Urethra issues

[Mr. Ezekiel Peeks]

Good morning Squirrel Board!!!
I'd like to start off by saying THANK YOU!!!!! Undoubtedly this forum saved Mr. Ezekiel Peeks life!!! Peeks joined my family in August of 23. My dogs found him helpless in the dirt after getting the boot. I am not a licensed rehabber and was not at all familiar with ANYTHING to do with squirrels, let alone one that didn't even yet have any fur. Instinct was to pick him up and save him. Of course not thinking, crap, now I have a squirrel 😕 No worries though, I was instantly in love!! I did reach out in the beginning to a facility, they did not get back to me and another facility wasn't expecting any more animals. I didn't really want to give him up so I did not continue trying. It took me this long to join because I was always able to find the information I needed without. I think we have unfortunately passed that point now. I always knew Peeks had penis/urethra issues. I do believe that's why he got the boot. I did my best to try to get him to heal properly but he did not. I started looking for a vet but not being licensed I will not be able to take him. From my understanding anyway. His urine stream (since urinating on his own) has always been weak. Maybe only a little stronger than trickles. But recently his fur in the groin area has begun staying wet. I did a round of amoxicillin but it didn't change anything. I obviously don't want this to become a bigger issue. I really don't know what to do. I'm going to take the test to become a rehabber so that I can take him to the vet freely but I need to get him there long before I am even able to take the test. Please help. I love him so much.

Since I know this question is coming 😄 his diet is:
3 Henry's blocks a day
A variety of fruits (probably a little more than he should actually be getting)
And a variety of vegetables

All from the food pyramid. His favorite is avocado. He can be picky about the vegetables so I will blend them with a little fruit and nut and make cookies or just a frozen treat. I'm embarrassed to say that he still drinks 6 cc's of formula every morning because he loves it so much and I love the time with him. His nuts are limited aside from the frozen treats and he gets almost zero junk food (I gave him a nibble of cookie on Christmas)

Somebody please tell me he's going to be okay and that I won't have to give him up.

[SammysMom]

He is very likely going to be fine. How far are you from Elmsford, NY? There's a great vet who sees squirrels there.

[CritterMom]

I am going to be a bit more cautious here, but only because right this second I am helping someone else with a little red squirrel that has never had a strong urine flow, and frequently wet herself. This baby was injured before she found her - rear end is an issue, tail doesn't work, etc. She didn't think much until the squirrel suddenly started becoming bloated and the abdomen swelled. At that point she began manually expressing the urine and put her on antibiotics. Squirrel eventually began peeing visible blood, and she finally found a vet. Xrays show that the little squirrel is likely in kidney failure, and are trying to figure out why. She is on antibiotics now but the next step is likely ultrasound to see if they can find something curable like a cyst that can be removed.

I have no idea if all of this wouldn't be happening if she had been expressing the bladder early on. If it is a cyst, it wouldn't make a difference. But consistently leaving urine behind on the bladder and never completely emptying it is not a good thing.

The whole thing is so reminiscent of what you describe here it shocked me.

Long story short, I would JUMP at the chance to see a vet, but until you have that together you might want to think about manually expressing the bladder a couple times a day, and right before bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cf0CwuDvlM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utgeGFod8r4

[Mr. Ezekiel Peeks]

Thanks for getting back to me. Sorry for the double posts if anybody noticed. I thought I had lost the first.

Looks like I'm about 2.5 hours from Elmsford. Is this a vet that will give my baby back?

[Mr. Ezekiel Peeks]

I will definitely try manually expressing.
Man! I thought my days of flicking his wein were over!!!
Thank you

[Mel1959]

I’m sending you a pm with vet info.

Edit: Pm sent with vets name and hospital.

[Mr. Ezekiel Peeks]

So I called the vet. They only see patients that are accompanied by a licensed rehabber. They suggested Cornell but that's almost 3 hours from me. I'm willing to do it but maybe somebody knows of a doctor a little closer?

I did the manual expression. It didn't appear any better than him going on his own. I may be crazy but is it possible this is happening because his fur has gotten longer? He's only six months old so he hasn't come into his full self yet.