Wild squirrel with awful eye/facial and or head injury :(

[thelema93]

Hi all! I'm new here to TSB (Although.. I've been lurking for a couple of months as I learn more about these magical lil creatures!) & truly admire the work you guys do & have grown to absolutely LOVE these lil critters so much. I apologize if starting a new thread wasn't the right option..I'm new to message boards in general..1st time here! I'm in NYC (Brooklyn) & have many lil wild friends that visit me daily.
***So here's my issue...1 of my buddies arrived with a terrible swollen eye/head/cheek! It is SO heart breaking!!! I believe I 1st saw him one day a month+ ago with a bad eye injury & then he disappeared for a long time. I'm almost positive it's the same squirrel. He's the largest and has the biggest bushiest tail of all of them & I recognize him as being the alpha..the other boys back off when he saunters up (I call him Fabio..LOL). Fortunately his balance seems fine..but he is eating slower..it must be so painful/uncomfortable. It looks very infected. I do not have easy access to antibiotics. I would like to try to help him but I have no idea where to start. I can't stand to see him suffer. I'm sure you guys here can empathize.. I understand nature often runs it's course..especially here in NYC..my neighbors are not fans of them at all (the man just curses em out & one lady is terrified of them..hehe) so I've created a secret nut smuggling network. Lol! I figure they have a right to be here and we've destroyed much of their healthy natural food sources here in the city and they have little access to clean water. They are so incredibly intelligent..they amaze me all the time. I've grown especially close with 2 females, 1 of which just had babies.. Anyhow this boy is not usually a regular visitor but he did show up here the last 2 mornings so maybe he needs help and knows I'm a trusted human friend.. I believe they sense these things. I will try to get a pic tomorrow when/if he visits to give you guys a better idea of whats going on... I realize it's hard to diagnose from a far and with no pic. Thanks for your input & time..Stay safe! - A. ❤

PS - I found this pic of a DIFFERENT squirrel from here as an example until I can get a pic of my guy. This looks very close to my lil guy's injury..although I have to say my guy is worse/more swollen. * I will try posting it..as I mentioned I'm a newbie here & to message boards. Thanks for your patience!

[thelema93]

I did manage to get some pics this morning..he hung out for a little longer than usual & eating very slowly. It looks a bit less swollen than it did the 1st day so my hope is that it's healing on it's own..Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

[CritterMom]

It is looking a lot better. Try to look at her face on so you can compare the sides. Is the side with the eye issue swollen anywhere other than right around the eye?

Support her with good food and available water - it is very helpful if you can fill their belly - then they go home and snooze and heal.

[thelema93]

Thank you very much for the advice! I've been doing just that..although the wilds are little stinkers about not wanting to eat veggies. I'm going to try to get some coconut today for him. They will eat that sometimes and want to give him the best chance to heal. So thankful it's looking better. A bit of localized swelling in the cheek too.. will keep an eye on it.

[island rehabber]

hi thelema93, from up here in da Bronx
Should you need more help with this guy, if the facial swelling persists, I can send you some clindamycin -- an antibiotic specifically for infections above the neck. You can dose him with it on a tasty half a walnut or pecan, or avocado!

I also know a couple of very good Brooklyn rehabbers who stay under the radar but definitely know their squirrel rehabilitation. Private message me here if you need local help.

[thelema93]

Hi there! Great to know there are other squirrel lovers in NYC! : . Thank you so much for the response. I have been seeing him every other morning and it started to look better at first but now it looks pretty infected underneath, alhough the eye itself looks better...I was afraid he may be blinded. He comes alone to eat after all the other rowdy youngsters have left. I'm not sure what to think about it's origins now..is it a disease or an injury? And should I just let/will nature heal it up? I snapped a pic yesterday when he came by. Thanks again!

[TubeDriver]

Thanks for helping him! Have you been able to see his front teeth? Give him an almond in shell to see if he can quickly crack it open. If his teeth are wonky/overgrown it will lead to infections in his face/mouth and unless treated, a slow, miserable death.

Hi there! Great to know there are other squirrel lovers in NYC! : . Thank you so much for the response. I have been seeing him every other morning and it started to look better at first but now it looks pretty infected underneath, alhough the eye itself looks better...I was afraid he may be blinded. He comes alone to eat after all the other rowdy youngsters have left. I'm not sure what to think about it's origins now..is it a disease or an injury? And should I just let/will nature heal it up? I snapped a pic yesterday when he came by. Thanks again!

[thelema93]

Hi there! Thank you for the response! I will try to get a hold of some in shell almonds ASAP so when he returns I'll have them. I usually give him a couple of shelled almonds and he eats them.. albeit slower than the other squirrels. I have not been able to see his teeth.. Unfortunately he's not one of my most regular/friendly guys. I have a few that like to come right up onto my window ...but he's timid and only comes by once very early in the morning. I'm sure he's in a lot of pain.. Poor lil fella. What's strange is it looks like he's been scratching at it as it looks raw now with those 2 claw marks through it. I wish I could do more...He didn't show up today but it's stormy here so I think they're hunkered down.

[WhatHaveIGottenMyselfInto]

hi thelema93, from up here in da Bronx
clindamycin -- an antibiotic specifically for infections above the neck. You can dose him with it on a tasty half a walnut or pecan, or avocado!

Hello,
I, too, have been lurking and gleaning information about how to administer meds to a wild squirrel. So glad to see there are options. The paraplegic wild adult I recently got my hands on has something similar going on with the left side of his face (left eye a bit swollen, he's rubbed that side of the face bare of fur. It's been like that since before I caught him, & his left ear has long been mangled ). I'll be interested to learn from the vet if it's eye or ear or mouth/tooth related.

Is the clindamycin particularly tasteless or are squirrels just really nut-motivated?

Please excuse the thread hijack.
Cheers.

[thelema93]

This little guy is doing great now and he's managed to heal up over the past week. Great to see them bounce back on their own. I only gave him some extra food & water. Thanks for the advice and info everyone!

[TubeDriver]

Extra food and water can really help them heal, you made a difference in his life!

This little guy is doing great now and he's managed to heal up over the past week. Great to see them bounce back on their own. I only gave him some extra food & water. Thanks for the advice and info everyone!