Feeding question

[newsquirrelma]

Hey, everyone! New here, this is my first post, and I’m new to having squirrels. I have 3 babies, approximately 47g. They haven’t opened their eyes yet but getting closer every day, and their tiny ears are getting so big and cute. We named them Katie, Chase, and Marshall.

My question is about the formula I bought them. I just want to make sure I’m feeding them the right amount, as the formula package is different than the feeding chart I found on the Squirrel Refuge website. I’m currently feeding them Exotic Nutrition’s Speciality Milk Replacer. The link to it is here: http://exoticnutrition.com/products/...5e27af5a&_ss=r

The instructions read for squirrels feed 1 1/2 - 3 teaspoons per one ounce of body weight daily, divided into 6-8 feedings throughout the day/night.

Since the babies are 47g, that’s 1.66 oz.
Someone help me with this math, please, because it’s not mathing for me when I compare it with the feeding chart. I’d rather do the 2-3 cc every 3 hours like the chart says. Maybe I’m just tired since it’s 3am and I’m up making the formula 😂

[Spanky]

I am not really a fan of the Exotic Nutrition (EN) in general because a lot of their stuff is very bad. And while I have no personal experience with using the EN formula I would never use it and none of the experienced rehabbers I know use that formula. Zero. Nada. I have never heard anything good about the EN formula from anyone with any amount of experience to compare.

Recommending what I do know... that would be the powdered Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer (the liquid is not the same at all) until about 3.5 - 4 weeks of age and then I transition to 50% Fox Valley 20/50 and 50% Esbilac until they wean.

Zoologic Milk Matrix 33/40 is also a formula I use in the first 4 weeks, but that has to be purchased in larger quantities (5 lbs minimum) making it quite expensive for "casual" rehabbers.

If you are using a digital kitchen scale to weigh them, those almost always have a button that allows you to change from ounces to grams. But, multiplying the ounces by 30 will result in roughly how many grams (30 X 1.66 = 49.8frams). And these can b e bought at Walmart / Amazon and the like for $15 bucks give or take.

I am in your neck of the woods and greys usually weigh over 100grams before they open their eyes FWIW... smaller ones I typically add Fox Valley Ultraboost to their formula.

I am attaching a couple feeding cheat sheets that might be helpful...

Feeding Frequency.pdf
SquirrelBoard Feeding CheatSheet.pdf

[newsquirrelma]

Thank you so much for the advice and the cheat sheets!

When I first rescued the squirrels, I had them on the PetAg esbilac puppy milk replacer in liquid form for a few days until the Exotic Nutrition came in. (Liquid because I didn’t know not to do liquid until they were already off of it). They all had diarrhea on it so I added the Bene-Bac-Plus to their formula. That seemed to help until I got the new formula.
I’ll definitely return the new formula and get the one you suggested.

I have a scale I’ve been using. They’re little wiggle worms so any suggestions on getting a more accurate weight? They were roughly about 30g when rescued on 2/26. I weigh them everyday and today they were 47g.

[Spanky]

When I first rescued the squirrels, I had them on the PetAg esbilac puppy milk replacer in liquid form for a few days until the Exotic Nutrition came in. (Liquid because I didn’t know not to do liquid until they were already off of it).

The liquid causes life-threatening diarrhea almost always! It is a much different formulation versus the powdered.

I have a scale I’ve been using. They’re little wiggle worms so any suggestions on getting a more accurate weight? They were roughly about 30g when rescued on 2/26. I weigh them everyday and today they were 47g.

Get a bowl... I use a plastic cereal bowl size container... place a square of fleece into it. Put this on the scale before turning on the scale.... once the scale is on and zeroed (reads zero with the bowl on it)... put the squiggles in to be weighed! I think a square Tupperware like dish would be even better!

[newsquirrelma]

Thank you so much! This information has been very helpful, and I feel more prepared. I’ve done a ton of research to provide the best care for them, but unfortunately different websites say different things. But I trust this site and the people here.

Also, a little update on the Exotic Nutrition formula. There was a review posted on it today on their website regarding the ingredient, Cobalt Sulfate. Unfortunately, the poster’s baby died after consuming the formula. Not sure if the death is related to the formula as there isn’t much detail. However, I did research on this ingredient since I’m not familiar with it, and it seems to cause more damage than good. Hope this helps you and other squirrel parents in the future.