Reasons for Starting the Squirrel Pox in N America Project
As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in squirrels of all types native to Ohio, I first encountered Squirrel Pox in the fall of 2018. On October 16, 2018, a squirrel I had hand raised and released came to the Sanctuary covered in lesions and had been rendered blind by the numerous lesions on his face. I immediately attempted to capture him so I could attempt some type of treatment regimen. Capture was relatively easy because he was blind and also was already familiar with me from when I hand raised him. Sadly, for this squirrel it was too late. His infection had already rendered him too weak and he passed away after 3 days of treatment with antibiotics.
On October 25, 2018, another squirrel I had hand raised and released came to the yard for her daily feeding. This particular squirrel was very special to me. In fact, the Sanctuary had been named after her... Carmela's Sanctuary of Squirrels. Carmela would visit every day, collecting nuts from me and happily bounding off to bury them until my pockets were empty. It was during one of these visits that I noticed lesions on both ears and over her left eye. I immediately took her into one of our outdoor enclosures so I could attempt treatment. I was scared that she would succumb to this virus. Upon examination, I found several more lesions on her shoulder, spine and tail.
Being unfamiliar with Squirrel Pox, I went online to delve into this virus and possible treatment regimens. On the Squirrel Board Forum, there was information by a Canadian rehabilitator who had success with treating both captured and still-in-the-wild squirrels. Based on her recommendations, I made a Nut Paste that she had devised to help boost the infected squirrels' immunity systems. This Nut Paste included several human immuno-support supplements, including Vitamin C, Probiotics, Lysine, Colostrum, Echinacea Purpurea, Echinacea Augustifolia, etc. I purchased the various ingredients and made the Nut Paste as per her recipe.
I began treating Carmela with the Nut Paste as a supplement to her daily feedings. Over the course of the next few weeks, she gradually healed and finally was lesion-free. She survived! At the same time, I realized 4 other squirrels coming to the feeders regularly also had lesions. Most noticeable were lesions on the face and ears. Rather than capturing them, I decided to simply place Nut Paste in all the feeders for all the wild squirrels. In time. all 4 of these squirrels also healed and survived.
In discussing my treatment protocol with my vet (who is also a rehabilitator), she was impressed that I had such a good success rate. She started to bring squirrels with Pox to me for treatment. She stated that in the 16 years she had been rehabbing, she had never had a squirrel with Pox survive. In time, I further developed my treatment protocol. All squirrels being treated were bathed, then given Revolution for possible ectoparasites. In addition to the Nut Paste, I also gave them antibiotics daily to help with any secondary infections of the lesions. In some cases, if the lesions had become abscessed, I would also drain the abscesses on a daily basis. Although I did still lose a few squirrels that had extreme cases of Pox, I had a very high survival rate.
It is my belief that there currently is not enough data about Squirrel Pox. Therefore, I have started this project to gather data and conduct further research. If you have any experience with Pox, please submit photos and notes about the cases you have encountered. If you have a successful treatment protocol, I would like details about that, as well. Thank you for your interest in this project.
Sincerely,
Suzanne T. Enyedy
