HELP NEEDED: Inflamed Lymph Nodes and Flakey Skin

[LilBoPeepers]

My little man has (inflamed lymph nodes?) Behind his ears and flaky, itchy spots all over his body. I imagine they're itchy because he has a large bald spot on his chin, chest, and underarms.

Is it correct to assume he has a dual ear infection and possible fungal infection?

I've been keeping track of this issue for the past 2 or so weeks, but he has not improved. Aside from that he eats/drinks/goes to the bathroom normally.

Any advice?

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

My little man has (inflamed lymph nodes?) Behind his ears and flaky, itchy spots all over his body. I imagine they're itchy because he has a large bald spot on his chin, chest, and underarms.

Is it correct to assume he has a dual ear infection and possible fungal infection?

I've been keeping track of this issue for the past 2 or so weeks, but he has not improved. Aside from that he eats/drinks/goes to the bathroom normally.

Any advice?

Hi LilBoPeepers and welcome to The Squirrel Board! Please tell us a little more about your Squirrel such as his name, age, species and whether or not he is an "only" Squirrel. Does he have any known medical problems or is he being treated for any conditions? Please also upload some photos of your little guy with some additional close-ups of the areas in question. Squirrels do have lymph nodes and they can certainly become enlarged and when this happens, it is always very important to try to ascertain the cause. Often this is best accomplished with a biopsy of one or more of the enlarged nodes. That being said, some of the very encouraging signs that you mentioned are that is appetite, fluid intake and "bathroom activities" are normal and unchanged. Is he as active as before all this began?

I would NOT simply make the assumption that he has a bilateral ear infection or that he has an ear infection at all. While this is possibility, most of what you are describing is not consistent with an ear infection even though IF there are truly enlarged lymph nodes, this suggests and infection or other potentially serious condition and this requires definitive evaluation to determine if these are actually lymph nodes you are seeing.

Some possibilities are that he has mange which is caused by tiny mites that are ordinarily not visible to the unaided eye or lice (usually visible as are the eggs) or other ectoparasite (parasites that live on in the skin). The "bumps" that you suspect are lymph nodes may be signs of development of Squirrel Pox although I certainly hope not or they may be Bot Fly Warbles. Warbles are bumps in the skin that contain a Bot Fly larva. These warbles has a breathing pore that is usually quite evident and this opens up to the outside and often drains some material. Although the Bot Fly and the Warbles are horrible things to think about, we don't usually need to do anything with them and the eventually the larval comes out of the Warble and full healing and recovery takes place.

Lice and mites can be treated relatively easily and a good medication for this is Selamectin. I would suggest starting this medication "presumptively" (just based upon the hair loss and scaling skin) if you can get it! Do you have a Squirrel-friendly Veterinarian there? I would recommend the Selamectin (one of the brand names is Revolution) marketed for use on Kittens weighing less than 5 pounds. This is in a Mauve colored box. You simply separate the fur on your Squirrel's at the base of his neck between his shoulders and apply just one drop of the Selamectin directly to the bare skin. Do not wipe it or dab the spot spot you used to apply the drop. A drop can also be dosed orally instead of applied topically.

Please post the photos and keep on with the updates!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[LilBoPeepers]

Hello Sam,

Thank you for the quick reply. The squirrel in question is a 7 yr old, indoor, eastern grey NR named rocky. I am currently trimming his teeth for malocclusion.

Unfortunately, I am unable to get a good Pic of he "lymph npde" - they're too small and don't show on camera. However, I did manage to get a closeup of some of his balding spots.

I have revolution on hand. I will apply it later tonight and see if that helps.

Thanks.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hello Sam,

Thank you for the quick reply. The squirrel in question is a 7 yr old, indoor, eastern grey NR named rocky. I am currently trimming his teeth for malocclusion.

Unfortunately, I am unable to get a good Pic of he "lymph npde" - they're too small and don't show on camera. However, I did manage to get a closeup of some of his balding spots.

I have revolution on hand. I will apply it later tonight and see if that helps.

Thanks.

Thanks for the photo, LilBoPeepers! Rocky's definitely missing some fur! I would certainly opt for use of the Revolution! Have you looked carefully at Rocky's skin and fur for lice or their eggs (nits) or other visible evidence of ectoparasites? Please keep on with updates on Rocky!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[LilBoPeepers]

Update: I gave rocky revolution plus a couple days ago. He doesn't seem to be improving. His nodes are still swollen and his fur breaks off easily.

I attached a better Pic of what's going on

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Update: I gave rocky revolution plus a couple days ago. He doesn't seem to be improving. His nodes are still swollen and his fur breaks off easily.

I attached a better Pic of what's going on

Hi LilBoPeepers and thanks for the update on Rocky!

1) ***First off, I would like to suggest that your Thread be moved from the Specific Ailment Forum to the Non Life-Threatening Help Needed Forum to improve reading exposure! An ADMIN would need to to do this, if you are willing.

2) Next, from the photo you just posted, the skin appearance where there is hair loss is consistent with mange. There also appears to be tiny white "blobs" attached to some hairs that can be barely seen at the border of the furred and hairless region. These may be nits which are the eggs of lice or these may be bits of flaking skin although they all appear to be similar in size and shape and this lends more credibility to the posibilility we are seeing nits. Selamectin will ordinarily kill lice.

3) If this is mange and again, its appearance is certainly consistent with mange, the Selamectin should be of benefit but it is extremely unlikely that you will see any improvement in just a "couple days." Any improvement in the appearance of the skin will probably not even be noticeable for 10 days to 2 weeks and full resolution will take far longer than that!

4) The "nodes" that you mention are also very concerning and if there is any way you can take some photos that would definitively demonstrate what you are seeing; it could prove to be quite beneficial for those following Rocky's Thread to offer there comments and suggestions.

5) As almost always, a visit to a Squirrel-friendly Veterinarian can very beneficial in evaluating perplexing or complex cases. Further, with skin disorders, a simple skin-scraping, preparation of the specimen and looking at it under a microscope is often quite revealing and may provide diagnoses. This is something most all Vets can perform in the office.

6) I assume that when you gave the Selamectin Plus, that it was applied to the skin rather than dosed orally but please confirm this.

Also, my suggestion for future consideration of use of Selamectin (Revolution) would be to use just the PLAIN Selamectin and do NOT use the Revolution-Plus. The "Plus" form contains Sarolaner in addition to the Selamectin and for what is likely to be going on with rocky, the Revolution Plus will not offer any likely additional benefits over the plain Selamectin but of more concern is that there is no established safety profile for its use in Squirrels or rodents and the manufacturer of Revolution Plus even states that it should not be used in animals (cats or dogs specifically) weighing less than 2.8 pounds which would include most of the Squirrels we become involved with. I am definitely NOT, however, implying that you have done any harm and I firmly believe that you have NOT done any harm! But, if another Selamectin treatment may be in order in a month (or possibly sooner but certainly not in les than 2 weeks), or that Selamectin may be considered for use on another Squirrel; using plain Selamectin would be best.

Please keep providing updates on Rocky!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Diggie's Friend]

How's Rocky doing; any improvement?

Have your learned anything more about his condition?

Were you able to find a squirrel friendly Vet?