Huge blister on squirrels left shoudler please help

[fanofsquirrels]

Hello, this is my first post on here so bare with me. Just a few weeks ago before the hurricane hit my cousins called me because they saw a baby squirrel fall out a tree and couldn't get it to reunite with the mother. When I first got him he was severely dehydrated. Fast forward a couple weeks and he is doing amazing he is growing fast and moving a lot now, not dehydrated anymore at all. Just tonight out of no where I see this huge blister/growth on his left shoulder almost the size of a marble. Does any one know what this can be? There is no scab or anything on the blister and it does not seem to look like a botfly. Could this be cancer or staff infection somehow? And does anyone know what I can do to fix this? The squirrel is showing no signs of pain and is acting normal.

[stepnstone]

If not a bot, possibly an abscess.
Posting a picture would be helpful to evaluate.

[fanofsquirrels]

If not a bot, possibly an abscess.
Posting a picture would be helpful to evaluate.

Okay thank you very much I will post pictures shortly I see that I have permissions now (:

[HRT4SQRLS]

Fan, welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

Without a pore/opening, I suspect it is an abscess as well. If you have an antibiotic pill (only one needed) you could treat the baby and it might resolve without further treatment. We can dose it for you. If it gets large and doesn’t rupture it might need lancing. Luckily you are in FL. In most states you can not take a squirrel to a vet unless you are a licensed rehabber. We have quite a few vets in FL that will treat a squirrel. We could direct you to a safe one if needed.

If a draining pore develops and it is indeed a bot it will emerge on its own. It definitely is bot season in FL. This year has been awful.

By the way, it is not cancer.

This is a link to baby squirrel care. I’m sure you will find it helpful.

https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

[fanofsquirrels]

Fan, welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

Without a pore/opening, I suspect it is an abscess as well. If you have an antibiotic pill (only one needed) you could treat the baby and it might resolve without further treatment. We can dose it for you. If it gets large and doesn’t rupture it might need lancing. Luckily you are in FL. In most states you can not take a squirrel to a vet unless you are a licensed rehabber. We have quite a few vets in FL that will treat a squirrel. We could direct you to a safe one if needed.

If a draining pore develops and it is indeed a bot it will emerge on its own. It definitely is bot season in FL. This year has been awful.

By the way, it is not cancer.

This is a link to baby squirrel care. I’m sure you will find it helpful.

https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Thank you for the welcoming and reply! What kind of antibiotic do you recommend I give and how would the dosing go? I will try to do this first and if I don’t see any improvements after I will certainly take him to the vet. Are abscesses and/or Botflys in squirrels life threatening? Very worried about my little guy right now even though he seems to be doing fine.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Thank you for the welcoming and reply! What kind of antibiotic do you recommend I give and how would the dosing go? I will try to do this first and if I don’t see any improvements after I will certainly take him to the vet. Are abscesses and/or Botflys in squirrels life threatening? Very worried about my little guy right now even though he seems to be doing fine.

Bot flys are not life threatening unless there are many and they get infected. Squirrels should not die from a single bot. An abscess is usually not life threatening BUT if it gets bad, yes it can cause loss of life. That’s why it’s better to get it under control early rather than later.

If you can find SMZ/TMP (Bactrim/Septra), or Clavamox we could dose it for you. Let us know what you can get and I’ll let you know if it’s appropriate.

[fanofsquirrels]

Update : brought Jeremy to the vet and they are taking care of it. It was indeed an abscess and they are going to cut it and give him antibiotics. Thank you all for replying and helping :)

[stepnstone]

Update : brought Jeremy to the vet and they are taking care of it. It was indeed an abscess and they are going to cut it and give him antibiotics. Thank you all for replying and helping :)

Will they be returning baby to you?

[fanofsquirrels]

Will they be returning baby to you?

Sorry for the late reply but yes they did. Poor little guy has stitches right now but he is doing great!

[Rock Monkey]

Sorry for the late reply but yes they did. Poor little guy has stitches right now but he is doing great!

Great to hear.