Not Pooping

[mattnjeana]

I have rescued a baby squirrel on friday at noonish.....located the local vet ....they told me to put it on a heating pad on low in a shoe box with a old tshirt and gave me 1cc droppers to feed it with ...they also gave me some cat replacement formula to give it....all was going wonderful several poops and pees till after 7 pm.....was feeding it 3 of the one cc droppers till saturday morning every 2 hours.....spoke to the vet again they told me i might be overfeeding to go down to, two dropper fulls every 2 hours ...they have estimated it to be at about 3-4 weeks maybe its eyes are still closed ...and i weighed it today at 2 ounces....the problem is the last time it pooped was friday at 7 pm its now nearly 6 pm sunday....i dont think its bloated its tummy feels full ...i have given it a couple drops of olive oil last night ....nothing today i tried a couple drops of kayro syrup ....nothing....last feeding i stopped the formula mixture they had me mixing 1/2 teaspoon formula powder to 1 ounce of water....but that would last a days feedings ....i gave it a dropper full of apple juice and another dropper full of pedalyte fruit flavored.....I am very worried i have read so much on it about it dying if it dont poop ........pleaseeeeeeeeeeee help

[CritterMom]

First,, please, please, order some Fox Valley Day One 32/40 formula, available at either www.foxvalleynutrition.com or http://henryspets.com. Back in "the day" they used kitten and puppy formulas, but now you can get a formula specifically made for baby squirrels. It is far and away the best. Kitten formula has never been really good, and puppy was a bit better, but this stuff is the bomb! It is a small company and they don't have the exposure that the big pet food manufacturers that make the puppy and kitten formula have - your vet has likely never heard of it.

Don't panic and stop giving oil and stuff, okay?

Can you post a pic of the baby? We need to know his age for sure to help with feeding amounts and a pic will tell us that.

I hope these are 1cc SYRINGES and not eyedroppers. If not, order the formula from Henrys pets and also get some 1cc syringes and nipples. Eyedroppers are not good to use, it is too easy to aspirate.

Bloat is the killer. We will help you get him to poop, but we need some pics first. And you really, really need to order the food and feeding stuff to be delivered ASAP. Henrys will ship overnight.

[mattnjeana]

I have already tried the warm bath and rubbing her belly too. i have attatched 2 pictures i hope they post

[mattnjeana]

i am looking at the site to order what you suggested right now.....not sure what i should feed her in the meantime....i also believe these are droppers i am using not syringes and there is no nipple with the dropper all i do is squeeze the end of it .

[CritterMom]

Oooooh, a baby girl fox squirrel - she is beautiful! She looks good, too, no bloat - that is good.

3-4ccs every three hours would probably be right - foxers are a little bigger than gray squirrels.

You can sandwich in between these feedings a syringe of pedialyte and water to rehydrate a bit to help with the poops but this little one doesn't look dehydrated.

I think she needs a little more food. You decrease feedings and dilute formula when they have diarrhea, not constipation. I also think the formula needs to be changed.

Keep feeding her, and keep stimulating - she will poop. And order the other formula. She is gorgeous! As long as that tummy stays nice and soft, gets round after eating and begins to flatten out a little toward the next feeding, you are doing it right, and she will poop. We have dancing bananas with poop signs in the smilies collection just for these occasions!

[island rehabber]

Honestly, she looks a bit thin to me......you may not be feeding her enough and so she hasn't much in there to poop out. Go back to the feeding you were doing when she was pooping regularly. Why did your vet think you were overfeeding her? Does this vet know squirrels, or is he/she a cat&dog vet, in which case he may never have taken a course on wildlife?

I had a spring baby who did not poop from a Sunday night to a Thursday afternoon. She lived, and thrived, and is free in the forest right now. Please don't panic. :peace

[mattnjeana]

kk thank you sooo much maybe that is it then i was giving 3 to 4 ccs the darn vet told me i was overfeeding but now that i think about it thats when she was pooping with that amount ....maybe i am not giving enough..ok but should i give her the formula i have till the other comes?

[CritterMom]

Hey IR - just shy of 60 grams - 5% is 3cc; 7% is a little over 4 - is that about right??

[CritterMom]

kk thank you sooo much maybe that is it then i was giving 3 to 4 ccs the darn vet told me i was overfeeding but now that i think about it thats when she was pooping with that amount ....maybe i am not giving enough..ok but should i give her the formula i have till the other comes?

Yes...but - and I know it is pricey to do so - but please order it so you have it in hand Tuesday.

http://henryspets.com is owned by a member of this board who knows how important all of this is, and you can do one stop shopping. Buy the Fox Valley 32/40 and a few 1cc syringes and some nipples - they are literally a few cents each. Tell her you need it hot rush ASAP and she will take care of you!

Finding a vet who knows squirrels is sort of like winning the lottery...fat chance!

What is this beautiful girl's name?

[island rehabber]

Yes- 4 and even 5cc is fine in my book. Especially with an underweight baby to begin with. mattnjeana, continue with the formula as you did before until the FV arrives. This little foxer needs nutrients. :thumbsup

[mattnjeana]

ok i have it all ordered so just keep ( peanut) on the other till it comes i will increase her back up to 3 or 4 ccs every 3 hours instead of every 2 correct? and hopefully she will begin pooping i will keep you posted and thank you so much for the help....btw how old do you think she is? 3 weeks?

[island rehabber]

I'd say three weeks. That schedule does sound ok...once she is on Fox Valley completely you'll want to go to every 4 hours or even 4.5 hrs between feedings. But right now stick with every 3, and try to get her to take at least 4cc.

[mattnjeana]

just one more question....is 2 ounces about what she should weigh at about 3 weeks? I am asking because you had mentioned she looked a little underweight?

[island rehabber]

that's only 56 grams....maybe ok for a grey that age, but I think a foxer should weigh more at this point. Disclaimer: I have not rehabbed fox squirrels, so I do not speak from experience, but that sounds under the norm to me.

[mattnjeana]

ok i have increased her feedings to 4 ccs every 3 hours she has had a total of 4 feedings now and still no poop ....anyone have any idea how long before she will go poop ? I dont want to panic and am still just worried.

[nnmaru1]

How about putting it into warm water, upright, waste level, while massaging SQ’s belly?
Seems to work for digestion issues often and the buggers don’t seem to mind it.
I’d give it a shot. Dry her really well afterwards and wrap up in fleece or cotton of course.

[mattnjeana]

i have tried that many times....everyone seems to think i wasnt feeding it enough i just wondered how long it will take since i increased her feedings?

[mugzeezma]

How about putting it into warm water, upright, waste level, while massaging SQ’s belly?
Seems to work for digestion issues often and the buggers don’t seem to mind it.
I’d give it a shot. Dry her really well afterwards and wrap up in fleece or cotton of course.
Where are you located?I am in Illinois and have some syringes
I will PrivateMessage my number to you.
It takes awhile for them to start pooping after being orphaned.

[mattnjeana]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! She finally pooped and shes been peeing alot now on her own even ........................ I find all kinds of wet spots in her box .......amazing what can happen when you finally feed her the right amount .;) Been giving her 4 to 5 ccs every 3 hours ....Thank you so much for your help!!!! I am sure as she grows I will have tons of more questions.

[island rehabber]

:thumbsup :D :poop

[mugzeezma]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! She finally pooped and shes been peeing alot now on her own even ........................ I find all kinds of wet spots in her box .......amazing what can happen when you finally feed her the right amount .;) Been giving her 4 to 5 ccs every 3 hours ....Thank you so much for your help!!!! I am sure as she grows I will have tons of more questions.
YIPPEEEEE POOP!!!
Sometimes a little knowledge can scare the heck out of you :D
There are so many things that can go wrong and so many things that can go right. Our squirrely friends are so tough even as little babies.
There are so many stories here and so many good people.
Don't be afraid to check out the resources at the university veterinary college there. They have a top notch wildlife department from what I have heard. Be careful though because it may be connected in some way with the DNR and they don't take kindly to 'The Public' handling wildlife
feel free to call anytime Jeana :)

[mugzeezma]

Had to change the title!!!
:jump

[mattnjeana]

:thankyou


I never thought after my last child was born that I would ever get excited over pooping again....lol but alas here I am ...think the whole neighborhood heard me hollering yessssssssssssss shes pooping lol :wahoo

thank you so much .....there are so many nice people on here....I am sure I will get to know you all better over the next several months. :jump

[jo_schmoe]

What a beautiful baby foxer!! I have 2 myself! (yeah!!! friends!!!) :wahoo If you ever wanna compare notes (weights, development stages) Id be more than happy to help. I agree with the 3 week old opinion. Thats exactly what mine looked like at 3 weeks. You are about to see that tail get beautiful and orange in the next couple of weeks. And watch out.....with them being bigger, they suck harder. Which means that you are better off sticking with a 1cc syringe than even a 3 cc. I learned this out quick the older they got and the more powerful their jaws became. Again, im not an expert by any means, just have 2 healthy, fat, poop machines...aka fox squirrels! BTW. I LOVE that you were excited about poop. I posted a huge pic of Rocky and Rhoadas first great poop on my thread. Go Poop!!! :peace