Baby squirrel VERY constipated

[acorniv]

Hmmm. The only way I could think to weigh them is with an old fashioned scale. But they'd probably be too small to even give out a reading. I'll give it a try the next time they're up though. As for feeding them 4 times a day, it's been really hard to get them on a schedule. Should I just refuse to feed them until its time Squirrelsrule?

There is no possible way I could have fed Miss Hickory only 4 times a day at that age. She simply did not have the stomach capacity to hold her over. You'll have to factor in your personal situation/squirrel with whatever advice you get here - but double check too - that is what I do. It took me a while to know when I should overide good advice given by experienced rehabbers here, because it did not fit my squirrel, who is a bit of a Princess and the Pea. People here are patient, and nearly everyone understands every squirrel is a little different, so read everything and keep asking!

To get mine on a schedule, I watched for when she was most eager and made those times my guide. I then factored my own schedule in, and eased hers towards mine ( fed her slightly later each day until she slept as late as me)

I don't have a small enough scale either. I use a kitchen scale, which has ounces. Imoerfect but at least I could tell if she was losing weight or gaining. You might ask around and see if anyone has a sale they can loan you. Mars told me a trick - you get those boxes they sell strawberries in - the large size, and put the squirrel in it for the weighing.

Another way to know how much to feed - several people say they should feel like a day old balloon after feeding - their tummy that is. Island Rehabber first told me that one, and it is a great guide. It's kept me from overfeeding a time or two because my girl has a small and sensitive tummy. When we were trying to go by what other people feed their squirrels mine got pretty miserably bloated.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

If your squirrel is able to get a good amount of formula at each feeding, 4 feedings is plenty. I have always given mine just 4 feedings a day at that age and they gain weight very well, and they start eating their diet very well as well. At that age your squirrel can hold somewhere between 9 cc and 12 cc, depending on size, so if you can get that much them at each feeding, they will be fine.

[lazarus_04]

Report: Mr. Big is getting better and better! Still not there yet, but he is pooping quite a bit now, and its getting much easier to clean his bum when he needs it!

Hmm, I try to take into account what everyone says and then apply it to fit with my two little guys. No squirrel is the same right? It's just a bit hard when you first start out! You worry so much you think your head is going to explode!

9-12 ccs? Thank god! I thought I was overfeeding my big guy. Is it normal to have to wake them up to feed them in the morning? Mr. Big tends to wake up pretty fast when he gets his first taste of food, but his smaller brother tends to be quite sleepy and eats less. He does have quite the appetite in the afternoon though. Is this normal?

On another thread I asked if the difference in size between the two of them meant that they possibly came from different litters or that my little guy is just a runt. A few people posted back and said that it might be a sign that he has pneumonia or that he is sick. But he seems fine. Not clicking sounds. He eats a bit less, and he's not as ''hyped up'' as his big brother, but then again, he is smaller. That's not to say that he DOESN't eat and that he ISN'T active, just that he is less so. He also seems to be much more calm. Mr. Big always seems as if he is starving when I feed him, but the little guy always takes it in stride. After he is fed, he usually (but not always) cleans himself up a bit and falls asleep, sometimes in my cupped hands. In the past day or two, Mr. Big has been quite active after feeding.

Another thing is that Mr Big has grown quite a bit in the few days we've had him, and the little guy has grown too, but not so much. His tail isn't as fluffy, he's quite smaller than Mr. Big, and he's still a bit gangly in the limbs. That's why I thought maybe they came from two seperate litters and that he was the younger of the two, possibly five weeks to Mr. Big's 7? Do you guys think he might be sick? If so, I'll bring him straight to the closest rehab center. It's about an hour away. I haven't gone yet for the simple reason that they've just started to settle down. I don't want to stress them again for nothing.

wow.

Sorry.

I guess what I'm asking is that, is the reason my little guy a bit slower than his bigger brother because he is sick? The runt of a litter? Or maybe from a different litter alltogether and therefore a couple of weeks younger?

Thanks again guys for all of your help! I would have probably died from a brain aneurism by now, and where would my little babies be then!

[acorniv]

I'm no expert, but you may just have a runt and a dominant baby. Or, you may have a gut feeling that something is wrong and you can't put your finger on it? Which do YOU think it is? Big ole Brutus might have been able to get all the grub back at the nest, but Lil Sweepea has as good a chance now, right? I'd think he'd be growing too. His slow growth and his morning sleepiness might concern me too, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. They were different sizes when you got them, right? If so whatever is going on is likely genetic and nature will prevail one way or another. Of course some more experienced rehabber will come along and either agree or set me straight :-)

FWIW, I once got a kitten from a litter with one enormous little Tom. Their origin is sketchy as someone literally threw this litter out of a car on the freeway. Doughboy, as he aptly came to be known, led the party to a baking facility, here they snuck in and feasted on baking supplies. Doughboy was literally discovered in a bin of flour. There was quite a bit of speculation on how much flour he ate, because he was twice the size of his siblings when found. My neice, a pastry chef, brought two home - one for me and one for her - Mine, Trilby was the most pathetic being you ever saw - she looked like she shopped the January fur sale at Goodwill and got there after all the good furs were gone. atShe was all shorhaired black except she had strange tufts of long white hair here and there - totally moth eaten looking. She was healthy though - it is ultimately Doughboy we came to worry about. He had an appetite that knew no bounds. Just goes to show...

Just curious - how did you find them? Two is an odd number and they are an odd couple. Opposums drop their babies off two by two and I've wondered how they decide who goes with whom. pairing the strong with the weak makes sense. Best of luck with them!

[lazarus_04]

That's a hilarious story, acorniv! Truly a character that Doughboy!

Humm, now let's see. How did we find the babies. My mother was the one who found Kieran and Keegan (yes, i have finally found the perfect names for them ), so this is her story.

She said she found Keegan, my Mr. Big, lol, in a parking lot surrounded by a bus load of people who were about to go...somewhere or other. He was standing on his hind legs, waving his front paws in the air while people oohed and ahhhed at him.

When the people started getting on the bus, he followed them. My mother, fearing that he would get squashed when the bus left, picked him up and set him on this low, wide cement ledge bordered by flower beds. That's when she found Kieran, my little guy, standing in said flower beds, trying to eat the buds of a growing tulip. She placed them together and they immediately tried suckling each other's ears and tails. My mother didn't want to leave them, but figured the mother would probably come by to pick them up. When she started to leave, they both followed her. So she picked them up again and put them back on the ledge. They followed her again! So this time, she picked them up and walked around the parking area, trying to see or hear the mother.

There was no sign of her. My mother said that it was getting dark by this time and that the two of them were knawing and suckling away at her fingers. That's when she figured that they'd been abandoned or that the mother had died, so she brought them home in two wool socks. She then proceeded to place them in my care...Ha!

Cue the insane research, lol!

We've had them since friday night, which would make it about... 4 1/2 days?

So they weren't exactly TOGETHER when my mom found them, if you know what I mean. But what are the chances that two baby squirrels from two different litters were abandoned at the exact same time and almost the exact same location?

Like I said, Kieran doesn't SEEM sick, he just seems a bit...slow? Like he's behind Keegan by a day or two. For example, Keegan started getting more active two days ago, and Kieran followed him a day after. And as I said, he isn't as, shall we say, frenetic as Keegan, lol! He's mellow yellow. Plus, you know, he doesn't have a poop problem either.

At least I hope that's what this is...I'm a new mother at this, so I'm worrying about EVERY little thing it seems...

[lazarus_04]

Hey, I finally got photobucket to cooperate! Here they are.

Keegan:





and Kieran:






Sorry the pics were so big...I should have known to resize them first.

[lazarus_04]

Hey squirrelsrule? I just noticed that the two squirrels in your pick kind of match the proportions of Kiegan and Keeran. Both healthy looking, just not the same size...