Esbilac powder, sneezes...

[MySpottedFrog7]

Hello,

I found a baby squirrel and was able to get some advice from a rehabber but have not yet found a rehabber in my area. I have him for about a day and a half now and he is now rehydrated, peeing/pooping, and his eyes have really started opening. I started him on Pedialyte for the day yesterday and moved to Esbilac today. (3 parts Pedialyte, 1 part formula) I found on one website to add heavy whipping cream to the formula mixture...do you recommend this and if so when/how much? Also, Ive been feeding him about every 3.5 to four hrs and continue it through the night...is that correct? Finally, I have him on a heating pad with fleece, ect and I noticed that he has these occasional sneezes. I cant even find a decent vet for my guinea pigs around here so finding one for a squirrel could be impossible. (Im in Louisville, KY) Can I get some advice?? Should I continue with Pedialyte?

[MySpottedFrog7]

I forgot to ask...where do you get a heating pad that does not have the automatic shut off? I keep getting told they do not exist anymore but I have a hard time believing that.

[island rehabber]

You cannot feed Pedialyte more than 24 hours. You should transition the baby to formula now, but if I were you I would not use the Esbilac. I would order Fox Valley immediately (www.foxvalleynutrition.com) ; you'll want the Day One Formula for squirrels 4 wks and under - 32/40 is the product name. In the meantime, it is more advisable to use a homemade recipe with goat's milk until the Fox Valley arrives:



Jackie (Jackie in Tampa) has graciously offered her temporary replacement formula recipe.
Jackie's Goat Milk Recipe
1 cup goats milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dannon all natural vanilla yogurt

When you receive the Fox Valley you can transition the baby from goat's milk to FV by mixing 1/4 FV, 3/4 goat's milk formula for the first feeding...then 50/50 for the second feeding, then 3/4 FV to 1/4 goat's milk for the 3rd feeding. By the 4th feeding the squirrel will be on 100% Fox Valley.

[island rehabber]

I forgot to ask...where do you get a heating pad that does not have the automatic shut off? I keep getting told they do not exist anymore but I have a hard time believing that.
CVS and Rite-Aid stores do carry them.

this one has optional "continuous on" or "auto shut off"...
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=350858&productId=350858&navAction=jump&navCount=3 (http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=350858&productId=350858&navAction=jump&navCount=3)

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=740647&productId=740647&navAction=jump&navCount=3

[proud mama of Rocky]

I buy my heating pads at Petsmart, in the reptile section. They never shut off, and you can also purchase a temp controller that plugs into it that lets you monitor the exact temp of the pad at all times. But, its important to get one that only covers about half the space of the container the baby's in. That way, if he/she gets too warm, there is a cooler place to crawl to. Best of luck!

p.s. the sneezes could mean the baby has accidentally inhaled some formula into his/her lungs while eating, which could be very dangerous. I'm guessing you know this already though. I keep the smallest size snot sucking bulb (for lack of a better term) that you can buy for human infants on hand while feeding, and if I think there's a chance the baby inhaled any formula, I suck what I can out of each nostril. Not more than a couple times in each nostril as I worry about possibly deflating the baby's lungs (depending on baby's age), but this site also has a great list of other things to do for a baby that has aspirated, including tipped him/her downward to let formula drain out its nose on its own as much as possible. Hope this helps! I had my first baby this spring, and he had an injured nasal cavity, which for some reason seemed to make him terribly prone to aspirating. It got so bad that I honestly didn't think he'd make it for a period of about 3 weeks. But the little guy pulled through. My vet told me a position to hold the baby in at ALL times to try to keep him from drowning in the fluid in his own lungs, and for 3 WEEKS, he was NEVER, not once, put down. My boyfriend and I took time off work to rotate holding him, so if it gets this bad for you, please pm me and I'll try to tell you what the vet told me. You are doing a very good thing! Keep up the good work! :thumbsup

[Jackie in Tampa]

PLease do not mix pedialyte with formula...
you can switch between the two, alternating every other feeding if you are concerned with dehydration.
if aspiration pnuemonia, you will hear clicking with every breath from his chest, not head/mouth...babies will get lethargic and go down hill fast.
Please do not use bulb syringe to remove formula from nose, just tip head/nose toward floor gently, do not shake etc....just wipe off any formula that drains so it is not reinhaled.
I do use a bulb syringe when needed for thick mucus, but for formula aspiration, it's not needed.
:poke we love pics and sq stories...we have an intro forum...please tell us about yourself and your baby!


http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18:Welcome :wave123

[MySpottedFrog7]

Wow!!! Thank you all so much for your help...you've already helped so much! I didnt even think to look at heating pads in the reptile section at Petsmart. Just to give you an update he is off Pedialyte and has a lot more energy. He is swinging his tail all around as he eats and his eyes are opened. I just read on here about baby squirrels making a "pffft" sound...I believe thats what I keep hearing...it sounds like a sneeze and he only does it when hes awake. Ill keep posting on here...there is so much to learn!

[island rehabber]

I buy my heating pads at Petsmart, in the reptile section. They never shut off, and you can also purchase a temp controller that plugs into it that lets you monitor the exact temp of the pad at all times.
:thankyouPMoR for posting this tip! I am going to add it to one of our stickies in the Emergency section for people who have found baby squirrels and need to get equipment FAST.
I always relied on the drugstore chains (CVS< etc) for non-shutoff heating pads, but they are getting harder and harder to find. :(
Now if only there was a Petsmart closer than 8 miles from me...oh well. :tilt

[proud mama of Rocky]

Eeeeh, guess I may need to back off the bulb syringe. I truly believe it was instrumental in saving my first baby's life, but he was always sneezing big globs of mucous out his nose that were much, much thicker than formula! And, Jackie is right, he did much more than just sneeze! The clicking never stopped and every breath was labored and very wheezy and through an open mouth. Eventually it got so bad that he'd only breath every 5-10 seconds, so it sounds like you really have nothing to worry about! Good luck!:)

[Runestonez]

We have a heating pad that shuts off after about 30 minutes...
so what we did was wrap it in arctic fleece...
so when it would shut off it would hold the heat for a while longer...up to 3 hours later it was still warm...and that was on the low setting...it was enough to get us through the night with only one or two wake ups to check the heating pad!
:)

[PDXErik]

I forgot to ask...where do you get a heating pad that does not have the automatic shut off? I keep getting told they do not exist anymore but I have a hard time believing that.

My heating pad shuts off after 24 hours. SO, I tricked the thing and it is on a timer that shuts it off for 15 minutes once every 24 hours, and then turns it back on.

[MySpottedFrog7]

I found a heating pad at CVS! :wott