Help! Squirrel red nasal discharge or blood?! And dosage questions

[Purplefish47]

Hi there,

Our full grown but young (3 months) squirrel woke-up this morning with red nasal discharge. He was completely symptom free and normal the night before. He was in his cage all night & after scouring the internet, we figured he must have fallen or banged it? We cleaned it up, thinking it was blood and he became his normal self after a long nap, eating and drinking fine, no more "blood" from nose for the rest of the night. Some sneezing to clear it but no coughing.
(We have had rats in the past and their nasal discharge is red like blood when they have a respiratory infection but we could not find the answer if this is true for squirrels!). It seemed to clear so we figured he did in fact just bump his nose.
But... Forward to tonight, he's back in his cage asleep and his nose has this red "blood"/discharge again. I'm worried it IS an upper respiratory infection now.
I can't find it their nasal discharge is red though so don't know if it is blood or not!
Want to get him on antiobiotics if needed (we have a doxycycline suspension for the water bottle with written rodent dosage: 3 drops/100 mL water bottle) and also have a 10% enrofloxacin (baytril) powder (10g/100g) with a dosage of "5 g/gallon water" for birds, that is all. I'm not sure how to dose that, if needed. Should we just leave it at the bird dilution and put it in the water bottle of can we somehow dose is stronger in a syringe?
Squirrel is about 465 grams in weight.
Thank you!!
Need to know if this is blood or nasal discharge? Thanks!!

[Purplefish47]

https://i.postimg.cc/jnr54tL2/IMG-20221019-021147-614.jpg (https://postimg.cc/jnr54tL2)

[Purplefish47]

https://i.postimg.cc/4K7V84NQ/IMG-20221018-123643.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4K7V84NQ)

[Purplefish47]

http://https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESeEu723ZqqtE4MZ9

Back to himself this evening (as seen in the video above "burying" his nuts in his basket) but now again with the red discharge as he sleeps. Help!

[Mel1959]

The discharge is undoubtedly blood, but I would suspect more than likely from a fall. I think it is possible for there to be delayed discharge. When you hold him up to your ear like a phone do you hear any clicking with his breath sounds? Is he eating well? What does his diet consist of?

I’m not sure what others think but you could treat for an upper respiratory infection on the off chance that is what he has. I do know that the dosing you have for birds is not the way we dose squirrels. We never put meds in a water bottle. They’re given orally via syringe. The pill or liquid needs to be adjusted and administered based on the weight of the squirrel and the strength of the medicine. Doxycycline is NEVER used beyond its expiration date as it becomes toxic.

Please post the strength of the medicine and the weight of your squirrel in case others feel you should give an antibiotic.

[Purplefish47]

The doxycycline is new, doesn't expire until 2014 . Linked below for the concentration strength (50 mg/mL). It says for rodents 3 drops/100mL water but unsure how to dose it unconcentrated.
(https://www.vetmedsforpets.com/doxyvet-liquid )

The 10% enrofloxacin all the container says for concentration is 10g enrofloxacin/100g of powder (stated in original post). Also new, unexpired

Vets here won't see him as he's deemed wildlife and an invasive species.

His weight is stated in original post: 465 grams.

His diet: rodent blocks, greens/vegetables of a huge variety, wild greens, he has a sterilized dirt bin, he has access to assortment of nuts from a domesticated squirrel mix (also has minimal dried mealworms), occasion fruit.

Attached a photo of what a pet rat's nasal discharge looks like with an uppers respiratory infection: it looks like blood but isn't. I haven't seen this mentioned for squirrels but wonder if it is actually similar? Hence why I'm wanting to get him on antibiotics.

Today he still has the discharge and is sniffly. No crackling like pneumonia. With our pet rats, even with Baytril, it progressed to pneumonia quickly, hence my worry!

He's eating still and being active but not nearly as much as normal. Checked his teeth and they look ok so not thinking it's tooth related!

Thank you

https://i.postimg.cc/ZvJfnQ0n/Screenshot-20221019-133028-com-huawei-browser-2.jpg (https://postimg.cc/ZvJfnQ0n)
Rat upper respiratory nasal discharge that looks like blood

https://i.postimg.cc/McxfCJLn/IMG-20221019-132513.jpg (https://postimg.cc/McxfCJLn)
Squirrel this morning with red nasal discharge


https://i.postimg.cc/BtZkq8Fg/IMG-20221019-132613.jpg (https://postimg.cc/BtZkq8Fg)
Still eating his veggies like a good boy. Broccoli, Bok Choy, and salad greens were his go to today!

https://i.postimg.cc/jwDfXQ9c/IMG-20221019-132409.jpg (https://postimg.cc/jwDfXQ9c)
So hard to get him still but close up of the nasal discharge/"blood"

[Purplefish47]

https://i.postimg.cc/bSkH89qg/IMG-20221019-140843.jpg (https://postimg.cc/bSkH89qg)

The math I did based on squirrel's weight and the liquid doxycycline in a 50 mg/mL concentration. Let me know if this seems right!

Unsure how to even dose the enrofloxacin at all in its powdered form and concentration (in original post!)

[Mel1959]

Did you mean to say that the doxy doesn’t expire until 2024 and not 2014?

I’m sending you dosing for the Enrofloxacin in a private message. Private messages are accessed from the top of the screen under the heading “notifications”.

Edit: dosing sent in a pm.

[Purplefish47]

2024, yes! Can't figure out how to edit.