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Thread: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

  1. #1
    Pokeysmommy Guest

    Default HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Pokey is a 3 1/2 year old fox squirrel non release
    First noticed this 3 or 4 days ago that he has a hard enlargement at his anus like an impaction. He is pooping less normal, one day he did not poop much at all. I have been feeding him canned pumpkin mixed with ground pecan, watermelon and .1cc of mineral oil by mouth.I have also take taken a qtip and a cotton ball with mineral oil on it around his anus and massaged it
    His regular diet is as follows:
    Broccoli
    Sugar snap peas
    Cauliflower
    Cabbage
    Occasionally arugula
    Henrys healthy block 1 2 times daily
    Roma Tomatoes
    Radicchio
    1/2 pecan daily
    Fox Valley formula 20/50 1/2 tbsp mixed with with 1tbsp water twice daily (yes he does drink h20 but he loves his formula and was told on the phone from a henry healthy pets worker it won't hurt him if he continues to drink it)
    Can I do something more or is it time to go to an experienced vet??? Also, any suggestions where is can take him in western Arkansas??? Someone that has a lot of experience with squirrels??
    Also, his anus is open

    I can add pictures, but u really can't tell anything

  2. #2
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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    When he poops, are they normal or hard and dry?

    Male squirrels have glands on either side of their anus that bracket it almost like a set of parenthesis. I have actually seen photos of the gland after it was removed and they are shaped sort of like a cashew. They contain a mixture of sebum and the squirrels will drag them over hard surfaces, leaving sort of a goo behind - I believe it is a form of scent marking. They seem to fill and empty with the "rut" cycle. I have had my squirrel experience difficulty pooping when this happened - I assume that if they get big enough they can actually almost pinch off the sphincter making it hard for them to poop. I usually give small amounts of prunes or prune juice and more hydration when this happens in order to soften the poop up and make it easier to pass.

    This may not be the problem but it could be. Does what I described sound like what you are seeing?

  3. #3
    Pokeysmommy Guest

    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Crittermom.... they are hard today, and even though he did a lot of pooping yesterday, today he hasn't done much at all. Should I give another .1cc of mineral oil? If it it is the glands will they get smaller on there own or is surgery required?? We are willing to do whatever. I just know anesthesia and surgery are dangerous. But so is his current condition. We don't want to lose our boy. He is still very active. How much prune juice? Dilute it?

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    You can certainly give a little more mineral oil. And if this IS what is going on with him, they will go down on their own.

    Start small with the prune juice - maybe .5cc - and adjust up if you don't see improvement. He doesn't need diarrhea! Apple juice will help too and isn't quite as powerful as the prune juice.

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    We do have members in Arkansas....and they do have good vets I believe it is legal to have a squirrel in Arkansas so you can get treatment...let me see if I can find out who they are...I think one is squirrelgirlsmom I'll check
    Make the world a better place...one animal at a time



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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Is he acting "sick"?

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Squirrel Girls Mom is a maybe? and sassysquirrel does live in Arkansas....not sure how close but you could pm her to see if she knows of a vet in your area

    It would be good to have on hand...for emergencies
    Make the world a better place...one animal at a time



    The Peace of Wild Things
    BY WENDELL BERRY
    When despair for the world grows in me
    and I wake in the night at the least sound
    in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
    I go and lie down where the wood drake
    rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
    I come into the peace of wild things
    who do not tax their lives with forethought
    of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
    And I feel above me the day-blind stars
    waiting with their light. For a time
    I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

  8. #8
    Pokeysmommy Guest

    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    No pokey is not acting sick.
    He is running and active and hungry. My husband and I are about to feed him.
    I will pm those two people and see if they have great suggestions for vets after we feed Pokey
    I will give apple juice tonight diluted and buy prune juice in the am... Should u dilute the apple juice, if so by how much? And how much should I give? Thanks for the replies.

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    How far are you from Little Rock?

  10. #10
    Pokeysmommy Guest

    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Sammysmom.... sorry it has taken so long to reply but we are about 4 hours away from little rock... we can go there though. We just want a vet extremely experienced with squirrels.


    Today he is still very active. The lump is hard but seems smaller. It feels more like two lumps one on each side.

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    It really does sound like what I described to you.

    Do be careful with vets. The only reason I know these glands look like cashews is because someone here had a vet perform surgery needlessly on their squirrel to remove one because he didn't know what it was or even that they HAD these glands.

  12. #12
    Pokeysmommy Guest

    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Name:  20151207_012226.jpeg
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Size:  429.0 KBCrittermom.... if it is this should they get smaller? Also, he is 3 1/2 years old and this has never happened before. Should I be giving him as much watermelon and pumkin as he wants? Pokey really likes it.

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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    As long as he doesn't get the runs, that is fine.

    My boy is 6 years old and he has done this twice of the nine million times (seems like) he has come into season. I don't know why some do and some don't, and of the ones that do, why it is only sometimes. I helped a lady in Indiana about 6 months ago who went through this with her boy and like my guy, it went down after a bit. I have only seen one squirrel have bad issues and he was completely paralyzed in the back end, so he couldn't express any of the stuff out, ever, because he was incapable of "butt dragging."

    I am NOT suggesting you don't have him see a vet but if they are getting smaller they may be already re-absorbing.

  14. #14
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    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    I'm so sorry...I am just getting in from work and a busy day of squirrel cleaning...
    There is an amazing vet in Little Rock who did surgery on a very special squirrel a couple of years ago. There is also one from Texarkana who a very well-trusted member has used. I will send the vets in a PM to you now.

  15. #15
    fuzzysmama Guest

    Default Re: HELP please Pokey has hard lump near anus

    Did you ever find out what was causing it?? My little guy is dealing with this right now.

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