Fleas or something else?

[JoeysKeeper]

Hi!

My squirrel (Joey) has been SUPER itchy lately. We had a flea problem a while back with our cats, but it cleared up without seeming to get into Joey's room. Now, it's a few months later and he is just constantly itching and biting on himself. He even dragged his butt on the ground a bit to itch himself there too. I would think it was fleas, but I don't see any on him and I searched all over him. Also, some patches of his hair seem to be a bit off (not a bunch missing, but a little). It isn't red or anything though. Any clues on what it may be? Should I just treat him for fleas anyway?

Otherwise, he is super active. He is acting the exact same - just itching/biting a lot.

Also, his diet is fine - he gets 2 HHBs a day along with a variety of vegetables, and sometimes fruits and or nuts. So I doubt that is the issue.

Any help would be great! Thanks!

[Annabelle's papa]

Hi JK, I would hold off on the flea treatment until several Members offer their advice, I'm a much newer Member than You are and I don't have any suggestions. If You could post a few pics showing the areas of Joeys fur, that would would be very helpful. Please keep checking back through noon, and I'm sure You will have received many opinions and probably several questions that might need Your reply.

[JoeysKeeper]

I don't have any flea treatment stuff right now, so it wouldn't be immediate. I'll try to get more pictures later, but here is one from when he was out earlier. It really isn't bad, it may honestly just be where he has licked/bitten recently. It's just a bit darker/a tad less hair toward his bottom on his back.

[Annabelle's papa]

Thank You for the reply JK, and for the current Photo of Joey. I can see the area You are talking about, and having no specific opinion myself there are several different things that can cause irritation as I'm sure You already know. Just keep checking back in through tomorrow.

[nchls_school]

I'm no expert either. When I read your post I was scratching myself because, like Joey, I'm itchy. I'm from Wisconsin and it is COLD here so our furnace is working overtime. That means dry air for us and no matter what we do the air remains to dry to be comfortable. Could this be Joey's problem? The missing hair could be the result of him overly scratching himself. One of our dogs has a gland problem and she does the dragging her butt on the carpet as a result. My Peanut (squirrel) is missing hair in patches too. For him it is the result of formula getting on his fur-formula burn (so we wash him carefully after his feedings and the fur is getting a lot better). Could it be an allergy of some type? Anything new in his diet?

Like I wrote, I'm no expert and I'm sure you will get lots of good advice and better answers shortly. There are a lot of possibilities and the group members have seen them all-probably. Good luck.

[farrelli]

Do you see any flea dirt? A drop or to of Revolution wouldn't hurt.

[stepnstone]

Do you see any flea dirt? A drop or to of Revolution wouldn't hurt.

Agree!

Squirrel fleas are not the same as you see on cats and dogs.
Mites you'll eventually see the after effects, not the mites themselves.

[Annabelle's papa]