Chronic Diarrhea

[elizalalala]

This is an exerpt from an email I sent to someone else today. The short version is I have squirrels with diarrhea, two of them have had it for over 2 weeks, one just got it, and 2 came in yesterday with worse symptoms than the ones I already had. I took them to the vet today and paid out of pocket to get fecal smears for them because I am getting worried. We've tried Albon, Panacur, yogurt, and feeding less formula. The vet sent us home with a metronidozole/kaopectate suspension (if I spelled that wrong I can't read the doctor handwriting scribbles on the label.) He's supposed to tell me the lab results tomorrow. I'm going to try this, but I thought I'd go ahead and see if anyone has additional suggestions in case this doesn't work, either. I keep ending up at ground zero. Here's the email exerpt:


I have 5 squirrels with chronic, persistent diarrhea. I'll mention the names my daughter gave them alongside their cases in order to make it easier to reference them in this email. Three of the squirrels are right at the 4-5 week mark where they have just opened their eyes. Two are siblings, one is not. The siblings (named Thistle and Lavender) just came in today from a PetSmart employee who had been keeping them. She said a lady found them under a tree and brought them into the store and that she (the PetSmart employee) had been feeding them kitten formula with a bottle. She also told us that they had been having solid poop when we asked her, but we weren't sure this was true since we noticed they were covered in a brown bile-like crust over their bellies. She said it was from her toweling them to get them to excrete, but it seemed like her toweling had smeared their bile all over them and that it had hardened. They are very bony and had smelly, watery diarrhea the moment I got them home. Both of them have reddened, irritated anuses. The one that is not part of the sibling pair (named Mulberry) came in with internal injuries from a fall 17 days ago and had black solid poop at first from melena which eventually lightened up and became diarrhea once he was introduced to Maple (mentioned below) as a litter mate. He has never had a completely normal poop.

The other two are older and both are separate cases where the person who found them tried to raise them on their own for some time with the wrong foods, and then they were turned over to the rehab group. In one case the squirrel is probably 6-7 weeks old (named Maple) but was stunted when the lady who found her fed her nothing but homemade pedialyte for a week. I got Maple 2 weeks ago. Her genitals were very red and inflamed when I got her, like they had diaper rash. She fussed at me every time I helped her excrete. This has mostly cleared up since she started getting daily baths, but she still has the diarrhea. The other (named Indigo) was found by a pair of college-age girls who say they fed him Esbilac for 2 days and then fed him Gerber baby rice cereal for 3 weeks. We think he may even be 8-9 weeks old judging mostly by his tail and extremely bony skeletal structure. He feels hollow-boned like a bird. He is very active and aches to be on a human's shoulder at all times, we're trying to get him to play with other squirrels or we would not have introduced him to squirrels who are obviously not well. There was also a worry he may have metabolic bone disease. All the squirrels spent time in the sun today.

All my squirrels except for Mulberry tend to want to overeat, so I've had to be careful to regulate how much they get. I am currently underfeeding them a bit.

I mention their backgrounds since all of these things could potentially cause diarrhea. However, I am struggling to find a treatment to clear up their diarrhea. With Mulberry and Maple I have been through one round of Albon followed by one round of Panacur. I was paranoid the Albon didn't work because I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be kept in the fridge, so my mentor had me trying another round of Albon again with a fresh batch of medicine (also didn't work.) Indigo, Thistle, and Lavender have only been on this current round of Albon. They've had 2 doses so far and I see no signs of their poop even starting to take a shape. All of the squirrels have some version of watery, pudding-like, toothpaste-like, snaky, snotty, or puddle-ly poop often with a greenish or brown tinge which they are constantly releasing all over themselves and their bedding. It smells strong and sickly, a lot like the greenish poop new babies that are breastfeeding have. They are getting daily baths in warm water with a few drops of natural (Seventh Generation lavender) dish soap to keep them from being covered in poop and losing hair.

Mulberry and Maple have been getting 1 tsp of organic yogurt per 1/2 cup of milk replacer for about 3 days, and I started the new squirrels on this as well. I read that this can both help with diarrhea and helps replace or introduce microflora. It hasn't seemed to so far.

Thistle, Lavender, and Mulberry are also on Cefa at the moment. Mulberry was clicking 2 days ago but seems to be nearly cleared up now, and Lavender and Thistle seem lethargic and sick and have runny noses so I am doing it as a precaution. The PetSmart girl had been feeding them with a bottle and said they had snorted milk up their nose some, so aspirating problems seemed likely.

**Note** they got a couple rounds of pedialyte today and all but Thistle and Lavender (very dehydrated) are back on formula, and all 5 are taking the metronidozole/kaopectate suspension.

I should mention that I have another older set of 4 squirrels right at release age with very solid, healthy poop that had been eating the same Esbilac & organic heavy cream mixture my current squirrels are getting. They never had diarrhea. I transferred them outside just after I got Mulberry and Maple.

[Secret Squirrel]

Wow....sounds like these kids have been through the wringer!!!!
Wait and see what the lab results are from the vet......I am not sure what to tell ya. Just from the description it sounds like coccidia ( if I spelled that right) I don't have my Mammals book in front of me so I really can't research it for you. I hope one of our rehabbers will chime in and give you some expert advise. Loose stools and diarrhea are two different subjects completely. Maybe you can PM squirgirl or Island rehabber for some direct answers.
Sorry I can't help more.:bowdown

[island rehabber]

Oh Lord, this is such a bad example of what well-meaning but uninformed people can do to poor innocent squirrels -- it makes my blood BOIL but that won't help you, will it, so I'll just not go there. :madd If these babies are not hydrated QUICKLY they will die. They are obviously not retaining any fluids in their systems due to the diarrhea. It appears that ALL of the squirrels you have now have been victims of the absolutely most wrong diets imaginable and it may not be possible to save all of them. (There is so much information on the internet -- how could someone feed a baby Pedialyte for weeks???? Alright, deep breath..... ) your vet should be finding out whether the babies have endoparasites, bacteria or protozoans in their systems. I recommend that ALL of your squirrels be given fecal smears as some of these conditions will be contagious between squirrels. if there are no parasites, etc. that need to be treated with meds, then you must begin a rehydrating process of diluting their formula (ESBILAC POWDER) with Pedialyte or Lactated Ringers and nothing else!!! You can also alternate feedings with one dose of plain Pedialyte or LRS if that works better for these particular babies. BeneBac may help where the yogurt did not in replacing the gut flora.
If you PM me with your exact location I may be able to find a wildlife specialist veterinarian for you....please keep us posted as to how these poor babies are doing!!

[elizalalala]

Thanks Secret Squirrel and Island Rehabber! We kind of thought coccidea, too... but the Albon should have taken care of that. I suppose I will know for certain when the fecal smears come back tomorrow.

Island Rehabber - 4 out of the 5 were definitely on the wrong diets. Mulberry (the one I have had for 17 days) came directly to me from the person who found him, who fortunately knew to keep him warm and not feed him anything. Still, he had such heavy internal bleeding that he was set back a bit as well. We were actually surprised when his bleeding didn't kill him, his entire abdomen and sides were deep purple/blue and swollen, and he pooped black melena (blood in stool) feces for a long while before it lightened up.

Thistle and Lavender are looking a lot better tonight (the PetSmart squirrels), but their poop is still watery. They are mostly urinating and nothing else, but that isn't too strange since they haven't had formula until tonight (I only gave them 1/3rd formula mixed with 2/3rd pedialyte this evening.) They'll get one more round of pedialyte in an hour. They are still lethargic and a little dehydrated, but they look heaps better than they did this morning when I picked one up and was briefly unsure whether or not she was dead.

Indigo's poop has solidified a good bit, though it is very light as though he hasn't been digesting much of it. I suppose after 3 weeks of Gerber rice cereal... I hope he does better. He's such a hilarious squirrel. Fortunately he has started playing with Maple some, but he'd rather play with a human or sit on a human's shoulder than anything else in the world. I think the college girls that had him must have handled him constantly judging by how tame and human attention-starved he is. All my squirrels have been sweet and liked me, but it wasn't anything like Indigo. If he isn't sitting on my shoulder he is leaning against the cage bars begging to be let out so he can jump to my shoulder. He thinks he is a little human.

Anyway, I'm going with the meds the vet gave me and waiting on my results... but these squirrels have waited over and over again while I contacted people on their behalf, so I thought this time I'd have the next solution waiting in the wings.

[island rehabber]

Thanks Secret Squirrel and Island Rehabber! We kind of thought coccidea, too... but the Albon should have taken care of that. I suppose I will know for certain when the fecal smears come back tomorrow.

Island Rehabber - 4 out of the 5 were definitely on the wrong diets. Mulberry (the one I have had for 17 days) came directly to me from the person who found him, who fortunately knew to keep him warm and not feed him anything. Still, he had such heavy internal bleeding that he was set back a bit as well. We were actually surprised when his bleeding didn't kill him, his entire abdomen and sides were deep purple/blue and swollen, and he pooped black melena (blood in stool) feces for a long while before it lightened up.

Thistle and Lavender are looking a lot better tonight (the PetSmart squirrels), but their poop is still watery. They are mostly urinating and nothing else, but that isn't too strange since they haven't had formula until tonight (I only gave them 1/3rd formula mixed with 2/3rd pedialyte this evening.) They'll get one more round of pedialyte in an hour. They are still lethargic and a little dehydrated, but they look heaps better than they did this morning when I picked one up and was briefly unsure whether or not she was dead.

Indigo's poop has solidified a good bit, though it is very light as though he hasn't been digesting much of it. I suppose after 3 weeks of Gerber rice cereal... I hope he does better. He's such a hilarious squirrel. Fortunately he has started playing with Maple some, but he'd rather play with a human or sit on a human's shoulder than anything else in the world. I think the college girls that had him must have handled him constantly judging by how tame and human attention-starved he is. All my squirrels have been sweet and liked me, but it wasn't anything like Indigo. If he isn't sitting on my shoulder he is leaning against the cage bars begging to be let out so he can jump to my shoulder. He thinks he is a little human.

Anyway, I'm going with the meds the vet gave me and waiting on my results... but these squirrels have waited over and over again while I contacted people on their behalf, so I thought this time I'd have the next solution waiting in the wings.

Good luck, Eliza!! I am glad they seem better today and I hope the test results don't show anything too horrific. Please keep us posted!

[Gabe]

Has anyone ever used "Deliver" on squirrels? I use it with my fawns, and have had such good results that I use it on all mammals with chronic, long term diarrhea. I have squirrels with the same problem, wrong food, gooy, smelly poop. Deliver after mixing becomes thickened like jello. Feed it after mixing but before it thickens. It has lots of good electrolytes, is cherry flavored, they love it, and works by coating the irritated intestinal tract. It can be used three times a day between feedings or as a steady diet for 24 hours with a gradual switch back to Esbilac and your probiotics, yougurt, etc. You can find it through Jeffers. At Jeffers.com or 1-800-JEFFERS. This also helps when the antibiotics have upset their intestinal tract. To mix use 1tsp Deliver and 4 oz of water. Good luck, Gabe

[island rehabber]

Has anyone ever used "Deliver" on squirrels? I use it with my fawns, and have had such good results that I use it on all mammals with chronic, long term diarrhea. I have squirrels with the same problem, wrong food, gooy, smelly poop. Deliver after mixing becomes thickened like jello. Feed it after mixing but before it thickens. It has lots of good electrolytes, is cherry flavored, they love it, and works by coating the irritated intestinal tract. It can be used three times a day between feedings or as a steady diet for 24 hours with a gradual switch back to Esbilac and your probiotics, yougurt, etc. You can find it through Jeffers. At Jeffers.com or 1-800-JEFFERS. This also helps when the antibiotics have upset their intestinal tract. To mix use 1tsp Deliver and 4 oz of water. Good luck, Gabe

Gabe that is great info -- I have never heard of Deliver but it sounds like an excellent product, and if you've had success with it on squirrels -- :wahoo! Any side effects we should be aware of?

[Suro]

I'd be interested to hear more about that too.
One of my cats (NOT squirrels :p) has chronic diarrhoea and I have tried everything - diet changes, starve for 12 or 24 hours, probiotics, antibiotics, blood screens, faecal screens, worming....the list goes on....

I would be interested to hear more about it?

Also, on a more squirrelly note, I found that when my babies got diarrhoea it always seemed connected to a change of diet, however small, eating too much, eating a "new" thing etc - so now once a day I give all of them a pinch of probiotic mammal powder (protexin) in their feed and its done wonders for all of them. Also helps to not leave fruit in for more than a few hours as when it starts to go "off" it tends to cause tummy upsets too (thanks to squirrelboard for that info :D )

I do hope those babies are now ok, it was like reading a horror story to read that email :( :shakehead

[Gabe]

Ok you guys made me do my homework on "Deliver" You can buy at Squirrels and more also.
It is mostly electrolytes with Psyllium Polysaccharide as the active ingredient. It was originally sold as a cure for calves when they had scours. It works by coating the intestinal tract to give it a rest. When used, the very next stool is what wwe call a "deliver stool". It is formed in a jello like sack, no longer runny. I use it between feedings. If the squirrel is fed 3 times a day, he will be fed 6 times, ever other one being a deliver feeding. Give as much deliver as though you were giving a normal formula feeding. If they get 10cc formula, give 10cc deliver. They love the taste of it. My homework taught me that it is gelatinous and therefore absorbs excess water in the GI tract, restores proper bowl movements and is used in inflammatory conditions of the mucous membrane of the gastro intestintal tract. It is also useful in irritable bowl syndrome, so maybe it will work for your cat, lots of luck getting her to eat it.LOL. I use 1tsp to 4oz of water, it thickens as it stands, much like Metamucil, so use it immediately after mixing and then throw the rest out. Good luck, I hope someone tries it and lets us know if you like it. Gabe

[Gabe]

ok, you made me do my homework. Deliver is mostly electrolytes with the active ingredient Psyllium Polysaccharides. You can also buy it at squirrels and more, formerly the squirrel store. It is gelatinous and therefore absorbs the excess water in the GI tract, restores proper bowel movements and used in inflammatory conditons of the mucous membranes int he GI tract. It is also helpful with irritable bowel syndrome, so yes, I guess if you can get your cat to drink it, it may help it. I use 1 tsp deliver and 4 oz water. Feed your squirrel its normal feeding and between each feeding give deliver. If the squirrel is getting 10cc formula, give 10cc deliver, they like the taste of it, I just put itin their feeding syringe and give it that way. Their next stool is what we call a "deliver stool", it is formed in a jello like sack, no longer runny. If anyone tries it, let us know what you think. Gabe

[elizalalala]

Thanks Gabe! I'm going to visit jeffers.com in a few minutes to see how fast I can get it shipped. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

I didn't quite understand from your posts... are you saying you have used it on fawns but haven't tried it on squirrels yet? Or did you try it on your squirrels? If so, how are they doing on it?

Where did you do your homework? Is there a link I can read also?

Are the animals still able to digest the food they are given if it is coated in this gelatinous sack, or is the point to let the intestinal tract rest from digestion?

Do you know how long it stays in their system?

At this point my squirrels have transparent bile-colored poop. The two newest ones (Lavender and Thistle) have completely clear, slightly gelatinous yellowish poop. I've been calling it "egg drop soup poop" because it looks just like the broth from egg drop soup.

And, the vet did not return my calls today with the results from the fecal smears I went in for yesterday. Nor is the medicine he gave me working so far. I guess they got too busy today with "regular" patients.

[Gabe]

Hi
I've use Deliver for over 10 years with fawns, always good results, I started using it on squirrels approx 5 years ago and don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.
I genreally give it for a 24 hr period, is seems to stay in their system 24-48 hours, then I reasses and give it again if needed, usually one course is adequate.
Bile colored poop I associate with overfeeding on formula. My rule of thumb is 10cc twice a day at 6 weeks, this encourages self feeding, I do weight them daily and adjust if needed. If this is not the problem, pneumonia or coccidia would be a concern, and then of course they need antibiotics.
Egg drop poop can be from inability to digest properly, if you're using cream, cut back on the amount, try some lactaid in formula as occassionally you will find a litter of squirrels that are lactose intolerant with our unnatural formulas.
If the squirrels are healthy, not overfed and just have loose stools I feed applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas and dry dog food for a few days, all of these help to firm the stool and a steady diet would cause constipation so don't use it for more than a few days.
I typed Pysiullium Seed Husks and Psyllium Polysaccharide into search and found that these are a natural homeopathic food.
Good luck, Gabe

[elizalalala]

Hi! Thanks so much for the info, this is really helpful. I am underfeeding everyone right now due to the diarrhea, with extra pedialyte feedings to make up for the loss in fluids. The two squirrels with the egg drop soup poop probably do have pneumonia, the girl I got them from said they had aspirated a lot and they were listless, hot, and sneezy when I got them home. They have been on Cefa for 2 days now and are looking a lot better, and this morning their poop had a more opaque/thicker look to it. Still diarrhea, better than soup broth though.

I finally got the vet on the phone this morning and he said only Mulberry (the squirrel who had internal injuries) had a major bacterial infection. Which makes sense since he has the greenest poop out of everybody. The vet said the metronidozole/kaopectate suspension should clear it up. Mulberry is also on Cefa for aspiration pneumonia as well.

I asked the vet if the egg drop soup poop squirrels might just be having such extreme diarrhea because of improper diet followed by a switch in their formula and an antibiotic (Cefa) upsetting their stomach. He thought that seemed likely. They already had near-water poop when I got them, so it seems possible they were just weak already to be given a big change in food/medicine.

My oldest squirrel (Indigo) is having nearly solid poops today, and the next oldest (Maple) seems to be working towards them as well.

I asked the vet if he'd ever tried Deliver and he said he had not heard of it, but when I explained what it did he thought it sounded like a gelatin based product. He says he used to use gelatin pretty frequently but had not done it in about 10 years, and that now he can't remember why he stopped using it. He says it used to work very well. He says another product that will firm stools is Metamucil, but that it doesn't actually help the diarrhea at all, it just makes it less runny. He said that they (the vet office) only prescribe Metamucil when people are having problems with the animal's poop getting mixed up in the carpet and they want the stools to be more solid. He said gelatin actually helps fix the diarrhea a little (but does not solve the original source of it) and provides some protein, as well as slowing stool down in the intestinal tract so the animal can digest a little more.

For anyone who wants to try the gelatin for squirrels, the vet says you can just buy regular Jello or identical gelatin products and mix 1/4 tsp per 1 tbs of milk replacer and feed immediately after mixing. The vet said that he has found animals really love raspberry flavored Jello best, but that you can also use plain Jello. I suspect animals also like the orange flavor, based on how readily my squirrels will eat anything that is flavored orange.

I couldn't find Deliver by searching on jeffers.com or googling it, but I think I'll try this gelatin solution first since I won't have to wait on shipping and it will probably be a lot cheaper.

I think my squirrels are improving a little today, so I'm going to hope we are on an upswing now and try to keep things as consistent as possible. Other than adding a little gelatin to the formula they are already eating for a couple days, that is.

[rygel1hardt]

As usaual I agree with everything IR said but would like to add a couple of things. You mentioned that most of the squirrels came in emaciated. It is my opinion that even though these guys should be old enough to retain their body heat without a heat source that they cant when they are skinny and sickly. Do they all have access to a heat source? Also it would be my goal to get them off ALL antibiotics as soon as the vet says it is safe because it is constantly killing any good bacteria in their gut and yogurt wont replace it fast enough to make a difference when they have loose bowels. I would be giving Bene Bac to them daily right in their formula and would switch to every other day when the stools become normal. The only other thing I can think of right at the moment is to try using bottled spring water to mix all formulas and stick with one brand. I have always used natural spring bottled water and it is what my adult unreleaseables get to drink as well. Keep up the vigilence and of course keep us posted on their progress please. Stacey




Oh Lord, this is such a bad example of what well-meaning but uninformed people can do to poor innocent squirrels -- it makes my blood BOIL but that won't help you, will it, so I'll just not go there. :madd If these babies are not hydrated QUICKLY they will die. They are obviously not retaining any fluids in their systems due to the diarrhea. It appears that ALL of the squirrels you have now have been victims of the absolutely most wrong diets imaginable and it may not be possible to save all of them. (There is so much information on the internet -- how could someone feed a baby Pedialyte for weeks???? Alright, deep breath..... ) your vet should be finding out whether the babies have endoparasites, bacteria or protozoans in their systems. I recommend that ALL of your squirrels be given fecal smears as some of these conditions will be contagious between squirrels. if there are no parasites, etc. that need to be treated with meds, then you must begin a rehydrating process of diluting their formula (ESBILAC POWDER) with Pedialyte or Lactated Ringers and nothing else!!! You can also alternate feedings with one dose of plain Pedialyte or LRS if that works better for these particular babies. BeneBac may help where the yogurt did not in replacing the gut flora.
If you PM me with your exact location I may be able to find a wildlife specialist veterinarian for you....please keep us posted as to how these poor babies are doing!!

[Gabe]

How simple is that . Gelatin, we all have it in our cupboards, lets me know if it works. The only draw back is it does not have electrolytes, but you could mix it with electrolytes instad of water.
Chris's squirrels and more carries Deliver.
Gabe

[elizalalala]

Hey Rygel1hardt, thanks! They are on a heat source, I agree they need some help when they are sick. Plus Mulberry doesn't have a lot of fur yet. Has it ever seemed like the fur comes in faster on some squirrels than others to you guys? Or he could just be developing slower since his body had to play major catchup while it healed his internal injuries. Fortunately he seemed to be healed from that now.

They get off the Cefa after tomorrow but it is 7 more days until they get off the metronidozole, which is also an antibiotic. Believe me, I am counting the minutes. Sooooo tired of diarrhea. I hope they clear up once they can reestablish gut flora.

I've heard Bene-bac is really unrealiable as a product because it is too often shipped and stored incorrectly by the places that sell it. Apparently the bacteria is fragile and can die off before you buy it, so yogurt is supposed to be more of a sure thing. Maybe I could use them together? I've also heard organic yogurt tends to be made with more varieties of beneficial bacteria and works best when using it for this purpose.

I'll look into the water, but I filter mine and I have good tap water in the city to begin with. I know some cities have poor water, though.

Gabe, I agree! I love it when I can get the "ingredients" of something cheaper than the on-the-shelf product. I'm thinking Jello mixed with pedialyte should work just fine!

[nutz4squirls]

You should hold back on the pedialyte. Pedialyte has glucose in it which is good unless your dealing with diahrea. Glucose will actually make diahrea worse. If their dehydrated than just use ringers for rehydrating. I would also dose these guys topically with a very small amount of ivermectin. If they have a protozoa, which could be causing the diahrea, than the ivermectin will treat this. If their eating solids than back off on the fruit and fresh corn(lots of sugar in fruit and corn). As far as the deliver is concerned, I've never used it on squirrels, I primarily recommend it for fawns. I would also back off on the heavy cream, I think you said you were using cream in the formula, they may be having trouble digesting the extra fat. Any results yet from the slides? Nutz
www.squirrelsandmore.com

[elizalalala]

Hey Nutz4squirls,


Any results yet from the slides? Nutz

Yep, my last post had the results:


I finally got the vet on the phone this morning and he said only Mulberry (the squirrel who had internal injuries) had a major bacterial infection. Which makes sense since he has the greenest poop out of everybody. The vet said the metronidozole/kaopectate suspension should clear it up.

Which wasn't very detailed, but basically he told me that only one of the squirrels showed an abnormal amount of anything at all, and that was the one who hadn't even been on a poor diet, though the stress from his internal injuries could certainly have made him vulnerable. Which makes it sound like my other squirrels are suffering the results of crazy diets and dealing with antibiotics.

Thanks for the info on Pedialyte, I didn't realize the glucose could be a problem, or that the formula of Pedialyte was so different from LRS. I'll keep the Ivermectin in mind, but I think these squirrels could use a break from the medications. After I finish up the Cefa and Metronidozole/Kaopectate, I'm going to wait and see if they clear up once they are off the meds. I'm sure their bodies are having trouble establishing normal gut flora while they are on them. If that doesn't work then I'll see about the Ivermectin.

[nutz4squirls]

Please don't misunderstand me on the pedialyte. Pedialyte is a better choice for hydrating over ringers because of the glucose, but in your case the glucose isn't good because of the diahrea. Also, I meant to mention about benebac earlier. It is excellent for using with diahrea. It won't necessarily cure the diahrea but it will put the good bacteria back into the gut. As far as benebac not being good due to climate conditions, freight (hot trucks) my understanding directly from Petag is that the benebac does not get activated until it hits the gut, therefore heated freight trucks or hot warehouses is not suppose to be an issue. Nutz

[Gabe]

Hi nutz4squirls,
I see that you recommended Ivermectin. Can you help me with that? I have red and gray squirrels that I am dipping in lime sulfur for red mange mites per my vet. It is incredably traumatic to them due to the stink of it, as the actual dip is really just applied with a warm, wet washcloth. It is also very traumatic to my hands as they feel the need to show me just how well they can bite. Some of these squirrels are already becoming quite wild.
Neither my vet or I have any experience using Ivermec on squirrels although we have used it on bigger animals.
How can I dose it and how would I apply it?
By the way, if you add a small amount to water and flush the area where there are maggots it works wonderfully.
Please help soon.
Gabe

[nutz4squirls]

Hi Gabe, I pm'd you on this subject. Check your mail. Nutz

[halo]

Hi,

After 7 years of rehabbing I have finally come to the habit of dosing all my babies with Ivomectin. My rule is that if they have hair they get dosed! I put a tiny amount on the skin in between their shoulder blades. It absorbes thru the skin. I have had the experience of too many babies coming up with mange as they get older. And FYI... I NEVER use anything but Ivomectin to treat mange! I have used Frontline like my vet suggested and I ended up killing my two babies! The next time my babies got mange I tried the Ivomectin and it worked beautifully with no side effects. Also,.. if ur kiddos have mange u need to treat every two weeks for three to four weeks. Please change the bedding after each treatment.

Halo

[elizalalala]

By the way, if you add a small amount to water and flush the area where there are maggots it works wonderfully.

Hey Gabe, what was this in response to so I can read more about it? I'd love to have an easier way to remove maggots. What do you mean by flushing the area where there are maggots? Could you describe the process more fully?

I bought the "Wild Mammal Babies" book from Chris's and was reading the chapter on squirrels last night (fast shipping!) When I got to the part about Kitten Fur Syndrome I realized my oldest squirrel, Indigo, has a textbook case of it. He is light like a bird, has the softest of fur, and is often shivering to get warm again. However, he behaves just like a normal, healthy squirrel. I'm glad he has already been on heat and been getting formula with fewer solids offered even if it was due to diarrhea! I'm not at all surprised given what he was fed for the 3 weeks before I got him.

[elizalalala]

For those of you who want to see squirrels sucking down raspberry Jello, I posted movies and a photo in the "general" section:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2127

They adored the raspberry, but I have to admit I feel a little concerned to give them "junk food" with all that dye. Do they make "invisible" Jello the way they make "invisible" Kool-Aid (best marketing strategy ever, make the undyed Kool-Aid cool to kids simply by calling it "invisible")?

I can't believe I'm saying this after having cleaned up diarrhea for so long... but I can't wait to see them poop!

I also got some diaper rash ointment, Lavender and Thistle are so sore and they fuss at me when I help them excrete.

One blessing through all this loose pooping is that none of these babies seem to be "nursers". Of course, that may be because they all have their own natural deterrent system...

[elizalalala]

As an update on the Jello... they all still have diarrhea. I didn't notice any significant improvement, but it may have helped some. Indigo got worse after the Jello but I don't know if that would have happened anyway. Lavender got a little better. One thing it did help with... I now know everyone is digesting better than Thistle. With most the squirrels they had slightly orange poop or brighter yellow poop, but Thistle's came out as red and watery as it went in. The food coloring was completely undigested.

I think next time if I use this again I will use plain Jello with no dyes or sugar. I don't think the squirrels will mind the flavor of the gelatin in their formula and I can't see that all that sugar is helping them. The vet didn't seem to think it would cause problems since he recommended the raspberry flavor, but if glucose in Pedialyte can worsen diarrhea, I can't see how loading the formula with sugary Jello powder doesn't worsen it also. I only ended up trying the Jello for one full day.

On the upside no one has green poop anymore, and it doesn't stink as much. Today it seems like Thistle, Lavender, and Mulberry are definitely improving, and Maple and Indigo MIGHT be, but their poop changes are too slight to be certain. I'm going for consistency until I'm finished with their current medication. And lots of extra fluids.

[Becca J.]

REGARDING ELIZALALALA's babies' diarrhea and RESPONSES HI!, Im a newbie who stumbled onto this site. Three months ago I took in a stray kitten. Long story short, .... after surviving on his own for his 1st two months of life he became quite the hunter in order to survive ( I've only seen him catch bugs, though). One day last week, to my horror, I found him playing with a dead squirrel's tail, and a small part of its backside!!! I don't believe he killed it, because he's still pretty small;and judging by the length of the squirrells tail, it was an adult. I think he found the what was left of the remains and dragged it home (As gross as it is, that's nature. UGH!, the poor squirrel!) Anyway, a few days later he came down with horrible diarrhea, very much like "Elizalalala" described in her pups, (watery,or pudding like, green to orange/ brown,& mucousy) . He could of picked this up from many things, but I have a strong hunch that it was that poor Squirrel. He was given Albon for Coccidia (a best guess diagnosis by two vets, but not confirmed) and dewormed. He has also been throwing up. After a week of this, I wasn't sure he was going to make it, In the last day & 1/2, however, he's been doing better. He is drinking much more & holding down his food, but still has severe diarrhea from an unknown illness. I got alot of great tips from everyone on this thread,(esp. Gabe, nuts4squirls, Halo, & Elizalalala) and will discuss them wth my Vet. I may try the" Deliver", Bena-Bac, and the Ivermecton. :thankyou
THE NEW ISSUE NOW is that my beloved dog got into his litter box today, and ate some of his poop. :bricks My dog is aging and already has a digestive illness. She is very thin. If she gets this Mystery bug or whatever it is she most likely will not be able to fight it off, and will have to be put down. This breaks my heart. (....I guess not "so long story/short", sorry.) So if you find out what made your squirrel pups so sick, please let me know. I really dont want to loose her yet. Thankyou!!!!!! P.S. I dont know what the deal is with the large spaces, I couldnt fix them.

[Gabe]

Elizalalala, I'm just reading this thread again. When I dilute ivermectin, I add 1cc to 50cc of water, it does not have to be sterile, but if you have Normal Saline or sterile water it is better. I then will irrigate places where I cannot pick out maggots,such as ears, or deep areas using a syringe. Then I rinse with large amounts of water or saline. Do not use in eyes or nose. This kills the maaggots. It is not good for the squirrel as they absorb it quickly, however, if you believe the squirrel will die without it, it is a good choice.
Now, of course, there is capstar that can be used, I just learning about it, but I do have the doses if someone is interested. I have not used capstar yet, but have heard good things about it. It is safer.

Regarding the chronic diarrhea- I think the sugar is too much in the jello. The deliver does not have sugar, it does have medicine, which the jello does not. Chris sells it at squirrelsandmore in small packets.

Probiotics may help with the digestion at this point, Deliver will coat the GI Tract and stop the intestines from pushing food through so rapidly, before it is digested.

[elizalalala]

I agree completely about the sugar in the Jello after trying it. I just went with the vet recommendation on the raspberry flavor, but I think if I ever have a need again I will buy undyed, unflavored, plain gelatin and use that in their formula. I can't imagine they would reject the formula mixed with gelatin even if it doesn't taste like raspberries.

Fortunately we are now diarrhea free and have been for about a week. After the last round of antibiotics I opted not to give them a new med and to just give them yogurt in their formula... within 3 days they were all pooping just fine. It is now my opinion that all the medicine recommendations were too much. I was just learning, but now I know I will give them time to recover between each med just to make sure the diarrhea isn't because the medicine worked on the pathogen but also killed the beneficial flora. (Seems like common sense in hindsight...)

[Critter_Queen]

I was just learning, but now I know I will give them time to recover between each med just to make sure the diarrhea isn't because the medicine worked on the pathogen but also killed the beneficial flora. (Seems like common sense in hindsight...)

We all learn as we go, sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we hit the jackpot. It sounds like you learned quite a bit from the experience!

I'm glad your babies are pooping well now. It's scary when they have diarrhea SO bad and it doesn't seem like there's anything you'll be able to do to fix it! I just keep thinking about how miserable I am when I have the trotts, LOL. :D It's got to be just as bad if not worse for them...

Good job! :thumbsup