Mama Squirrel Injured

[Jess]

I will send you Clavamox if you want to treat her. Send me your address in a private message and I’ll get it in the mail to you.

Thank you so much! My family member was able to get me in touch with wildlife rehabilitation and I think they may be able to get medication for her. If not, I will take you up on that offer. She’s still acting okay, but her eye was not any better as of this morning.

[Jess]

Pancake is still acting fine, but her eye doesn’t look good. Wildlife rehabilitation has reviewed the photos and recommends treatment. We will attempt to trap sweet Pancake and take her to the clinic to they can clean the eye and administer antibiotics via a shot. Then we’ll bring her back home to our yard. Please keep our sweet girl in your thoughts!

[CritterMom]

That is wonderful - but make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that they will give her back to you. Ask them very directly before you bring her there.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Jess, you might want to consider treating her with antibiotics administered on a nut or in avocado before you go the vet route. Like CritterMom said, make sure you know what to expect BEFORE you go. I have treated several squirrels with horrible infections in the wild and was successful each time.

Keep in mind, she is wild. Some wilds don’t do well with trapping and captivity even for a short time. There have been cases where a squirrel became so stressed, their heart stopped beating and they had to be resuscitated. If this was a squirrel you raised and released, the vet would be a wonderful option as they do have memory of human interaction but not a wild.

We do precise dosing of antibiotics for squirrels in our care. I found that crude dosing of antibiotics for wilds is quite successful. Mel offered to send Clavamox. That’s a wonderful offer. It doesn’t have a bad taste so it is readily accepted on a favorite food. You might want to try that first and if it fails you can always go to the vet. The eye looks pretty bad and definitely does need treating. Would the wildlife rehabber there give you a Clavamox tablet? Just a thought.

[Jess]

Jess, you might want to consider treating her with antibiotics administered on a nut or in avocado before you go the vet route. Like CritterMom said, make sure you know what to expect BEFORE you go. I have treated several squirrels with horrible infections in the wild and was successful each time.

Keep in mind, she is wild. Some wilds don’t do well with trapping and captivity even for a short time. There have been cases where a squirrel became so stressed, their heart stopped beating and they had to be resuscitated. If this was a squirrel you raised and released, the vet would be a wonderful option as they do have memory of human interaction but not a wild.

We do precise dosing of antibiotics for squirrels in our care. I found that crude dosing of antibiotics for wilds is quite successful. Mel offered to send Clavamox. That’s a wonderful offer. It doesn’t have a bad taste so it is readily accepted on a favorite food. You might want to try that first and if it fails you can always go to the vet. The eye looks pretty bad and definitely does need treating. Would the wildlife rehabber there give you a Clavamox tablet? Just a thought.

We did request that they try oral antibiotics first, but the vets are concerned that she is in pain and could have permanent damage and/or blindness if we wait. They are adamant that it needs to be cleaned. The plan is to return her very quickly to us as she is nursing and needs to care for her littles. I am worried sick about her, but want to get her taken care of and out of pain.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Good luck! I hope everything works out well. Sounds like you found a good vet.

[Jess]

Pancake has had quite a day. She avoided trapping for a few days by my family members while I was out of town. I trapped her this morning and she was quite upset. I think she re-injured her face trying to get out, the poor sweetheart. As some suggested, the rescue center would not release her to us and wanted to keep her for a few days. As she is nursing, this is not an option. They referred us to another center where she is being treated now. I’m waiting anxiously for a call that she’s ready to go home.

[Jess]

Wildlife rehab to the rescue! Pancake had to be sedated, but they cleaned her eye, gave her an antibiotic shot that will last 2 weeks, and gave her a few stitches on her face. She refused to eat her walnuts on the way home and ran faster than I’ve ever seen her when we opened the cage in our yard. It was traumatic for all, but I hope it was the care she needed. I’m still not sure whether we did the right thing and whether she will come back to our deck again after all this. I hope to see her soon!

[sundoesshine]

I’m still not sure whether we did the right thing and whether she will come back to our deck again after all this. I hope to see her soon!

So glad to hear you got her help and with CM and everyones advice, back to her babies quickly. If she avoids you, it's only because she has to be a cautious momma squirrel, hopefully she'll know what you did for her though and come around soon.

[Jess]

Pancake returned to our deck yesterday, but ran off when I set her walnuts out. I left them for her and they were gone shortly after, so I hope she got them. She came by this morning and was much more comfortable, coming right up to her picnic table outside our door. Her eye looks pretty bad and is draining. The vet said it’s probably the infection draining out. What do all of you think?

[CritterMom]

One of the squirrels that visit my Squirrel Cafe showed up a few years ago with the most horrible injuries I have ever seen. Her eyelid had been peeled away so that I could actually see most of the eyeball. The flesh on that side of the head was gone to the point that I could see bones and ligaments like an anatomy illustration. Her jawbone and molars were visible with her mouth closed. Her shoulder and down the leg on that side was the same way - open with bones and ligaments exposed. Everything was crusted over with seeping pus and dirt and twigs. It looked like she had been partially EATEN before she got away. She was clearly in pain. I would have trapped her and had the poor thing euthanized if I could have gotten near her but she was really, really wary, so I steeled myself to watch her go downhill until she didn't show up one day. It was heartbreaking.

She came to the feeder every day and I began to realize that her wounds were healing. And they ALL did. She had some scars that remained visible through her fur and her one eye had a visible scar, but she returned to 100% squirrel. And I would have taken that chance away! She taught me just how TOUGH these guys are, and how much providing supportive care by way of easily accessible, healthy food is (I feed the wilds Mazuri blocks that I spiff up with vegetable oil and peanut butter exclusively) while they are healing.

I would watch her closely and give her a chance, and if it continues looking bad I would try to dose her with the clavamox but not trap her again. If you go that route I can give you some irresistable treats to hide the meds in.

[Jess]

Pancake came back! She’s been avoiding our house and ran away every time we tried to feed her, so we’ve been leaving peanuts at her table hoping that she gets them. She returned yesterday to eat the peanuts, but ran away before finishing them. She’s come by twice today and actually let me feed her walnuts without leaving the deck! She looks great and I hope she warms up even more as time goes on!

[CritterMom]

She looks fantastic! I bet nobody believes her story. It is sort of like those people who insist they were abducted by aliens! "No, I swear, there was this thing with bars that I was in and then they made me smell something nasty and I lost time but when I woke up I KNEW I had been PROBED!!!"

"Yeah, of course you did, Marge. Caught and probed. Uh huh."

[tgramsey]

I'm so happy for you and Mama Squirrel! Thank you for all your hard work to help her.

[Jess]

She looks fantastic! I bet nobody believes her story. It is sort of like those people who insist they were abducted by aliens! "No, I swear, there was this thing with bars that I was in and then they made me smell something nasty and I lost time but when I woke up I KNEW I had been PROBED!!!"

"Yeah, of course you did, Marge. Caught and probed. Uh huh."

Ha! I bet none of the other squirrels in our yard believed her!