Adult Male Para with Urine Scald

[Mouse&Chubs]

Good afternoon,

My friend and I are volunteers at a rescue, and my friend took on a baby male para (both hind legs) who came into the rescue as a pinkie. Since he could not be released, he lives with my friend, but is currently experiencing urine scald. She bathes him once a day, but this has not prevented the scald and now his skin is starting to peel. I've looked at a few older posts where "silvadene" was recommended for urine scald, but Amazon no longer sells the jar without a prescription. Is there a way to get silvadene without a prescription (I'm guessing no, but thought I'd ask anyway)? Or is there an alternative to using silvadene?

Notes about her squirrel:
He's 651 g and eats a healthy diet, per Henry's pyramid, and eats about 2-3 picky blocks per day. At first we thought he might have had a UTI, because his urine is just so strong-smelling, but there are no other indicators of a UTI, and it's just the smell of "normal" squirrel pee.

Any help is appreciated.

[CritterMom]

Good afternoon,

My friend and I are volunteers at a rescue, and my friend took on a baby male para (both hind legs) who came into the rescue as a pinkie. Since he could not be released, he lives with my friend, but is currently experiencing urine scald. She bathes him once a day, but this has not prevented the scald and now his skin is starting to peel. I've looked at a few older posts where "silvadene" was recommended for urine scald, but Amazon no longer sells the jar without a prescription. Is there a way to get silvadene without a prescription (I'm guessing no, but thought I'd ask anyway)? Or is there an alternative to using silvadene?

Notes about her squirrel:
He's 651 g and eats a healthy diet, per Henry's pyramid, and eats about 2-3 picky blocks per day. At first we thought he might have had a UTI, because his urine is just so strong-smelling, but there are no other indicators of a UTI, and it's just the smell of "normal" squirrel pee.

Any help is appreciated.

Yeah...there was a place called Mountainside Medical that sold silvadene OTC for years but not anymore... Here is what I would try:

Get some Betadyne 10% povidone iodine at the drug store (or the store brand) and dilute it to 1/4 teaspoon betadyne to 1/4 cup water. During his "bath", clean him up well and make absolutely certain she rinses it well. Pat the area dry and then using a cotton ball, wipe the area down with the betadyne, let it sit wet for a minute or two, then use a paper towel to blot MOST of the moisture off. Let the area dry, the put a layer of vaseline on it. This way you have both antibacterial/antifungal coverage from the betadyne and a barrier in the vaseline. Once it clears up, she can drop the betadyne but continue using the vaseline, but keep a close eye and at the first sign, add the betadyne step back in. He may require two baths a day.

What is his bedding? If he is on fleece, as much as they love it, it isn't absorbent so the urine sits in puddles on it. Might want to try some soft old cotton sheets that will wick the moisture away from him instead of holding it.

[Mouse&Chubs]

Yeah...there was a place called Mountainside Medical that sold silvadene OTC for years but not anymore... Here is what I would try:

Get some Betadyne 10% povidone iodine at the drug store (or the store brand) and dilute it to 1/4 teaspoon betadyne to 1/4 cup water. During his "bath", clean him up well and make absolutely certain she rinses it well. Pat the area dry and then using a cotton ball, wipe the area down with the betadyne, let it sit wet for a minute or two, then use a paper towel to blot MOST of the moisture off. Let the area dry, the put a layer of vaseline on it. This way you have both antibacterial/antifungal coverage from the betadyne and a barrier in the vaseline. Once it clears up, she can drop the betadyne but continue using the vaseline, but keep a close eye and at the first sign, add the betadyne step back in. He may require two baths a day.

What is his bedding? If he is on fleece, as much as they love it, it isn't absorbent so the urine sits in puddles on it. Might want to try some soft old cotton sheets that will wick the moisture away from him instead of holding it.

He's a free range squirrel and sleeps in her laundry, but I do think she uses some fleece for his bedding. He just hangs out in his cat tree bed most of the day. I've sent this info to her. Thank you so much CritterMom for always being so helpful on my posts!

[CritterMom]

He's a free range squirrel and sleeps in her laundry, but I do think she uses some fleece for his bedding. He just hangs out in his cat tree bed most of the day. I've sent this info to her. Thank you so much CritterMom for always being so helpful on my posts!

Most of the cat trees are covered with what is basically fake fur which is not absorbent at all. Maybe she can make some quick covers out of something cotton based.

Is this being exacerbated by the para issue - could these also be drag sores? Preventing those requires physical intervention - we have a member here who came up with what she calls "Skutes" which are basically a little bag that they wear over their legs and lower body and it allows them to scoot (hence the name) on all kinds of surfaces without the friction burns from dragging the same area over the floor constantly.

[Shellysfriend]

Natural Cotton Batting seems to work fairly well. I got it at JoAnn Fabrics which is a chain around here.

[Black Squirrel]

PM member "chickenlegs", she builds drag skutes or can send you a pattern / instructions/

[Chickenlegs]

Send your email in a pm and I’ll send pix for a simple skute you can make in a coupla minutes.

[Mouse&Chubs]

Send your email in a pm and I’ll send pix for a simple skute you can make in a coupla minutes.

Great, thank you so much. My friend has very limited sewing skills so hearing it can be made in a couple of minutes is promising!

[Mouse&Chubs]

Most of the cat trees are covered with what is basically fake fur which is not absorbent at all. Maybe she can make some quick covers out of something cotton based.

Is this being exacerbated by the para issue - could these also be drag sores? Preventing those requires physical intervention - we have a member here who came up with what she calls "Skutes" which are basically a little bag that they wear over their legs and lower body and it allows them to scoot (hence the name) on all kinds of surfaces without the friction burns from dragging the same area over the floor constantly.

To my knowledge, he doesn’t have drag sores. He actually gets around by “hopping” around his cat tree - it’s really quite impressive. I’ll go ahead and send my friend the skutes to make. Thank you again!