Wild squirrel with partially bare tail but no visible signs of mange

[reneeh63]

I have a squirrel that has had the end of his tail bare for a couple months and it is slowly getting worse. Though I see no signs of mange, he does scratch a lot and goes into "crazy" fits of jumping, twirling, and flipping over which I've read are signs of parasites.

Here is a pic:




Does anyone have advice on whether I should try to treat this (orally or topically)? And if so, any methods more likely to work with a skittish wild squirrel?

Thanks!

[Mel1959]

It could be that his tail was degloved, but I would think in a couple months time the hair would have regrow. Are you providing any types of nutritious foods to supplement his diet like avocado, fresh coconut chunks, fresh corn (dusted lightly with calcium carbonate) or Henry’s blocks? Sometimes the added nutrition will jumpstart the hair regrowth.

If it’s parasites I believe one drop of Kitten Revolution (safest) or Ivermectin can be given orally by dosing on a nut and fed to him. I hope others will chime in about what they believe could be the cause of this as well as the treatment they recommend.

[CritterMom]

BTW, "crazy" fits of jumping, twirling, and flipping over are signs HE IS A SQUIRREL! That goofy behavior is on full display any day in my backyard - there is a piece of rebar about 18 inches long sticking out of the ground at one of the property lines in my yard and my wilds use it to pole dance - I kid you not - there is always someone spinning and flipping around on the thing. They are playing when they do that and they play a lot!

All wild squirrels will have parasites of some sort and they can get worse when the animal is under stress of some kind. Giving an anti-parasitic as described would be beneficial even if that is not the problem for this particular issue.

[reneeh63]

When the "crazy" flipping and twirling is interspersed with scratching it seems to be related?

This is actually a different squirrel but similar behavior:
https://youtu.be/OvnGPyXYaac


If I should want to try Ivermectim with a squirrel too skittish to be hand-fed, are there alternatives to help ensure he gets his dose but he and other squirrels don't overdose?

[Mel1959]

Does this squirrel eat nuts that you throw towards it? You need to be able to ensure that only the squirrel you are treating gets the nut.

Do you have ivermectin? What is the strength?

[reneeh63]

Mel - I don't have Ivermectin yet - but I've seen it on Amazon for horses and have read a squirrel should get less than the size of a piece of rice three times every 7-10 days to get the parasite at all points in their cycle.

Since I work, I don't have a lot of time to just sit with them and get them to come to me but I might be able to toss them a nut and he'd at least come back to get it...

[Mel1959]

Ivermectin can also be purchased at Tractor Supply stores or local feed stores. If you’re not there watching who’s eating the treated nut there’s no way of knowing if the one who needs it got it. How would you then go about retreating. It seems like you’d have to put in some time after work watching and feeding the squirrels to effectively treat the squirrel you want to treat. As you know, ivermectin is very potent and too much could kill a squirrel so you wouldn’t want to double treat any of them.

[SophieSquirrel]

Mel - I don't have Ivermectin yet - but I've seen it on Amazon for horses and have read a squirrel should get less than the size of a piece of rice three times every 7-10 days to get the parasite at all points in their cycle.

You can get this one from Tractor Supply. You are right about an amount less then the size of a grain of rice. I cut the end off a Q-tip and use the stick to get the required amount and push in into the crevice of an unshelled pecan half. Using a pecan ensures the medicine will not be dislodged or wiped off. Just make sure you get medicine delivery to the target squirrel as you don't ever want to medicate a pregnant or lactating mother.

[HRT4SQRLS]

By the way, your video is the cutest thing ever. That is most definitely 'squirrel play'. Flipping, spinning, rolling, etc is typical play for some squirrels... not all but many. I see this behavior in my own yard often.

[Nancy in New York]

Mel - I don't have Ivermectin yet - but I've seen it on Amazon for horses and have read a squirrel should get less than the size of a piece of rice three times every 7-10 days to get the parasite at all points in their cycle.

Since I work, I don't have a lot of time to just sit with them and get them to come to me but I might be able to toss them a nut and he'd at least come back to get it...

Here's a helpful link:

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...Wild-Squirrels

[reneeh63]

Thanks for all the detailed information everyone! I'll get some and try to spend some time outside outside to at get him a little more used to be being close up.