New to this .... hair loss of wild young squirrel

[Mrsluckyboy]

This is my first post as I am relatively new to squirrels but need help please. I have been feeding wilds on my balcony for about 3 months now, I have about 20 that visit daily. Amongst them is a young fox squirrel, I am unsure of age but I would guess under 1 year old, as he is the smallest of all our visitors. About two weeks ago I noticed he had hair loss on the nape of his neck, but it is slowly spreading down his upper back. The skin seems a bit red and I was wondering if it is mange? Could anyone pls help to diagnose and advise what I can do to help? I would really appreciate it. The problem is that he or she I am not even sure, is scared and will not come close. Most of my other wilds are trusting and can be hand fed. I managed to get a few pictures but they are not sharp as I had to take them from a distance otherwise he would run. Hopefully they are good enough to tell what is going on with him.
Thank you so much
~Sarah

[RockyPops]

Thanks for trying to help this baby!

Keep checking back here often. Someone will be able to help you!

Hopefully you can medicate some pecan halves or avocado etc. and treat him that way.

[Chirps]

Hi, Mrsluckyboy, and thanks for caring about these guys!





Is he less trusting because he just is, or is he maybe intimidated/bullied by the others so is afraid to get close to you for that reason? Does he get chased frequently or does he manage to get his fair share? If you can get him to take food from your hand a teeny tiny bit of Ivermectin in the groove of a shelled pecan would kill a lot of parasites. stepnstone or TubeDriver or someone said the amount that would fit inside this O would be the dosage. (Sorry I forgot who said it, wanted to give credit where due if possible.)

The thing is you have to be sure he gets it so hand feeding is best. Maybe he can work up to it. If he's bullied from getting near you I'm not sure what you can do. If you try to put enough out to distract them he could still not come to you if he's trying to get to food the others haven't got to yet. If it's just a matter of gaining his trust it may just take you a bit of time but he'll probably get there if he continues to see you mean good things and you haven't snatched anybody yet.

Even if it's not mange, the Ivermectin can help with any other parasite issues he may have, so if you can work up to getting some into him it won't hurt. He'd need a retreatment 2 weeks later.

If you can get it it's 1.87%, in a tube, available at feed stores. It's marketed as an equine wormer so the amount in the tube is enough for a zillion or so squirrels.

[Mrsluckyboy]

Thank you so much for replying, I really appreciate it. I have ordered the Ivermectin paste online as I could not find it in stores near me.
I hope I can manage to throw a medicated nut over to him and he take it! I will let you know how it goes!
No he doesn’t get bullied, we have a lot of squirrels coming but not often at the same time. They watch each other and we have two entry and exit points so it’s not usually too much of a problem. I think he is just young and hasn’t learnt that the human makes the magical nuts/food appear without harming anyone. Some of our wilds even come in the apartment and get their own nuts when I am busy and don’t get time to refill the bowl.
I hope he will get more trusting over time. I did buy a trap a while ago when we had an injured squirrel but am hoping to avoid that whole situation if possible 😬

Hi, Mrsluckyboy, and thanks for caring about these guys!





Is he less trusting because he just is, or is he maybe intimidated/bullied by the others so is afraid to get close to you for that reason? Does he get chased frequently or does he manage to get his fair share? If you can get him to take food from your hand a teeny tiny bit of Ivermectin in the groove of a shelled pecan would kill a lot of parasites. stepnstone or TubeDriver or someone said the amount that would fit inside this O would be the dosage. (Sorry I forgot who said it, wanted to give credit where due if possible.)

The thing is you have to be sure he gets it so hand feeding is best. Maybe he can work up to it. If he's bullied from getting near you I'm not sure what you can do. If you try to put enough out to distract them he could still not come to you if he's trying to get to food the others haven't got to yet. If it's just a matter of gaining his trust it may just take you a bit of time but he'll probably get there if he continues to see you mean good things and you haven't snatched anybody yet.

Even if it's not mange, the Ivermectin can help with any other parasite issues he may have, so if you can work up to getting some into him it won't hurt. He'd need a retreatment 2 weeks later.

If you can get it it's 1.87%, in a tube, available at feed stores. It's marketed as an equine wormer so the amount in the tube is enough for a zillion or so squirrels.

[CritterMom]

Dosage for the equine ivermectin is a bit of the paste the size of an UNCOOKED grain of white rice. Use one for comparison - they are smaller than you think. It is flavored to appeal to horses so it actually tastes good. An excellent place to hide it is in the wrinkles in a pecan. I squirt a bit of the paste on a dish and then use a toothpic to "build" my rice grain with.

Give one dosed pecan every 10 days. I would do three treatments. The ivermectin kills adult mites but not the eggs, which is why the 3 treatments 10 days apart - you are trying to catch up with hatchings of eggs.

[Mrsluckyboy]

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Dosage for the equine ivermectin is a bit of the paste the size of an UNCOOKED grain of white rice. Use one for comparison - they are smaller than you think. It is flavored to appeal to horses so it actually tastes good. An excellent place to hide it is in the wrinkles in a pecan. I squirt a bit of the paste on a dish and then use a toothpic to "build" my rice grain with.

Give one dosed pecan every 10 days. I would do three treatments. The ivermectin kills adult mites but not the eggs, which is why the 3 treatments 10 days apart - you are trying to catch up with hatchings of eggs.

[stepnstone]

I agree, all good advice.
It might also be to your advantage to start tossing a special
nut in his direction now to get him looking forward to it while
waiting on IV paste to arrive.