Suspected head trauma?

[George]

I've got a baby grey that's about 6-7 weeks old. She fell feom pretty high in a pine tree, hit the ground, instantly picked up by a cat. Little girl chased the cat and fought her out of its mouth. Now, this squirrel is very wobbly. Poor dexterity, runs into things. Is easily scared, makes a lot of noise. Keeps her head tilted to one side always but more apparent when she is walking/ running. Acts strange in general compared to other squirrels her age I've known.

Other possibly unrelated points:
She laps milk from the syringe instead of sucking on the nipple. His could be because her bottom teeth aren't where they should be - but about half a centimeter to the right. So it could be causing her discomfort. Her eyes seem expressionless, not open all the way, even when she is startled or making noise.

Any thoughts? Medication?
Thinking of giving her a tiny bit of prednisone in case she might have swelling in the brain. Could anyone confirm dosage for her? She is 100 g. I also have tramadol - to help with any pain or feelings of anxiety. Again - dosage? Any reason I can't use these together? Thanks in advance

[Mel1959]

I definitely think the prednisone would be helpful. It worked wonders on my head trauma girl. The sooner you can start it the better. I’m sorry I don’t know the dosing for your girl, though. Can you start another thread in the Emergency section so more eyes will see it?

Also, if this little girl was in a cats mouth, she needs to be given an antibiotic. Cat saliva is lethal for squirrels. Sometimes you can’t tell they were actually bit, so it’s best to administer the antibiotics as a precaution. Can you locate some Augmentin or Baytril or Clavamox or Clindamycin?

[Nancy in New York]

I can dose these for you, but I need the strength of the Prednisone and Tramadol.
How long have you had her?
Mel is right, she needs antibiotics ASAP, due to the cat getting her.
From what you describe: very wobbly, runs into things, easily scared, eyes seem expressionless,
I'm wondering if she's has vision impairment due to the fall.

[George]

I definitely think the prednisone would be helpful. It worked wonders on my head trauma girl. The sooner you can start it the better. I’m sorry I don’t know the dosing for your girl, though. Can you start another thread in the Emergency section so more eyes will see it?

Also, if this little girl was in a cats mouth, she needs to be given an antibiotic. Cat saliva is lethal for squirrels. Sometimes you can’t tell they were actually bit, so it’s best to administer the antibiotics as a precaution. Can you locate some Augmentin or Baytril or Clavamox or Clindamycin?

I will start another thread, thanks. I will look into locating some antibiotics as well.

[George]

I can dose these for you, but I need the strength of the Prednisone and Tramadol.
How long have you had her?
Mel is right, she needs antibiotics ASAP, due to the cat getting her.
From what you describe: very wobbly, runs into things, easily scared, eyes seem expressionless,
I'm wondering if she's has vision impairment due to the fall.

Great, thank you. The Tramadol is 50mg and the prednisone is 1mg. There is a possibility she might have visual impairment..I will try to do some investigating with that.

[TubeDriver]

Cat injuries almost alway result in serious infections. She should be started on an antibiotic like Clavamox. Do you have any antibiotics on hand?


Prednisone is often used for head injuries. What strength pred pill do you have?

[Nancy in New York]

I will start another thread, thanks. I will look into locating some antibiotics as well.

It's better to keep ALL of your threads in ONE area so we don't get confused.
I sent you a pm. I had a question before dosing.

Edit: I just combined your threads. Mel posted above what antibiotics to look for.

I definitely think the prednisone would be helpful. It worked wonders on my head trauma girl. The sooner you can start it the better. I’m sorry I don’t know the dosing for your girl, though. Can you start another thread in the Emergency section so more eyes will see it?

Also, if this little girl was in a cats mouth, she needs to be given an antibiotic. Cat saliva is lethal for squirrels. Sometimes you can’t tell they were actually bit, so it’s best to administer the antibiotics as a precaution. Can you locate some Augmentin or Baytril or Clavamox or Clindamycin?

[George]

Cat injuries almost alway result in serious infections. She should be started on an antibiotic like Clavamox. Do you have any antibiotics on hand?


Prednisone is often used for head injuries. What strength pred pill do you have?

I have amoxicillin and I have cephalexin. To my understanding, these will not do - correct? More harm than good?

[TubeDriver]

You can use the amoxicillin for the cat injuries. How is she doing at this point?

What strength/size pill is the amoxicillin? I need this to give an accurate breakdown for dosing. She weighs 100g?

I have amoxicillin and I have cephalexin. To my understanding, these will not do - correct? More harm than good?

[George]

You can use the amoxicillin for the cat injuries. How is she doing at this point?

What strength/size pill is the amoxicillin? I need this to give an accurate breakdown for dosing. She weighs 100g?

She is doing about the same. Maybe a tiny bit better. Her dexterity is just bad. But her appetite is good. Last I checked she weighed 100g. The amoxicillin upon further investigation is actually a combination of amoxicillin (875 mg) and clavulanate potassium (125 mg). Can I still use this?

[Nancy in New York]

She is doing about the same. Maybe a tiny bit better. Her dexterity is just bad. But her appetite is good. Last I checked she weighed 100g. The amoxicillin upon further investigation is actually a combination of amoxicillin (875 mg) and clavulanate potassium (125 mg). Can I still use this?

YES this is perfect. This IS Clavamox, one of the recommended drugs.
I will write up dosing now and send it through a pm.

Dosing sent.

[TubeDriver]

YES this is perfect. This IS Clavamox, one of the recommended drugs.
I will write up dosing now and send it through a pm.

Dosing sent.

[George]

YES this is perfect. This IS Clavamox, one of the recommended drugs.
I will write up dosing now and send it through a pm.

Dosing sent.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful help! The girl is on all three meds now. Tramadol, clavamox, and prednisone. No visible improvement but no signs she is worsening. I am now trying to figure out what to do about her malocclusion? Does anyone have experience on this? I will try to take a picture next time so I can show what I'm working with. She hates being handled more than any other squirrel I've known but I'm looking into trimming. Is trimming necessary? Will her adult teeth also grow in unaligned? At what point should I decide to interfere? Thanks for all your help, I greatly appreciate it

[Mel1959]

What’s the status of your little girl? Did you opt to do anything about her teeth? Has her mobility improved? The prednisone may need to be continued for several weeks to get the full benefit of it.

[George]

What’s the status of your little girl? Did you opt to do anything about her teeth? Has her mobility improved? The prednisone may need to be continued for several weeks to get the full benefit of it.

I'm still trying to figure out how to trim her teeth. She is very squirmy and I do not have anesthesia. Besides the teeth, she does seem to be improving some, but slowly

[SophieSquirrel]

I'm still trying to figure out how to trim her teeth

There may be facial damage and self trimming may cause more harm than good.

If it is in your budget to take her to a vet go to Dr Natalie Antinoff at Avian and Exotics, She is in Houston and did exotic squirrel denstistry for me in the 1990's at the famed Animal Medical Center in NY City. If you can do this contact me by PM and I will call her tomorrow and get you in the door.

Mel1959 is right, she should get some antibiotics if a cat had it's mouth on her. Sounds like mouth/jaw damage in addition to the head trauma which may lead to dental issues in the future. Dr Antinoff is a top rodent dentist and can make corrections to teeth for proper growth if caught early. Dr Antinoff probably has a hand held dental camera for detailed X-Rays.

She may be non-releasable.

Here is the website: https://www.gcvs.com/service/avian-exotics/

[Mel1959]

There may be facial damage and self trimming may cause more harm than good.

If it is in your budget to take her to a vet go to Dr Natalie Antinoff at Avian and Exotics, She is in Houston and did exotic squirrel denstistry for me in the 1990's at the famed Animal Medical Center in NY City. If you can do this contact me by PM and I will call her tomorrow and get you in the door.

Mel1959 is right, she should get some antibiotics if a cat had it's mouth on her. Sounds like mouth/jaw damage in addition to the head trauma which may lead to dental issues in the future. Dr Antinoff is a top rodent dentist and can make corrections to teeth for proper growth if caught early. Dr Antinoff probably has a hand held dental camera for detailed X-Rays.

She may be non-releasable.

Here is the website: https://www.gcvs.com/service/avian-exotics/

SophieSquirrel has made a great offer, George. I hope you can take him up on it and get your little girl seen to figure out what is going on with her teeth. As Sophie mentioned, she may be unreleased blue because of her teeth and you aren’t in a position to keep her, please let us know and we can attempt to find a forever home for her. Sometimes with regular trimming the teeth align well enough for the squirrel to be released.

[Nancy in New York]

Mel1959 is right, she should get some antibiotics if a cat had it's mouth on her.

I sent dosing for Clavamox on the 18th.

YES this is perfect. This IS Clavamox, one of the recommended drugs.
I will write up dosing now and send it through a pm.

Dosing sent.