Nursing on dead mom?

[Spanky]

What is the antibiotic(s) of choice in the event babies were nursing on a deceased mom?

[HRT4SQRLS]

I would use either Clavamox or SMZ/TMP.

I think opossum rehabbers use Amoxicillin but Clavamox is better for squirrels. I don’t know if there is a reason the opposite rehabbers use amoxicillin over Clavamox.

[Spanky]

Thank you Patti!!!

I have them on Clavamox, just wanted some confirmation. I'll try to post the story when I get a chance... have 3, 2 are in very rough shape from falling. I fear I will loose the little girl tonight, but she is such a brave girl fighting so hard...

[Spanky]

Really strange IMO. Last Friday morning at sun-up a local friend called saying she found a dead momma squirrel on her walkway. It had been dead quite a while and *might* be a nursing mom. No blood or trauma. She has lots of squirrels and there would be no telling where her nest might be.

I told her to watch and listen for babies and if there are any calls or sightings to let me know.... I advised she'd likely hear cries before any "sightings" but with luck the babies are old enough to come out looking for help or be in a nest we'd have a chance to get up to. But I told her not to expect that to happen for days... the heat of the afternoon Friday *maybe*... I always understood they would stay in that nest until driven out by desperation.

Two hours later she called to say she found a baby (approx 6.5 weeks) on the ground under a tree and she was hearing more in the tree. When she went back out there was a second that had fallen. By the time I got to her house (just a few miles) I saw her husband catch a 3rd baby that had apparently fallen 2/3 the way down the tree and caught himself but was only able to hang on a few minutes.

The nest was way up in the top of the tree easily 65+ feet. I could not understand why the babies had left the nest so quickly. They were not dehydrated, emaciated or infested with creepy crawlies. Mom was not dead in the walkway the evening before at around 11PM. So they left the nest within hours, within a few hours after sun-up.

My best theory is that mom had died in the nest and maybe the babies had pushed her out trying to nurse... they'd be big enough to make that happen over time. Other explanations would be a racoon (babies would not have been left), snake (no signs of snake bite). But maybe momma was sick or ate something toxic?

All three were "off", including the unharmed boy making me suspect that maybe mom passed some of the toxins onto them or they maybe were nursing after she had passed.

Two of the babies were very critical... a boy with multiple punctures and contusions, a broken front ankle. A girl with a big boo-boo on her head and nose bleeding. They were literally lifeless (my friend is a nurse). I took the two home with me.. the boy will recover and will be released one day with his brother. I actually have some guilt he has not gotten more attention given his sister's criticality. The girl I lost just after 5AM this laying on my chest... she was the biggest fighter I have been blessed to help. I doubted she'd make it through that first night... she was non-responsive all evening then at 2:30AM she grasped my finger as I was stroking her as she lay on my chest. Talk about excitement!

Over time managed to get the head trauma under control, the swelling was all but gone... but then things just started shutting down.

I will always remember this little one, her strength, her spirit and her will to live.... I am so sorry we could not make that happen.

She'll be buried next to her mom this morning.

RIP Little one. :sad :Love_Icon

This is from Sunday....
316262

[Nancy in New York]

The girl I lost just after 5AM this morning... she was the biggest fighter I have been blessed to help. I doubted she'd make it through that first night. We got the head trauma under control, the swelling was all but gone but then things just started shutting down.

I will always remember this little one, her strength, her spirit and her will to live.... I am so sorry we could not make that happen.

She'll be buried next to her mom this morning.

RIP Little one. :sad :Love_Icon

This is from Sunday....
316262


I'm so sorry.
I take great comfort in knowing this little girl passed with you, a person with such compassion,
who loved her and marveled at her strength, spirit, and will to live.
She will never be forgotten.

Together rest in Eternal Peace
Mom and Baby 316263

[Buddy]

So sorry to hear... I completely agree with Nancy's sentiments... :Love_Icon RIP beautiful little girl & mommy! :Love_Icon

[Rock Monkey]

That is heart wrenching. That is rough.

Mother Nature runs a really cruel roulette wheel.

You gave her a chance she would have never had otherwise. That may not be much consolation.