Injured baby

[stephensonandrea588]

Has anyone ever given a squirrel telazol? I have a baby that was attacked by another adult and he was in a lot of pain. I am a vet tech. I called my vet and he told me to do telazol and buprenex and clean up his wounds. He has 2 not too bad one on the back of his head and one on his leg. I put one suture on the one on his head and he got sub q fluids. This all happened last night around 5. He still hasn’t woken up. His breathing has been good and he did make a couple grunts but I am concerned that he still hasn’t woken up from this.

[Nancy in New York]

Has anyone ever given a squirrel telazol? I have a baby that was attacked by another adult and he was in a lot of pain. I am a vet tech. I called my vet and he told me to do telazol and buprenex and clean up his wounds. He has 2 not too bad one on the back of his head and one on his leg. I put one suture on the one on his head and he got sub q fluids. This all happened last night around 5. He still hasn’t woken up. His breathing has been good and he did make a couple grunts but I am concerned that he still hasn’t woken up from this.

I've never heard of telazol being used on a squirrel,
and I'm not ever sure if it's safe.
You can use infant ibuprofen.
OR
Metacam and tramadol are a great combination that work synergistically to give effective
pain relief.
We dose everything by weight of the squirrel in grams.

[Mel1959]

I did a brief internet search and read that this drug should only be used on dogs and cats. I realize most vets have very limited knowledge about treating squirrels. I would stop all drugs and see if this little one will recover. I personally know of a case where a well meaning vet treated a squirrel with too much morphine which resulted in significantly suppressed breathing. Unfortunately, the squirrel didn’t survive. It’s unclear if it was a result of what it was being treated for, the overdose of morphine or a combination of both.

[stephensonandrea588]

Thank you. I think the dose may have been too high or the drug is too strong for this little guy. He’s breathing really well and his heart sounds strong and fast. Just not waking up so I’m hoping he’s not in a coma or something like that. He didn’t look good before the drugs either whether he was stunned or there was damage from the wound on his head.

[CritterMom]

Why don't you put a drop or two of some sort of syrup - pancake, corn, maple...you can even dissolve table sugar in a little water - and just deposit it in his mouth. It will absorb through the mucous membranes. He hasn't, by the sound of it, had food in a while.

[stephensonandrea588]

Ok I will do that thank you.

[stephensonandrea588]

Also should I do anything about him not urinating? He hasn’t urinated since I’ve had him (yesterday at 5) I can feel his bladder and it doesn’t feel overly full but it definitely has some in there, I tried to gently express it and nothing.

[Mel1959]

Is he awake? If this is a young squirrel it needs some rehydration fluid and then some food, if it hasn’t eaten since before 5 yesterday afternoon. In order for it to produce urine it has to have fluids going in. Some warmed water with a touch of honey for flavor till he’s rehydrated. I’m not sure if ground squirrels are fed the same formula as gray squirrels or not. Gray squirrels are fed POWDERED Esbilac puppy formula.

[Mel1959]

How is this little guy doing?