How do I take my squirrel to the vet

[igorbarbarossa]

Hey y'all,
Let me first apologize if this question was addressed before.
My situation is I have a 4yo squirrel as a pet. Lately she's been breathing kind of heavy, wheezing. That in combination with the fact that she stopped eating shelled nuts and chewing furniture got me worried so I decided to make an appointment with the vet. The issue I'm having is that she's is quite restless during the day. She is friendly with me, but there's no chance I could put her in a small cage to take her to the vet. And even worse, I fear that she will take off at the very clinic and run around without a way to catch her.
My question is how do I do this? I've had to reschedule her appointment twice already. Is there perhaps some sorry of medicine that would make her drowsy our sleepy or something. Anyway I'm open to all suggestions.
Thank you

[Mel1959]

Some folks have used Rescue Remedy to calm their squirrels. I don’t know how well it works as I’ve never used it. It’s available at health food stores and it’s homeopathic. I think others have tried Benadryl, but I’ve heard that it might have the opposite effect and act as a stimulant in some animals. What about asking the vet about giving you some type of medication to dose her with prior to the appointment?

Once in the transport cage cover it completely with a sheet or blanket. It helps keep the stress to a minimum.

At the vets office they can sedate her with isofluron gas prior to handling her. In order to see what’s going on with her teeth they will undoubtedly need to do an x ray and she will have to be sedated for that.

[SquirrelyDan]

In some states, vets can prescribe “pre-visit” anxiety meds like gabapentin before they see the pets, but in other states they’re not allowed. If they’re not able, I think Benedryl would be your best bet. You could test it a few days before the appointment to make sure she doesn’t have a paradoxical reaction (get excited/stimulated instead of relaxed). The guinea pig dose would be about 7.5mg, which is 1/3 of a tablet or 3mL of Children’s Benedryl, so that’s probably around the dose for an adult squirrel. (There might be another thread that confirms this or has more information.) Just make sure it is pure diphenhydramine and not a combination product.