Bump on wild squirrel face

[Jennefer]

So i noticed today that one of my wild backyard girls has a pea sized bump on her right cheek. She looks like a chipmunk from that side. Yesterday was the first time it looked off & i thought it looked puffy....today def a bump. So only 2 days now. Its soft & squishy, not hard (she's wild but will let me feel her face). Shes eating fine, acting fine. Whatever it is doesnt seem to bother her. But i dont want whatever it is to get worse....any idea what it is? Should i treat her with antibiotics? (i have plenty of abs). I see her everyday & can easily dose her on a nut (she wont take a syringe thought). Sugar is her name....cuz she looks like she was dipped feet first in powdered sugar! Shes a sweetheart too. Pics attached. No way to get a weight but shes a florida gray, full grown & a bit on stout chunky side.

[Mel1959]

What a cutie! It looks like it could be an abscess. I hope others will voice an opinion. She looks a little chunkier than May and May weighs 428 grams.

What abs do you have? I’m not sure what is best for an abscess, if that’s what it is.

[SammysMom]

Does look like it could be the start of an abscess. I have had a wild who had a facial abscess that I gave no meds to, but made sure she had good nutrition and she healed just fine. It got huge and burst on its own.
If you do want to treat with an antibiotic then Clavamox is the one for abscesses. It is also called Augmentin in the human form. We would need the strength of the tablet and could then help to break down/dilute the tablet and then dose it for you if that is what you would like to do.

[Diggie's Friend]

Enlarging that quickly most likely from an abscess.

We had a yard squirrel found an abcess. Used the homeopothic sulfur remedy "Gun powder' 30x) from "Standard Homeopathic" that supports an abscess to open up and drain. The pill disolves very quickly compared to other sources; I added it to a piece of nut. The abscess quickly opened up and drained, which reduced the enlarged area. Not too long after taht it blew back up, so we gave the homeopathic again. Same thing, it drained, but again it blew back up. So the squirrel was brought in for a vet to clean out to see if there was a foreign body inside the area. Nothing was found, just infection in the soft tissue adjacent to the bone, but not in the bone itself. After that it was released it was found blown up again, so the process was repeated. Then back in our yard, it shot out of the carry cage and took off for parts unknown. If the treatment healed it I don't know, yet no squirrel with an abcess showed up after that, or since. Most often these abcesses resolve on their own, but not always. Ten years back we had one show up at the door wtih an abscess on its paw. It was treated and released and did fine after that.

[Jennefer]

Hi guys ...thanks for the responses! I have clavamox....62.5mg tablets and liquid drops that are 50mg amox/12.5mg clavulanic acid per 1ml. The liquid was used for one of my flyers who had a facial abcess. He got .02 ml 2x a day & he was 58 grams. Oh yeah, facial abcess....clavamox....duh (brain didnt think of that until i went thru abs in fridge). Ill have to put meds on or in somethg to get Sugar to eat it. Which would be better.....pill or liquid? Also have other abs....amox, cipro, orbax, smz, clindamycin & macrobid if any of those might be better. Thanks again for helping!!! Oh, DF....im totally into homeopathy....but i think if this indeed is abcess & that close to Sugars brain/eye, id rather go straight abs so it doesnt keep coming back. I wont be able to catch her to transport so need it to clear up 1st go around!! Your girl is a cutie!!! Thx for sharing!! Oh, yes, Sugar is a chunk....hope Mel's skinny weight on May helps to dose. Sugar eats well....hhb adult everyday with coconut oil, avacado, a few tiny pcs of pecan dusted with calcium, plus whatever she eats in wild.

[SammysMom]

The liquid is likely out of date and you cant use it effectively. I will send instructions for pill shortly via pm.

[Diggie's Friend]

What I related was not to say Homeopathic remedies don't work; opening up an abscess supports healing, especially if what has caused it (a foreign body or infection) is flushed out when it drains. Arnica Montana did much to support the healing our our yard friend Ms. Diggies when she was found to have a bad bite on her arm and couldn't walk on it for three weeks, by reducing the inflammation. The sulfur form, name: (Gun Powder), worked repeatedly to open up the abscess on this yard squirrel, yet it wasn't sufficient to address this particular infection alone. Our vet told me that antibiotics can be given at the same time as a homeopathic remedy, as they do not interact. In this case I would give the homeopathic and the antibiotic just each at a different time of day.

[Jennefer]

Thanks sammysmom & Nancy for dosing - got it! I saw Sugar this morning - came to get her heaping lumberjack of a breakfast. Her face looks the same. She ate fine. I felt the lump again & it is def soft. Now, on the liquid....the bottle says expires 01/2019...assuming that is the powder that expires & not once it is reconstituted into liquid? Is that why it wont be as effective? It was made up about 5 or 6 mons ago. Since I saw Sugar early early this am & hadnt gotten dosing yet...I did a guestimate at the dosing based on Tiny's dosing and on Mel's baby May's weight (and I got it correct....i can do math afterall lol)....and tried out the liquid just to see if she would eat it off a nut (and to get something in her - b/c i may not see her tonight & didnt want to wait another 24 hours til tomorrow morn to get her on abs - is that bad???) . I cant "taste test" the clavamox b/c I am allergic to all cillins & was afraid it would be bitter & she would throw the nut away & not eat it. Much to my surprise she ate it. Im guessing the pills arent as palatable? Bu I'll do it - Im good at disguising stuff! Thanks for all your help!

[Jennefer]

What I related was not to say Homeopathic remedies don't work; opening up an abscess supports healing, especially if what has caused it (a foreign body or infection) is flushed out when it drains. Arnica Montana did much to support the healing our our yard friend Ms. Diggies when she was found to have a bad bite on her arm and couldn't walk on it for three weeks, by reducing the inflammation. The sulfur form, name: (Gun Powder), worked repeatedly to open up the abscess on this yard squirrel, yet it wasn't sufficient to address this particular infection alone. Our vet told me that antibiotics can be given at the same time as a homeopathic remedy, as they do not interact. In this case I would give the homeopathic and the antibiotic just each at a different time of day.

oh ok....I didnt know you could give both at same time. I get the draining thing...I just worry about her healing up quickly since Sugar is exclusively an outside wild girl. Inside I can somewhat control their environment, but outside, who knows what they get into or get on their paws or in their nest that can make it worse. I just dont want it to go long term. I have a really nice Earth Origins health food store that has a ton of the homopathic remedies in tiny little vials, so I'll go by there & see if I can find it. Thanks for you help!

[Diggie's Friend]

You are welcome!

When an abscess opens it drains shrinking the area down, and the opening soon afterwards. The fur also lends cover to the area.

The photo was taken before the abscess opened.

If the squirrel isn't a nursing mamma, and you have a rehabber available in your area, if you catch the squirrel you could bring it to the rehabber to examine the lump, which if confirmed to be an abscess, not a cyst, they could open it and flush it out, and give antibiotics.

[stepnstone]

Now, on the liquid....the bottle says expires 01/2019...assuming that is the powder that expires & not once it is reconstituted into liquid? Is that why it wont be as effective?

Once a powder is put into suspension (reconstituted into liquid) it no longer has a shelf life and whatever is left over
after a given term of treatment needs to be discarded.

[Jennefer]

Once a powder is put into suspension (reconstituted into liquid) it no longer has a shelf life and whatever is left over
after a given term of treatment needs to be discarded.

UGH...thx Step....i so HATE to waste stuff....thats a full bottle down the drain (not literally)....Tiny man only used I think in total less than 1ml of it!

[stepnstone]

UGH...thx Step....i so HATE to waste stuff....thats a full bottle down the drain (not literally)....Tiny man only used I think in total less than 1ml of it!

I know the feeling....
Unfortunately suspensions beyond a certain time either lose their (correct) potency to be effective or
becomes unbalanced to where they can actually cause more harm then good.

[Nancy in New York]

I know the feeling....
Unfortunately suspensions beyond a certain time either lose their (correct) potency to be effective or
becomes unbalanced to where they can actually cause more harm then good.

The next time you get the powder:
Take out a certain amount of dry and add a certain amount of water, without
using the whole bottle.
Let me find my notes.
I will pm them to you once I find them.

[Jennefer]

I know the feeling....
Unfortunately suspensions beyond a certain time either lose their (correct) potency to be effective or
becomes unbalanced to where they can actually cause more harm then good.

Good lord I hope I didnt poison her! Hopefully one dose wont hurt.

[Jennefer]

The next time you get the powder:
Take out a certain amount of dry and add a certain amount of water, without
using the whole bottle.
Let me find my notes.
I will pm them to you once I find them.

Good call....the vet mixed this one, so next time if it's liquid they are prescribing I will ask for them to not mix the entire bottle. I dont even think Tiny was as big as the bottle itself! No need to pm me....I dont have any more powder, so it'll have to wait until next time! I'll break down the tablets instead!

[Nancy in New York]

Good call....the vet mixed this one, so next time if it's liquid they are prescribing I will ask for them to not mix the entire bottle. I dont even think Tiny was as big as the bottle itself! No need to pm me....I dont have any more powder, so it'll have to wait until next time! I'll break down the tablets instead!

Too late I already pm'd you.

[Jennefer]

K thx....ill hang on to the info!!!

[Jennefer]

So I was able to put the meds on several pieces of pecan & block & Sugar ate every single one of them!!! Her face looked the same - not any worse. She must be feeling ok b/c after she ate her food, that lil heifer ran around like a nut (no pun intended)....she was grabbing sticks & rolling on her back & kicking them in the air, doing a rain dance around & on fallen tree branch, hopping like a rabbit & rolling in the dirt! The funniest thing Ive ever seen...she never gets playful & squirrely like that! The other squirrels actually stopped & looked at her like she'd lost her mind!

SO, one question.....Im not so sure I will see her 2x a day...she ALWAYS shows up in morning, but usually not at night. How do I get 2 dose sin her if she's a no show? Do I double up the morning one & skip the evening? I hate to do that to her tummy, but not thinking I will see her 2x a day most days......