bed bugs/termites on Indian palm squirrel

[Mahak]

Hi

Can someone suggest any medicine/ointment safe for Indian palm squirrel which can kill bedbugs/termites or any other bug. My squirrel is feeling more itchy from yesterday I also found two brown bugs (not sure what bug) on its fur today. There could be more on the squirrel which I am not able to see. Please suggest something.


Mahak Tirole325318

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi

Can someone suggest any medicine/ointment safe for Indian palm squirrel which can kill bedbugs/termites or any other bug. My squirrel is feeling more itchy from yesterday I also found two brown bugs (not sure what bug) on its fur today. There could be more on the squirrel which I am not able to see. Please suggest something.

Hi Mahak:
Welcome to the Squirrel Board! I'm sorry that you have not had a response yet! These are definitely not termites! Termites eat wood! These appear to me to be lice. I would like suggest getting a piece of clear plastic tape (like Scotch tape) and see if by touching the sticky side to the area where you see the most of these bugs and hopefully some will stick to the tape. The take a close-up photo of them and post it in your thread. It will probably be easier then to determine just what they are.

As far as treatment options for lice (and fleas also); these would include 1) Advantage for Kittens in the Orange box. This contains ONLY Imidacloprid. This medication is now becoming quite difficult to come by because now the Imidacloprid is being combined with other similar medications and these other drugs that are combined with the Imidacloprid, seem safe for cats and dogs; They have NOT been proven safe for Squirrels and only plain Advantage (NOT Advantage plus!) should be used on Squirrels! I would recommend using the original Bayer Company product called Advantage for Kittens (and small cats) that is in the orange colored box. Hopefully this is available in India!

To apply the Advantage for Kittens (Imidocloprid), you would need to separate the fur over the back of your Squirrel between the shoulder blades and apply just one drop (no more!) to the bare skin. Do not rub it in. It should just be left to dry by itself. This can be repeated monthly for maintenance control of fleas and lice.

Another option is Selamectin ( brands are plain Revolution or Stronghold. Do NOT that say "plus"). This is available only by prescription within the USA but I do not know about the prescription status in India. Selamectin is dosed the same way as Advantage (just one drop applied to the bare skin between the shoulder blades) and just as with Advantage, use one drop only!

My post will also bump your thread back in view and hopefully others will offer their opinions and recommendations! I would again like to encourage you to try get more detailed photos of the bugs!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Mahak]

Hi,

Thanks for replying. I will try to take more clear picture of bug using tape and share with you.
Squirrel also seems to be a little lazy since yesterday. He slept whole day today in his cage, did not come out (gate remains open always).Only just an hour back, he came out of cage and is roaming here and there. Today, he also did not eat as much he used to before (earlier he used to remain out of the cage only, and used to go only to eat, drink or sleep). He just ate one raisins, and not more than 4-5 gms of tomato. Usually he used to eat 3 raisins, 40 gms boiled rice or equal amount of Indian roti (wheat bread) or boiled yellow split gram or tomato. Is it possible that fleas, lice can weaken him in 2-3 days? Currently it is rainy season in India, so weather is a bit cold, can cold make him lazy, not interested in eating? But we do give him soft blankets for sleeping.

My squirrel is young. I found it few weeks back only and I am not sure how old is he. But I can confirm that he is not fully grown because it is smaller in size than usual fully grown Indian palm squirrels and he does not even bites me when I try to catch him for clicking his pictures (my previous fully grown squirrel used to bite). I am sharing few pictures of him so that you can get an idea of his age. I would request you to let me know, how much should I feed him as I don't want to over feed him because it may lead to other problems.

I have shared a picture of his paws too. There, some red marks are present (only below one paw not other) Is it a wound or something else? can a he get a wound like this if he jumps from 1-2 meters of height?

Also today in morning, I saw a small wall lizard baby around squirrel's cage when he was sleeping. Can wall lizard be harmful for squirrels?

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Mahak

[Mahak]

325331

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi,

Thanks for replying. I will try to take more clear picture of bug using tape and share with you.
Squirrel also seems to be a little lazy since yesterday. He slept whole day today in his cage, did not come out (gate remains open always).Only just an hour back, he came out of cage and is roaming here and there. Today, he also did not eat as much he used to before (earlier he used to remain out of the cage only, and used to go only to eat, drink or sleep). He just ate one raisins, and not more than 4-5 gms of tomato. Usually he used to eat 3 raisins, 40 gms boiled rice or equal amount of Indian roti (wheat bread) or boiled yellow split gram or tomato. Is it possible that fleas, lice can weaken him in 2-3 days? Currently it is rainy season in India, so weather is a bit cold, can cold make him lazy, not interested in eating? But we do give him soft blankets for sleeping.

My squirrel is young. I found it few weeks back only and I am not sure how old is he. But I can confirm that he is not fully grown because it is smaller in size than usual fully grown Indian palm squirrels and he does not even bites me when I try to catch him for clicking his pictures (my previous fully grown squirrel used to bite). I am sharing few pictures of him so that you can get an idea of his age. I would request you to let me know, how much should I feed him as I don't want to over feed him because it may lead to other problems.

I have shared a picture of his paws too. There, some red marks are present (only below one paw not other) Is it a wound or something else? can a he get a wound like this if he jumps from 1-2 meters of height?

Also today in morning, I saw a small wall lizard baby around squirrel's cage when he was sleeping. Can wall lizard be harmful for squirrels?
Mahak

Hello again Mahak:
What is the name of your Squirrel?
We will be looking for the new photos regarding the "bugs." Others may be able to see more clarity in the photos you have already uploaded but the two most likely "bugs" are lice and fleas. As I mentioned in my first post; Selamectin (my preferred medication for fleas and lice!) or Advantage for Kittens (NOT Advantage II) would work well for either. Again, use only one drop applied to the skin itself, not the fur! Separate the fur between the shoulder blades and apply one drop to the bare skin. Do not rub it in and allow it to dry. To be thorough, I would not let the skin become wet in the area you applied the drop of medication for 24 hours. There is another suggestion and that is to use one drop of Frontline Plus in the same manner as you would use the Selamectin of Advantage. Frontline is mentioned in Wild Mammal Babies 4th Edition and also in the article I have posted links for below following a short discussion. I have not used Frontline. Others may have some experience with using this or recommendations regarding this medication. I just wanted to mention Frontline because of this article specific to India and care of Palm Squirrels there! Most of what is in this article that is devoted to Palm Squirrel Care seem quite good especially considering the fact that it is apparently written for people in India who are caring for Palms. It takes into consideration the issues of availability in India! One of the few concerns I have with the advice in this article is that the authors advocate spraying Frontline (the medication is Fipronil) onto the fur of the Squirrel. I strongly recommend tat this NOT be done. There is potential toxicity (poison) if significantly ingested by your little Squirrel which would be inevitable as all Squirrels like to lick themselves for grooming. Again, do NOT use more than one drop and apply it as you would the Selamectin or Advantage. Do NOT spray any of these!

I am also putting up two links to a "Part 1" and "Part 2" of a good article on Palm Squirrel Care in general. Like most Squirrelers in the USA. I have never seen or been involved in the care of a Palm Squirrel. These are found in India, Sri Lanka and other places relatively close to the Indian "sub-continent." The Admins and others who try to offer suggestions and advice in response to post from Squirrel Board Members, often become involved with Palm Squirrels at a great distance. Much of what we can readily procure here in the USA for dietary support (such as quality rodent blocks), supplementation of calcium and other minerals, vitamin preparations specifically formulated for rodents ans some medications are simply not that available in India.

http://rehabbersden.org/rehabbers/Hand-rearingAndRehabilitationOfOrphanedPalmSquirrelsFun ambulusSp.Page1.html

http://rehabbersden.org/rehabbers/Hand-rearingAndRehabilitationOfOrphanedPalmSquirrelsFun ambulusSp.Page2.html

The photos of the foot seem to me to show a small cut in the pad of the foot. If so, I would suggest applying some Clear Bacitracin Ointment to this for protection and just keep the wound covered with this for protection for the next 3-4 days. Do NOT use any topical ointment that contains Neomycin such as Neosporin! Neomycin can cause some very severe hypersensitivity reactions and should be avoided! Again, if this is a wound as it appears to be; infection is a risk. I would monitor the status of the wound several times during the day for signs of infection which include among others; swelling, redness and drainage of pus. Just in case, do you have any antibiotics available and if so, please post those and their strengths (how many milligrams in a tablet or capsule).

How are you providing water for your Squirrel. Are you using a water bottle or bowl. Your Squirrel should have clean, pure water available at all times. If using a water bottle, the mechanism for relaes of the water should be checked several times each day for proper operation and all water sources should have their water changed daily.

Are you able to get any of the topical flea and lice medications? Do you think that you might be able to locate a quality Rodent Block for your Squirrel's diet such as Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet or Envigo 2018 (also known as Harlan/Teklad)?

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel