Sick squirrel (HELP!!!!!!!!)

[emarti]

Hello!! Me and my husband have befriended (hahah) a female (older) squirrel ("Blackie"). She is the most friendly thing and we always feed here and she is very trusting and smart. However, yesterday she appeared with a very swollen face (the left side) she began eating the nuts we gave her and spit them out and blood was on them!!! I don't know if she has an infection or a broken tooth??? We smashed up the nuts so she could eat them easier and I also offered her some soft whole wheat bread. I don't know what to do!!!! Are there any suggestions for foods that have antibotic qualities??? I really don't want her to suffer. She does not appear lathargic but she was bleeding from the mouth after eating the large peanuts. Can anyone please help me to help Blackie??????????

Concerned,
Liz

[sparkysmom]

NOT a rehabber here, but do you think you could antibiotics from a vet and possibly sprinkle it on the food? Something she would really like to eat. Do you think maybe she got hurt?
Wish I knew what to tell you.
You can't catch her can you?

[island rehabber]

Hello!! Me and my husband have befriended (hahah) a female (older) squirrel ("Blackie"). She is the most friendly thing and we always feed here and she is very trusting and smart. However, yesterday she appeared with a very swollen face (the left side) she began eating the nuts we gave her and spit them out and blood was on them!!! I don't know if she has an infection or a broken tooth??? We smashed up the nuts so she could eat them easier and I also offered her some soft whole wheat bread. I don't know what to do!!!! Are there any suggestions for foods that have antibotic qualities??? I really don't want her to suffer. She does not appear lathargic but she was bleeding from the mouth after eating the large peanuts. Can anyone please help me to help Blackie??????????

Concerned,
Liz

Liz it's very hard to tell what could be wrong with your little friend without seeing her....it may be an abcessed wound or tooth which has become infected...it may be a bite or even a bot fly. I'm not sure what your laws are in your state regarding vets and wildlife, but if you have one nearby who treats wildlife, or who will give you a basic rodent antibiotic (like chloropalmitate, for example) you could put in on a nut and give it to her. In the meantime the soft bread (7-grain would be good) is an excellent idea, as well as some fruit so she still gets her vitamins. It is amazing how these animals will often heal by themselves without our intervention. Keep an eye on her...if she keeps her appetite and is not lethargic she will most likely be OK.

[emarti]

To Sparkie's Mom:

Regarding the antibotics.

That is what I was thinking!!! I will call the vet and see if maybe feline antibotics would do the trick. I think it's probably a broken tooth or something along those lines which has caused the left side of the face to swell!!!! I am so upset and want to do something to help Blackie!!!!

Thank you for your thoughts!!!!!

[sparkysmom]

Sparky likes yogurt, its good for them and soft too. Might be worth a try.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

If you don't see a gradual improvement in the coming days, you may want to talk to a rehabber about trying to catch Blackie and see a vet. It could also be that Blackie took a spill, and you may want to make sure that there isn't a malacculusion issue (tooth misaligmnent). It can have very bad long-term results, because squirrels' teeth continually grow, and can eventually grow until it punctures the sinus cavity and grow into the brain.

[thundersquirrel]

this is just an odd two cents. have you thought about a hose? it might scare her off, but if she's willing to drink from a gentle hose, it could wash out the wound a little bit until you got anti-biotics. still, i'd worry that a hose might scare her so much that she wouldn't trust you anymore. if you want to try it, put a sprinkler out and see how she reacts. that would be a good indicator if you could try it.

hope she gets better. :)