Botfly or Abscess?

[DavidDane]

Hey everyone! Just wondering if someone could look at these pics of Chip and tell me if the yellowish area is common with a botfly? I don't remember him having a yellow discharge last year when he got them, but maybe I'm forgetting. Thoughts?

[Mel1959]

Looks like an abscess to me.

[DavidDane]

I haven't done anything yet because I thought it might be a botfly like last year. He's a squirrel that I rescued and released. Should I move the thread to life threatening for possible treatment?

[Spanky]

Looks more like an abscess than a bot fly, though I cannot rule out the bot fly from this picture. Sometimes they will "dig and scratch" at the bot and cause a secondary infection.

You could consider treating him with some antibiotics.. do you have any on hand? If so, what?

[DavidDane]

I don't actually have any antibiotics for the squirrels. Haven't had to use any before. He seems to have lost weight and is skinnier, but that could be because I haven't seen him in 3 or 4 days to feed him. He ate just fine the other day when I took these pictures, though I haven't seen him today yet. What should I get that is readily available? Is an abscess life threatening?

[Spanky]

I don't actually have any antibiotics for the squirrels. Haven't had to use any before. He seems to have lost weight and is skinnier, but that could be because I haven't seen him in 3 or 4 days to feed him. He ate just fine the other day when I took these pictures, though I haven't seen him today yet. What should I get that is readily available? Is an abscess life threatening?

1) No, that does not look life threatening. Antibiotics could speed things along in the healing.

2) Remove the skin form the avocado (just noticed this), it has small amounts of toxins that are cumulative (meaning it will build up in their system over time and too much can be bad... very bad).

3) Squirrel antibiotics are very much the same as human antibiotics, as we are both mammals. The human antibiotic "Augmentin" would be a good one for this IMO>

[DavidDane]

Thanks for the replies! I remember reading about avacados but since they remove the peels themselves, I figured it was probably okay. But will def remove them myself from now on 😊

As for an update, it did turn out to be a botfly, not an abscess. It fell out about a week later! There is something else going on now....

He developed another spot on his back that looked like it was another botfly. I thought it was going to come out soon, but it looks like he may have scratched and popped it or something? Does anyone know if they can die inside and still heal?

[HRT4SQRLS]

David, I’ve had a time this year with infected bot fly warbles. You’re not far from me. My outsiders are a wreck this year. Usually they emerge uneventfully and are fine. I have several that look infected. I’m still hoping they will clear but I might have to resort to antibiotics with these.

I already treated one with terribly infected warbles on the shoulders. I think the key is that this appears mostly open. As long as it is open you might be OK, but if it seals then it could be problematic. If it goes that direction, I can send antibiotics to you. Let me know. It sorta looks like where a larvae already exited. When they die inside, it’s usually a problem. I had to have one surgically removed from a squirrel. It was a lump the size of a pecan on the chest. There is always the chance when it dies, the subsequent abscess will rupture on its own as they scratch at it.

We usually do precise dosing of antibiotics for squirrels. We calculate the exact dose based on the weight and concentration. Of course that’s not possible with wilds. I have found that I can use crude dosing with wild squirrels and it works. They might only come once a day or even skip a day but I have successfully treated several with avocado and powdered antibiotic. If needed I can tell you how to do it.

[DavidDane]

David, I’ve had a time this year with infected bot fly warbles. You’re not far from me. My outsiders are a wreck this year. Usually they emerge uneventfully and are fine. I have several that look infected. I’m still hoping they will clear but I might have to resort to antibiotics with these.

I already treated one with terribly infected warbles on the shoulders. I think the key is that this appears mostly open. As long as it is open you might be OK, but if it seals then it could be problematic. If it goes that direction, I can send antibiotics to you. Let me know. It sorta looks like where a larvae already exited. When they die inside, it’s usually a problem. I had to have one surgically removed from a squirrel. It was a lump the size of a pecan on the chest. There is always the chance when it dies, the subsequent abscess will rupture on its own as they scratch at it.

We usually do precise dosing of antibiotics for squirrels. We calculate the exact dose based on the weight and concentration. Of course that’s not possible with wilds. I have found that I can use crude dosing with wild squirrels and it works. They might only come once a day or even skip a day but I have successfully treated several with avocado and powdered antibiotic. If needed I can tell you how to do it.


Hey HRT!

Thanks for the reply! It seems to have gone down and healed up pretty good. It's almost gone. But, now I'm seeing him leave bloody urine on my porch table. It's been going on for a few days and I'm not sure if it's related or not. Other than that he is eating and looks healthy. Should I try feeding him some colloidal silver, or maybe start a low dose anti biotic? I don't have any anti biotics at all for them and I wouldn't know where to get them or what dose to use. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[Spanky]

Hey HRT!

Thanks for the reply! It seems to have gone down and healed up pretty good. It's almost gone. But, now I'm seeing him leave bloody urine on my porch table. It's been going on for a few days and I'm not sure if it's related or not. Other than that he is eating and looks healthy. Should I try feeding him some colloidal silver, or maybe start a low dose anti biotic? I don't have any anti biotics at all for them and I wouldn't know where to get them or what dose to use. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Are you certain this is blood... since it is acorn season, acorns cause the urine to be very dark... if you wipe the urine with a paper towel it will be more rust color than red.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Are you certain this is blood... since it is acorn season, acorns cause the urine to be very dark... if you wipe the urine with a paper towel it will be more rust color than red.

I totally agree. We do have acorns on the oak trees. It’s that time of year when people start posting about ‘blood’ in the urine. The tannins in the acorns cause the discolored urine. It’s completely normal and I wouldn’t be alarmed.