Discontinuing Antibiotic If A Squirrel Is Not Urinating Immediately.

[Gray Squirrel]

Discontinuing Antibiotic If A Squirrel Is Not Urinating Immediately.
Sometimes Amoxicillin is the only antibiotic that a person can get. I do not know the best dose of Amoxicillin for an adult Eastern Gray Squirrel but I think 4.4 mg. to 5 mg. would be comparable to the dose for a adult human.
I think a lot of People do not know that Antibiotics like Amoxicillin should be stopped immediately if a Squirrel stops urinating. The main way Amoxicillin is removed from the body is though the urine. Some Vets and Rehabbers may think it is sepsis that has killed a Squirrel when it may actually have been Amoxicillin or some other similar antibiotic. Even if a Squirrel has an infection or sepsis if the Squirrel is not urinating the Squirrel should be taken off Amoxicillin immediately until urination is normal again. NO ONE TOLD ME THAT AMOXICILLIN SHOULD BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY IF A SQUIRREL IS NOT URINATING.
A doctor wrote me "if a person is having a kidney problem that is causing them to not urinate, then amoxicillin must be discontinued. If it is not discontinued, it can continue to cause more damage to the kidneys. Additionally, because of the inability to pass urine, the concentration of amoxicillin will increase in the blood, leading to damage in other structures as well."
I ask him should the Amoxicillin be discontinued with kidney failure cause by sepsis. Will the Amoxicillin keep rising to a dangerous level. He Replied "Yes definitely it should immediately be stopped and should never given in the future again." In the end of my Chat with him I told him it was Squirrels that I was concerned about and he still said the same thing, that the Amoxicillin should be discontinued.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Discontinuing Antibiotic If A Squirrel Is Not Urinating Immediately.
Sometimes Amoxicillin is the only antibiotic that a person can get. I do not know the best dose of Amoxicillin for an adult Eastern Gray Squirrel but I think 4.4 mg. to 5 mg. would be comparable to the dose for a adult human.
I think a lot of People do not know that Antibiotics like Amoxicillin should be stopped immediately if a Squirrel stops urinating. The main way Amoxicillin is removed from the body is though the urine. Some Vets and Rehabbers may think it is sepsis that has killed a Squirrel when it may actually have been Amoxicillin or some other similar antibiotic. Even if a Squirrel has an infection or sepsis if the Squirrel is not urinating the Squirrel should be taken off Amoxicillin immediately until urination is normal again. NO ONE TOLD ME THAT AMOXICILLIN SHOULD BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY IF A SQUIRREL IS NOT URINATING.
A doctor wrote me "if a person is having a kidney problem that is causing them to not urinate, then amoxicillin must be discontinued. If it is not discontinued, it can continue to cause more damage to the kidneys. Additionally, because of the inability to pass urine, the concentration of amoxicillin will increase in the blood, leading to damage in other structures as well."
I ask him should the Amoxicillin be discontinued with kidney failure cause by sepsis. Will the Amoxicillin keep rising to a dangerous level. He Replied "Yes definitely it should immediately be stopped and should never given in the future again." In the end of my Chat with him I told him it was Squirrels that I was concerned about and he still said the same thing, that the Amoxicillin should be discontinued.

Hi Gray Squirrel and thanks for posting on The Squirrel Board! There is an unstated question at the heart of your post and that is why would a Squirrel or any animal or person simple stop urinating? You are correct in that a majority of amoxicillin dosing (approximately 60% or so) is excreted unchanged in the urine so if an animal is not making urine; yes the amoxicillin should be held BUT the big concern IMHO is NOT the amoxicillin itself as that is easy to stop but the anuria (NO urine output)! Just for the record, the amoxicillin is not the likely culprit in the lack of urine output and if this should occur while an animal is taking amoxicillin or not; is in itself an emergency and must be address immediately! The causes for anuria include failure of the kidneys themselves or restriction (blockage) in the common drainage system for urine such as in bladder or urethra (the tube that leads from the bladder to the outside) which can result from a stone or a mass (tumor). Also, a relatively common occurrence is an apparent lack of urination rather than an actually lack of urination which can be, as an example, a decreased amount urine from dehydration or even shock (and this could easily and quickly lead to acute kidney failure).

I am making this post because we have literally hundreds of people on TSB and any one time who may not even be registered members who might search for or notice on particular issue here and I don't want anyone to make the wrong assumptions or overlook a potentially serious or even fatal issue, namely anuria! Number one, yes, amoxicillin blood levels can reach unsafe levels if there is no urine output but far more of a concern is the lack of urine output itself! No urination is in itself an often serious and emergent issue and it must become an immediate focus of concern! The amoxicillin (or other medication that is primarily excreted in the urine) certainly must be adjusted or discontinued as appropriate BUT the lack of urination MUST be addressed in and of itself and quickly; and just stopping amoxicillin is NOT the answer to anuria (no urine flow)!

Do you have a Squirrel who is taking amoxicillin and/or having urination problems? If so, please post the specifics ASAP!

Thanks and regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Gray Squirrel]

I Had a Squirrel that had a badly infected injured leg. I had been advised to give him 7.5 mg. of amoxicillin three times a day by someone. I think this was too big a dose to give three times a day. I did not realizing what I had been doing to him by forcing him to take 7.5 mg. of Amoxicillin three times a day. He had not been urinating for a while. I gave him the Amoxicillin with a syringe. The last morning He was alive. He was still conscious when I picked him up and I held his head so he had to take the Amoxicillin that was in the syringe. INSTANTLY EVEN BEFORE I REMOVED THE SYRINGE FROM HIS MOUTH HE WENT LIMP AND WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND NEVER GAINED CONSCIOUSNESS AGAIN. HE DIE ON MY ARM IN ABOUT TWO HOURS OR LESS. I was forcing him to take what was poisoning him. I wonder if I will ever get over what I did to Fluffy. For Fluffy it is all over. Fluffy trusted me and I failed him.
Amoxicillin is hard on the kidneys. CAREFULLY READ THE PART OF MY THREAD THAT WAS WRITTEN TO ME BY A DOCTOR. There may be other issue besides the Amoxicillin that cause kidney failure but STILL THE AMOXICILLIN SHOULD IMMEDIATELY BE DISCONTINUED UNTIL THING ARE SORTED OUT AND MAY BE NEVER CONTINUED AGAIN. If you are giving Amoxicillin to a Squirrel when the Squirrel is not urinating it may not only harm the kidneys but other organs also.
60% is how much of the amoxicillin has left the body in 8 hours but there is still some in the body. It could be more than 60% that is excreted by the kidneys.
"Amoxicillin is primarily excreted via the kidneys and urine. Within 8 hours of taking the drug, 60% of it has already been passed from the body. After your last dose of amoxicillin, you can expect that it will be mostly gone from your body within 8 hours. After 12 hours, there should be none left in your system."
I do not have all the answer. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do if there is an infection and a Squirrel stops urinating. This may be especially true with a urinary track infection that can also cause a Squirrel to stop urinating. There are antibiotics that are not as hard on the Kidneys as Amoxicillin is. If a good Vet who is good with Squirrels, who knows a lot about antibiotics and kidney is available to you get help from him. I think sometimes it is the Amoxicillin that has killed a Squirrel and people think some other issue the Squirrel had killed the Squirrel. For this reason people do not learn how bad it is to keep giving Amoxicillin to a Squirrel when The Squirrel stops urinating.