Baby not pooping

[Harleysquirrel]

We saved a baby squirrel from our dogs on Saturday afternoon. I have been feeding her Esbilac every 3 hours or so. I think shes around 4 weeks. She has lots of fur but her eyes aren't open yet. Anyways, she is peeing a lot, but hasn't pooped at all since we found her. We are stilmulating her after every feed and keeping her warm with a rice buddy, but still no poop. What should I do??

[Harleysquirrel]

She is a bit dehydrated. Reading other posts I see that maybe I should give her some (homemade) pedialyte. I don't have apple juice on hand, but I could mix up the pedialyte solution.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

You probably know this, but you should have started her on hydrating solution prior to Esbilac, then eased her into Esbilac by diluting it moreso.

Can you please advise on what your dilution ratio is, and if you've hydrated her?

[Harleysquirrel]

I do know that now. Should I switch to the hydration mixture for a while?
I have been diluting at the recommended rate on the can.

[Harleysquirrel]

I have the powdered formula.
Her belly is a little hard when I push on it.
Thank YOU so much for helping me :thumbsup

[Harleysquirrel]

At what point should I try the mineral oil? How much? A couple of drops?
Thanks!

[lookmomchickens]

a TINY bit... it doesn't take much... if you do try to mineral oil only do it ONCE.. don't try it again if it doesn't work.

Try massaging the baby in warm water but make sure they are completely dry afterwards... also, try a little bit of pedialyte.. he might be a little stopped up from the formula and not having been completely hydrated.

keep up posted!

[Harleysquirrel]

Okay, I'm going to try the warm water. She seems to be doing well, but at what point is this an emergency?

[lookmomchickens]

I would use the mineral oil as a last resort... She might also be a little stressed out so that might not be helping the pooping situation either. Be patient and you're doing great so far. :thumbsup

Just fill the sink with some warm water - not hot - and just soak the babies lower half in the water and gently massage. =)

[Harleysquirrel]

Thank you all soooo much for all your help! Harley pooped this morning!! I am going to go ahead with the pedialyte solution for a few feedings since she does seem a bit dehydrated.

[Harleysquirrel]

Ok, thanks for that advice. I just gave her some pedialyte. I will give her some formula in an hour or so. She loves her formula but is not so excited about the pedialyte.
Another question for you, the 'recipe' I found when I first researched what to feed her said to add heave whipping cream to the formula, should I still do that, or no?

[lookmomchickens]

You can, it makes it a little sweeter and gives them a nice fat content boost. =)

[Harleysquirrel]

Ok, another poop question. Now Harley is pooping what looks like mustard (same color & consistancy). Is it supposed to be that loose?

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

It may take a couple of feedings for your baby's tummy to adjust to the formula. Poop should eventually be in the form of soft pellets, not runny. You should ease baby into the formula by dilutiing the mixture, as mentioned in Gamma's posting #6.

Heavy whipping cream gets introducted into the formula after baby does well on 2 scoops of water, 1 scoop of powder for a week or two, and they seem to not be satisfield with the feedings.

You can also add a supplement called Benebac, which is a substitute for bacteria that they would get from their mom and aids in digestion. You add just a dash to their formula.

Some other rehabbers use a little yogurt to do the same thing, and I'll let one of them make recommendations on that. I use Benebac.

Keep an eye on the poop situation, you don't want diarrhea to form, as baby will dehydrate.