Advice needed for sick squirrel

[supersquirrelgirl]

3 - 4 year old fox squirrel who's been coming to our backyard has severely swollen left shoulder.
It almost looks like mini golf ball under her skin. She's been like this for the past 6 weeks. Apparently it is sore and she tries not to use her left front leg as much. She can't run like other squirrels so she avoids them and comes to our backyard super early in the morning or late in the evening for food.
Is there anything we can do for this squirrel?

https://youtube.com/shorts/h1yFEOmLyy4?feature=share

[CritterMom]

She is just beautiful - and so gentle when she takes the food! Poor baby.

It was a little difficult to see in the video. You said it looked like a golf ball under the skin. Did it start smallish and then keep getting bigger? If that is the case, it is likely a big abscess - perhaps from a wound from another squirrel. They will get bigger and bigger until they hopefully burst on their own and drain. Based on what you have seen, does that sound right?

It could of course be a shoulder dislocation which would be a grimmer thing. Absent a way to capture and have her assessed by a vet, keeping a close eye on what exactly is happening with the lump and most important, try to just stuff her with good, healthy food when she comes by, (and make sure you have a clean water source, too) which then fills her belly so she just wants to go home and sleep where she will be safe from predators.

[olorin19]

Is there any reason to suspect that she is a nursing mama? I have watched the video quite a few times, and see no evidence of that, but it is hard to see.

The reason I ask is that if she is not nursing, is capturing her and letting her rest and recuperate in a release cage an option worth considering?

Also, if capturing is not an option and it does turn out to be an abscess, it is worth noting that giving antibiotics via pecan works quite well. And in the case of your friendly squirrel, giving her the pecans looks like it would be easy enough.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...ured-front-paw

[supersquirrelgirl]

Thanks for your advice.
She's not nursing, but I don't think I can capture her.
Is antibiotic something I can purchase without prescription by vet?

Is there any reason to suspect that she is a nursing mama? I have watched the video quite a few times, and see no evidence of that, but it is hard to see.

The reason I ask is that if she is not nursing, is capturing her and letting her rest and recuperate in a release cage an option worth considering?

Also, if capturing is not an option and it does turn out to be an abscess, it is worth noting that giving antibiotics via pecan works quite well. And in the case of your friendly squirrel, giving her the pecans looks like it would be easy enough.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...ured-front-paw

[supersquirrelgirl]

Thanks for your response. I went back and looked through my photos of her and see exactly when I saw her swollen shoulder. It turns out it was almost 6 months ago. Initially, it was small lump and it didn't seem to affect her mobility. It got bigger (like the one in video) and one point, I saw indentation in the middle and looked a little flatter. We originally thought it may be bot fly when we saw this, but after a while it started to get bigger again and stayed at current size. Now it is affecting her mobility like she can't run fast enough when she needs to.
She is extremely smart and was boss in the area. As she doesn't think she can win the chase, she seems to avoid other squirrels.

She is just beautiful - and so gentle when she takes the food! Poor baby.

It was a little difficult to see in the video. You said it looked like a golf ball under the skin. Did it start smallish and then keep getting bigger? If that is the case, it is likely a big abscess - perhaps from a wound from another squirrel. They will get bigger and bigger until they hopefully burst on their own and drain. Based on what you have seen, does that sound right?

It could of course be a shoulder dislocation which would be a grimmer thing. Absent a way to capture and have her assessed by a vet, keeping a close eye on what exactly is happening with the lump and most important, try to just stuff her with good, healthy food when she comes by, (and make sure you have a clean water source, too) which then fills her belly so she just wants to go home and sleep where she will be safe from predators.

[Mel1959]

Setting up a havahart trap might allow you to catch her, especially if she’s coming when other squirrels aren’t around. It might be worth a shot.

[olorin19]

Thanks for your advice.
She's not nursing, but I don't think I can capture her.
Is antibiotic something I can purchase without prescription by vet?

You would need a prescription for antibiotics, unless you are able to use leftover human meds.

If this is determined to be an abscess, then there are experts here who can help you with the dosage, etc.

[supersquirrelgirl]

You would need a prescription for antibiotics, unless you are able to use leftover human meds.

If this is determined to be an abscess, then there are experts here who can help you with the dosage, etc.

We have amoxicillin 500mg capsules. I believe inside capsules are in powder form.
Will you be able to tell me how much and how I should give these antibiotic to her?
She eats walnuts, half shelled walnuts from my hands without any problem. I've been feeding her for the past 3 years and she seems to trust me enough.

[CritterMom]

We have amoxicillin 500mg capsules. I believe inside capsules are in powder form.
Will you be able to tell me how much and how I should give these antibiotic to her?
She eats walnuts, half shelled walnuts from my hands without any problem. I've been feeding her for the past 3 years and she seems to trust me enough.

Is there ANY chance that this is amoxicillin clavulanate, not plain amoxicillin?

[supersquirrelgirl]

Is there ANY chance that this is amoxicillin clavulanate, not plain amoxicillin?

I believe this is plain amoxicillin.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hello Again,

Was able to get 2 human meds:
(1) Augmentin tablet (Amox-Clav / 500mg - 125mg)
(2) CiproFloxacin HCL tablet (500mg).

Its my understanding these are same as Clavamox and Baytril (Enrofloxacin) for animal use.

Wild Squirrel still comes everyday travelling about 150 meters from her tree home. Observation tells me this is not a dislocated shoulder as she runs fast across the road and climbs the fences here. As mentioned previously, its probably an abscess.

Using meds above, can anyone help me with dosage info ?? She is large squirrel so I estimate about 1 Kg (2 pounds).

[Tashahaven]

Hi SSG! I hope someone can help you dose antibiotics. Poor darling. She is sooo sweet and gentle when she comes to you. She clearly trusts you 🙂🤗

Thank you for caring about and looking after her.

PS - I’m originally from Pleasanton 👋 So neat to see people on TSB from every part of the country & world. How amazing. Squirrel ❤️🔄🌎

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Tashahavan,

Thank you! So far, no response for antibiotic dose. Been checking back frequently for any response.

Mo (the female squirrel) comes everyday for a snack of walnuts and sunflower seeds. I sense she is getting weaker and more on alert than before. Honestly, not 100% sure what is causing the round lump on her shoulder.

[Spanky]

Augmentin dosing sent via PM...

[supersquirrelgirl]

Thank you Spanky.

AB mixed and ready for 1st dose in the morning (Friday). Ms. Mo only comes in morning. I'll post updates.

I did reduce her weight to 0.8Kg (~1.75lbs).

[Spanky]

Yes, please keep us updated... glad you were bale to make the adjustments based on best and current estimate of weight.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Update for Day-3:

Being a wild girl, no way a syringe will ever work. Meds being delivered by dripping slowly into a half-cut walnut-in-shell. I allow drops to dry a few hours. At feeding, she gets this shell first followed by the other half. Good thing is Augmentin does not have strong taste like Cipro.

Day-1 went good for feeding. On Day-2, she did not come and I was very concerned something happened. Since it was very hot here, waiting too long makes roadway very hot in sun so no way to cross over. Day-3 (today), she came early and with good energy. I was very relieved to see her. Fed her the walnut halfs along with a big plate of sunflower seeds (her favorite). Off she went into the high trees.

Since many other squirrels come too, I have to be very careful that only her gets the special walnut half. She is the boss of this area so many squirrels give her respect and guard her from being challenged (guards are old boyfriends).

One last thing, on hot days, we leave the house hose bib dripping - the squirrels use it like a drinking fountain! funny to watch.

Thats it for my update. Fingers crossed for her improvement.

[olorin19]

Meds being delivered by dripping slowly into a half-cut walnut-in-shell. I allow drops to dry a few hours. At feeding, she gets this shell first followed by the other half. Good thing is Augmentin does not have strong taste like Cipro.

With both wilds and releases, I have had good success using clavamox on half pecans. For some, dripping the clavamox onto a half pecan in shell has worked best, while others have preferred having it mixed with nut butter then smeared on the half pecan.

I first tried this with a wild named Mama Squirrel. This was in 2020, and she is still around 3.5 years later and is now at least 5.5 y.o.!

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...ured-front-paw

Anyways, since I did not know when she was going to turn up, I would make up two doses on half pecans first thing in the morning so that when she appeared I would be ready. I would keep them in the fridge, ready to go.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Thank you Olorin19 for the encouragement!

I read your 2020 thread with everyone's comments and thought ditto with our squirrel Mo here. I hope she can get many doses but time will tell. Her big lump essentially limits her left hand motion but she can still climb fences and trees as needed. Almost everyday, she crosses the neighborhood road to get here (her original home was on this side of road but she moved). We have a squirrel feeder box where she lifts the lid and lets it drop down making noise. She uses it like a doorbell when she comes. She only comes once a day so I'm mixing 1.5x dose in the walnut shell. Its working good but thinking of trying the mashing & mixing method suggested from reading your post.

All squirrels here are wild with many are related to Mo from her various litters and boyfriends. Houses here have wooden fences and the squirrels use them like streets to get to our backyard. Many lay around and perch in the trees. Really fun to watch them!

More updates later. Thank you again!

[supersquirrelgirl]

Day-5 Update

A No-Show on Day-4 so missed her AB. It was a really hot sunny day so only chance to cross road was in morning. Unfortunately morning time is when landscapers come to the house where she lives spooking her not to come down. Many other squirrels came here but all gone by 10am....way too hot for them.

I'm happy to report she came today (day-5 Tuesday) and ate big including the AB half-shell. Whenever she leaves, we give her a whole walnut to take home. Again, I'm relieved she came after missing yesterday. This is our first experience giving AB to squirrel so its stressful when she is a no-show and hoping nothing has gone wrong.

Any thoughts on the AB working for her pattern of days 1-0-1-0-1-? Been doing 1.5x amount once per day. Reading other post for fox squirrels, I'm thinking she must weigh more than 0.8Kg; possibly more like 1Kg as my previous estimate. No way to put her on scale. I'm nervous to overdose her as there is no way to help if something goes wrong. She lives in neighbor's tree.

Regarding her lump, no significant change. Her mobility is good when needed but still walks with left hand limp.