Flying Squirrel

[firerunner]

Good Morning!!!

So today I was given a baby flying squirrel. His eyes are open and He already ate some Fox valley Formula (no pedialyte etc for they found him late last night and called and I gave them instructions for the night until he could get here this morning) No poop or pee yet this morning I hope next feeding.

I will weigh him as soon as I Can get the shop to bring me in the scales.

I also did some major reading on here this morning! Lots of links so I guess I am looking for reassurance that I treat/feed/raise him like a normal grey squirrel.

He will not be a pet

He WILL be released

I will grab a photo also of him when I get his weight but is there anything I need to do differently???


He is SO CUTE

[firerunner]

OK so I was able to weigh him and he is only 14 gram.

I am starting him off on a feeding every two hours, just not sure whether I use the FV for newborns or for the ones over four weeks. He is so little BUT He is very active.

Since his eyes are open can I offer him more then jsut formula?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Eyes open ... 14g ... Is that possible?

Personally, I would be afraid to use FV 32/40 with a 14g flyer. Maybe MollyBear and Pixiepoo can sound in as they are raising tiny flyers now.
I would do what they are doing.

[firerunner]

I took a pic of him on the scale you will see it says 14 grams. I weighed him THREE times LOL and then I made the shop weigh something so I knew it was right and then I switched it to weigh him in ounces and it put him at .5 of an ounce. I will weigh again

He is REALLY little like him the size of a pink eraser or maybe your thumb BUT He ate really well for me this morning the first feeding he at a full cc and the second feeding he at .7 of a cc next feeding is noon. And He is active, right now he is all curled up in his cage (with heating pad under the cardboard and his blankets) His eyes are nice and bright and clear. He is breathing well, good reflexes, the only thing is I have yet to get him to poop or pee, but we will really work on that at his noon feeding.

He is little

Mollybear or pixiepoo have a thread on their squirrel? I have been reading everything I can!

Did I mention he is SO CUTE

[CritterMom]

We have been having problems with the 32/40. Order the 20/50. Then go locally to a Petco or the like and buy a can of Esbilac for puppies with probiotics - says so on the can. Yeah - everything has tipped in the last year - Esbilac cleaned up their act and Fox Valley has done the opposite.

I would start him on the esbilac, then transition him to a 50/50 mix of the esbilac and the FV 20/50. Once he's doing well on that, you will want to add some heavy cream and full fat yogurt to the blend. As he gets older you may even be able to go with just the FV 20/50.

Sorry so complicated. The companies that make these formulas like to torture us I think.

[firerunner]

I have both 32/40 and 20/50 right now I have him on the 32/40 every two hours using a miracle nipple and syringe.

He is so cute but so tiny

[CritterMom]

If the 32/40 is new (less than a year and a half) it is not being digested by the little pinky grays. It turns to cement in their stomach's and the milk line never moves and it kills them. The muscles that move food along in the digestive system are not strong enough to push this stuff. When they are older they do better. The issue is with the protein source and since the 20/50 has more fat and less protein it is not causing the problems.

I would NOT give 32/40 to something the size of your flyer. I would have a year ago - in fact I DID a year ago, but not now.

[ALittleNutty]

You might want to do two feedings of sugar water to flush him out before changing formulas if his milk line is not disappearing.

I also have a flyer that is currently on the 50/50 mix of FV 20/50 with cream.

Here is the recipe I use to make a day's worth of formula.
1/2 teaspoon FV powder
1/2 teaspoon Esbilac (new formula)
2 teaspoons water
1/8 teaspoon cream
Second batch use 1/4 teaspoon cream
Third batch use 1/2 teaspoon cream
Fourth batch use 3/4 teaspoon cream
Fifth batch use 1 teaspoon cream
By slowly working up this allows their system to adjust.


If you don't want to use the Esbilac then just use a teaspoon of FV 20/50 and you can add in 1/2 teaspoon of full fat vanilla yogurt. Yobaby, Stoneyfield are good but if you can't find them then Yoplait Original with the red label is fine. Main thing is it's not low fat and it doesn't have artificial sweeteners.
For an eye's open baby at this weight I would think it would be emaciated so stick with 5% or even slightly less for feeding and make sure the flyer and formula are very warm as they will not digest the formula. You may even need to wrap baby during feeding to prevent your hands from chilling him. They body temps run much higher than ours. I have even used a small rice buddy (just make sure it's not too warm) in my hand to keep baby's temp from dropping.

You need to move this baby to a small plastic container instead of the cardboard. Cardboard dehydrates them too easily. A small plastic storage tote or leftovers container works well. Just make sure it is deep enough to prevent him from climbing out.

It would be great if you could post a picture of this little one for us.

[firerunner]

Ok So I do not drive, so tomorrow the Esbilac will be arriving.

For the rest of today what do you recommend I have both FV and I have plain greek yogurt and I have heavy cream.

He has already been moved off the cardboard,


Continue to feed him every 2 hours? At noon he ate almost 1 cc next feeding is 2 and it is warm and I wrap him in little fleece clothes as I feed him. He seems to like that.

Should I do night time feedings with him?

[ALittleNutty]

You can go ahead and start with the FV 20/50 with the 1/8th teaspoon cream and the 1/2 teaspoon yogurt. You don't have to add the yogurt with the Esbilac since it already has the pre and pro-biotics but it also won't hurt either.

You might be able to cut back to 2 times at night. It really depends on what condition this little one is in. Can you post a pic? If not you can e-mail it to me (my e-mail is in my signature) and I will post it for you.

[firerunner]

The first one he is on my thumb so you can see how small he is., I took a pic with the regular camera on the scale but when i weigh him again I will grab a pic with the cell camera they are just easier to get!










For as little as he is I am so surprised at how alert he is and how active and how well he is eating. I am going to switch his food at the 2 PM feeding

[ALittleNutty]

He is a tiny one and just needs to put on some weight. They are very active especially after their eyes open. I see he's starting to get that greasy look which is normal at that age. It won't be long before that changes. You can use unscented baby wipes to wipe him down every two or three days.

I would give about a half cc of sugar water in between the next few feedings just to make sure he stays hydrated and to help flush out the 32/40 formula. 1/4 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup water would be good. Your bag of formula may not be one of the bad ones but better safe than sorry.

[firerunner]

ok he ate .5 cc of sugar water and .8 cc of the new mixture he is back in his bed all nice and warm

feed him again in 2 hours!

[andijordan]

I have my flyers on Esbilac and must say, it is so much better now that I have added the cream and yogurt to the mix. The yogurt really seems to help with bloating and going potty! I can definitely tell a difference.

[MollyBear361]

14 grams is tiny! My little girl just opened her eyes at 20 grams. She has been gaining one gram a day.
Other than the formula, you know they are way different than greys. They must be released with others and where a colony exists. You can't just release a singleton anywhere. He won't make it. There is a lot of info on the flyer board here for you....when he gets older he must have protein every day. Wax worms are great for this. Check out the breed specific here under flyers for more info.

[pixiepoo]

He is a little fella!!! What an absolute cutie pie!!! I have used FV with all of my fly babies, regardless of age. The most important thing is to ensure that you dillute it at first, always have the yogurt with it (seems that it really helps prevent GI upsets in my experience with flyers and greys) and make sure he is well hydrated. If he isn't hydrated enough he won't digest anything properly so that it a really important thing to monitor.

[ALittleNutty]

ok he ate .5 cc of sugar water and .8 cc of the new mixture he is back in his bed all nice and warm

feed him again in 2 hours!

Sounds great!

[firerunner]

He finally peed! No poop yet but we are working on it and this last feeding he pretty much took the nipple

IS there a link to refresh me about bloat? Just to keep an eye on him he looks good but the more I read.

Also I will sit down tonight and read the forum on the flying squirrels I didnt realize he needs a group to be released.

What if I cant find him one?

And if I do find one will they except him?

Will this be his forever home?

[ALittleNutty]

If you are not getting poop then stop the formula and just use the sugar water until you get him going again. Can you tell if the milk line is going down in between feedings? Bloated belly's are tight and not squishy like a water balloon. Hold baby up and look at it from the side, is the belly rounded out or flat?

[pixiepoo]

Maybe some Rehabbers in your area have some others? They would likely take yours in and release him with their bunch. Where are you?