More Worries for Little Jacob

[jonmareymo]

Hello,
Things have been going fine for my two boys ever since their diarrhea was cleared up (thanks to all of you :thumbsup ). Now I have new concern. Of the two boys, Jacob has always been smaller than Esau, his eyes opened later, etc.

Because of his size (and he was worse off with the diarrhea) he has always been my special little fellow. Anyway, last night he was laying on my lap, unlike his brother, he is very much a mama's boy and I noticed a clicking sound as he breathed. I was immediately concerned it might be the dreaded Pneumonia and could use your advice, here are the facts

-he only clicked when sleeping on his side, if asleep in an upright crouch it was gone and he didn't make it when awake
-his breathing is otherwise normal, no wheezing, not labored, no coughs
-in holding his chest next to my ear, I did not hear anything abnormal (didn't sound wheezy)
-this morning his appetite was normal and he wanted a little formula (he still gets some in the morning) but I was worried about his lungs so held off, he eats plenty of solids
-he was maybe a bit lethargic but that could have been my paranoia.

Some advice would be appreciated, unfortunately I cannot find a vet in my area who will do anything with squirrels. Thank you all for everything so far and I hope you can help!:dono

[Buddy'sMom]

Go ahead and give him his formula -- it's got the nutrition he needs, especially with his start it will be helpful to keep at the formula as long as he will take it (well, within reason -- some seem to want it well into adulthood :D ).

The "pneumonia clicking" is in their chest, so the important sound to listen for is when you hond his chest to your ear. They also make other clicky noises in their mouth and that is normal. Also, if the noise is only occasional, that is probably OK -- pneumonia does not come and go.

STILL, watch him closely. And keep checking back here as I'm sure you will get more detailed and specific instruction on what to look for/listen for.

Has he aspirated any formula recently? Gotten some too fast for him to comfortably swallow? Snorted any through his nose? If "yes" then there is more reason to suspect and watch for pneumonia. If "no" then it is less likely.

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[island rehabber]

Make sure you're not mistaking a squirrel's little "pffft!!" sounds for clicking. It happens a lot with us worried human moms.....squirrels do make those snorty, pffty noises more and more as they get older and start exploring and sniffing everything. Clicking from pneumonia coincides with every breath and becomes faster when the squirrel gets excited or exerts itself.

[jonmareymo]

As he has gotten older he does try to gulp more formula down and I know there have been moments when some has gotten around his nose, nothing that seemed significant but I know just a little bit can do it, I will keep watching him closely. Thanks for the advice!

[jonmareymo]

Make sure you're not mistaking a squirrel's little "pffft!!" sounds for clicking. It happens a lot with us worried human moms.....squirrels do make those snorty, pffty noises more and more as they get older and start exploring and sniffing everything. Clicking from pneumonia coincides with every breath and becomes faster when the squirrel gets excited or exerts itself.


Well, when he lay on his side, the clicking did happen with each breath, that was why I got worried. But nothing about his breathing seemed bad except for that and the clicking went away whenever he was more upright.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

How old are they? The reason I ask is with age their chances of getting the formula in the lungs lessens because they are able to sneeze it out.. ect...
Even now if they inhale the formula hold them upside down and let it run out to lessen the chance of problems. It sounds though as if he's just making normal noises.

[jonmareymo]

R -n- L,
They are about 12-13 weeks old, I actually had stopped really worrying about the formula in the nose since they were so old. Thanks for the advice though, I will keep all of you updated on how Jake looks when I get home from work.

[jonmareymo]

Thanks for the tip G.B., I am on the Chris's website now about to order one. Will this bulb work in most lamps or will I need something special?