Difficulty Breathing

[House of Misfit Squirrels]

Have 7 year old Fox squirrel with severe breathing issues. With a vet's help, we ruled out teeth or pneumonia. So it is thought allergies. X-Rays show cloudiness in nasal cavity and half of her lungs. Anyone with any ideas/knowledge would be gladly welcomed! We hate to see her suffering so.

[Charley Chuckles]

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Have 7 year old Fox squirrel with severe breathing issues. With a vet's help, we ruled out teeth or pneumonia. So it is thought allergies. X-Rays show cloudiness in nasal cavity and half of her lungs. Anyone with any ideas/knowledge would be gladly welcomed! We hate to see her suffering so.

Hello House of Misfit Squirrels and welcome to The Squirrel board (TSB)! What is you Squirrel's name? I must inform you that I am NOT a Veterinarian and I am NOT trying to get between you and your Veterinarian but I will make some comments anyway! First of all, is your Vet experienced with Squirrels and had your Squirrel been seen as a patient by this Vet prior to the onset of his breathing problems? Did your Vet do anything for your Squirrel while she was in the office? Did your Vet prescribe anything or recommend anything for your Squirrel?

In regard to what you have described and findings on the x-ray films; namely "cloudiness in nasal cavity and half of her lungs;" IMHNVO (in my humble non-Vet opinion) these finding in themselves; do NOT rule out dental issues and certainly do not rule out a pneumonia! When you state that there is a "cloudiness" in "half of her lungs;" do you mean that one of her two lungs is cloudy or that half of each lung is cloudy? I am not quibbling about when I ask these questions because it is important to determine if an infiltrate (the cloudiness) involve both lungs or only one lung!

Also, how was your Vet rule able out these two potential problems especially in light of what you reports as the findings on the x-ray studies? One common dental problem with Squirrels is what is called an Odontoma. An odontoma involving the upper teeth can most definitely enlarge to the point where it involves the nearby nasal passage and the characteristic finding we see on a plain film x-ray study is a density at the the root region of a tooth that may also involve the surrounding structures such as the nasal passages! One of the first problems many Squirrelers notice that later leads to a diagnosis of an odontoma (or other dental problems such as abscesses) is a problem the Squirrel has breathing through her nose! Squirrels, incidentally are what is termed Obligate Nose Breathers and so are infant humans for that matter. While we as adult humans are able to change-up between breaths and decide to breath through our nose or mouth and back again; a Squirrel is not able to do this and they will breath through their mouths only if flow through their nasal passages is very difficult or impossible! This finding of mouth breathing is also a common sign of dental problems!

As far as the findings you report in regard to the "cloudiness" noted to be present in one or both lungs; this can be from many causes including those resulting from heart issues (especially if seen in both lungs) or even very rarely due to certain immune (we can say allergic) conditions BUT by far; the most common cause of an infiltrate being seen in a Squirrel's lungs is PNEUMONIA!

Most x-ray studies are now performed with digital technology and can be uploaded and transmitted very easily! Do you have his radiographs (the individual x-ray films) available? If not, could you request them from your Vet and upload them to this thread? If you do have the films, would you be willing to upload them NOW?

How long has your Squirrel had breathing problems and can you describe what these breathing problems are such as does the beathing difficulty seem to be because her nasal passages are blocked or congested, is she trying to breath through her mouth; is she breathing rapidly compare to her respiratory rate before this issue began, is she making noises when he breaths? Is there any drainage from your Squirrel's nose and if so, which side is t coming from or is it from both sides?

In addition to asking you to answer my questions in as detailed a means as you feel up to and posting the x-ray study; I do have some suggestions. Do you have any antibiotics available? These do NOT need to be Veterinary antibiotics and most al of us us human antibiotics that we (or friends or family) have available. Having a Veterinarian on the case is a decided advantage as this individual may be willing to write a prescription for your Squirrel. In order of my personal preference; the two antibiotics that would be best for dental and lung infections would be Amoxicillin plus Clavulanate (Augmentin is a human brand and Clavamox is a Veterinary brand) or my second preference would be doxycycline. Other antibiotics may also be effective and please post any and all antibiotics that you may have available along with the strength (such as 100mg) of the tablet, suspension or capsule! If it comes to that, and I believe it really is at that point now; we can help you with mixing and doing the antibiotic. We do NOT do this on the open Board and one of us will send you instructions by Private Message! In order to properly does any medication, it is essential for us to have an accurate weight of your Squirrel obtained with a digital scale preferably expressed in Grams! Please post post your Squirrels weight!

I would also suggest, especially if your Squirrel is having problems breathing through her nose would be to check as best you can for anything at least near the nostrils that may be impeding breathing. Also, IF is seems that your Squirrel's nasal passages are congested or restricted would be to try using a cool mist vaporizer. If you or a family member has asthma or some other breathing problem and have nebulizer available; this can be used by filling the nebulizer with ONLY cool water and pointing the nebulized water toward your Squirrel's nose to see if this seems to make a difference. I would suggest trying this every 15 minutes for three tries to see if there might be some benefit. Post back about the results if you do opt for this.

Again, IF the nasal passages seen congested and there is some drainage, VERY GENTLE suction with a very small bulb syringe is another option. This has risks, however! I am pasting some comments I made in another thread to help address risk and ensure proper use of a bulb syringe; "If you opt for utilizing a bulb syringe, I would suggest not trying to actually push it into the nose and just place it within the opening. Also, and of extreme importance is that only a very tiny depression of the bulb syringe is necessary to result in adequate or excessive suction. The bulb syringe should never be squeezed, just minimally depress the flat portion at the end of the bulb and do this BEFORE you place it in the nose. If you depress the bulb while the tip is in or near the nose it can force material within the nasal passages into the breathing passages or lungs or compress the material in the nose which will make it more difficult to remove. Check the suction first on your own skin as I have seen excessive suction cause problems in both animal and infant human patients and then adjust the amount of bulb depression accordingly. There should be only very slight suction developed!"

I wish the best for your Squirrel and please reply and also keep us updated on how things are going!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[House of Misfit Squirrels]

To those who could help. I have finally obtained an xray of Lucy and hope that someone can decipher it. I'm curious as to what might come up. All help is appreciated. She seems to be slowly going down hill and we are are so worried and frantic in finding a way to help her.

[Bravo]

Hi- when you get a chance, please provide an email address in your profile for any correspondence. Thanks-

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

To those who could help. I have finally obtained an xray of Lucy and hope that someone can decipher it. I'm curious as to what might come up. All help is appreciated. She seems to be slowly going down hill and we are are so worried and frantic in finding a way to help her.

Have 7 year old Fox squirrel with severe breathing issues. With a vet's help, we ruled out teeth

Hello again HoMS:
Again, I must state for the "record" that I am NOT a Veterinarian nor am I a radiologist and my comments are based upon my humble non-vet opinions only!

I'm sorry that there has been no significant improvement with Lucy! There most definitely are some dental issues that are IMHNVO, very concerning and potentially responsible for her breathing issues.

Before I discuss this, I have several additional questions. Did you receive the actual x-ray study that was performed. This would commonly be in DICOM format or is the x-ray image you posted a photo a an x-ray film? If you have the actual images in a DICOM format or any radiographic imaging format; would you please let me know and I will send a PM to you with an email address to which I would ask that you send the file.

Is this single image the only view that was obtained? A general rule with radiographic imaging is that at least two views should be obtained. There are a number of very valid reasons why this should almost always be the case! The current view is a Lateral View which is obtained by the x-ray beam passing from side to side. There should also be a Ventrodorsal (the x-ray beam passes bottom to top) view OR a Dorsoventral (the x-ray beam passes from top to bottom) view taken; neither of which accompanies your single lateral view. As both the VD and DV views pass through the same "stuff;" on one or the other is needed.

I would like to see the original films and hopefully any other views that were obtained before commenting on the chest or abdomen and really the head as well BUT as I mentioned, there are definitive abnormalities seen on the skull potion of the current film!

First, the Lower Incisors appear to be normal (except for what appears to be trimmed tips} and and in normal anatomic position relative to the skull. The mouth, when fully closed should be limited by contact between the upper and lower molars and NOT by contact by the lower incisors with the roof of the mouth. This is also normal in this image!

The Upper Incisors however are quite abnormal in appearance AND position! The Upper Incisors normally curve rostral (forward or in the direction of the nose) to the lower incisors and their normal anatomic position in relation to the lower incisors is partially overlapping them and resting in front of the lower incisors. In Lucy's lateral skull view; the Upper Incisors are very short and angled in there mid-portion rather than curved and actually come to rest BEHIND (caudal to) the Lower Incisors. These observances SUGGEST to me that there there may fractures of the upper incisors with dislocation and/or maxillary (pertaining to the upper jaw) fractures of the Upper Incisor root region! Does Lucy have any injury history? Have Lucy's teeth been clipped?

Beyond the above stated fact that I am neither a Veterinarian nor a radiologist; the actual head portion of the image is not ideal from a technical standpoint and I would like to be able to view all actual images in their original digital format! One last question; was this film (or all the films if more views were obtained) sent to a Veterinary radiologist for review?


Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

Below I have pasted an essentially normal lateral skull film that you can compare to your recently posted image.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hello again HoMS:
Would you please post some photos of Lucy's teeth?
Thanks,
StS

[House of Misfit Squirrels]

Hello everyone, thank you for your replies. This is the only x ray I received. I will make an appointment to get more views. So, if everyone can bear with me. I will have them soon.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Has any antibiotics been started yet ??

Mr.SSG