Yellow discharge from the butt ~ please help, this looks like an infection!

[Mermaidschorus]

My name is Kristen and I am really worried about my three-year-old girl. She has never had any issues before but right now she has this discharge coming from her butt. If this is bothering her she is hiding it well as she is still very active and does her thing (but small animals are good at disguising stuff which makes me nervous). Anyways, here's the big problem; she is an on the down-low squirrel as I live in an extremely strict state and at the time she came to me, there weren't any rehabbers near (I would gladly go across states now if I had too, but it was different then). She was always supposed to be released and not stay, but it happened. Anyways, I don't know of any vet that will look at her under the radar and that has bothered me for a long time. Now that I need one, I am freaking out (nothing makes me more upset than not having a vet for her). I would appreciate any input on what this could be and what to do(I originally thought it could be reproductive related but today shows that it looks more like an infection). I'm trying to get an updated picture but this was last night (it's more oozy today but she is playing difficult and won't let me catch her to clean her or take a picture.

P.S. I have lurked here for a long time but I don't recall posting too often so I hope this is the correct place to post.

[Mermaidschorus]

[Mel1959]

What antibiotics do you have or you can locate? If you can post what you have and the strength of the meds and weight of the squirrel someone can help you dose if they feel it’s necessary.

This is not loose stool, correct? Has she had any change in diet? What does her diet consist of?

[Mermaidschorus]

It isn't loose stool as she is pooping well and normally. I will see if she will come out of her nest to let me weigh her. What types of antibiotics should I be looking for?

Her diet is pretty consistent and the only real change I can pinpoint for her is she has had some dried mango as a treat every so often and she has been eating Henry's Picky Blocks instead of the regular Henry's she usually eats (the regular blocks and the peanut butter ones). Aside from two Henry's blocks, her dinner usually consists of organic mixed greens, a couple seeds and/or nuts as a treat, 1 non-dried fruit (or two if small like blueberries), other vegetables (brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, etc), and bugs like mealworms. I try to keep cuttlebones in her cage for calcium but occasionally I will drizzle some powder from the bones onto her dinner along with a multivitamin for squirrels (from Exotic Nutrition). I try to refer to the squirrel diet pyramid on Henry's when picking out her dinner although she does get a little spinach.

It doesn't seem like peeing is bothering her too much, which makes me wonder if the oozing is coming from her reproductive area (she was in heat a couple weeks ago and rubbing on stuff but this never happened before).

Oh, she did start peeing in a new area. She has a cage where she has her private time (sleeps and potties) and she started peeing away from her litter box and onto one of the platforms in the cage. I try to clean it often and I put puppy pads down to make it a little more sanitary. I just wonder if the change in her peeing habits might have caused an infection? She used to only go in her litter box with critter litter in it.




Here's a picture from within the last hour. Looks much worse today although she is acting very normal.

[CritterMom]

That isn't her butt - it is vaginal. I wonder if this is normal heat related discharge or if we are looking at some sort of yeast infection. Hate to ask, but can you smell it?

[Mermaidschorus]

If it helps her I will smell it no problem. Oh, it looks like it currently slowed down with discharge a little, but the area is whitish around her *ahem* hole. She is out right now so I will see if I can get her to check, she usually climbs all over me but she knows I am trying to catch her and is avoiding me. She just ran off with a big Henry's block and started eating it; so at least she is still eating her good stuff.

I was wondering if it could be vaginal last night when I first noticed it, is the discharge usually yellow? I don't really remember seeing this before in previous heats, but I could've missed it? Just for future reference, do you know what things could most likely cause a yeast infection in a squirrel?

[Mermaidschorus]

Still working on getting her weight and checking the smell. The good news is she was playing as her usual hyper self and rollling around. However, she definitely knows I am trying to pick her up and she is still avoiding me (I don't like to push it with picking her up since she hates it, but I will have to do it to figure this out). She does love to be on my shoulder though! She's in her nest (probably for the night) so I will have to wait until she comes down (she often does around midnight for a drink, so I will see if I can get her then and check these things out). I will update this soon! Oh, last I checked, the discharge was still absent so I will keep you all posted on that too.

[island rehabber]

If it has a sickly sweet smell, with that yellow color I would also be concerned about coccidia. It is so common, but usually causes yellowish stools, not vaginal discharge. Just throwing it out there.....

[Mermaidschorus]

Alright, so I have a small update on her smell situation. Firstly, it did start oozing again but not as bad as yesterday. I would like to check again, but I did manage to get her long enough to smell her butt. I couldn't really smell anything off, but I am gonna double check again later (I have a tent I can put her in to conceal her in one area so I guess I will have to get that out) . Unfortunately, she got free before I could weigh her or double check smells and she wouldn't let me get her again. I am gonna attempt in a couple hours again. She was happily jumping around still though! Oh, would the smell be super obvious?

[Mermaidschorus]

Another update: I got her to hang out in the tent with me for a bit and I got her on my postal scale. She weighs about 625 grams which is around 1 (1.5) pound(s) I believe (correct me if my translation is wrong- not my best subject lol). As for smell, I don't believe I smell anything still (except squirrel lol), but I am keeping an eye on that the best I can so I will try to check that again when I wipe her down next. She's still my crazy playful little girl eating and hasn't slowed down at all, but if this is anything starting that could get bad, I want to take care of it immediately. All help is greatly appreciated so far as I want to keep her as healthy as I possibly can.

Oh, the oozing seems to come and go but is still present (but not as bad today as it was when I first posted).

[Mel1959]

Do you have access to antibiotics? If so, which ones and what is the strength?

[Mermaidschorus]

To be honest, I'm not sure. I don't have any around my house except ones for my fish. Are there any you can recommend that I could possibly look for? Sorry my answer isn't more helpful but I so appreciate your help!

[Mel1959]

What do you have for your fish? They have been used in the past for squirrels.

Medications we routinely use for squirrels are Clavamox (animal)/Augmentin (human), Baytril (animal)/Ciproflaxin (human), Doxycycline, SMZ/TMP.

Call around to family and friends. If an antibiotic is necessary it should only require one pill.

[Diggie's Friend]

With the use of all AB it is needful to concurrently include soil based organism (SBO) aka: (probiotics with prebiotics) towards preserving the immune system comprised of good bacteria located in the gut. For since the gut makes up over 70 percent of the whole body's immune system, to protect from AB resistant strains of bad bacteria.

Because of this issue, more veterinarians are now recommending including, "symbiotics' to support a healthy colony of good digestive-bacteria daily. During heats, when there is a white discharge our vet explained occurs with vaginitis vs. blood spotting that is associated with UTI, the amount included should be double that of the maintenance dosage.

"Pet Flora" by Vitality Science, is (SBO) soil based organism source recommended by veterinarians to address vaginitis infections in small mammal in heat. Why soil itself isn't good to use is for reason that it may potentially also have parasites. For heats increase at least by double from maintenance dose to 1/16 Tsp. daily mixed into a moist food like organic plain naturally sweetened applesauce.

https://www.amazon.com/Vitality-Scie.../dp/B005PJN2HO

[Mermaidschorus]

The antibiotic I currently have on hand is erythromycin from API but I can probably get ahold of Doxycycline. I wish I could get ahold of Baytril since I often used that when I worked at PetSmart for the small animals that were sick thus I'm a little more familiar with it. I will check around and see what I can find. Right now the discharge isn't as bad but I am keeping a close eye on it for any changes. Can this kind of stuff clear up on its own at all or is treatment usually needed (just out of curiosity)?

So if the discharge keeps at it, should I use "Pet Flora" with an antibiotic or on it's own instead? Also, can you use the one for cats/dogs, or do they make a specific one for smaller animals (gonna try and get this ordered tomorrow)?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone; I can't tell you how much it means to me (and my little girl)!

[Mel1959]

How’s the discharge? An admin suggested that this might be a condition called pyometra, which is a uterine infection. Baytril, Clavamox, keflex, SMZ-TMP, and Amoxicillin are reasonable choices. Can you locate any of these?

[CritterMom]

Hey guys? Check this out - I just hit new posts and this thread here: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...nfection-right

and the thread we are on popped up!

[Mel1959]

So, you think this is normal heat cycle stuff?

[CritterMom]

Or a HUGE coincidence! This is exactly the same looking discharge. I have only had boys so I just don't know but especially given that the squirrels aren't showing any kind of distress it sure seems like it is something benign.

[Mermaidschorus]

She's definitely still acting perfectly normal and happy. I haven't seen the discharge in a few days, but I'm keeping an eye on her to be safe. I'm still interested in purchasing that Pet Flora stuff to aid in her immune system just in case (not sure if you just buy the cat/dog one and portion it out though). I also want to see if I can find one of the antibiotics suggested so I can keep that in mind as well.

I'm really hoping it's just heat related and nothing more serious, I did notice the other day she was grooming a lot too which makes me wonder even more? I definitely want to be sure this isn't Pyometra though! If it is an infection, I'm assuming it would likely get worse and make her start to act sick, is that correct?