Possible Ear Infection in 8yr old Squirrel

[newsquirrelmommy]

Hi all. So I think my squirrel may possibly have an ear infection. He had all 4 incisors removed years ago for odontomas. I looked in his mouth and everything including back teeth and area looks ok. His one ear is slightly warm and red and his ear stays down and he sometimes squints with the eye on the bad side. The ear looks clean. He sounds a little congested on the one side too but not often. He just starting doing this within the last few hours. He was fine this morning. He ate lunch and is drinking water fine but dinner he didnt touch. He just wants to lay down right now. The only meds i have are azithromycin and metronidazole. Any help is much appreciated.

[Mel1959]

Outer ear infection could possibly be treated with those meds, but inner ear infections are difficult to treat. I will direct a member to this thread who has extensive knowledge about squirrel ear infections.

Honestly, I’m not sure about those meds, but I’m sure others will chime in.

Edit: Message sent to Lennysmom for recommendations on the thread.

[newsquirrelmommy]

I've been observing him a lot. The area on his nose where his incisors came out years ago has always been sensitive since his surgeries. I'm thinking there can be an infection in his nose too. He flinches when I touch his nose. He's had minor infections there before but this time he's squinting his eye which tells me they're some pain there.

[lennysmom]

Poor little guy, he definitely sounds like he has some kind of infection to me, though since his nose seems to hurt to the touch as well, I’m not sure where the infection would have originated. Does he have any discharge coming from his ear at all? Or any yeasty smell?
If not, I wouldn’t be inclined to think it is a canal ear infection.

However as Mel mentioned, an inner ear infection can be much more difficult to treat and very hard to pinpoint. My little girly had a severe double inner ear infection but the only symptoms were lethargy, lack of appetite, and her ears would hurt sometimes when I would rub them, making her cry out.

Honestly with what you described is going on with him, I would be inclined to think that whatever infection he has is more wide spread then just his ear.

I know that Dr. E had put my Ana on Clavamox before and after her ear surgery to help with infection, so that would probably be a good option. I’m not sure about using those meds you mentioned for this, I have never given either of those for ear infections. Do you think you could find someone with just one Clavamox pill or even Augmentin? SMZ would probably be another good option as well, if you are unable to locate either of those.

I hope you are able to find some meds for him soon and that he will be feeling better soon.

[Mel1959]

Can you get your little one in to see a vet? I am concerned about any kind of infection in or around the head because of the proximity to the brain. I know Dr. Emerson has used Tobradex, which is an ophthalmic eye solution containing the antibiotic Tobramycin and the steroid Dexamethasone, to be used as a drop in the nasal cavity. The dexamethasone reduces swelling and the antibiotic is applied directly to where there is infection. She also uses Amikacin drops the same way, which is just an antibiotic.

[newsquirrelmommy]

I cannot get him to a vet. His dr gave us ofloxacin after his surgeries to put in his nose. I dont have access to the other drops.

[newsquirrelmommy]

Need dosing help. I just received a 200mg bottle of clavamox powder. It says to add 48ml water to it. That's the same as 4 10cc syringes plus .8 right? My squirrel weighs 728 grams. Dosing help is much appreciated too. Thanks 😊

[stepnstone]

Need dosing help. I just received a 200mg bottle of clavamox powder. It says to add 48ml water to it. That's the same as 4 10cc syringes plus .8 right? My squirrel weighs 728 grams. Dosing help is much appreciated too. Thanks 😊

Answered by pm per your other forum...