I’ll let you know if I can’t get any, but I live in the US and it appears I will be able to buy it. Again, thank you so much and this will save me a lot of worry in the future with her and I’ll be able to prepare for it. Anything to improve her diet and digestive system helps a ton.

[maj2436]

It’s possible that the swelling/inflammation from estrus has caused the urine to be difficult to void. This can definitely cause infection. If it’s a true infection it won’t go away on its own but if it is just from inflammation the problem could go away when things return to normal.

Do you have any human antibiotics? If not ask friends or family. We only need one pill. We can dose it for you.

Are you in the US or England? I wouldn’t contact a vet in the UK about a squirrel. Even in the US it is risky.

I believe she’s got what the other person posted about now after reading it. I don’t believe it’s a true infection with that being said because she is acting pretty normal and the pee is clearing up after giving her probiotics, cranberries, and urinary support food. I live in the US and I agree, I never want to call a vet office about her. Thank you so much for your reply!

[Mel1959]

I have a 3 year old female Grey Squirrel that I raised from 7 weeks old and recently she has developed a UTI from what I can tell. I think it was her estrus at first because her vulva got really swollen and I can usually tell when it’s her time, but now it seems it has become an infection if it wasn’t already one and not estrus due to the swelling. Her vulva is still somewhat swollen a week later and is a normal color, but she has very cloudy urine and even has a cheesy, slimy like discharge that is white and yellow in color that comes out when she pees. She seems to strain just a little bit when she pees, but she pees a good amount each time she does, so she doesn’t really dribble. The mucous like discharge and the cloudy pee are what lead me to believe it could be a UTI. She still eats and drinks and I’m giving her frozen cranberries now, but I cannot get ahold of baytril or any other medications because the vet would have to examine her and make sure it was a UTI before administering. The vets offices around here are not letting people in due to Coronavirus, just taking pets in from vehicles and they wouldnt be able to touch her anyway. Shes only ever liked to be held by me, nobody else that didn’t raise her, so seeing a vet would nearly be impossible anyway as they wouldn’t be able to handle her. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated and if anyone has any extra meds, I would be very appreciative if she can’t get over whatever she’s got going on. Can UTI’s go away on their own?

I see that your squirrel is indoors but I’m just going to mention this as a possibility because of the similar symptoms. I have been conversing with someone who had a released female that had an extremely swollen vulva. She also saw her stopping mid stride to push as though she was straining to urinate. After a trip to the vet and being placed on an antibiotic it was discovered that she had an infection in her uterus introduced by mating. Her uterus was filled with pus. The vet did a hysterectomy. She was told that she could be released once she had healed.