Baby squirrel bleeding from mouth, please help

[lachy22]

Hello,

I just found a baby squirrel on the sidewalk about two hours ago. Its eyes aren't open and its fur is shiny and looks healthy. However, it looks like he just fell from the nest as his nose? or possibly inside mouth? was bleeding. The bleeding inside the mouth was at the corners and the roof of his mouth was clean. Jaw seems a bit swollen? He is able to crawl fine and limbs look good.

The bleeding mostly stopped within the first 30 min. and blood wasn't gushing. He now leaves some slight blood marks when he is lying down. We wiped his nose and mouth from it. When he crawled on the paper towel and touched his head down then the blood stained it but not in big pools, but he still lost some blood. He squeaked/harped for his mom at the beginning but he seems to have calmed down, as he is lying down on my hand with a warm water bottle by his back and squeaks a bit less. He is asleep right now but crawls around once in a while. His breathing has been steady for the past hour and he has warmed up. He even wagged his tail a bit, snuggled a bit into my hand, and when I scratched his armpit he moved it up cuz I guess I found the sweet spot. He seems to be more comfortable in my warm hand now.

How do I approach feeding him, when, and with what? I have Pedialyte, dosing syringes, and a little bottle available. Is Esbilac powder or liquid ok?

I attached some photos of him as well.

I have raised a squirrel before from when it was able to eat solid food but also took formula, but never a baby this young. Any help is appreciated so so much. Thank you.

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[Spanky]

How do I approach feeding him, when, and with what? I have Pedialyte, dosing syringes, and a little bottle available. Is Esbilac powder or liquid ok?

I attached some photos of him as well.

I have raised a squirrel before from when it was able to eat solid food but also took formula, but never a baby this young. Any help is appreciated so so much. Thank you.

Here is a great , concise guide to caring for baby squirrels. It is 6 pages long in toal:
https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Esbilac powder, liquid is not the same and will cause diarrhea.

No bottles for squirrels, feed only with a syringe.

Hopefully the boo-boo to his mouth / head is minimum. Watch for swelling or if he tends to circle in on direction or the other all the time, seizures. etc. Let us know if any of these thing develop (t may require some meds).

:thankyou for caring for him!

[lachy22]

Thank you so so much for your reply. Do you think I should attempt to feed him with the suggested milk or Pedialyte first? sometime in the morning if he feels better? I do not want him to starve or anything.

[lachy22]

It also seems like some clicking is coming from him. Possibly from his mouth not his nose? Don’t know if it’s from his chest or an injury his mouth?

[lachy22]

Another update: he pooped. No diarrhea just normal pellets. I stimulated him probably an hour earlier to pee a little. The clicking is still constant, could it be aspiration from blood or something else? Should I give any medicine for it?

[TubeDriver]

I would make sure he feels nice and warm. Give him a bit of pedialyte, wait an hour or two for his body to absorb it and then try starting powered Esbilac. You want to give him about 5% if his weight (g) in formula (ml). So if he weighs 75g, take 75 and multiply by 0.05. This gives you 3.75 or 3.75ml of formula. Once he has has 2-3 feeding at 5% and a decent looking poops, start upping the formula to 6-7% (0.06 or 0.07).

Once he is hydrated and had formula, you can also give him Infant Motrin drops (should say 50mg/1.25ml strength on bottle). He looks about 50g (?), so you can give him 0.03ml of the motrin every ~5hours.

Post up his weight and I can be more exact with dosing. He is lucky you found him!:w00t



Thank you so so much for your reply. Do you think I should attempt to feed him with the suggested milk or Pedialyte first? sometime in the morning if he feels better? I do not want him to starve or anything.

[lachy22]

Thank you so much. He has been on a heating pad since about 7am this morning and we had him on the rice socks last night. However, he is not drinking the pedialyte or responding to any syringe. I put a few drops in his mouth but he won't voluntarily drink it, and I rubbed some honey on his gum. Is there anything I can do to make him take the pedialyte?

[lachy22]

Thank you so much. He has been on a heating pad since about 7am this morning and we had him on the rice socks last night. However, he is not drinking the pedialyte or responding to any syringe. I put a few drops in his mouth but he won't voluntarily drink it, and I rubbed some honey on his gum. Is there anything I can do to make him take the pedialyte?



I would make sure he feels nice and warm. Give him a bit of pedialyte, wait an hour or two for his body to absorb it and then try starting powered Esbilac. You want to give him about 5% if his weight (g) in formula (ml). So if he weighs 75g, take 75 and multiply by 0.05. This gives you 3.75 or 3.75ml of formula. Once he has has 2-3 feeding at 5% and a decent looking poops, start upping the formula to 6-7% (0.06 or 0.07).

Once he is hydrated and had formula, you can also give him Infant Motrin drops (should say 50mg/1.25ml strength on bottle). He looks about 50g (?), so you can give him 0.03ml of the motrin every ~5hours.

Post up his weight and I can be more exact with dosing. He is lucky you found him!:w00t

[Spanky]

Try dabbing the tip of the syringe (or the nipple if you have one on the syringe) after you've filled it with the pedialyte into a bit of honey or syrup to see if that will entice him to drink.

Please provide an update on getting him to drink or not.

[lachy22]

He won't grab the syringe or anything, he doesn't respond to feeding. I put a few drops of pedialyte on the side of his mouth and dropped a few drops into his mouth and he makes a motion like smacking his lips kind of. I can take a video if that could help.


Try dabbing the tip of the syringe (or the nipple if you have one on the syringe) after you've filled it with the pedialyte into a bit of honey or syrup to see if that will entice him to drink.

Please provide an update on getting him to drink or not.

[lachy22]

Here are two videos of him. Also, can I give him the Goat's Milk Formula now, or keep giving him pedialyte?

https://youtu.be/tMcZz0HcVz4
https://youtu.be/ITfiB0qaPOw


Try dabbing the tip of the syringe (or the nipple if you have one on the syringe) after you've filled it with the pedialyte into a bit of honey or syrup to see if that will entice him to drink.

Please provide an update on getting him to drink or not.

[Spanky]

I did not notice this in the middle of the night when I first looked at the pics but his mouth looks like it has suffered some trauma. I wish we could get him x-rayed... do you mind sharing your general location in case we can find someone experienced that can help and maybe get him x-rayed?

I would go ahead an attempt giving him the formula to see if he will eat / drink anything at this point.

[lachy22]

I am in the Midwest area. I can take a take a picture later of the inside of his mouth to see what damage was done there. He seems to be a bit stronger though, he was able to grab my finger and move around and looks a bit more responsive to touch.

His poop is brown and wateryish and molasses-like, like diarrhea.

I attempted to give him formula 3 times so far and it seems he is swallowing it. None is coming out, there are no bubbles or foaming and no clicking. Maybe because of his jaw injury, his mouth sucking on the syringe or swallowing will look different to a normal squirrel because it is still injured and sore.

He probably fell 10-15 min before I found him because I was in the area earlier and didn't see him. He is just sleeping tucked away on a heating pad right now. If there is some antibiotic needed for him I can go out and try to get it for him.


I did not notice this in the middle of the night when I first looked at the pics but his mouth looks like it has suffered some trauma. I wish we could get him x-rayed... do you mind sharing your general location in case we can find someone experienced that can help and maybe get him x-rayed?

I would go ahead an attempt giving him the formula to see if he will eat / drink anything at this point.

[Spanky]

His poop is brown and wateryish and molasses-like, like diarrhea.

I attempted to give him formula 3 times so far and it seems he is swallowing it. None is coming out, there are no bubbles or foaming and no clicking. Maybe because of his jaw injury, his mouth sucking on the syringe or swallowing will look different to a normal squirrel because it is still injured and sore.

I'd alternate the formula with Pedialyte, if he does not like the pedialyte try the homemade hydration solution.... if he does not take that try just teh sugar and even plan water. He did not look dehydrated in the earlier pics.

Have you administered ibuprofen as Tubedriver recommended?

Its good to have antibiotics on hand when raising squirrels (Baytril/Cipro and Augmentin/ Clavamox are best) but I don't think he needs that just now.

With the diarrhea he needs hydration and maybe a drop of pepto if it does not resolve in a few hours.

Are you close to this place?
https://www.2ndhandranch.com/index.html

There are a couple places in MI as well.. Midwest is a large area.

[lachy22]

I have not given him ibuprofen yet, I just wanted to get some formula in him. Will probably do that after his next feeding. I'll keep an eye on how his stools improve too. Both those places are kind of far from me so I'll see how he reacts to the ibuprof. and rest and get more photos of him for now.

It doesn't seem like he doesn't the food he might just be too tired and sore.


I'd alternate the formula with Pedialyte, if he does not like the pedialyte try the homemade hydration solution.... if he does not take that try just teh sugar and even plan water. He did not look dehydrated in the earlier pics.

Have you administered ibuprofen as Tubedriver recommended?

Its good to have antibiotics on hand when raising squirrels (Baytril/Cipro and Augmentin/ Clavamox are best) but I don't think he needs that just now.

With the diarrhea he needs hydration and maybe a drop of pepto if it does not resolve in a few hours.

Are you close to this place?
https://www.2ndhandranch.com/index.html

There are a couple places in MI as well.. Midwest is a large area.

[Spanky]

I have not given him ibuprofen yet, I just wanted to get some formula in him. Will probably do that after his next feeding. I'll keep an eye on how his stools improve too. Both those places are kind of far from me so I'll see how he reacts to the ibuprof. and rest and get more photos of him for now.

It doesn't seem like he doesn't the food he might just be too tired and sore.

When keeping him warm, try to keep his head away from the direct heat as much as possible (I know, may be a pretty impossible task). Just move him so his head might be on the "other side" of the half of the bin on the heat.. hope that makes sense. Seems he has a head trauma and it owuld be best to minimize heat to his head to the extent possible.

Do you happen to have any steroids... prednisone, dexamethsone, prednisolone? We use these for head trauma when indicated.

[lachy22]

Lemme check on the dexamethasone, would pet stores or pharmacies sell the others?


When keeping him warm, try to keep his head away from the direct heat as much as possible (I know, may be a pretty impossible task). Just move him so his head might be on the "other side" of the half of the bin on the heat.. hope that makes sense. Seems he has a head trauma and it owuld be best to minimize heat to his head to the extent possible.

Do you happen to have any steroids... prednisone, dexamethsone, prednisolone? We use these for head trauma when indicated.

[lachy22]

I found I have one tablet of dexamethasone left. It says 4MG Tablets and the Manufacturer is Fera. Not old or expired. It says its for the use of chemotherapy. The other medicines I have available are Celecoxib, Hydrocodone, and Gabapentin.


When keeping him warm, try to keep his head away from the direct heat as much as possible (I know, may be a pretty impossible task). Just move him so his head might be on the "other side" of the half of the bin on the heat.. hope that makes sense. Seems he has a head trauma and it owuld be best to minimize heat to his head to the extent possible.

Do you happen to have any steroids... prednisone, dexamethsone, prednisolone? We use these for head trauma when indicated.

[lachy22]

Thank you for all your help in dosing and food and comfort for him. Unfortunately, he did not make it and died in my arms. It was such an enjoyable 24 hours with him that I was able to hold such a precious baby and help him for some time. I truly truly love him.


I found I have one tablet of dexamethasone left. It says 4MG Tablets and the Manufacturer is Fera. Not old or expired. It says its for the use of chemotherapy. The other medicines I have available are Celecoxib, Hydrocodone, and Gabapentin.

[TubeDriver]

:( It sounds like his injuries were too severe. Thanks for trying to help him. :grouphug

Godspeed little squirrel.

[Chirps]

Thank you for all your help in dosing and food and comfort for him. Unfortunately, he did not make it and died in my arms. It was such an enjoyable 24 hours with him that I was able to hold such a precious baby and help him for some time. I truly truly love him.

So sorry. I've been following this thread, and was worried to see how huge his lower jaw looked, but hoped he'd be able to get past it. Thank you for giving him love and comfort for his short time here.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Baby Squirrel, Lachy! Thank you for the love and the wonderful care you bestowed upon this Little One in your short time together! RIP Little Squirrel!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel