Wild with raw scaly skin around head.

[thelema93]

Hi everyone! One of my balcony buddies "Bear" showed up this morning with raw skin all around his head and shoulders. I saw him yesterday and there was some mild hair loss but it looks like he scratched himself raw overnight. The skin looks so rough & scaly. He's quite an old boy I think and has shown up in poor shape before, one paw help up broken with puffy eyes. He healed up from that but has 1 claw that won't retract since he broke his paw & walks slower than the others with a limp. Could it be sarcopic mange or I hope it's not pox... I don't know much about either but read the board often. Is there anything I should do, is it highly contagious to other squirrels?
He has access to clean water and I gave him a large helping of avocado this morning along with his usual treats of walnuts & almonds. He's such a gentle old boy and it's so sad to see him in such shape. Thank you! ATTACH]319227[/ATTACH].

Sorry the pics are not the best. Hopefully it shows what is going on sufficiently.

[Spanky]

I see you treated Lil Mama last fall / winter for fleas with Revolution. You can use Revolution to treat Bear for mange....

Use the plain "Selamectin" and not the "plus" versions or any that contain any other ingredients (like Sarolaner). We know the Selamectin is safe for squirrels, but have no such knowledge about ingredients like Sarolaner.

Any brand / generic version of Selamectin will work, but stick with the kitten / cat / puppy version as it is less concentrated. Just a single drop, not the entire ampule for a squirrel.

If he will not allow you to place it between his shoulders, Selemectin is also effective if given orally. I drill a small hole in an almond and place a drop int he hole when treating my outdoor friends. I know others place a drop in the grove of a pecan or walnut.

[thelema93]

Thank you Spanky! I wasn't 100% sure if it was mange or something else so I wanted to make sure it wasn't pox or something else. I'm just in between orders of Revolution so as soon as I get it in the mail I will do the oral treatment for him. He's a bit too shy for me to administer between the shoulders. Poor old boy looks very uncomfortable!

[CritterMom]

If you can find some, given the nonsense currently occurring, you can use equine ivermectin for mange, too. If you have a Tractor Supply or other farm store near you, call and see if they have any in stock. It is fairly inexpensive - $7-$8 per tube big enough to dose roughly 1200 squirrels. Make sure you tell them that you are buying it for a HORSE - last time I was in TS they had signs all over the area they have it in, and the stock was really low. It is VERY effective for mange and is dosed orally - stuffing it in the creases in the back of a half pecan works great, and it is pleasantly flavored, too, since horses can really put up a fight if you try to force them to eat something nasty. If you can locate some, PM me and I will tell you how to dose it. The last time I ordered Revolution from Joes Pet Meds it took SIX WEEKS to get it. It wasn't Joe's fault - they had it in the US in a couple days, and then it took 6 weeks to get from California to me on the east coast...

[thelema93]

Thank you Crittermom! Oh dear.. I think you're right about that..I doubt I'll be able to get any ivermectin right now but thank you for the suggestion! I order my Revolution from canadapetcaremeds and it took a little over a week last time. Unfortunately my last tube dried out within a month after opening in July. I store it in a prescription pill bottle but it got tipped on its side & evidently evaporated in this heat. In the meantime I'll keep giving him avocado & maybe try mixing some coconut oil in with peanut butter for him since it's supposed to have antifungal properties.

[CritterMom]

Thank you Crittermom! Oh dear.. I think you're right about that..I doubt I'll be able to get any ivermectin right now but thank you for the suggestion! I order my Revolution from canadapetcaremeds and it took a little over a week last time. Unfortunately my last tube dried out within a month after opening in July. I store it in a prescription pill bottle but it got tipped on its side & evidently evaporated in this heat. In the meantime I'll keep giving him avocado & maybe try mixing some coconut oil in with peanut butter for him since it's supposed to have antifungal properties.

Not a fungus. Mange is caused by mites - little bugs.

[thelema93]

Thank you for the info! He came by today before the sun was up & woke me up for some treats. I'm a little worried that it may spread to Lil Mama since it's caused by mites (she comes indoors & we handle her although she was born wild, she's very friendly & gentle). I have a cat inside so I definitely want to be careful that it doesn't spread. It will be a week or so before I'll be able to medicate him. Lil Mama chases him off & growls when she sees him. She's extremely territorial with other squirrels.
I was just reading more & his skin looks very thick & wrinkled like the pics of the sarcopic mange (it's hard to see in my crappy pics) which I read is contagious to humans. It's my bedroom window (only 1 in the back) they come to so I'm a little nervous about this. I'm going to clean all the ledges off with dilute bleach solution today. I just hope they aren't making their way inside... Eek. I have no other place I can feed him so this is a quandary. I feel terrible for the old boy, he's itching like mad.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yes, you’re unlikely to get ivermectin right now. It was on the local news channels yesterday about people overdosing with it. They interviewed a local farm supply owner and he said it was now off the shelves. They were getting a hundred inquiries a day. They will only sell it to farmers/cowboys that they know have a legitimate need.

We have been using Revolution orally in FL for mange for many years. It works beautifully for wilds.
Repeat the dose after a week.

[thelema93]

Thank you HRT4SQRLS, I was just looking around online for ivermectin for him, I've seen it's "sold out." Frustrating! I saw that the CDC had to issue a statement reminding people they were not cows or horses.. .. Will keep looking today. I'm waiting on Revolution to arrive but may be more than a week. Unfortunately my last vial that only had 1 drop used out of it tipped on it's side in the prescription jar I had it in & it all evaporated. I'd only opened it a few weeks before. Doh!

[thelema93]

Well the Revolution finally arrived yesterday & I just treated Bear... he's looking pretty scrappy doo!
I used a piece of Belvita cookie & smeared a glob of peanut butter on it, then put the drop of Revolution in that.. He ate it up readily! I thought it may be hard to get him to eat it because of the strong smell.
I hope that this will be enough to get rid of his mange. Has anyone else had notable success treating it strictly orally with Revolution? How often should I give it to him? Once a month seems to be the consensus?

I also treated Lil Mama (our wild/tame - indoor/outdoor squirrel) again with a drop between her shoulder blades as I'd noticed some very very tiny cooties crawling on the papertowel I lay down when she is eating.. Maybe lice? I'm hoping it takes care of those too. They are SO tiny you can hardly see them. I was able to pick the fleas off of her by hand with a flea comb last week before it arrived, she was overdue for her dose. ( I never imagined a wild squirrel would allow this but she is truly an angel.) Her coat is looking so beautiful right now, the bushiest tail around these parts! I think she is expecting babies again as she is coming by all day for food. She will come in the window when we are asleep & sit on my shoulder & sniff my neck & face & paw me gently until I wake up! She loves romping around in the pillows & hiding nuts under my husbands head while he's sleeping, lol! I never imagined I'd have such a kinship with a wild squirrel. Just hoping the Revolution takes care of the itty bitty cooties as well.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Has anyone else had notable success treating it strictly orally with Revolution? How often should I give it to him? Once a month seems to be the consensus?
.

Yes, Revolution works beautifully on wilds when given orally. I remember a wild that was just horrible with mange. It was outside a hotel. The squirrel looked so bad, the guests took note of the pitiful little creature. While seeking help, somehow contact was made with a rehabber friend. She went to the hotel armed with Revolution and a few nuts. She found the squirrel and dosed it with the Revolution on a nut. She returned one week later and repeated the dose. It worked well.

I would repeat the treatment in a week. I do not give monthly doses. Even when I had domestic pets I didn’t use those type of flea products monthly. It really wasn’t necessary as the lingering effect seemed to last longer than a month and I don’t really like using chemicals on them unless absolutely necessary.

I would only treat a wild with an obvious problem.

[TubeDriver]

Revolution should be used 1x/month. Lots of people report good results with oral admin of Revolution although if possible I think a drop between the shoulder blades is preferred.

Well the Revolution finally arrived yesterday & I just treated Bear... he's looking pretty scrappy doo!
I used a piece of Belvita cookie & smeared a glob of peanut butter on it, then put the drop of Revolution in that.. He ate it up readily! I thought it may be hard to get him to eat it because of the strong smell.
I hope that this will be enough to get rid of his mange. Has anyone else had notable success treating it strictly orally with Revolution? How often should I give it to him? Once a month seems to be the consensus?

I also treated Lil Mama (our wild/tame - indoor/outdoor squirrel) again with a drop between her shoulder blades as I'd noticed some very very tiny cooties crawling on the papertowel I lay down when she is eating.. Maybe lice? I'm hoping it takes care of those too. They are SO tiny you can hardly see them. I was able to pick the fleas off of her by hand with a flea comb last week before it arrived, she was overdue for her dose. ( I never imagined a wild squirrel would allow this but she is truly an angel.) Her coat is looking so beautiful right now, the bushiest tail around these parts! I think she is expecting babies again as she is coming by all day for food. She will come in the window when we are asleep & sit on my shoulder & sniff my neck & face & paw me gently until I wake up! She loves romping around in the pillows & hiding nuts under my husbands head while he's sleeping, lol! I never imagined I'd have such a kinship with a wild squirrel. Just hoping the Revolution takes care of the itty bitty cooties as well.

[thelema93]

Thanks guys, that is very helpful! I will monitor them both. That is so great to hear that it worked so well on such a serious case too. I treated Lil Mama yesterday but she still had those very very tiny cooties coming off of her while she sat to eat. I'm hoping that it will knock them out ASAP. I have a few bites on me today for the first time ever so I definitely want to get it under control. I just treated our cat as well. We have a very animal friendly building so it could be from anywhere given the season. I agree about not using chemicals/meds on them (& myself for that matter) unless absolutely necessary!

[thelema93]

I just wanted to update this thread in case it can help anyone in the future.
Bear is looking amazing, his fur has grown back 100%! The mange healed up entirely over the last few weeks. I did as instructed for oral treatment since he's wild & put 1 drop of Revolution in some peanut butter (to mask the strong smell) & then smeared the peanut butter on an almond. He ate it up readily. I only dosed him that 1 time and he progressively improved. I also gave our indoor/outdoor wild girl Lil Mama a drop between her shoulder blades to treat a bad mite infestation she had. They were crawling off of her onto the paper towel I put down for her. They were very very tiny, almost not visible to the naked eye. The Revolution quickly took care of all of her cooties too.
It really works wonders! Neither of them displayed any side effects.

In case anyone needs a good place to order Revolution from, I ordered from canadapetmeds.com. They ship pretty fast from Canada (took about a week but I think you can pay for faster shipment) and no prescription is required. It was my 2nd time ordering from them & have I've had no issues.

Take care & thanks everyone! ❤

Bear now -

[HRT4SQRLS]

Thanks for the update. What great news! I don’t know if you realize it but you probably saved her life. If they go into winter compromised, it will be very tough on them. Sometimes they can’t survive the long winter. A combination of hair loss and blood sucking mites/fleas would have made surviving so much harder than normal.

Thanks for caring so much. Now you’re armed with the tools to help them in the future.