Need help- new mommy.

[Rhubarb]

I'm going to be a little long winded, so I apologize in advance- I want to explain everything clearly.

My little squirrels, Rhubarb and Henry, are about 2 1/2 weeks old. I've had them for 7 days. I feed them every 2 to 2 1/2 hrs., but I'm worried that they are to skinny and small for their age (judging by other pictures of babies relatively the same age). I've been feeding Henry about 1.10 CC's every 2 hrs. and Rhubarb (my little female 1 CC every 2 hours. I had to back Rhubarb off a bit, because I fed her too much earlier in the week and she developed a small case of diarreia (she's fine now though). Henry never had diarreia though. I'm slowly upping their CC amount every 12 hours by .10 CC. Judging by their pictures, do they appear to be a healthy weight. They poo and pee fine, color and texture are what they should be I believe.

Also, for the following description, can you please tell me if this behavior is fairly normal or not. I'm hoping to find out if I'm on track or not with them.
They typically can get vocal when feeding time comes up and will even tear around their little home furiously until they're fed, sometimes even after they're fed. When I feed them, they're very mobile- meaning they grip on to my fingers and flail their little hind legs around. Additionally, because little Rhubarb was sucking too much on Henry's winkie, I've had to separate them until she stops sucking so much- she made him red and raw. Is this okay?

As far as squirrels having any diseases- I'm fairly consistent with washing my hands and keeping their home clean. But do they have any diseases that could potentially spread and hurt my dogs, cats, and husband? They don't have any mites, flees, appear in good health, so they look healthy on the outside. And please don't worry- I don't let my cats go anywhere near the room they're in.


Lastly, at what point do you think that I can go to every 3 hour feedings- lack of sleep is making me neurotic.

I want to say thank you ahead of time. I browsed your forum already, and you all are so much help. I think I'm the typical new mom and everything worries me. They are so fragile and everything on the net can sometimes be contradicting, and I have a hard time figuring out the right from the wrong.

[FallensMommie]

Thank you for taking up the job of giving them a second chance at life. I did everything this board had posted on caring for my Fallen and we were a success story!

Copied and pasted from: http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=166
Remember, do not overfeed the animal, the belly should be full and round but not tight. A good guideline to use is the animal should be getting 5% formula to his body weight. If you have a small scale that can measure grams you can figure the feedings that way. A squirrel weighing 100 grams would get 5% of his body weight at a feeding, or 5 ml of formula. But remember, that is only a guideline, every animal is different. Do not go by age but rather the size and condition of the animal.

Formula should be fed every two or three hours depending on the age of the animal. (Example: A 5-week-old squirrel will be strictly on formula and not yet on solid foods, so he will need to be fed every three hours. A seven-week-old squirrel will be nibbling on solid foods, and will need formula about four times a day, or every 4 hours.


I also added a little plain yogurt (no artificial ingredients) and some whipping cream to Fallens formula. Yogurt for probiotics and whipping cream for a little extra fat.

It is normal for them to scoot around trying to find a nipple to suckle from...that is how they find their mommy's to nurse on them.

I'm sure a rehabber will be on soon to answer all questions!

[Rhubarb]

Hi there. Yes, they're getting Esbilac formula. As far as their little bellies, they aren't tight when fed. I don't have a scale, however I'm noticing that most people with these little guys do- so I might be investing in one.

Thank you for your input by the way. I want to post a picture of Rhubarb, but I cannot figure out how to get to the additional options page.

[FallensMommie]

Easiest way to upload picture (for me anyways) is to download them to:
www.photobucket.com if you dont have a account, create one
and download pics and then use photobuckets IMG CODE which
comes with each picture download....copy and paste right here!
....and wahla we get pics of the babies.......which we do love by the way!
MORE PICS THE BETTER :jump

[TexanSquirrel]

:Welcome Best of Luck!

[Buddy'sMom]

:Welcome :Welcome
Sounds like you are doing great and have gotten good advice. This question doesn't seem to have been answered yet:

... Lastly, at what point do you think that I can go to every 3 hour feedings- lack of sleep is making me neurotic.
You are just about at that point -- Here is information that was posted in another thread:

Age, # daily feedings, Frequency
0-2 weeks, 6-8 daily feedings, every 2-2.5 hrs + 1 at night
3-4 weeks, 6 daily feedings, every 3-4 hrs + 1 at night


Rhubarb and Henry are just about the 2.5 - 3.0 point. And you should note that you really "only" have to get up one time during the night. (I know ... "only" :D -- but if you were getting up multiple times to stick to 2 hour feedings, you can start getting a little more sleep :thumbsup :sleep1 )

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[Rhubarb]

Hello again- I am still worried. i was looking at Rhubarb and Henry and I just can't help but think they are just too skinny. And When I reread my post, I noticed that I put them as 2 1/2 wks. old, when really they are probably just at 2 wks. old. I'm to afraid to feed them more at one time and make them bloat or get diarreia (again), but at the same time they just look malnurished. I've been upping their CC amount by .10 every day. And little Rhubarb, an hour after feeding her she's already rooting around for more food? They both are peeing and pooping fine, and very active when being fed. And their little ribs just seem so prominent. I'm very worried and looking in on them constantly.

Please help me.

[Rhubarb]

I'm stopping by Walmart tonight on my way home to get one. But they are tough right- my little guys- they'll be okay till then? And when I find out their weight, I gauge the food their fed by how much their weight at that time, right? Not by a general guideline of how much they should be fed? And just off the hip, what is a good weight range for this age?

[Rhubarb]

i've created the account with photo bucket, but what does it mean to use the IMG code. I'm copying and pasting it here, but can you see the picture?

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01627.jpg

[Rhubarb]

take it back- i see my picture. Please tell me- do my babies look like at a healthy rate? trust me- i'm off to walmart tonight for the scale, but I need something to put my mind at ease. more picture of Rhubarb below.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01628.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01629.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01630.jpg

[Rhubarb]

And can anyone tell me the type and size scale I should get?

[Rhubarb]

is their a weight range that they should be between at this age?

[Mads]

I have a kitchen scale in ounces...up to 5 lbs, and it was a different formula to figure out, but it worked fine. I think I found the formula to figure out the ounces on this site somewhere. I didn't know anything ......and I'm sure my babies would of died had I not found "the squirrel board", because I would of never fed them as much as they should have, I would never thought they could of drank as much as they did. In the past, when I have tried to save little things, like mice, and rabbits, and wasn't successful with it, I'm sure it was because I wasn't feeding enough and they slowly died of dehydration. Sad but true. Here's a little video that I did as a collection of the "best of" the Fab 5 that I entered in a contest, but didn't get a mention...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6lTPQE5pRY

Anyway, I love the name Rubarb. Too cute! good luck to you. I'm sure you'll do great. You have a great attitude!

[Mads]

Oh..I didn't answer any of your questions....there was a manual that I went by and on one of the pages it has the information of the ages, ec.
http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/pets/infant/squirrelmanual.pdf

It was very helpful when I first found myself the mother of 5 infant squirrels.

[tatcat]

:jump good luck with rhubarb and henry...they are too cute and so young...:jump

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

:Welcome to the squirrel board. Your little tykes are sooooooooooooooooooooo cute!

Have you thought about taking the little tykes to a wildlife rehabber? Raising a squirrel is VERY expensive, time consuming, and often illegal. If you PM me what state you are in I can help you look for a rehabber.

[Rhubarb]

Hello everyone,

I want to say thank you for all the advice. Tremendously helpful and my mind is a little more at ease. I'll just continue every 2 hours feeding them. I went and bought a scale. Rhubarb weighs 30 grams and Henry weighs 40 grams. I guess that translates roughly into 1 cc and 1.25 ccs consecutively. So I guess their on track- they just seem small to me. I've been feeding them the above consistently for the last couple of days after Rhubarb bounced back from a little diarrheia.

As far as a rehabber- thank you for the offer of help. Honestly, I've had my little ones now going on a full week and I'm very partial to them. I don't mind the cost, or the time it takes to see them through adulthood. I do love them and have big hopes that one day in the next couple of months, they will be fairly close to being released healthy.

Mind you, after reflecting over my near hysteria this afternoon that they weren't all right and that they were slowly dying, I was seriously considering my alternatives. I raised a litter of squirrels about 8 years ago and successfully raised them into adulthood and released them and for some reason, this time is so much harder for me. I can barely remember what I did the first time, but I don't remember being nearly so concerned as this last couple of days. But, I'm going to have faith in the scale and the advice everyone has shared. And they seem so healthy in all other attributes. They poop and pee well. Their appetites are hearty and I have been very careful not to aspirate them- so their breathing is clear as can be. And very strong when holding on the my finger's while searching for their food.

I hope their weight is good and from this time forward, I'm going to daily monitor their weight gain and food intake.

Thank you again and any further advice anyone might offer is very appreciative.

[Rhubarb]

what is the ratio to add whipping cream and yogurt to the esbilac? or do i do feed this to them separately after their formula?

also, take it back. according to the 5% rule, little Rhubarb should be getting 1.5 ccs and Henry 2 ccs, right?

[Mads]

I did one part whipping cream to 3 parts esbilac. I didn't do whipping cream and yogurt, I did one or the other. Mostly I did the whipping cream though. I did yogurt as they got older for a different taste.

I remember reading that for their 2 weeks, 3 weeks , 4 weeks........that they will eat 1 cc for each week, so at 3 weeks they'll take 3 cc, 4 weeks, 4 cc's. . And although, I kept track with their weight as well, but it held true with all 5 squirrels that whole theory.

[FallensMommie]

You'll noticed some don't add anything to the esbilac, some only add yogurt, some only add whipping cream.

I did both....whipping cream for fat...weight gain and yogurt for the good probiotics. You'll have to decide what you want to do for you little babies.


Fallen did beautiful on esbilac, yogurt and whipping cream....weight gain good, strength and energy good, and always healthy bathroom deeds....so this will be up to you and whatever you decide. I just wanted to add yogurt to help with digestive tract as they get the good probiotics from their mommies, and I decided to add whipping cream because I felt he wasn't gaining the weight he needed.....and the whipping cream helped.

I used only ORGANIC whipping cream and ORGANIC plain yogurt...I bought the little containers of yogurt and once opened I transferred it to a glass container with lid for longer refrig life.

[Rhubarb]

Thank you to everyone for all their help! I have been weighing Rhubarb and Henry before each feeding now so that I can feed them accurately. And I'm now keeping a brief journal for each time I feed them, the amount, and so forth. Helps me to remember the details. Little Rhubarb is still a bit fleshy, but I love the idea of the whipping cream and yogurt. Can do and will stop off on my way home around noon to get it.

Briefly- they are doing superb!

Sleeping beautifully and pooping / peeing well.

[Mads]

That is so cute. I loved that age~! Actually, I think yours are younger than the 5 of mine were. Can you do pictures?

[Buddy'sMom]

There's additional info on the other thread, but just in case anyone is only reading this one:

One caution on the "cream" -- you want just-plain-cream. Frequently sold as "heavy whipping cream."
YOU DO NOT WANT "BAKER'S CREAM" which already contains all the sugar needed for sweet whipped cream. Just cream.

:grouphug

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Ok, I just wanted to make sure you knew the option was out there if you were looking for someone to take them. Plus I was hoping you would be close to me and I could take them :D . I LOVE PINKIES!

I am not sure it is ok to add the whipping cream to their milk when they so young. I don't think they can handle it. I know I don't add it until they have fur (about 3-4 weeks old), and then I only use it if they aren't gaining weight well on plain esbilac.

[Rhubarb]

Greetings everyone.

Wanted to follow up with everyone that has been seeing me through with Rhubarb and Henry.

First off, so far so good. Rhubarb and Henry have been doing well, I believe.

I actually stopped the whipped cream early on this morning around 2:00 AM. After a few feedings with it, I noticed that their appetites decreased and they seemed much more lethargic. Poop and pee didn't change, but say rather than take 2 ccs per a feeding, Henry stopped wanting to eat at about 1.3 ccs. Rhubarb much the same. They're appetites are slowly returning to normal. They did indeed put on some weight with the cream, but their behavior just didn't seem right. However, I have continued with the yogurt for the digestive tract. I'm still at feedings every 2 to 2 1/2 hours or so. Henry is taking on an average 1.9 ccs per feeding while Rhubarb has been vascillating between 1.5 to 1.9.

For a few recent pictures, here you go. Also,thank you squirrels rule- for the offer. I'm nowhere near Ohio and I hate to say it,but I would much rather keep them. I really don't mind the lack of sleep and in roughly 4 months time, I'm looking forward to releasing them back to the outdoors. We have about 4 acres with a thousand other squirrels (3 of them I hope the ones we released some years ago) and trees and we're set off the road a bit (I thought that this would be a good place for them). I don't want them to become my pets though (I have too many already). And actually I already contacted a rehab woman close to my home and much to her dismay, I didn't readily give over Rhubarb and Henry,but promised should they exhibit any sickness or disease- I would promptly call her.

And actually I'm running out of time for the moment. I will send some pictures here shortly.

As always, any input or advice is always welcome.

[Rhubarb]

Greetings friends,

Wanted to post some quick pictures of Rhubarb and Henry. Much of the photos were out of focus, so they're are only 2 that seemed okay. I will post some more soon.

Rhubarb
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01632.jpg

Henry
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/Rhubarb_03/DSC01634.jpg

Talk to you all soon!

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

They look too young for the whipping cream additive. I don't add it until their eyes open.