Squirrels have become a popular pet in recent years because they are easy to keep, don't spend too much time on them, and are cute. Also because of the little time spent on them, there are often many details that go unnoticed. In order to keep squirrels healthy, it is necessary to understand the common diseases and treatment methods in squirrels.

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Too long teeth

Eating soft food for a long time can cause the teeth to grow too long because they cannot grind properly. Overgrown teeth can damage the inside of the mouth and interfere with food intake. In addition, symptoms such as gingival decay and rhinitis may also be complicated. This will cause the tooth to gradually loosen and fall out. After one tooth falls out, the other tooth needs to be cut off regularly due to the lack of normal grinding. Early diagnosis can lead to early treatment.

Damage from fights

Squirrels have a habit of attacking the weaker in the group. Squirrels that appear to be healthy but are seriously ill will be attacked by healthy squirrels. If the attacked squirrels were dissected, they would have been found to be seriously ill. In addition, frail squirrels are also vulnerable to attack. If squirrels are found fighting, each squirrel should be separated by a cage. The injured part should be treated with antibiotics to avoid wound suppuration; larger wounds should be surgically sutured. Due to the potential for cannibalism, frail squirrels should be isolated as soon as possible.

Hypocalcemia

Prenatal and postnatal female squirrels develop this condition. Symptoms such as spasms, paralysis, and movement disorders occur due to a decrease in the calcium concentration in the blood. At this time, if calcium is not injected as soon as possible, there will be fear of death. Calcium can be added to the diet of pregnant and postpartum lactating female squirrels as a preventive measure. Also, sunbathing is important.

Rickets

Squirrels, like humans, suffer from rickets. In addition to regular calcium and active vitamin D supplementation, sunbathing is also indispensable. The effect of using artificial sun lamps is good, but the wrong wavelength of ultraviolet rays can cause serious burns, so it is best to ask the hospital in detail before use.

Urethritis

Urethritis is a bacterial infection of the urethra. Male squirrels also experience difficulty urinating due to an enlarged penis. Painful cries are produced due to pain during urination. If these symptoms are found, a urine test should be performed immediately and appropriate antibiotic treatment should be administered.

Fractures

When squirrels play indoors, fractures can occur from improper jumping. Simple fractures can be healed without surgery as long as you follow the hospital's instructions. Squirrels are intolerant of anesthesia and are best avoided for surgery. However, if the spine is injured, the prognosis may be poor.

Mite disease

is a skin disease caused by scabies mites parasitic on the skin, commonly known as scabies. The main clinical symptoms are: redness and swelling of the skin, especially the most severe redness and swelling of the limbs, palms of the toes, ears and neck, etc.; hair loss, the formation of yellow and idiotic skin, itching and anxiety, and scratching and friction with claws and toes are often seen. . The diagnosis method is to scrape the skin at the junction of the diseased part and the healthy skin until it bleeds slightly, put it in a glass vessel, soak it in 10% potassium hydroxide solution for 3 to 5 minutes, and examine it under a microscope. If there are scabies mites, you can see yellow-brown-white adults, larvae with three pairs of legs, and translucent gray-white oval eggs. The prevention and treatment of this disease is as follows: use 5% phoxim EC to make 0.1% ointment (100 grams of yellow petrolatum plus 0.1 ml of 50% phoxim EC, adjusted to uniform) and rub the affected part, or use 2% chlorhexidine Apply Thai ointment to the affected area until the disease is healed.

Pneumonia

This disease is often secondary to colds; squirrels are susceptible to poor feeding management, excessive stress, excessive humidity, and poor ventilation suffering from pneumonia. Irritation of physical and chemical factors can cause pneumonia. Acute pneumonia often leads to death without food for 1 to 2 days; for chronic pneumonia, most of them can be cured in time. Its clinical symptoms are: depression, elevated body temperature, dry nose; shortness of breath, sometimes coughing, dry stools, like drinking water but not eating; sometimes chills and tremors. To prevent pneumonia, it is mainly to strengthen measures to prevent cold and keep warm, and to prevent colds. Human colds may also be transmitted to squirrels, so special attention should be paid. In the treatment of pneumonia, careful care should be taken, and fresh and digestible feed should be supplied; at the same time, 100,000 to 200,000 units of penicillin and 1.0 to 2.0 ml of antongding should be injected intramuscularly, 2 to 3 times a day for 3 days, and 5 to 10 % glucose 20 ml, subcutaneous injection; vitamin C or vitamin B complex 2 ml once a day, intramuscular injection.

Bloating

Due to unsanitary food and beverages, eating spoiled feed or unheated yeast and undercooked grain feed, Seasoning is uneven. Especially the young animals that have just been weaned from the litter, gluttony and over-feeding, prolonged feeding time, and even rush to eat, indigestion, and chronic gastroenteritis, etc., are all prone to cause this disease. The disease mostly occurs in summer, especially during the weaning period and is often seen. The abdominal circumference of the affected animal increases, there is a drum sound when knocked, the pressure is elastic, there is a lot of gas to the touch, and the animal has difficulty breathing when pressed by hand; the affected animal often has its head and neck straight, and lies in a small room or cage. If the treatment is not timely, the heart is weakened and suffocated. Prevention and treatment methods are as follows: First, the cause of swelling must be known to reduce fermentation gas production in the gastrointestinal tract. Oral: 3 to 5 ml of % lactic acid solution (or edible vinegar), which can sometimes relieve the effect of this disease. Oral administration of a mixture of 0.2 grams of saro, 1.2 grams of lactase, and 0.2 grams of artificial salt can also work. Of course, critically ill patients should be treated with puncture deflation. At the same time, preservatives such as lactic acid are injected.

Vitamin C Deficiency

This disease mainly occurs in newborn calves. The main symptoms are: red and swollen limbs and toe pads, ulceration between the toes, bleeding, erosion, purple-red color, weak sucking ability, constant weak squeaking, crawling in the nest; some The joints became thicker, the tail was edematous and flushed, and the tip of the tail rotted away. Mainly endangers young animals within 10 days of age. The prevention and control measures are as follows: Usually, full-price nutritious feed should be given, especially for pregnant female animals. In addition to green fresh feed, vitamin C should be added more than 25 mg per day in the diet. For sick young animals, vitamin C solution can be instilled, twice a day, about 10 drops each time, and at the same time, vitamin C should be injected intramuscularly into the axilla of the mother animal, twice a day, 0.5-1.0 ml each time . Sufficient amount of fish liver oil in the female animal's diet will shorten the course of the disease and promote the curative effect.