Aspiration pneumonia suspected, please help!

[Skittles]

Snickers is 6.5 weeks old, 174g and up until yesterday was doing great. I noticed yesterday he wasn't eating a full amount per feeding so I ended up do extra feedings to get him to eat the full amount. This morning he only took about 4 mls and just doesn't seem interested in eating more. I did introduce Henry's Healthy Blocks at his last feeding last night and he nibbled it a little. He nibbled it again this morning, but not much. He's still really active and I don't hear any clicking in his lungs, but I'm concerned this is early signs of aspiration pneumonia. I haven't found a vet around here (SW FL) that treats squirrels. I do have Baytril suspension (22.7mg/ml) from our first baby squirrel three years ago, but it says it expired in 7/2022. Should I give him this, and if so, can someone please help with the dosage? If not, does anyone know where I can get Baytril without a vet script or a Vet that does telemedicine?

[CritterMom]

Was this a suspension that you or the doctor made up or is it a commercially available med? Like the bottle is printed with all of the information and it came mixed up? If this was a pill I would use it in a heartbeat. The problem isn't the age of the antibiotic in the blend, it is whatever it has been mixed with.

Do you or anyone you now have any HUMAN antibiotics left over from an illness? Cipro is the human version of Baytril; Amoxicillin clavulanate works very well and is becoming very popular with doctors... You would need ONE pill and we can tell you how to dilute and dose it. You will need a 1ml syringe to do all of this

[Skittles]

Thank you. It was mixed by a squirrel rehaber for me. I don't know what she used, I assume water. I'll try to find out. I have Nitrofurantoin 100mg capsules from a UTI. My uncle is a cattle rancher in NE and said he can get Baytril but not sure how quickly he can get it and then mail it to me. How much should I give him and for how many doses. I'd hate to run out mid-treatment and let the bacteria get resistant, but maybe I have enough to get by till I can get some. I'll also ask around and see if anyone has any human equivalents around me. I have the 1 ml syringes.

[Skittles]

Was this a suspension that you or the doctor made up or is it a commercially available med? Like the bottle is printed with all of the information and it came mixed up? If this was a pill I would use it in a heartbeat. The problem isn't the age of the antibiotic in the blend, it is whatever it has been mixed with.

Do you or anyone you now have any HUMAN antibiotics left over from an illness? Cipro is the human version of Baytril; Amoxicillin clavulanate works very well and is becoming very popular with doctors... You would need ONE pill and we can tell you how to dilute and dose it. You will need a 1ml syringe to do all of this


I found someone with a 500mg capsule of Amoxicillin. What do I do with it?

[CritterMom]

This is plain amoxicillin? Not amoxicillin/clavulanate? They are different drugs and require different dosing.

[CritterMom]

I have sent you dosing for the amoxicillin. If it turns out that you have amoxicillin/clavulanate and not plain amoxicillin, DON'T use the directions I sent you!

If you are able to find amox/clav, or cipro, get it and we will switch meds. Plain amox usually works but it would be nice to have a backup.

If the Baytril was mixed by your rehabber friend, I would not use it, any more than I would be willing to drink a 3 year old glass of plain water, even if it had been in the refrigerator the whole time... If she can hook you up with some fresh, go for it and we can dose THAT for you.