Recently released INJURED Fox Squirrel PLEASE HELP!!

[MissE]

I have a 9 month old male Fox Squirrel that I raised since he was a pinky. I overwintered him and for the past month he has been in an outdoor pre-release cage. He has shown all the sign of wilding up except for still trusting and coming to me.


I cut port holes in his cage 3 days ago. He ventured out on day 2 for a little while and returned to his pre-release cage at bed time. On day 3 (yesterday) he went out immediately after breakfast and explored the whole day. He came back to his pre-release cage right before dusk. I went out to put some dinner in his cage and noticed that he was injured. The tip of his tail is missing and he has bloody puncture wounds on his face and possibly one on the side of his neck. I attempted to clean his wounds but he would not let me. He turned away while teeth chattering. His body language told me he would bite if I proceeded. I offered him a HHB and an shelled almond just to see if he would eat. He accepted and ate both items. Took a drank of water and went straight into his house.


I assume he was attacked by another squirrel judging by his injures and the fact that I saw other squirrels in the area yesterday. Even though he ate at bedtime he kept doing a sneezy type sound. Like he was trying to clear his nostrils or something. Despite that sound he continued to eat and drink.


This morning he has not come out of his nest box to eat or drink yet. I tapped on the box to see if he was in there and I heard him but he has yet to come out for food or drink. I'm afraid to open the box ( it opens in the front in fear of scarring him further) but don't know how long I should wait to see if he will come out? Also, he has bitten all of my family members recently so I'm afraid out of fear or pain he will bite me too. I did close his port holes this morning so that other squirrels wont get in to bother him in his injured state. I don't know how to proceed with this situation. Please Help!

[Spanky]

You did the right thing closing the portal so he can remain in the release cage to recuperate.

A big concern right now is if he were attacked by a cat, in which case antibiotics are needed. A slight scratch or transfer of saliva from a cat can cause a lethal infection to a squirrel.

Do you have nay antibiotics?

Keep a watch for him to come out of his nest box.. hopefully he is resting and recovering from what certainly was a very full day. Young males will sometimes make the mistake of wrangling with older alpha squirrels. My most recent release did just that recently and he too has returned to the release cage for a few days of recovery time.

[MissE]

You did the right thing closing the portal so he can remain in the release cage to recuperate.

A big concern right now is if he were attacked by a cat, in which case antibiotics are needed. A slight scratch or transfer of saliva from a cat can cause a lethal infection to a squirrel.

Do you have nay antibiotics?

Keep a watch for him to come out of his nest box.. hopefully he is resting and recovering from what certainly was a very full day. Young males will sometimes make the mistake of wrangling with older alpha squirrels. My most recent release did just that recently and he too has returned to the release cage for a few days of recovery time.




Spanky thank you for your response. I strongly suspect that it was an a fight with another squirrel due to the appearance of his injuries and the fact that I saw several squirrels in his vicinity throughout the day. Not to mention the fact that he had a couple male visitors that would harass him through his pre-release cage in the month prior to my opening the portals. Judging by Wilbur's (my squirrel's name) reaction when those said visitors would come by, I thought he had wilded up enough to be let loose. Apparently, he got in a scuffle and wasn't as big in his britches as he thought he was through the cage bars :(

The only antibiotics that I have are the human form of Bactrim and Doxycycline. Would either of these be efficient? How would I administer etc? Also, at what point if I don't see him come out of his next box do I go intervene? How long would you wait? I don't know how long he can go without food or water.

[MissE]

Let me add that I love Wilbur more than my heart can even handle sometimes and this is breaking my heart and my mind is full of every fear possible. I know that no one has the magic answer to give but I guess I am just interested in knowing what others with more experience would do in my situation. And if it was indeed a squirrel squabble is it common for them to get fatally wounded? I am holding on to the positives that he came back to his pre-release cage for safety and he ate and drank before bedtime. Him not responding to my voice or food is uncharted territory and unsettling. I assumed that leaving him be for awhile was the best option since he experienced so much in one day yesterday and is probably in pain as well. My thinking is that by opening his box I would be disturbing his "safe spot" and that wouldn't be wise or helpful.

[Spanky]

And if it was indeed a squirrel squabble is it common for them to get fatally wounded? I am holding on to the positives that he came back to his pre-release cage for safety and he ate and drank before bedtime. Him not responding to my voice or food is uncharted territory and unsettling.

It is very positive he knew to return to the release cage. Checking on him in the box is a decision you have to make since it sounds like there are risks to that knowing he has a history of biting family members.

Bactrim is effective against Pasteurella which is what we worry about with cat bites... bactrim is also a good medication for treating infections of skin and abscesses (which a another squirrel biting him may cause). You'll need to post the precise strength / concentration and form (liquid / tablet / etc.) of the Bactrim you have. And Wilbur's weight if you know it?

[MissE]

It is very positive he knew to return to the release cage. Checking on him in the box is a decision you have to make since it sounds like there are risks to that knowing he has a history of biting family members.

Bactrim is effective against Pasteurella which is what we worry about with cat bites... bactrim is also a good medication for treating infections of skin and abscesses (which a another squirrel biting him may cause). You'll need to post the precise strength / concentration and form (liquid / tablet / etc.) of the Bactrim you have. And Wilbur's weight if you know it?




Thankfully only minutes ago he came out of his nest box for a long drink of water, to say hi to me, grab an unshelled nut and then retreated back into his box :) I was able to inspect his wounds through from the outside of the cage and they look lots better than they did last night. And it appears he has dried blood near his nostrils which is causing the stuffy nose sounding breathing. I assume the blood just dripped from his face to his nostrils and dried up there because I never saw blood draining directly from his nostrils last night.


I am so happy to hear that I have the right antibiotic to treat any potential issues that may arise from this. I have SMZ/TMP DS (Generic for Bactrim) 800-160 TAB. The last time I officially weighed him was about 4 months ago. At that time he weighed 1.60 lbs. Now, I'd say he's closer to 2 lbs for sure.

[MissE]

Thankfully only minutes ago he came out of his nest box for a long drink of water, to say hi to me, grab an unshelled nut and then retreated back into his box :) I was able to inspect his wounds through from the outside of the cage and they look lots better than they did last night. And it appears he has dried blood near his nostrils which is causing the stuffy nose sounding breathing. I assume the blood just dripped from his face to his nostrils and dried up there because I never saw blood draining directly from his nostrils last night.


I am so happy to hear that I have the right antibiotic to treat any potential issues that may arise from this. I have SMZ/TMP DS (Generic for Bactrim) 800-160 TAB. The last time I officially weighed him was about 4 months ago. At that time he weighed 1.60 lbs. Now, I'd say he's closer to 2 lbs for sure.


Evening update: Wilbur came out of his box for dinner and a drink of water :) However, his weird sneezy/stuffy nose sounding breathing is persisting. His teeth appeared fine as far I could tell. He ate at his normal rate and ability. I know you are busy and I am sorry to bother you again but can you please advise me on how to administer the Bactrim? Thank you in advance for your time and assistance helping Wilbur.

[Spanky]

Bactrim dosing sent in PM...

[MissE]

Wilbur is still eating but his appetite is not as big as normal. He's coming out of his nest box a little more often and yesterday he very excitedly buried his favorite nut (pecan). Also, I pretty sure he ventured out of the pre-release cage for a little while and spent some time on his tree nest box. I have attempted to give him food dosed with Bactrim but other than eating one grape with maybe .25 ml in it he is refusing all of the other foods I tried to sneak the meds into. He still has a sneezy/weezy/stuffy nose sounding breathing. And today I saw some whitish (possibly clear its hard to tell) drainage coming from one of his nostrils. His wounds look better. No drainage as far as I can tell from them. Should I be worried (because I am). And is there anything else I can do for him? He will still take food from my hand but I'm not sure I can syringe feed him the meds. Please Help!

[MissE]

Update: I went out there to see if he would eat one of the treated nuts from my hand. He seems to prefer food when I hand it to him. He did accept and eat one of the bactrim treated nuts! Also, while I was in his cage he jumped on me and and tried stashing some of the other food options I offered before the treated nut. He didn't seem aggressive. Seemed his normal self with me but I didn't pet him in fear I would hurt him and he would bite me. I'm sure my energy is nervous and that's probably not good but after him charging after my son (outside of his cage on day 2 of release) and biting him I'm concerned for myself.

[sundoesshine]

I'm sure my energy is nervous and that's probably not good but after him charging after my son (outside of his cage on day 2 of release) and biting him I'm concerned for myself.

Yes, it's certainly hard to feel calm once those first bites happen. To note, despite looking like they want to be friendly, most releases don't tolerate being pet anymore although they still may like to climb and sit on shoulders etc. Glad to hear he seems to be slowly recovering.

[MissE]

Yes, it's certainly hard to feel calm once those first bites happen. To note, despite looking like they want to be friendly, most releases don't tolerate being pet anymore although they still may like to climb and sit on shoulders etc. Glad to hear he seems to be slowly recovering.


Thank you for your response. This is incredibly hard going from having such a strong bond with him and having him be so loving and snuggly to now being afraid of him biting me. However, the fear has helped me keep my distance and help him wild up more. Every day since his accident/attack he seems to be improving. He rested a lot the first day but each day that has passed since then his appetite has improved. He now promptly leaves his release cage first thing in the morning before I even come out to give him breakfast. He returns for lunch and nap. Leaves again after naptime and then returning again for dinner and bedtime at dusk. I didn't really get him to take anymore that two of the antibiotic treated foods that I offered. He turned his nose up at everything that was treated as if he could smell it. Lol smart little stinker.

Despite not getting the antibiotics in him he seems to be doing well and enjoying his freedom. I am still nervous about going outside sometimes. His release cage is very close to our house so he can hear us each time someone comes in or out of the house. If he is in his cage he will come out of his house looking like he wants attention from me. Maybe just snacks I don't know? Today he came to the door. I stepped out, he jumped on me looking for snacks. I handed him a pecan. He promptly took it and ran off to bury it. I did not try to pet him even though I want to so bad :(

Is it okay to feed him outside of the cage? Or should I only be feeding him while in the cage? I want him to trust me and come to me but I also don't want to encourage aggressive behavior if he considers me his food source and that's why he ran up to and attacked my son that was standing next to me. My husband thinks I should just go try to hang out with him without food to see if he is still nice when I don't have any food. While I get what he's saying, I don't think it works that way with squirrels and I have always been his source of food. I have always given him food and then received snuggles afterwards. So, to me since he's wilding up there is only room for him visiting me for snacks and probably not any more snuggies. Does my reasoning make since? Please advise. I feel so insecure about what is the right thing for him. I want him to be wild and free and will put all of my human attachments aside for his well being, But, I feel like I just abruptly abandoned him other than putting food/water in his cage in the last several days :(