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thundersquirrel
10-04-2007, 09:34 PM
mom got a new squirrel in today, and called me to talk about it's issues. we're a bit puzzled by one thing.

it's a foxer, female, maybe 5-6 weeks old, very sweet. she was found at a wendy's- crawled up a woman's leg, and there was a dead squirrel nearby in the road, what happened is pretty clear.

the little lady is weak, had a lot of fleas (that have been treated with kitten flea spray), and she has mange.

NOW this is the weird part- though she has the crusty ears (the average), the mange is NO WHERE else on her body except on her back.

just past her shoulder blades, there is a line horizontal around her body. it's a line of missing fur that appears to be mangey skin. however, the shape is what's confusing us. it's a perfectly straight line across her back and sides!

we're waiting to treat her with ivermectin (she's too weak for it right now, at her age) but just wondering....i know some parasites can create shapes, such as ringworm and the like.

has anyone heard of this strange pattern? wish i had a picture, but i'm not at home, and mom doesn't know how to put pictures on the computer, let alone on the board.

any ideas appreciated. :peace

TexanSquirrel
10-04-2007, 10:00 PM
weeeeeeeirrrrd I hope she heals up soon!

Sarah
10-04-2007, 10:46 PM
I'm sorry to hear she's not well...

Could it be from injury and not a parasite? Maybe she tried to get through a rusty chain link fence or hole in a wall with gunk that irradiated her skin?
She could've been rolling or rubbing on something sharp trying to get relief from the flees... If not directly then maybe it weekended the area for the trouble to start.

Get well soon!

island rehabber
10-04-2007, 11:14 PM
TS, this is a pic I took of a squirrel at the nature center this past winter -- he was absolutely half'n'half in coloring, but the darker part really looked as if he had lost his fur and was slowly getting it back in. I assumed mange, and noted the weirdness of such a perfect line of demarcation. Is this what your girl has too?

thundersquirrel
10-05-2007, 12:15 AM
huh....cool pic. it does appear to be like mom's description. i suppose we'd have to keep an eye out for further hair loss, too.

squirrelfriend
10-05-2007, 06:00 AM
Mange usually starts on the face and back. It could also be from the fleas chewing her up. The areas that are the hardest for the squirrel to scratch will get realy chewed up. Ivermectin works great for the mange. For the fleas a bath in Dawn dish detergent (the blue one only) works great.

4skwerlz
10-05-2007, 07:00 AM
Could it be "balding syndrome"?

Nova
10-05-2007, 07:55 AM
It sounds like it could be where the mother has carrying the little one, but when she got hit she may have stripped his fur off that area with her teeth. :)