Sorry to hear about your possums. So, has Esbilac gone back to their old way of processing?
Sorry to hear about your possums. So, has Esbilac gone back to their old way of processing?
SQUIRRELS RULE AND BUNNIES TOO!
We don't have any info about whether they have changed their processing at all, and it's doubtful that they have. BUT for whatever reason the addition of probiotics and -- I believe this is correct -- the return to including whey protein in the formula has resolved the issues that sent us screaming from this product a few years ago (bloating, diarrhea, death). I will still use FV for every squirrel over 2-3 weeks of age, but for pinkies I'm giving this a try.
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
http://www.squirrel-rehab.org/Whatsi...ouAreUsing.doc
Here is a simplified breakdown from Sarah Rowe of the components of the 3 versions of Esbilac. You are correct IR about the addition of Whey Protein. Interestingly, the New formula version looks similar to the pre 2010 formula.
That makes so much sense! The protein takes longer to digest so it would not just run right through them like it was with the "bad" Esbilac.
Squirrels, squirrels and more squirrels....
Prayers for the people who make this a better world...
savesquirrels@sbcglobal.net
Atm I am going to use the New Esbilac for all my possums and for this year I am going to give the Esbilac a try with my squirrels and see if there is any difference in the squirrels size, fur and over all health...... so depending on the out come I may stay with the New Esbilac or try a mix of Esbilac and Fox Valley for all my squirrels, only time will tell. But either way I am staying with Esbilac for possums.
Rhapsody - - -> (Carolyn)
Squirrel Care: http://mothernaturesrescue.webs.com/
Opossum Care: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oposs..._user_activity
Flo, a member here and a NYC rehabber friend of mine, is in Nashville right now at the NWRA (National Wildlife Rehabilitator Assoc) and has had a long chat with Nick from Fox Valley. I will ask her permission first before I share the email she sent me about it, but to sum it up -- and no surprise here -- Nick is pretty clueless about how to solve this problem of FV and pinkies. He's aware of it and now believes it exists, and he's willing to try whatever he has to in order to get a formula that truly works for 2 week olds and under.....but it ain't gonna happen this year
In the meantime I'm trying Esbilac with probiotics.
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Maura, junior posted this last year. After reading it, I bought it for pinky reds.
I slowly started adding it to the GM recipe. A while later, I started adding it
to my FV formula, and they stayed on that for the duration.
I am reposting here, because they mention the third ingredient of Dried Whey Protein Concentrate.
I found this post very interesting and informative.
It's possible PetAg actually heard us, and that they actually cared. They HAD to feel the loss in the pocketbook of so many rehabbers avoiding their product for years. Good for them.....let's hope this works!
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
I think it was likely the financial hit they took more than them actually caring. I had a rehabber friend call to tell them they were having issues with cottontails on Zoologic 33/40 after I had talked to them for 2 hours about my issues the day before and they said there were no calls about issues with cottontails to my friend. All I was looking for from them was an acknowledgement that maybe there was an issue and some reassurance that they'd look into it. They pretty much told me nothing had changed and that it must be my cottontails. Not the answer I was looking for. Also, I feel like they changed something about processing and wouldn't tell me. I'm sure they didn't realize just how much of their sales went to wildlife though. I bet there are more sales to wildlife rehabbers than for puppies on Esbilac because how many orphaned puppies are there out there, I'd say very few. Thinking I'm gonna give Zoologic another try as well as Esbilac, though, hopefully the formulas are more like they were before.
SQUIRRELS RULE AND BUNNIES TOO!
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Not surprised at all. I don't trust a word that comes out of their mouth, but at this point, I need something for cottontails, so I'll give it a try again. My recommendation- buy big containers so if it works well you don't have to risk opening another container for a while!
SQUIRRELS RULE AND BUNNIES TOO!
Well now that I actually have a baby to feed it to, I thought I'd update this thread.
Little Shamrock has been with me since Saturday 3/22, when she weighed 47.2g.
She took 2.5cc per feeding at that time and is now up to 5cc, weighing in at almost 53g.
The good news: she loves the new Esbilac with Probiotics. It mixes up like silk -- no lumps, bumps or stickyness anywhere. Unlike the old Esbilac there is no funky smell in your sink an hour later. It doesn't smell like vanilla icing the way FV does, but it sure smells better than it used to. (And WAY better than the dreaded KMR which is why I raised my kittens on FV ...)
Her poops have not been as frequent as I'd like; she went a whole day with none and then very little the next day...now she's going maybe every third feeding. It COULD be a problem with Sham, however, because her finders confessed that they did not stimulate her to poop for the 4 days they had her....said she was 'going on her own' . She's still got darkish colored poops and it's probably mamma's milk backed up in there . So I'll hold off on blaming the Esbilac for a few days.
So....blends great, smells good, baby gains 6g in 4 days and that's with eating almost 10% of her body weight now!......not super-fantastic but let's wait and see....
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
The lack of smell is wonderful!!! I raised Sammy on Esbilac and it gave us the impression that squirrels stink... I am doing the 50/50 mix with FV and it is going wonderfully. You aren't kidding about it mixing like silk either. The poops are flowing along perfectly here too so I know that Sham will be pooping a golden pile before you know it!
This bunch is really chubbing up nicely too and just looking plump and healthy in general. I am so glad that Esbilac has improved and that the 50/50 seems to do the trick for us!
Squirrels, squirrels and more squirrels....
Prayers for the people who make this a better world...
savesquirrels@sbcglobal.net
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
I'm in the process of raising my first baby, I started her on Esbilac when I got her at a week old. Granted, it wasn't Esbilac with probiotics, but I started her on that on a Monday and by Thursday she looked emaciated and was literally fixing to die. I'm actually pretty sure that she had stopped breathing in my hand and when I touched her it startled her enough to make her start again. I had ordered Fox Valley (shipped over night even, but I was afraid it wouldn't arrive until Monday) so I had been doing research to determine the best alternative and I immediately ran to the vet's office and got Pro-Biolac Kitten Formula. I don't think I've seen that recommended on any posts I've read, but she did wonderfully on it. If I hadn't started her on it that night, she would've died. Within 2 days, she looked like a completely different baby. She loved it, she gained weight, she had good poop...I finished out that container and switched her to Fox Valley. She's 7 weeks old now and happy and healthy.
My point being...whatever was in the Esbilac I got wasn't giving her the stuff she needed. She ate it good, but it was like giving a kid candy to fill up on instead of a nutritional meal. If ever in the situation again, I def. wouldn't use it, even temporarily to hold one over.
This is from Chris Clark on FB. She is the one who recommended the 50/50 and here is what she says...
"...the formula I'm using is 1 part Esbilac, 1 part fox Valley 32/40, just under 2 parts warm water and about a 24th of a part heavy cream and I always let my formula sit for several hours in the fridge before using. I do make a 28 oz blender bottle at a time and freeze it after it has sat in the fridge usually overnight. I no longer use Greek yogurt in my formula because Esbilac has probiotics and prebiotics in it."
Squirrels, squirrels and more squirrels....
Prayers for the people who make this a better world...
savesquirrels@sbcglobal.net
Just posting a very UNscientific observation I've made over the past 24 hrs regarding FV vs. Esbilac in babies less than 2 wks old:
Took in three 5-6 day olds yesterday from another rehabber, umbilicus still attached. She had them for 24hrs and fed FV 32/40. They were well-hydrated little chubbies and took the formula easily once I got them, but for 4 consecutive feedings yesterday I saw NO poop. Zero. Meanwhile, I had switched them right over to Esbilac Probiotic soon as I got them, no FV added.
Last night at midnight, suddenly everybody pooped beautiful, tiny little golden poopies. HUGE amounts!
Now...did the FV clog them up again until formula was switched, as we saw happen in 2013? Who knows? I just know that they WERE hydrated, but the poops weren't happening until they got off the FV.
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
As much as I love fv, it just cannot be used in the littles. I really like the results I am seeing with the 50/50 of the new Esbilac and FV 32/40. Although I have not so far added in the heavy cream, as some do, I am getting great weight gains, beautiful poopies and a river and a half of pee! lol And their fur is so plush and soft and no fussiness, which is something I have encountered with fv alone (just think it just doesn't move through quick enough).
President--Meemor Anonymous,
Mary...
MISS YOU NUT, LOVE YOU FOREVER.
BEAN, NOW IN HEAVEN BUT FOREVER IN MY HEART,
I AM A BETTER PERSON FOR HAVING LOVED YOU.
BUDDY...YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND AND I WILL MISS YOU FOREVER.
PEANUT...YOU CHANGED ME FOREVER..AND TOOK MY HEART WHEN YOU LEFT.
I WILL MISS YOU FOREVER AND A DAY.
I'm not adding the cream either, Mary -- you know how I resist ANY recipe with more than two ingredients, and one has to be water Chris Clarke is using the cream, too, but I just don't want to start with that because I'll be running to the store every five minutes instead of the every 10 minutes I do now....
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Charley Chuckles gone from my arms FOREVER in my heart 8/14/04-3/7/13
Simon, our time was too short together, but you gave us so much love, be with CC now 3/7/14
The "CHARLEY CHUCKLES MEMORIAL RAIL TOUR" leaves the station choo chooo
*Deland,FL. *Washington DC *Boston (Back Bay) *Boston (North Station) *Wells,Maine *Albany,NY *New York (Penn Station) *Back to Deland FL. "July 1- July 22" 2013
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...RIAL-RAIL-TOUR Check it out here
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...OW-A-NEW-MOMMY!!!!!
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...RAINBOW-BRIDGE
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...e-called-Simon
charleychuckles1@gmail.com
I'm not poof reading any of this