Baby squirrel tail and toes rotting?

[Lexi13]

Her tail smells like death. Her 2 toes on front paw are sloughing off. The tail is starting to. She was so cold when I found her, almost no heartbeat. Could this be from lack of blood flow? I have clavamox 250 mg. She weighs 42.2 grams. Should I give antibiotic?

[Charley Chuckles]

THANK YOU for rescuing her.
You'll need to get her on heating pad, preferably one that does shut off at a certain time. Place her in a container half over the heating pad, make sure it's on low only.
You also need to SLOWLY hydrate her with pedylite....I'll add recipe.
Wait for others to help with the antibiotics part.
Prayers 🙏

[Charley Chuckles]

To make it faster I've copied this from another thread ...
*If you can’t find Pedialyte at the store, here is a recipe for homemade Pedialyte:

1 tsp salt (teaspoon)
3 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)
1 quart warm water
Mix all ingredients in warm water. Store in refrigerator.

How to Prepare the Pedialyte
Use a plastic syringe (with or without a nipple). Never use pet nursers or doll bottles. They will choke the baby. Fill a coffee mug with hot water. Fill the syringe with Pedialyte and place it in the mug for a couple of minutes. Squirt a drop on the inside of your wrist to make sure the liquid isn’t too hot. It should feel barely warm on your skin.

Proper Position
A tiny baby should be held upright in your hand. A baby with fur can lie on a flat surface on his stomach. A baby that can walk can be held upright or he can drink sitting up. Hold the syringe so the tip points UP to the baby’s mouth and the handle is down. Don’t let the baby get cold. Keep him wrapped up while he eats.

How to Feed Fluids
Place the syringe tip on the baby’s lips (from the side) and squeeze out one drop for him to taste. Don’t squirt a steady stream. Let him swallow one drop before squeezing more. GO SLOW! It sometimes takes a feeding or two for them to catch on. Hairless babies are fed drop by drop. With older babies (once they catch on) you can squeeze slowly for one second, wait for him to swallow, then squeeze more.

If fluids dribble out his mouth or come out his nose, you are going too fast. Stop and tilt the baby’s head down so the fluid drains out (support his head and neck like you would a human baby). Then wipe his nose and mouth with toilet paper. Start over, slower. NOTE: There is now a chance your baby will develop aspiration pneumonia from inhaling fluid in his lungs. This is fatal. Please contact a rehabber or vet, or the people at The Squirrel Board, for assistance.
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[Lexi13]

Thank you! I have had her for a couple days I did rehydrate her with pedialite, and now have been giving water in between feedings. She is on puppy formula. I got fox valley 32/40 but slowly stopped due to her belly being so hard. She has a heating pad on low that does not shut off and room to get away from it. I am more concerned with her tail as her toes seem to be drying up fine.

[Sommer]

This I do have some knowledge on. If the toes seem to be drying up okay sounds like that's not an issue like the tail is. If it is continuing to rot it is because it is not properly being debrided. Dead tissue needs to be removed or it will keep creeping up into healthy tissue. Your best bet is to have a vet help you with this. Are you looking for suggestions because one is not available?

[Mel1959]

Order some Fox Valley 20/50, you will need it. What puppy formula are you feeding? FV 32/40 has been known to turn to sludge in their gut so it’s good you stopped it if her belly was hard.

Are her eyes open?

The tail may have gotten frozen and a portion of it might be dead. If that’s the case it will probably fall off. That shouldn’t present a problem as there are other squirrels this has happened to.

If on the other hand, you have examined her tail and you see the skin is red and inflamed then it could be an infection. Once you assess the situation let us know and we can determine if an antibiotic is needed.

In the meantime, get a bottle of betadine (povidine iodine) and mix about a 1/4tsp. with 1/4 cup warm water and using a cotton pad apply this to any injuries she has. You don’t have to rinse it as it doesn’t dry sticky.

Let us know the condition of the tail. Posting a picture will help.

[Sommer]

This needs to be monitored between physical care and possible antibiotic needs. I do not want to overstep my boundaries on here and would suggest vet care if it's available. Antibiotics are not entirely the fix unless you can get the wound down to healthy tissue without causing more harm.

[Sommer]

On a tail even debriding and antibiotics may not entirely be the answer. If there is bone sticking out this will need to be removed for proper healing.

[Lexi13]

Tail has no signs of infection it is healthy at base and nub. The tail is cold. I am trying to figure out how to upload a picture. Bare with me :)

[Mel1959]

Typically a tail that has been degloved or is dead will fall off on its own or the squirrel will chew it off. Monitoring the toes and tail is necessary but the betadine wash will help with any topical infection.

[Lexi13]

Thank you I will pick some up. If it's not falling off or starting to dry I will find a vet to look at it