Squirrel Poop

[scruffers]

4-5 month old squirrels have recently started having some funky poop. It's not exactly diarrhea but it's not firm either, and it smells not so great. It looks like there is some mucous on the tail end, which made me think GI irritation. I had suspected possible coccidia, from what I read, so I treated with Ponazuril (one dose about 4 days ago). I will repeat with a second dose in a couple of days. It hasn't really cleared up, so I hope the second dose might help.

If not coccidia, what else might be causing the issue? Nothing has changed in their diet. It just started all of a sudden.

[RockyPops]

What is their diet?

Do you have a weight?

And we love pictures of fuzzbutts!

Thanks for caring for your babies! How many do you have?

[redwuff]

Do all the squirrels have the same poop?

[scruffers]

Female -- 9.5 oz; Male -- 11 oz

They are eating the Mazuri rodent block and then veggies (cauliflower is a favorite, bok choy, carrots, green beans, etc.) and occasionally fruit (apples or bannanas). I'm following the pyramid from Henry's Pets as best as I can.

What is their diet?

Do you have a weight?

And we love pictures of fuzzbutts!

Thanks for caring for your babies! How many do you have?

[scruffers]

Yes -- and it's gummy too. Like it is sticking to the wire whereas it would just fall to the bottom before. They are super active though and still eating fine.

Do all the squirrels have the same poop?

[scruffers]

FYI -- they didn't get any better. So we had a fecal exam done. They found a hookworm egg. So we are deworming.

[RockyPops]

Thank you for persisting until you found out the problem!

[scruffers]

I'm used to puppies having coccidia and worms. So I am used to routinely deworming them. It just never occurred to me that it could be hookworms in squirrels. At least in puppies, coccidia and hookworm poop have a pretty distinct smell. So my research, and what I knew, led me to think coccidia. But that wasn't the case. So I thought that I should report back in case anyone else has similar issues