need help saving baby chipmunk !!!!!!

[juni]

to preface: there are no animal rescues nearby who take chipmunks so that is not an option, also cannot afford to take it to a vet

so two days ago my sister found a baby chipmunk that had been attacked by one of our cats, they have a wound on their head and on their back (i’ll put pictures if i can). we rinsed the wounds with a syringe and warm water until the water ran clear then applied topical antibiotics and have been doing so about 2 times a day. the chipmunk seemed fine the first day after they were not longer in shock and was walking around and eating the nuts/seeds we put in the cage. yesterday was the same acting pretty normal eating and drinking and walking around. now today the chipmunk keeps spinning in circles with their head tilted and twitching, and when they’re not spinning they’re balled up in a corner twitching. we bought puppy milk formula yesterday and have been giving them that as well, this morning they wouldn’t drink any but they drank some this evening and ate some seeds and drank some water on their own. i’m assuming they have brain damage (because of the spinning and twitching) and im wondering if there’s anything we can do to save the baby. btw we also crushed up a tiny little bit of ibuprofen and put it in the formula before giving it to them this evening, i read that ibuprofen can help. please help we do not want them to die but we don’t really know what else to do.

321662321661321663

[Diggie's Friend]

I sent messages to let the rehabbers here know of your need.

Seeing there is three hours time difference on the east coast; check back early in the morning as you can; someone should be available to help you then.

I spent some time looking on the board under, 'cat bite'; yet wasn't able to locate the info on the med and dosage.

You can try looking up posts where the topic was being addressed for med and dosage; type in, "cat bite" in the search box.

[TubeDriver]

Try to keep them in a warm, quiet place. You can gently initially hydrate them with a syringe using (very lightly sweetened, warm water with some sugar and a tiny pinch of salt) and then after a few drinks, switch over to regular water. The twitching behavior could be seizures which can lead to the neurologic symptoms you are seeing (head tilt, circling). Please don't give anymore motrin using crushed adult pills, that could overdose them. You can purchase liquid Infant Motrin drops (label will say 50mg/1.25ml strength). You can give 0.025ml (you must use a 1cc syringe for this) of the infant Motrin every 4-6 hours. Check with family and friends to see if anyone has a leftover, unused Antibiotic pill. Cipro, clavamox, doxycycline etc can help and will probably be needed since this is a cat caused injury. If you locate any antibiotics, let us know and we can provide exact dosing directions. If you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh them which is needed for exact dosing.

[juni]

can i give them amoxicillin ? that’s the only antibiotic i have.

[Spanky]

can i give them amoxicillin ? that’s the only antibiotic i have.

Yes, amoxicillin is effective for cat bites.

We need to know what the strength / concentration of the amoxicillin is (e.g. 250mg/5ml, or 500mg Capsules, etc.) and the weight of the chipmunk(s). You'll need a 1ml syringe for dosing... and using a 1ml or 3ml syringe instead of that 10ml syringe for hydrating / feeding would be better.

[juni]

We need to know what the strength / concentration of the amoxicillin is (e.g. 250mg/5ml, or 500mg Capsules, etc.) and the weight of the chipmunk(s). You'll need a 1ml syringe for dosing... and using a 1ml or 3ml syringe instead of that 10ml syringe for hydrating / feeding would be better. [/FONT][/QUOTE]


the amoxicillin is 500mg, unfortunately i do not have a kitchen scale so i can’t weigh the chipmunk but they are very very tiny, barely the size of my palm.

[juni]

btw do you know how much milk i should be giving them ? i don’t wanna over feed.

[Diggie's Friend]

The rehabbers will be back tomorrow morning to answer your question on the puppy formula tomorrow.

[TubeDriver]

You want to feed about 5-6% of body weight at each feeding. So if a chip weighs 50g, you would feed 2.5ml of formula. For example: 50x0.05 = 2.5.


They are eyes opened and look fairly large so they may well solids at this point but offering them warm puppy formula (powdered esbilac or Fox Valley 20/50) is a good way to help them keep hydrated.





btw do you know how much milk i should be giving them ? i don’t wanna over feed.

[TubeDriver]

the amoxicillin is 500mg, unfortunately i do not have a kitchen scale so i can’t weigh the chipmunk but they are very very tiny, barely the size of my palm.

Check your PM box for amox dosing directions. I am estimating weight at 50g. Anyone strongly disagree and think that should be 75?

[juni]

how many times a day ? we have been feeding them mild once in the morning and once at night should i feed them more or less than that ? also there is seeds and nuts in the cage that we’ve seen them eating

[TubeDriver]

I would offer formula 3x pr day (morning, lunch, evening) since they are eating solids. If they take the formula, great! They will stop taking formula as they wean themselves off it but you can continue to offer it.

A kitchen scale (shows weight in grams) is a great tool to have. As long as they are putting on weight, you are headed in the right direction. If they start losing weight, something is wrong.

I would STRONGLY recommend getting some rodent block like Teklad:

https://www.amazon.com/ENVIGO-Harlan-Teklad-Global-Food-Pellets/dp/B075H349QL/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=Harlan+Teklad&qid=1650488117&sr=8-6





how many times a day ? we have been feeding them mild once in the morning and once at night should i feed them more or less than that ? also there is seeds and nuts in the cage that we’ve seen them eating