Wild Adult squirrel possibly missing front teeth, looking for rehabber near Largo, FL

[shadouwolf]

I feed wild squirrels at a local park peanuts. There is one that made me horribly worried today.
I think he was stung by a bee a few weeks ago. His nose has been swollen since then. He showed up today looking very skinny and loopy. After, I gave him a peanut I noticed that he whimpered as he tried to bite. I am not sure if he still has his teeth and it hurts to bite, or if he has lost his teeth.
Looking for a rehabber near Largo, FL.
The earliest I would be able to get to him is Thursday evening or Friday evening.
Any help or information would be appreciated.

[Bravo]

Welcome SW... Thanks for caring for this little one. So are you prepared to catch this squirrel and have a cage or box? If not, others here may be able to offer some tips. It's possible, with patience.

[SammysMom]

Meanwhile, I am trying to find Florida help. Thank you for caring!

[Squirreleesi]

I don't know if you've gone through this list yet, but if not:
http://wildliferehabinfo.org/Contact_A-M.htm#FLORIDA

[shadouwolf]

Do you know what the medicine that calms or puts them to sleep? I can't remember what the name is. I would be willing to buy it from my vet.
Bravo >> Unfortunately, I do not have a cage, the closest would be a cardboard box.
Squirreleesi >> Thank you for the link to the wildlife rehabbers, looking through them now.
SammysMom >> Thank you for looking.

[Bravo]

A solid cardboard box should suit, here's further info:

Encouraging the squirrel to enter a box, cage or bag is preferable to catching by hand or with a net, if possible.
A net with a padded rim may be used to catch squirrels, or a humane catching cage may be used in an enclosed space.
Grasp the squirrel's head and neck firmly through the net before carefully working the net off the animal.
The animal may be transferred directly from a net into a suitable container without direct handling if examination is not required.
Do not catch by the tail as the skin may strip off.
For animals within a large enclosure a trap may be useful as squirrels are) very curious and investigate new objects. To minimise stress once caught the trap should contain a darkened plywood nest box 23cm. x 23cms. at the end with suitable dry bedding and ample food.

As far as sedation:

Isoflurane is relatively safe at 2.5-5% induction, although each individual is different. Anytime you fully sedate a person or animal there are risks of not waking, for that reason the medical benefit must outweigh the risks. I recommend full sedation only for more serious cases.

I use childrens Benadryl for my animals. It is based on the weight of the critter, so you would need an accurate weight. For instance I give 0.04ml to a 4 pound bunny and so on. Someone else here may have a different view or call the vet and ask them.

[CritterMom]

I don't think that the average person on the street can get isofluorane - I hope not - it is safe in the hands of a trained professional but I would hate to see a layperson using it - very dangerous.

Since this one has tooth issues the cardboard box might work but you can get a very inexpensive big Rubbermade bin at Walmart that you can cut airholes into with a razor blade knife and it is a lot more durable than a cardboard box.

[Nancy in New York]

I'm sending a pm to Rhapsody and crazy4squirrels.

[shadouwolf]

Bravo >> I think the children's Benadryl would be a safer bet.
I have no clue what his weight is, he is thin. It just rained tonight so hopefully he won't be dehydrated. I am going to attempt giving him some peanut butter on Thursday, not the best for him but better than nothing. If we can get him to eat some and we figure out the best dosage, we can attempt the Benadryl.
I just found out that I no longer have any cardboard boxes, we threw them out last week.
Also, my husband said his nose has been swollen for a few months now. I have a huge problem with dates/memory. I wish we had thought to snap a picture of him today.

Thank you Nancy.

My husband is going to call the rehabber tomorrow. Maybe they could have some tips.
Florida, West Central region, Pinellas County (Clearwater)
727-449-8176 Sally Hannameyer (Director), Safe Haven Wildlife Center, Inc.
safehvn@tampabay.rr.com

Thank you all for your help.

[crazy4squirrels]

Sorry, I just got on line. Are you going to try and trap???? Do you have a havaheart trap?

[crazy4squirrels]

I have two havaheart traps...the soonest I would be able to meet at the park would be Saturday as I work until 5pm durring the week. If you can borrow a trap and bait the squirrel into it with nuts I will come pick up/meet you. The trap will act as your cage. My son works in Palm Harbor and perhaps he can bring a trap and meet you somewhere tomorrow. My name and number are not on the Florida list yet as I received my license two mths ago.

[TubeDriver]

I have two havaheart traps...the soonest I would be able to meet at the park would be Saturday as I work until 5pm durring the week. If you can borrow a trap and bait the squirrel into it with nuts I will come pick up/meet you. The trap will act as your cage. My son works in Palm Harbor and perhaps he can bring a trap and meet you somewhere tomorrow.

[Nancy in New York]

I have two havaheart traps...the soonest I would be able to meet at the park would be Saturday as I work until 5pm durring the week. If you can borrow a trap and bait the squirrel into it with nuts I will come pick up/meet you. The trap will act as your cage. My son works in Palm Harbor and perhaps he can bring a trap and meet you somewhere tomorrow. My name and number are not on the Florida list yet as I received my license two mths ago.

Thank you SO much for the offer!
This is fantastic, and I sure hope you can hook up to
help this little one.
Congrats on your license!
Don't go on "the list", we need you here!

Thank you also Rhapsody for responding to my pm.

[Nancy in New York]

Forgot to mention this earlier about Benedryl.
While it has been used occasionally to sedate/(make groggy)
a little squirrel, Stosh once pm'd me for the dose so he could
trim one of his squirrel's teeth.
He later wrote back that this little docile love bug turned into a
hyper, non stop, demon until it wore off. (OK maybe not as bad as Taz).
Since then, I personally have never recommended the use of Benedryl to sedate.

[shadouwolf]

Just got back from college. Well the rehabber is gone phone disconnected, and the email bounced. No, we don't have a trap and still have to look up where to bring him if we do catch him.

crazy4squirrels >> Congrats on the license and thank you so much for the offer. Is the license for rehabbing or catching? I will pm you my email, our phone is not receiving calls atm.

Nancy in New York >> Thank you for the warning about the Benedryl. Although, if we can borrow a havaheart trap from crazy4squirrels we won't need to sedate him.

A friend just reminded me that we could get in trouble if we catch him, it is a public park. I am still going to try it if we can get the trap/cage and a place to put him till he gets better.
Thank you all so much.

[crazy4squirrels]

We have made contact and will go from here. If we can catch I will use rescue remedy. Yes, a State park is not a um....good place to trap an animal.

[shadouwolf]

Update:
Saw him, Mouse, today right when we sat down so I rushed to put the peanut butter on the crackers. My husband attempted to hand Mouse a cracker, but he grabbed the peanut butter part and stopped to lick it off his hands. Then there was an influx of squirrels and Mouse got spooked and staggered off, he collapsed a couple of times and hid in the bushes. I put some crackers with peanut butter on the group near where he entered the bushes. Unfortunately, another squirrel grabbed them, Mouse started following the squirrel around, who was running around with the crackers in his mouth. Then he disappeared in the bushes. I laid some more on the ground hoping he would show back up, but our peanut supplies ran out and we had to leave.

I hope he shows up tomorrow and Saturday, I don't think he will last much longer without food. I will prepare the crackers in advance tomorrow. cut up to be easier for him to grab.

My husband says the place will have a lot of people on the weekends. I am hoping it will be hot so people will avoid going there, shrug.

[crazy4squirrels]

Prayers. Going Saturday to try and trap. I have to work tomorrow. I will take trap, cage and net....lots of pumpkin seeds and peanuts.

[Delo729]

update?

[crazy4squirrels]

We met at the park Saturday and the injured squirrel did not show up. It was so very nice to meet two people that enjoy and love the wildlife. The squirrel in question could have passed or could be nesting to try to recover. I have had some that had some significant injuries and would come and go then showed up when slightly better. I pray he will show up for them. If they see him ...I will take a sick day to go down and get this kid. I feel soo bad that he was out there and injured. Prayers are needed for sure