PDA

View Full Version : First time momma trying to diagnose if my squirrel baby have fluid in it’s lungs.



HollandRavenwood
08-27-2021, 09:13 PM
Okay so I’ve read tons and tons of posts on here about babies aspirating and I haven’t found a situation that relates to mine so I’m gonna ask for some help. My baby squirrel just opened his eyes yesterday and he was doing amazing starting to get a lil spunky crawling around a lot more and unfortunately his new found curiosity got him into some trouble. He manage to escape the enclosure I had him in and my boxer ended up with him in his mouth. Now don’t worry my boxer is very gentle, he didn’t harm the baby but he drooled like crazy all over him and he’s been making a noise like he’s trying to spit something out of his nose or mouth. Like somewhere between a cough and a sneeze. And I’m afraid some of the drool might have made it in his nose. I’ve been listening to his breathing A LOT cause I am wanting to be be hyper aware after his scare lastnight and he does a lil clicking for a couple breathes and then it goes away and his breathing is normal and fine while he sleeps. And then when he wakes up he does a couple of the spitting sounds and he’s fine. From everything I’ve read about pneumonia it’s said the clicking would be constant asleep or awake and I haven’t read anything about the spitting noise. Please help! I have 250ml cephalexin left over from a prescription for a different pet and I’m wondering if I can dose him with that if he gets worse? But I don’t know the dosage. This has all been super traumatic for me and the little guy and I just want to do everything I can for him. The animal rehabs in my area are completely full because of all the wild fires in my area so I’m his only hope.

Spanky
08-27-2021, 09:44 PM
You are correct that the clicking would be persistent if this were aspiration pneumonia (AP). If he is not clicking while sleeping, it is unlikely he has AP. A loss of appetite is another big clue to AP.

Cephalexin is NOT a good drug to treat AP, it would be a literal Hail Mary. If family, friends or neighbors have Cipro, Augmentin or Bactrim (SMZ/TMP) those are much better. There are some others that can work...

Please isolate the squirrel from the dog. Separate room, barrier (door?) between them. It does not matter how gentle your dog. Last thing you want is for the squirrel to get acclimated to dogs... any dog... (or cats).

Keep and eye on your squirrel for any signs of injury. If his behavior has changed since the incident, you are right to be concerned.

Even the gentlest dogs inadvertently injure small squirrels. There are plenty of threads here on TSB to testify to that... some are horrific.

TubeDriver
08-27-2021, 09:51 PM
That does NOT sound like aspiration pneumonia. But even if your Boxer dog is gentle, there is a possibility of broken ribs or other internal injuries. I would keep a close eye on him for the next couple days. As long as he continues to poop and pee normally, has a good appetite, continues to steadily increase weight daily, and otherwise behaves normally, I would not be too worried. But if anything changes, I would suspect he has been injured. Cephalexin is not a good AB for squirrels, don't give this to him.



Okay so I’ve read tons and tons of posts on here about babies aspirating and I haven’t found a situation that relates to mine so I’m gonna ask for some help. My baby squirrel just opened his eyes yesterday and he was doing amazing starting to get a lil spunky crawling around a lot more and unfortunately his new found curiosity got him into some trouble. He manage to escape the enclosure I had him in and my boxer ended up with him in his mouth. Now don’t worry my boxer is very gentle, he didn’t harm the baby but he drooled like crazy all over him and he’s been making a noise like he’s trying to spit something out of his nose or mouth. Like somewhere between a cough and a sneeze. And I’m afraid some of the drool might have made it in his nose. I’ve been listening to his breathing A LOT cause I am wanting to be be hyper aware after his scare lastnight and he does a lil clicking for a couple breathes and then it goes away and his breathing is normal and fine while he sleeps. And then when he wakes up he does a couple of the spitting sounds and he’s fine. From everything I’ve read about pneumonia it’s said the clicking would be constant asleep or awake and I haven’t read anything about the spitting noise. Please help! I have 250ml cephalexin left over from a prescription for a different pet and I’m wondering if I can dose him with that if he gets worse? But I don’t know the dosage. This has all been super traumatic for me and the little guy and I just want to do everything I can for him. The animal rehabs in my area are completely full because of all the wild fires in my area so I’m his only hope.

TubeDriver
08-27-2021, 10:00 PM
Saw the OP questions, no response yet, typed up some advice hit submit and saw than saw Spanky beat me to it.:w00t

HollandRavenwood
08-27-2021, 10:21 PM
Thank you guys so much for your quick responses. I’m going to ask around for some of the recommended antibiotics to keep on hand in case he gets worse. Hopefully I can get help with dosing if needed. He is eating, pooping and peeing normally and he was definitely shaken up after the incident but back to his normal self today. I am keeping a VERY close eye on him for any changes. Only thing that I’ve noticed is the spitting sound hes making every once in a while. Does anyone have any clues what that could be if it’s not pneumonia??

Spanky
08-28-2021, 09:08 AM
I’m going to ask around for some of the recommended antibiotics to keep on hand in case he gets worse. Hopefully I can get help with dosing if needed.

Whenever requesting dosing information, please include the weight of the squirrel (meds are dosed by weight) and the strength/ concentration of the medication. :thumbsup


Only thing that I’ve noticed is the spitting sound hes making every once in a while. Does anyone have any clues what that could be if it’s not pneumonia??

If the "spitting" is what I imagine ("phhhtt phhhtt phhhtt"), I most often encounter this with babies that have taken a fall. They will almost always land on their heads simply because of the physics and how relatively large / heavy their heads are in relationship to their bodies as babies. Frequently this causes a nose bleed to various extents and nasal spitting is an attempt to remove blood, congealing blood and even dried blood from their nasal passages.

If there is any chance he took a fall or took a good bang on his noggin I'd keep an eye on him. Also watch for head tilts and / or circling to primarily one side... though at this age it is difficult to assess these things.

HollandRavenwood
08-28-2021, 02:54 PM
Whenever requesting dosing information, please include the weight of the squirrel (meds are dosed by weight) and the strength/ concentration of the medication. :thumbsup



If the "spitting" is what I imagine ("phhhtt phhhtt phhhtt"), I most often encounter this with babies that have taken a fall. They will almost always land on their heads simply because of the physics and how relatively large / heavy their heads are in relationship to their bodies as babies. Frequently this causes a nose bleed to various extents and nasal spitting is an attempt to remove blood, congealing blood and even dried blood from their nasal passages.

If there is any chance he took a fall or took a good bang on his noggin I'd keep an eye on him. Also watch for head tilts and / or circling to primarily one side... though at this age it is difficult to assess these things.

So I actually did notice him circling to one side yesterday. And he could have taken a bang on the head with the incident with my dog. Will he recover from that? And I have been keeping a very close eye on him. Is there anything to be looking out for specifically or anything I can do to help him recover?

Spanky
08-28-2021, 03:09 PM
Continue watching for the constant circling, always to only the one side or the other. That happens when they have a head trauma, and sometimes steroid treatment (prednisone) can help. But we'd not want to use prednisone unless we are sure it is warranted.

Diggie's Friend
08-28-2021, 05:06 PM
(Methylcobalamin + Adenocobalamin), bio-identical forms of Vitamin B-12, were found to (ameliorate) improve (TBI) traumatic brain injury in rats.

One needle drop from (1 ml) (1 cc) needle syringe added to formula every other day. (Do NOT use the dropper that comes with the bottle.)

This organic source has no sugars added: https://www.amazon.com/VeganSafe-B-12-Methylcobalamin-Adenosylcobalamin-Supplement/dp/B00RXEW7R0