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Thread: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

  1. #1
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    Default Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    My boy Mookie is now 28 months, and has been living outside since he was released 19 months ago. (He was overwintered, as he was born in September.)

    He has an infected foot, most likely from a bite injury. We first noticed that he was favoring the foot last week, but it has taken awhile to corral him.

    I am planning on starting him on clavamox today.

    When he was first released in May 2018, he got in a fight within a few minutes, so I had to bring him back in for clavamox then. He was not an easy one to dose with a syringe, and bit me (not badly) for the only time ever.

    I remember reading a post a few months back where someone suggested mixing clavamox with some sort of nut butter concocted treat.

    Does anyone have a recipe and/or any other instructions?

    Many thanks!

    Here is Mookie last summer. He is quite good at getting our attention no matter where we are in the house. He will search window to window until he finds us.

    The second photo is Arya and Iggy, now about 5 1/2 months old and being overwintered.

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Clavamox is one of the very meds that actually tastes decent. It has a vanilla like taste, not great but not nasty like Cipro.


    I have made up little peanut butter balls and mixed in finely ground almonds to make it a little less sticky. Mash in the clavamox and he will probably eat it.


    Mookie is lucky to have human guardian angle like yourself to watch over him!
    See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!

    Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.

    "Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
    -Grateful Dead

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Thanks TD!

    Good to know that clavamox is a good taste.

    The two singletons I've overwintered (Mookie and before him Dustin) both remained in and around my yard and happily perched on me, ate from my hands, etc.

    Their trust, as you know, is what makes it possible to help then when they need it. When they are injured, they are a bit more skittish, but fortunately the trust is still there.

    I have a spare nest box mounted on a post right outside my back door. Mookie does not tend to enter it, but he perches on it to eat or wait for me. When he came by this morning, once he jumped on my shoulder all I had to do was walk into the house then take him to my enclosed front porch.

    I have a release cage permanently in my back yard with a nest boox inside. Mookie slept there his first winter outside, and still sleeps there a fair bit during what is now his second winter outside. Once he is off the clavamox, I'll get him back in the release cage for a bit so he can get reacquainted with the local squirrels and so I can make sure he is better. If he eats the nut balls with the clavamox readily enough, I amy evern take him out there sooner, but for now my plan is to keep him on my (unheated) front perch at least until we get the hang of treats with clavamox.

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    If he is a gourmet - my guys don't like peanut butter - use nutella in place of it. He will make it go away almost as fast as I would!

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    If he is a gourmet - my guys don't like peanut butter - use nutella in place of it. He will make it go away almost as fast as I would!
    No luck getting Mookie to eat treats, whether peanut butter or nutella, even without clavamox.

    I will keep trying, but until then I will continue using the syringe.

    On the plus side, handling him allowed me to finally see and palpate the abscess. It is up above the ankle on the inside of his right rear leg. It feels a bit dry and crusty.

    I will be borrowing a larger cage today, as I expect Mookie to be on the porch throughout the clavamox. He is content to hunker down in the small cage and recuperate much of the time. I have had him out twice this morning, and both times he went back into the cage on his own after 15-20 minutes.

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    You could try making the Clavomox suspension more concentrated so that the volume is low.
    If the calculated dose is 0.10 ml or less you could put it in the ridges of a pecan.

    I also used avocado to treat a release. Bore out a hole and add the antibiotic and reseal with the avocado paste.

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  13. #7
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Just an update:

    Short version - Mookie is making good progress

    Longer version -

    When I first brought him inside, he was moving around on only three legs. He held his back right foot out to the side so that it never came close to the ground. I watched him try and eat a hazelnut while perched on top of his nest box, and when he tried to use both front paws to eat, he basically fell over, as he was not putting any weight on the right foot.

    By the next day after starting on the clavamox, he was putting weight on that foot when at rest, but still not at all while in motion.

    By the next day, he was able to sit there eating a hazelnut with all his weight on his two back feet. He had more weight on the left, and it was really only the right heel making contact, with the toes raised up slightly.

    By the next day (today), he is definitely using all four feet when moving around on the ground, and using both back feet to push off and to land.

    A few days ago, he would go through the motions of using his right rear leg to scratch behind his ear, but the foot would not even come close to making contact. Now, he is starting to actually contact the side of his head when he scratches.

    I have yet to see him use the right rear foot to cling or hang.

    What I feel when palpating the injured area does not seem like it has fluid. It is more like the consistency of a scab but under the skin rather than on top. It is getting smaller. And I do not believe it is all that painful to him. After I give him his clavamox, I palpate the area then gently rub the leg. This actually seems to relax him a bit.

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    It sounds like he is on the mend. I had a released squirrel that injured her front paw/arm/shoulder and it took several weeks for her to use it properly, so it sounds like Mookie is making a quick recovery.

    I love the name, by the way! Mookie

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Thank you for helping and loving Mookie!

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  19. #10
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel1959 View Post
    It sounds like he is on the mend. I had a released squirrel that injured her front paw/arm/shoulder and it took several weeks for her to use it properly, so it sounds like Mookie is making a quick recovery.

    I love the name, by the way! Mookie
    I'm from Boston originally, so many of my squirrels are named after Boston athletes -

    Dustin is from Dustin Pedroia, and Mookie is from Mookie Betts

    Not all though -
    Arya is Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, Iggy is Iggy Pop, and Ziggy was Ziggy Stardust

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  21. #11
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Maybe a Major Tom in your future.

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  23. #12
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Quote Originally Posted by RockyPops View Post
    Maybe a Major Tom in your future.
    Could be - Ziggy as also known as "The Squirrel Who Fell To Earth"

    We had an Amy named after the main character in Justin Cronin's trilogy, i.e. "The Squirrel From Nowhere"

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Update and question:

    Okay, so I was right that it felt like a scab but wrong that it was under the skin. The scab was just completely under the fur, and so felt under the skin.

    Anyways, the scab came off this morning. I detached it gently from the fur, but it was no longer attached to the skin.

    I figure a scab this size on Mookie's leg would be like one the size of a frisbee on my leg!

    His mobility keeps improving, better tonight than this morning. He is now able to use the right rear leg to scratch on the back of his head between his ears. Still not using that paw to hang, as far as I can tell.

    So my question: The scab came off after 3.5 days on clavamox. As of tonight, he is now at 4.5 days on clavamox. No scabs there now, and I will start using dermagel tomorrow. I have been told previously that 7 days is the minimum on clavamox. Is that sufficient, or should I go a few days longer?

    Either way, I will keep him inside 2-3 days after clavamox, both to monitor and give him probiotics. Then he is out to his release cage for a bit.

    Any suggestions/advice welcome as always~


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  27. #14
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    I would go for a minimum of 7 days with the clavamox. I would want to see clean, pink, healthy skin with absolutely no pus or discharge. Ideally, if you can keep him a bit longer, you could wait till you see new hair starting to grow in. But at the very least, 7 full days of clavamox. You could easily extend that out to 10 days. You really want to see 3-4 days with absolutely no sign of infection at a minimum.
    See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!

    Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.

    "Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
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  29. #15
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    An update:

    So, the scab pictured earlier in this thread was detached after 3.5 days on clavamox. A much smaller scab detached at 4.5 days clavamox, and nothing since then - no scabs on leg, no discharge, skin feels fine, etc.

    Mookie's mobility has steadily improved, and all seems great.

    We completed 10 days clavamox this morning. My plan is to keep him on my sun porch four more days on probiotics twice daily before bringing him to the release cage. My sun porch is not heated, but definitely does not get as cold as outside, so I am also waiting past a few colder days and night coming up this week. The release cage has his original nest box, stuffed fool of fresh fleece very fall. He slept there most nights his first winter outdoors, and quite often this winter as well.

    Some really touching moments this week with Mookie.

    Mookie is about 28 months old, released after overwintering at about 9 months. With my releases, I let them dictate how much physical contact works for them. I do not try to pet them or handle them, but am fine if they want to climb, perch, etc. Mookie has been an almost daily presence in my yard during the 19 months since his release, and has zero fear of me. He runs over to see me, climbs on me, perches on my shoulder, arm, or hand, hides nuts inside my hoodie, etc. But again, I have not once tried to pet him during all that time.

    So now, Mookie has been on my porch running free. Since he is is not a chewer, his cage full of bedding is open from early morning until he goes to bed a bit after sunset.

    Since I have been holding him against my belly twice daily to give him his clavamox, I spend a minute or two afterwards giving him a massage while I also check his leg. This helps him relax and he seemed to be enjoying it.

    After he had been on the porch about a week, as it got towards dark, he started to crawl into the front pouch of my hoodie and curling up rather than going into his cage. I started massaging him through the fabric, and after a minute he stuck his head out so I could rub his neck, top of his head, etc. He will lie there like that relaxing for maybe five minutes before curling up in my hoodie's pouch and falling asleep. I have tried the past three nights to get him out of the pouch and back into his cage to sleep, and in the end I have had to take the hoodie off and put him into the cage still in the hoodie.

    It is like he is 3-4 months old again, he is so cuddly.

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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    How lucky for you....and Mookie

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  33. #17
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Quote Originally Posted by olorin19 View Post
    .

    After he had been on the porch about a week, as it got towards dark, he started to crawl into the front pouch of my hoodie and curling up rather than going into his cage. I started massaging him through the fabric, and after a minute he stuck his head out so I could rub his neck, top of his head, etc. He will lie there like that relaxing for maybe five minutes before curling up in my hoodie's pouch and falling asleep. I have tried the past three nights to get him out of the pouch and back into his cage to sleep, and in the end I have had to take the hoodie off and put him into the cage still in the hoodie.

    It is like he is 3-4 months old again, he is so cuddly.

    Awe this just took my heart!
    Mookie is SO lucky to have you in his life.

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  35. #18
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Great update! Since Mookie is doing so well inside with you, I think the plan of keeping him for another 4 days and than repeating the soft release is good. That extra time will allow you make sure the infection is completely gone and he is all healed.
    See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!

    Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.

    "Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
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  37. #19
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Your bond with Mookie is special. Sometimes these little fuzzers are more “domesticated” wilds than we think and seek out human companionship. I love that about them.

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  39. #20
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    Default Re: Clavamox mixed with treat ?

    Quote Originally Posted by TubeDriver View Post
    Great update! Since Mookie is doing so well inside with you, I think the plan of keeping him for another 4 days and than repeating the soft release is good. That extra time will allow you make sure the infection is completely gone and he is all healed.
    I may even wait a couple more days before the soft release. I am already hanging out on my sun porch twice a day with my overwintering six month olds Arya and Iggy, so keeping Ziggy there a bit longer is easy enough. I am giving him oral probiotics 2x daily and checking the leg. All seems fine.

    Unlike Mookie, Iggy and especially Arya are chewers, so I have to be on the porch with them. It has been great fun watching them interact with Mookie. They know each other, as Mookie has been coming to the back door by their cage or to the sun porch when they are out there all their lives. Plus, they smell each other on my hoodie and sweatpants. But this is the first time they have not been separated by a cage or glass. They are fascinated but respectful of Mookie. Even when he was on three legs, they got out of his way quick enough. The porch is about 10' x 12' with a futon couch plus various things I've rigged up for them to climb, jump, dig, etc. Mostly, they keep out of Mookie's way, although they are quite curious. when he goes into his nest cage, they often try to sneek a look inside, and if they go a bit too far, he makes aggravated squirrel noises and they back right off. Iggy sometimes sees how close Mookie will let him get before chasing him off. A couple times, Mookie and Iggy have touched noses.

    I figure this is good practice for Arya and Iggy interacting with other squirrels. Plus, when they are released next spring, they will be going into Mookie's kingdom, so they might as well know the king. Of course, since they come from a tree in my neighbor's yard, it is possible they may be Mookie's kids or perhaps even grandkids.

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