Baby not developing

[Aubrey]

I was put in charge of a baby who apparently was about two days old. She should be 5 weeks today or tomorrow and hasn't been developing properly. I can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. I know almost nothing about squirrels, but have been doing a lot of research.

To answer your questions before you ask them:

I have been feeding her Ebsilac powder mixed 1 part powder, 2 parts water 1/3 part yogurt w/ cultures, about a half part heavy cream. For the first week or so it was ever 2 hours, then every 3, now every 3.5. I didn't read anywhere for a long time that really little babies couldn't have heavy cream, so she did.

I try to feed her 7% of her body weight, but she weighs so little that if she still wants more I usually give it to her. I have been doing this for about a week and haven't seen any diarrhea or bloating.

She has a heating pad 1/2 under her home all the time.

She doesn't show any sign of dehydration.

Her eyes are open.

She has never aspirated, and hasn't shown any signs of pneumonia ever.

I give her formula really warm, she eats well, she is strong, and other than looking half her age she looks great.

I'm not heating her formula in the microwave.

I am at a total loss as to what to do. She weighs about 50 grams, and still isn't growing fur on most of her body. Something has to be wrong. When I first got her, we tried everyone in the area and no one would take her. Unless something has changed, I am stuck. Any advice?

[Mars]

Hmmm - Could you post a pic or two? From your discription it may be what is called kitten fur syndrome. It's a form of runtism. The other possiblity that comes to mind is downs syndrome. we do have rehabbers here with experience with downs baby squirrels. How long has been at 50 grams? is her weight fluxuating or stable or just growing slowly? Is her poop and pee good?? Is she able to hold / self regulate her body heat or does she chill easily?

I don't think you have been doing anything wrong - sounds like you have done a wonderful job so far. Let's see what putting our heads together can do to solve this mystery.

[Aubrey]

I don't have a recent pic, I could take one tomorrow. My husband is asleep in the room she lives in.
She just hit 50 grams today. She has been growing very slowly. Some days she doesn't gain, some she gains a gram or two. She hasn't lost any days yet.
She poops and pees great. What seem like large volumes to me, but I don't have a basis of comparison. Her poo is pelleted and doesn't seem to change at all.
She holds her body heat just fine, but my house is not air conditioned, so the air temperature is about 80 at the lowest. Even so, she is still warm to the touch after a feeding.
I really appreciate the help.

[Mars]

Hang in there. Try to post a pic when you can. Others are sure to be on to help work this out. I'll check back in the morning. Perhaps my brain will be thinking better then.

The good news is kitten fur syndrome - they grow out of it. they are just very slow to develope. And downs in squirrels is extremely rare. :)

[Aubrey]

Here are some pictures from tonight:

http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5195.jpg
http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5200.jpg

She was a little mad at me for waking her up to take the pictures, but she did ok. I promise I have been feeding her. I guess you know that, or she wouldn't have lived this long. I just know she should be fatter. And have fur. She is getting some really soft fur all over her back. And all of the fur on the top of her head is new this week.

One more thing. She doesn't walk well at all; she kinda reminds me of a spider missing a leg. Is this because she is just learning, or something else I should be worried about?

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

She looks like she has balding syndrome. Did she have fur before, or did it never come in? If it is balding syndrome, the fur should grow back in a couple weeks, but may take longer (I had a red this spring that took 2 months to get her fur back).

[Mars]

Okay, not a downs baby :) I think we are dealing with kitten fur syndrome. What we want to do is to continue to treat her as if she is much younger that her actual age. And treat her by her developmental age instead.

Kitten fur syndrone is a form of runtish or arrested developement and is caused by poor absortion of nutritents. Some babies just have a very difficult time adjusting to man-made formulas. I would suggest adding Bioplasma to your formula. It it also called cell salts or bio salts and is available at most health food stores ( not GNC ). * I place one tablet twice daily ( first and last feeding ) into my formula. Bioplasma is wonderful for helping babies make the adjustment and it maybe all you need to jump start her recovery.

* just a note if you cannot find this product locally it can be found online and we can help you locate it.

In the meantime I'm going to do some research and see if I can come up with some additional help in the form of homeopathy. Please let me know if you are uncomfortable with alternative meds. Some people are more so than others and I always ask first before making suggestions. :)

[Aubrey]

I will try to find Bioplasma today. So if I treat her by her developmental age, I'm guessing I would look at her and "re-age" her by looking at other squirrels. So that probably puts her at 2 - 3 weeks. And an underweight 2 - 3 weeks at that.

Mars: At this point I am willing to try anything that will help her grow, homeopathic or otherwise.

squirrelsrule: She never grew any hair. She has been very bald sine she fell (or was forcefully ejected) out of the tree.

[annick]

that's exactely what's happening to my baby boy as well. i can compare him to his sisters and they are growing beautifully. but him, nope. a rehabber told me to add a pinch of prozyme to his formula, so that's what im doing now.

[Aubrey]

Her weight gain is up, she now weighs about 73 grams. This is a huge increase in a short amount of time. Not a lot is different. I had a harder time finding the Bioplasma than I had anticipated, and she got her first dose yesterday morning. Her fur is coming in a lot better. She is getting identifiable foxer fur along her shoulders and starting down her back. And her tail is bushier. All together there has been marked improvement. I'll post pictures in the morning.

Goodnight.

Aubrey

[tatcat]

:thumbsup good work darlin...:thumbsup

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

squirrelsrule: She never grew any hair. She has been very bald sine she fell (or was forcefully ejected) out of the tree.
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I think this may be another case of Momma squirrel knew something was wrong and out of the nest she went.
Looking forward to another picture, she has a beautiful face.

[Aubrey]

http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5255.jpg
http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5240.jpg
http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5233.jpg
http://bylandaubrey.com/IMG_5232.jpg

These are her most recent pictures, taken about an hour ago. She looks a lot better, and has gained a lot of weight. I don't have any background with squirrels so I am flying by the seat of my pants. If anyone sees anything alarming please let me know.

I think she is finally catching up, and I am really excited. I know I am going to have to keep her on formula for longer than I normally would, but I don't know what to do about solid foods. She doesn't have her top teeth yet because her eyes opened early (4 weeks and 3 days). When should she start eating solids? I have read that I should introduce them between 5 and 6 weeks but I don't know if I should change that because of her lagging development. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I am in Idaho, and the winters are pretty harsh here. It doesn't seem like a squirrel can be released in the winter if they haven't stored food. So do I keep her for the winter? And plan release for the spring? And will this hurt her chances for survival by making her more tame?

Sorry about all of the questions. I am still learning and all of the nuances aren't really covered anywhere.

[Apple Corps]

There are some pros and cons on keeping her through the winter. For now, I'd focus on overall health / weight gain / fur / and TLC :D :D

She does look like she is coming alive.

[jungrrlist]

baby is so cute it makes me wanna cry!

thank you for caring when so many people do not.
it makes me feel a little better about the human race

[Mars]

You can put rodent block in with her now. It's nice and hard and she can use it to teethe on. She will start eating it later. Once you see her eating it and not just shreading it it's time to start indroducing other solids to her slowly. Like one new something every third day. That way if there is a problem you can quickly identifiy it.

And yes I think she will most like be wintering with you. But we can cross that bridge when the time comes. :)