Central Park NYC wild squirrel coughing and breathing rapidly

[Miss Parker]

https://youtu.be/bdXXH9l06nY
I have been feeding a Eastern grey squirrel named Rocco who lives in New York City’s Central Park for over three months. But in recent weeks he seems to be Ill and it has gotten worse. I noticed the difference 2 or 3 weeks ago that he was eating excessively as if he needed to get extra nutritions. He used to be a very picky eater, only wanted pecans and he would store most of them. Occasionally he nibbled on other nuts like walnuts, hazel nuts but never roden blocks, boo ball, other vegetable nut mix I made.
I visit his area everyday but I see him only Twice a week, if I’m lucky during winter.
When I first notice his change, I thought he was dehydrated or stressed from being chased by hawks, or he was in flight.
For four days I didn’t see him and today I saw him.. obviously ill.
Rapid breathing, sounds like coughing and sneezing, nasal discharge, his hair stands upright on top of his head, eyelids swollen. He was running up and down the tree fine. Reading on internet it seems like he may have Aspiration pneumonia? But I need opinion from the experts.
He ate one and a half Henry’s picky block and loose walnuts today. I put bowl of clean water and Roden blocks, more Henry’s block . around the tree before I left.
I would not know if he got them. It’s a highly populated tree where he lives.
Please give me suggestions how to help him.

[stepnstone]

https://youtu.be/bdXXH9l06nY
I have been feeding a Eastern grey squirrel named Rocco who lives in New York City’s Central Park for over three months. But in recent weeks he seems to be Ill and it has gotten worse. I noticed the difference 2 or 3 weeks ago that he was eating excessively as if he needed to get extra nutritions. He used to be a very picky eater, only wanted pecans and he would store most of them. Occasionally he nibbled on other nuts like walnuts, hazel nuts but never roden blocks, boo ball, other vegetable nut mix I made.
I visit his area everyday but I see him only Twice a week, if I’m lucky during winter.
When I first notice his change, I thought he was dehydrated or stressed from being chased by hawks, or he was in flight.
For four days I didn’t see him and today I saw him.. obviously ill.
Rapid breathing, sounds like coughing and sneezing, nasal discharge, his hair stands upright on top of his head, eyelids swollen. He was running up and down the tree fine. Reading on internet it seems like he may have Aspiration pneumonia? But I need opinion from the experts.
He ate one and a half Henry’s picky block and loose walnuts today. I put bowl of clean water and Roden blocks, more Henry’s block . around the tree before I left.
I would not know if he got them. It’s a highly populated tree where he lives.
Please give me suggestions how to help him.

Can't view video, states it's listed private.

[Miss Parker]

Excuse me.. I just fixed.. please try here
https://youtu.be/bdXXH9l06nY

[Mel1959]

You are somewhat limited on how you can help since this squirrel lives in a park and you aren’t able to guarantee seeing it every day. It would certainly be worth a try to dose with some antibiotics IMO. There is a member on here who has successfully dosed several wild squirrels with antibiotics and they improved in spite of not dosing as regularly as if they were in a cage.

What antibiotics can you locate? People antibiotics are fine. Augmentin (human) or Clavamox (animal) are good choices, as is Ciproflaxin (human) or Baytril (animal). If you can find something list what the drug is and the strength of the med. Someone can help you break it down and give you dosing info based on an approx. weight of the squirrel. I will add here that Baytril tastes awful so it might be difficult to conceal it on a nut more than once.

Thank you for caring.

[Miss Parker]

You are somewhat limited on how you can help since this squirrel lives in a park and you aren’t able to guarantee seeing it every day. It would certainly be worth a try to dose with some antibiotics IMO. There is a member on here who has successfully dosed several wild squirrels with antibiotics and they improved in spite of not dosing as regularly as if they were in a cage.

What antibiotics can you locate? People antibiotics are fine. Augmentin (human) or Clavamox (animal) are good choices, as is Ciproflaxin (human) or Baytril (animal). If you can find something list what the drug is and the strength of the med. Someone can help you break it down and give you dosing info based on an approx. weight of the squirrel. I will add here that Baytril tastes awful so it might be difficult to conceal it on a nut more than once.

Thank you for caring.

Thank you, Mel1959. I’m searching for antibiotics you mentioned. Only thing I could get was Azithromycin.
I believe he weights below 2 pounds. He is mid size adult.

[Mel1959]

I’m not sure about using that drug. Maybe others are familiar with it and how to dose it, but I’m not.

Maybe you could call family and friends and locate something different. You’ll only need a pill or two and it’s ok if the medication is expired, unless it’s doxycycline. That medication cannot be used once expired.

[Miss Parker]

I want to update you on Rocco. He showed up this afternoon and looked So much better! I can sleep tonight!
Maybe he took bad fall and hit his head and face hard. He is still having difficulty eating hard shell nuts but his appetite is good. He has a big bump on his head and scraped nose and still sneezing. Maybe some damage on His Mouth or teeth which I can’t see very well. I hope he will recover from this injury.

https://youtu.be/I9F5Wb5Em2U

[Mel1959]

I’m glad to hear he’s doing better. Providing him good nutrition will help his recovery. Aside from nuts, which all squirrels love, you can also offer avocado (no skin or pit), fresh corn and chunks of fresh coconut. And if you really wanted to go all out for him and other wilds, Henrys Pets online sells rodent blocks that are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. The wild bites or the mixed blocks (if they have them) aren’t too expensive and you would know that your furry friend was getting top notch nutrition to get through the winter.

[Miss Parker]

I’m glad to hear he’s doing better. Providing him good nutrition will help his recovery. Aside from nuts, which all squirrels love, you can also offer avocado (no skin or pit), fresh corn and chunks of fresh coconut. And if you really wanted to go all out for him and other wilds, Henrys Pets online sells rodent blocks that are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. The wild bites or the mixed blocks (if they have them) aren’t too expensive and you would know that your furry friend was getting top notch nutrition to get through the winter.

Thank you, Mel1959, for your assistance all along. Im going to use this opportunity to shift his diet to less nuts, more healthy blocks/food.

The fall doesn’t explain his behavior change in prior time. But do you think it is anything to do with the mating season? They generally look distress?

[Mel1959]

I think mating season is hard on both males and females. If you’ve ever witnessed the mating chases you know they’re brutal! He definitely could have taken a fall during a mating chase and be suffering some effects of it. Winter and the lack of food resources in your area further depletes their body. Once their systems are depleted, just like us, they become more susceptible to illnesses. That is if his sniffles are the result of an upper respiratory infection and not a bonk on the nose.

I think he’s very lucky to have you looking out for him. Providing nutritious food can make all the difference in their recovery.