Ear Injury??

[rattyvonratkins]

Hi, I'm about to leave for a wedding so I don't have much time but there's a young squirrel in my yard with blood running from his left ear. Looks like it may be dried blood. I don't know what happened to him. He was fine this morning so something must have happened within the last few hours. He normally hangs around my fenced-in backyard but today he ventured into the front yard so I'm worried he went out into the road or something. Does this look like a serious injury? He seems to be acting normally. Thank you!

[farrelli]

It doesn't look like it's too serious, especially if he's behaving fine and not off balance or anything. I'd just keep an eye on him. If it gets infected or anything, you might need to treat him with antibiotics or even catch him, but we'll cross that bridge later.

[Starfish]

It is a little worrisome. Are you familiar with him? Does he trust you?

Definitely, keep observing. Acting normallt, eating, climbing is a good thing.

Hopefully more experienced folks will be here soon.

[Starfish]

Might want to consider getting your hands on capstar in case you need it . Blood might attract flies (maggots).

You're better off already having it when you need it.

[farrelli]

Good call on the flies. We can dose it for you if you get it. It's about a 1/4 tablet. Maggots are horrible and can make this squirrel unreleasable or dead if they invade the ear.

[rattyvonratkins]

He's a brave little guy but he won't let me get that close. He'll get within a few feet but I can't touch him or anything. What is capstar?

[farrelli]

It's a pill that kills parasites. You can just hide the tiny little piece that you'd need in a some peanut butter or something.

[Starfish]

Like Farelli said, you might be able to give it in peanut butter without having to approach.

However, if he were to get worse (hope he doesn't), he might weaken and be more receptive to help.

We're just saying to start hunting for Capstar now in case you need it. By the time you need it (if you need it), you may be short on time.

[Starfish]

Oh, and for clarity's sake, the reason we're worried about maggots is: The blood can attract flies to lay their eggs... which they would do in the ear... That would result in maggots eating it alive from the inside. It's a pretty horrible way to go.

There were a couple of these cases on this board over the summer. It's very sad.

It may not happen, either.

[SammysMom]

If you have a vet, they will have Capstar. It is the pill that you get to kill the fleas that are on the animal immediately. It would be with the flea treatment stuff at Petco or other pet supply store.

[swimmergirl]

At Petco, the Capstar is kept in a locked case- so, you have to ask for it at the register- just because it's a little pricey and they don't want people to steal it.

I got my Capstar at Petco- you can also get it on Amazon or Ebay for significantly cheaper. The other stores require a vet's note to buy the Capstar for some reason..

[stepnstone]

Could very well be self inflected trying to get those "deposits"
out of his ear, that just don't look right...

[rattyvonratkins]

OK I will look into getting Capstar at Petsmart or something. I'm not a big fan of Petco. My only question is, how will I know if I need to start treating him?

I'm not sure about the deposits but when I see this little guy today, I will see if I can get another close-up of his ear.

[Starfish]

if you say eggs or maggots in/around his ear, give him the capstar. Someone needs to help you with dosage first though....

So first is actually to let us know with a fresh picture ideally.

[rattyvonratkins]

Ugh... today was a rough day for getting a good photo. And right when I had a good shot lined up for a real close-up of the ear, the camera battery died. Well this is what I got...

[Starfish]

Well, he looks happy and is eating. That's a good sign. Just keep a close eye on him.

[rattyvonratkins]

These pics came out a bit better...

[Starfish]

very odd.... to be bleading from the ear to begin with. Just keep a close eye on him. Don't give capstar until you know there is an invader (can't be used preventatively.... it's pretty much instant acting)