breathing and voice concerns

[scoopysnack]

Hello! One of our young wilds came by and seemed to be struggling with his breathing and/or making sounds. He even choked a little while eating one of the Henry’s vitamin coated nuts we put out. He ate fine but continued making these hiccup motions and sometimes breathing faster or would make these small, soft crying sounds like when they do a warning call but as if he was struggling to do it. He went to rest on a tree and when he was resting, he seemed normal but with small movements it looked like he would breathe faster again. We have an outdoor enclosure and a wildlife center that we could take him to but I’m not sure if intervention is needed and he’s no longer in sight anymore. I will upload the video I got when I have a chance but I don’t think you’ll be able to hear anything since it’s raining and noisy outside today. Is there anything I could do if I see him come back? He’s actually been in the enclosure before on his own and went in there briefly today as well.

[scoopysnack]

https://youtu.be/kdM0AvJpCu0?si=KHge2ED6NWV-Ryq5

You can kind of hear his cries twice in the first video.

[olorin19]

Hello! One of our young wilds came by and seemed to be struggling with his breathing and/or making sounds. He even choked a little while eating one of the Henry’s vitamin coated nuts we put out. He ate fine but continued making these hiccup motions and sometimes breathing faster or would make these small, soft crying sounds like when they do a warning call but as if he was struggling to do it. He went to rest on a tree and when he was resting, he seemed normal but with small movements it looked like he would breathe faster again. We have an outdoor enclosure and a wildlife center that we could take him to but I’m not sure if intervention is needed and he’s no longer in sight anymore. I will upload the video I got when I have a chance but I don’t think you’ll be able to hear anything since it’s raining and noisy outside today. Is there anything I could do if I see him come back? He’s actually been in the enclosure before on his own and went in there briefly today as well.

While I did not really hear anything in the video, certainly the breathing did look odd to me. I do not have explanations, but hopefully one of the TSB experts will chime in.

I would be tempted to get him into the enclosure to observe and also so if there is something you can do then he is already contained. When squirrels are injured or ill, they often withdraw to their nest. And even fairly tame ones may get more skittish around people they trust when feeling vulnerable from illness or injury.

[astrll]

he’s back, it seems like he’s gasping or at least there’s a sound from his throat/chest every time he breathes? the sound is like an air pump?

he’s still coming up to me but isn’t as familiar as normal — like he’s slightly skittish. i’m uploading a video now where you can hear the sound.

scoopysnack is also uploading a video, she’s just on the phone with the wildlife center as well.

[astrll]

there’s also a clicking sound — does that mean aspiration?

[astrll]

we’re going to try and catch him, i think it’s aspiration. can this be moved to life threatening?

[scoopysnack]

https://youtu.be/8opT6d4aj2w?si=eO0grdj_wAz8_dJO

The sound is definitely worse

[olorin19]

there’s also a clicking sound — does that mean aspiration?

I have only heard of aspiration pneumonia resulting from inadvertently getting formula in the lungs when being fed. But I absolutely may be wrong about this.

I do think getting him in the enclosure is a good idea - whether he needs treatment or not, it will give him time to rest and heal with less stress.

Is this one of the eight you released last year? Or just a wild that has bonded with you?

Black squirrels are not common where I live, so seeing these photos and videos is always fascinating.

[astrll]

we have the trap set but it started snowing ugh!

[scoopysnack]

Darn it, he’s not coming anymore and it just started snowing pretty heavily. The wildlife center saw the video and said to monitor a couple more days or bring him in but I am a little more worried, especially if it’s going to be colder.

sorry! i thought i said more about who this little guy is! his name is mini and he’s a wild that to came to us sometime in November after releasing our 8 last year. he’s quite friendly and he’s been in the enclosure a few times on his own as well. he actually had an ear injury that seemed quite bad, we almost thought it would rip off entirely from how it was flopping but it’s pretty much fine now, just a bit of a scar left. it still seems crazy to me that it went from flopping around to back upright!

[olorin19]

Good luck with Mini!

It always amazes me with different wilds - how some will come right up like that, others will approach but not too close, others will stay where they are but keep an eye on you, and others will retreat or even disappear.

I have not been able to hear anything obvious on the videos, but what did really stand out to me was that motion that looked like hiccups or maybe difficulty swallowing.

[astrll]

here you can hear the sound clearly but i also put a flashing circle to mark the sounds. there’s two types – the air pumping sound and the gasping

mini | 2025 02 01
https://youtu.be/PRx77DcE0U0

[scoopysnack]

Day 3 now and he came about 3 times today but no luck in capturing him and I don’t think he’ll be coming back again today. I don’t think he’s worse but he’s doing the heaving/choking and hiccuping motions a little bit more often. He was also crying a teensy bit and it would come out in small squeaks. He ate a little but he was quite skittish around others today. I think it’s a decent sign that he can run away quickly and not have worsened symptoms but it still concerns me that it’s 3 days and no real change or sign of improving.

[scoopysnack]

here is a video from today, his squeak was a bit louder if he was i think annoyed or frightened (which is why i was bugging a little with the rope), but otherwise not much difference or improvement. he wasn’t here for long and i think he is wary of us trying to catch him since we’ve been outside more but he still comes up to us when we’re inside waiting at the door.

i still think the best option is to bring him
in to make sure he’s okay but i hope he doesn’t mind the whole process of being captured and examined too much.

https://youtu.be/yOjQ0kyj0CY?si=AWUlmEg90PWq4Qh7

[olorin19]

Even releases do not generally enjoy being held and examined, so yes, this will be a bit stressful for Mini. Are you taking him to the wildlife center if you manage to contain him?

[scoopysnack]

the plan was to bring him to the center but it snowed so much overnight and we don’t have good tires to make the drive there. he just came by and i don’t think he’s gotten worse at least, but it’s still the same issues with his breathing and trouble using his voice.

i am still quite worried since we don’t even know what could be causing it and it started up all of a sudden. he’s eating fine though and a part from being more alert/on edge, he still behaves normally in terms of coming up to hand feed and hanging out on our balcony.

i would still really like to bring him in since it doesn’t seem like there’s much answers but we would have to wait till the roads are a bit better.

[olorin19]

the plan was to bring him to the center but it snowed so much overnight and we don’t have good tires to make the drive there. he just came by and i don’t think he’s gotten worse at least, but it’s still the same issues with his breathing and trouble using his voice.

i am still quite worried since we don’t even know what could be causing it and it started up all of a sudden. he’s eating fine though and a part from being more alert/on edge, he still behaves normally in terms of coming up to hand feed and hanging out on our balcony.

i would still really like to bring him in since it doesn’t seem like there’s much answers but we would have to wait till the roads are a bit better.

If you manage to confine him to the enclosure for a few days, do you expect Mini to be majorly stressed? You may want to get him contained while you have the chance then wait for the roads to improve.

You know your squirrels, so use your best judgment. I have never captured/confined a wild - only temporarily confined prior releases for treatment.

[TubeDriver]

I would absolutely bring him in ASAP. In your video, you can clearly see him mouth breathing which is not normal at all. He still seems pretty active which is good but if this is pneumonia, he can go downhill pretty rapidly. Usually we see pneumonia in much younger squirrels after aspirating formula into their lungs but it is certainly possible that he has some type of pulmonary infection that picked up while outside, for example it could be Bordetella. If you can get him to a vet, that would be best. If not, a long course of Baytril or SMZ-TMP or even Doxy would be a reasonable treatment. Since he got this in the wild, practice strict universal precautions to protect yourselves and any other animals in your care.

[scoopysnack]

mini is being so difficult with the trap! spent all morning just watching him eating tiny crumbs of bird seeds left in the snow right in front of the trap or beside it but others would go right in and we would have to keep watching to make sure it wouldn’t set off and accidentally catch the wrong one.

it’s very snowy and windy and cold but he isn’t “hiccupy” or squeaking anymore, i almost didn’t even know it was him because he wasn’t doing those motions anymore and i couldn’t really tell if he was still mouth breathing. when he did come up to me, i could hear a wheezing sound so i have no idea what that means but we’re going to try our best to get him asap! we’ve cleaned off all the leftovers we could find so hopefully there won’t be anymore distractions.

[olorin19]

Is there any way to first lure Mini into the enclosure with food, then maybe already have the trap set inside the enclosure?

I am guessing the purpose of the trap is to transport to the rehabber or vet?