bathing a baby

[RiverRock]

I had to give Rocky a bath becase he had urine all over him when I got him out to feed. He was sticky and smelly. I bathed him gently in lukewarm water and dried him off best I could. I now have him warpped up in a tee shirt and the tucked that into a polar fleece blanket.

Any suggestions on wha might help him from getting like that again? Is there a certain kind of bedding that is best? I had a fleece blanket over a hot water bottle for him.

[CritterMom]

Can you get ahold of a heating pad that does not have the automatic shut off feature? It is the bottom of the line cheapo heating pad at places like CVS and Walgreens - less that $15. Henry's Pets has one as well. They are SO much better than hot water bottles - nice, constant temp.

If you can find some microfiber fleece - that is the super soft stuff - it is extremely absorbent. The regular fleece is not absorbent at all. Microfiber will wick the pee away from him, and if he is on constant heat, it will also dry quickly so that he doesn't get wet and cold.

[RiverRock]

Thanks I will try to find the microfiber fleece some were. Hard to find things in my tiny town I may have to order some. I have a heating pad on order from Henrys along with a scale and FV.

[mugzeezma]

Mine are in a plastic critter container soon to be moved to an old aquarium and then the cage. I bed on old towels and wash clothes and throw them in the laundry. Even though their eyes are open I still stimulate over a paper towel when I take them out. They stay cleaner that way. Now they eliminate as soon as I place them over the paper towel. Now that I am allowing self feeding they get ultra messy.
They get baths every other day if they need it.

[skunkangel]

I use receiving blankets in the bottom of plastic totes for the squirrel kids. The other thing that works for their little beds is fleece winter hats, like human kids would wear. If you can find actual fleece structured cup type hats, they make good beds too but you have to line them with the receiving blanket to absorb pee.

I'm new here, so this might be a stupid question, but if this is a baby squirrel, are you stimulating him to make him pee before putting him to bed each time? If you do that often enough, he should have enough pee to soak himself. You might be an old pro at this and I just insulted you by asking such a mundane question, so if I so, I apologize in advance. :)

[RiverRock]

Thank you for the great suggestings. Nope not a pro at all this is all new to me..I just got Rocky few days ago..but yes I do stimulate him but he goes a lot even when he is sleeping. Both pee and poop.

I have a really nice fleece planket I been sing with him so I was thinking I will take a tee shirt and put it in the fleece blanket and put him in that..hoping it will help. I have him in a large tote now with a hot water bottle till my heating pad gets here. His poop is pretty runny now so i hope my FV get here soon also.

[skunkangel]

Thank you for the great suggestings. Nope not a pro at all this is all new to me..I just got Rocky few days ago..but yes I do stimulate him but he goes a lot even when he is sleeping. Both pee and poop.

I have a really nice fleece planket I been sing with him so I was thinking I will take a tee shirt and put it in the fleece blanket and put him in that..hoping it will help. I have him in a large tote now with a hot water bottle till my heating pad gets here. His poop is pretty runny now so i hope my FV get here soon also.

I have a friend who uses towels inside a pillow case as the crate bottom with the babies. That might work well for you too. FYI - I'm not a fan of the water bottle. I know somewhere here there's a thread about non-electric ways to keep warm, so you might want to check that out. The water bottles can get cold quickly and then suck all the warmth out of the little guy before you know it. I love old mens socks filled with rice, tie an end on the sock, microwave it til it's warm and put it in one corner of the crate. It never gets 'cold' and the heat from it is warm and wet. They cuddle to it if they want the warmth, and they stay away if they aren't cold. It seems to work, up to a certain age when they chew holes in them. :)

You'll love FV when you get it. It will fix him up real quick. What are you feeding right now?

[RiverRock]

Would a sock with beans in it do good also? I was doing that at first bt it got cold faster then the water bottle did. But I can switch t back no problem. I didnt know the water bottle sucked the heat out when it cooled...my goodness.

Right now i am feeding him puppy formula with some natural vanilla yogurt mixed in. he is eating really well. He looks like he is about to open his eyes also..I see him keep trying to blink them..lol

[skunkangel]

Would a sock with beans in it do good also? I was doing that at first bt it got cold faster then the water bottle did. But I can switch t back no problem. I didnt know the water bottle sucked the heat out when it cooled...my goodness.

Right now i am feeding him puppy formula with some natural vanilla yogurt mixed in. he is eating really well. He looks like he is about to open his eyes also..I see him keep trying to blink them..lol

Hmm... how do ppl resist the temptation on these boards to private message people and say 'just call me, here's my number'? :)

Anyway...not sure about the beans, maybe someone else can assist in that department. I know rice works, and if nothing else even when it stops being warm, it doesn't get COLD. Water gets cold, and therein lies the problem with it. I worry when you say "puppy formula". Maybe it's just me though. Is it Esbilac or is it Just Born, Hartz, something else? I'll wait to see what the senior members here have to say about Just Born and Hartz before I comment on my opinion of how to proceed until Monday when FV shows up. In the meantime, where are you in Oregon? Do you have a 24 hour vet hospital anywhere that might be able to sell you a small amount of Esbilac until Monday? They usually have cans of it. Tell them you have a puppy, not a squirrel and they'll help you. I wish you were closer...maybe I can email you some FV 20/50. :)

[PDXErik]

I love old mens socks

I can help you out if you like.

As for the beans in the sock, should I use one can? Two?

(on a serious note)

If you PM good information, you're really just withholding valuable advice that other people may be able to use.

[RiverRock]

LOL..they dont resist I had 2 people PM me and say to call them the first 2 days I was here..LOL And let me tell you I was so very glad for it I needed it so bad!

I am using hartz puppy formula. Bt I dont want to change it right now because I will just be changing it again when the FV gets here ..to man changes will mess him up for sure.
We dont have a 24 hour vet here. i live in a small town in the middle of the dessert valley were we cant find anything we need.

So what is your take on the hartz puppy formula? I have not heard anything about it yet.

[wheezer]

Hi RR:wave123
That is why I was suggesting using old T-shirts etc. They absorb urine better. The fleece are nice and soft but I found too that they just didn't absorb so the urine would stay on the baby!

Towels inside a pillow case sounds good too. You get the absorbtion of a towel but it can't cause the baby squirrels to get their little claws caught in the threads:thumbsup

Hi to little Rocky:wave123 :grouphug

[RiverRock]

Hey wheezer..hugs!

Yep i have him in a nice tshirt now inside the fleece planket. He was much better when i went to feed him just little bit ago. did not have pee on him much jst a little poop..lol

He ate 4cc this time! Getting a nice little belly on him now. I will kiss him for yo and tell him you will see him soon:D :wott

[skunkangel]

...Let's see... I have been known to call Hartz puppy formula (and I quote) "milk-flavored anti-freeze". I hate it. It's terrible. I've lost skunks, squirrels, bunnies, and even a fox to it. I don't know how it doesn't kill puppies. I understand not wanting to change it though, bcz you'll be changing again in a day. Is this little one emaciated? If not, I would at least dilute the formula a bit with pedialyte. If he already has diarrhea, it won't hurt. Remember, there's no such thing as too much Pedialyte really. The only time it's too much it when the kid needs calories and isn't getting them. I personally would prefer even goats milk to Hartz, but it's a tough call. It'll be okay for one more day I suppose. Just make sure when you get the FV, mix it at first as 1/2 cup powder to 1.5cups water, to get him on it. I even sometimes skip water and mix the powder directly with Pedialyte when I'm feeding diluted formula. But I would NOT mix FV with Hartz to transition him. I would remove the Hartz from the equation as soon as possible. So Monday morning, feed him 100% Pedialyte at first feeding time, two hours later feed him again 100% Pedialyte, then two hours later start doing 75% Pedialyte 25% FV, then next feeding 50/50% Pedialyte/FV, then 25% Pedialyte, 75% FV, etc. The first two feeding of 100% pedialyte two hours apart should clear his gut of the Hartz. So it will be like you just got him from the finder, starting new. At any point in the process, you start seeing white poop or soft stools/diarrhea, go back a step. So if you get to the 50%/50% stage and he turns on you, just go back to 25%/75% for a feeding, then try again. It's a pain but it only lasts 1-2 days, so it's bearable.

[RiverRock]

Thank you for that information. I wish I had known that abot the hartz formula before..we are just so limited on what we can find in stores here.
He already has some diareah...should I be supplementing him with the pedialite now between feedings? *starting to get scared for him* Will he be ok till the FV gets here? I hope it gets here by Monday. It was shipped yesterday by priority mail.

[wheezer]

:goodpost

...Let's see... I have been known to call Hartz puppy formula (and I quote) "milk-flavored anti-freeze". I hate it. It's terrible. I've lost skunks, squirrels, bunnies, and even a fox to it. I don't know how it doesn't kill puppies. I understand not wanting to change it though, bcz you'll be changing again in a day. Is this little one emaciated? If not, I would at least dilute the formula a bit with pedialyte. If he already has diarrhea, it won't hurt. Remember, there's no such thing as too much Pedialyte really. The only time it's too much it when the kid needs calories and isn't getting them. I personally would prefer even goats milk to Hartz, but it's a tough call. It'll be okay for one more day I suppose. Just make sure when you get the FV, mix it at first as 1/2 cup powder to 1.5cups water, to get him on it. I even sometimes skip water and mix the powder directly with Pedialyte when I'm feeding diluted formula. But I would NOT mix FV with Hartz to transition him. I would remove the Hartz from the equation as soon as possible. So Monday morning, feed him 100% Pedialyte at first feeding time, two hours later feed him again 100% Pedialyte, then two hours later start doing 75% Pedialyte 25% FV, then next feeding 50/50% Pedialyte/FV, then 25% Pedialyte, 75% FV, etc. The first two feeding of 100% pedialyte two hours apart should clear his gut of the Hartz. So it will be like you just got him from the finder, starting new. At any point in the process, you start seeing white poop or soft stools/diarrhea, go back a step. So if you get to the 50%/50% stage and he turns on you, just go back to 25%/75% for a feeding, then try again. It's a pain but it only lasts 1-2 days, so it's bearable.

[skunkangel]

Thank you for that information. I wish I had known that abot the hartz formula before..we are just so limited on what we can find in stores here.
He already has some diareah...should I be supplementing him with the pedialite now between feedings? *starting to get scared for him* Will he be ok till the FV gets here? I hope it gets here by Monday. It was shipped yesterday by priority mail.

Nick @ FV is an amazing man, so I'm sure he shipped it as quickly as possible. Hopefully you'll have it Monday. Do you have a tracking number for it to see when the estimate delivery is? I can't remember if Nick uses UPS or the postal service. Anyway, I personally would cut the Hartz 50% with Pedialyte for now. What I have seen happen with Hartz is the diarrhea gets so bad that their bellies and butts get really red and raw looking. It looks painful. I use only A&D ointment on babies, bcz it has nothing harmful in it, and I would coat him in it down under to protect him from the 'diaper' type rash he might get from all the diarrhea. I'm assuming that you don't have a weight on this little guy? That will help you know how much to feed at each feeding. Until the FV arrives, I'm not sure how to advise. I hate to make him go 2 days with less than adequate nutrition but I also hate to tell you to switch to Esbilac only to switch again to FV in a day or so. If you knew now that the FV wasn't coming until Tuesday, I would say drive honey... drive wherever you need to and find some Esbilac. Call rehabbers in your area and find someone with one cup of FV that you can borrow/buy. Find a puppy breeder on petfinder, or call animal shelters. Animals EAT on Sunday, so they will have someone there even if there are no hours posted. I know it sucks, and I know you're out in the middle of nowhere, but welcome to first time rehab. If you want to raise him, you need to get a kit together fast. You need that scale, heating pad, Pedialyte, Esbilac or FV quickly, a bulb syringe for when he blows milk out his nose, etc. I would love to say that he'll be fine on the Hartz until Monday or Tuesday but I worry that I'll say that and then something bad will happen and you'll hate me. I don't know how big he is, and if he's 50 or less grams, one day of diarrhea can be fatal. When you're so little, dehydration happens VERY quickly and it's hard to turn them around, even for us "pros" sometimes. We've got incubators, and iv bags and can subq if need be and sometimes we can't even bring them back. I don't want to scare you, but I don't want to mislead you either. if it means an hour road trip tomorrow to a pet store that carries esbilac, go. If you can find a chicken feed type farm store, they might have it too. (But often not open on Sundays very late at all) At this point it wouldn't hurt to feed 50% Pedialyte and 50% Hartz until you find Esbilac then immediately switch to 50/50 Esbilac instead. The switch will happen again with FV but better to try now than to regret it later. I'm sorry if I sound harsh...it's just my opinion though. Others might totally disagree when it comes to the Hartz. I had two skunks this year make it ten full days on Hartz before they got to me, and it took three more days of my trying to fix them before they died. Maybe the Hartz was worse for them bcz they had been on it for so long, i don't know. Maybe the finders fed too little or too much...who knows. Hang in there, don't panic. As long as he's hydrated, you should be able to make it, so at least do the supplemental Pedialyte for now. That way your bases are covered until you can make some calls and get a plan together.

[RiverRock]

Ok I am very happy right now because I just got off the phone with the lady that came to get the 2 female squirrel babies yesterday and she is going to bring me some FV tomorrow for Rocky to hold him over till my order gets here.
So I am going to take him off the formula completely now and get him on just the pedialite till I get the FV from the lady tomorrow.

I dont know how much he weighs yet, I have a scale, heat pad and FV all comeing same time.

Rocky is doing pretty good but I did notice his genitiles are getting red so that explains that also. Poor little guy I am just doing everything wrong it seems. I just have to improvise best I can till everything gets here.

[skunkangel]

Ok I am very happy right now because I just got off the phone with the lady that came to get the 2 female squirrel babies yesterday and she is going to bring me some FV tomorrow for Rocky to hold him over till my order gets here.
So I am going to take him off the formula completely now and get him on just the pedialite till I get the FV from the lady tomorrow.
:wott

Yay!!! The FV tomorrow will make an amazing difference, you'll see. And you're 100% right about going ahead with 100% Pedialyte for tonight/morning until you meet with the other rehabber. Don't think that you're doing anything wrong!!! You did the best you could with the resources that were available to you. In fact, to help illustrate, I'll explain my last experience with Hartz. These two 20-ish year old girls found these two baby skunks in a field. Nearby Momma skunk was lying dead under a shed that collapsed on her and whatever other babies she had. These two girls picked up the skunks (most people won't!) and took them home on Mother's Day. The next day, Monday, they called a local St. Louis rehab and asked if they would take them. The rehab they called said they couldn't take in eyes-closed babies but would happy to have them euthanized. Of course these girls said heck no! So they went to Wal-Mart and bought Hartz puppy formula and started feeding them. They did the best they could, until things started going wrong and they finally found me. It wasn't their fault. It's not like you can run to Wal-Mart and get skunk formula or squirrel formula.
I was worried when I wrote my last reply that i might scare you, or worry you too much, or just kill your confidence. That's not what I meant to happen. You CAN do this. It just takes some preparation, but see - you're already on the right road. He may have been totally fine until Monday or Tuesday, I just hate to chance it when I can't see him or know his weight. And I would hate to be wrong and have your first experience go wrong. The good news is, squirrels are fairly resilient. Unlike a lot of other species (those blasted bunnies!) squirrels sometimes show up to our clinic at death's door and we look at them thinking 'oh no...this one is a goner'. But a lot of the time, you push Pedialyte, get 'em warm, deflea, and 30 minutes later you've got a juvie squirrels wreaking havoc in your $10,000 NICU incubator. :) Chances are this guy will be perfectly fine by midweek and you'll be the happiest little mommy in the world. Your heart is in the right place, and sometimes that counts for a lot!

Hang in there, and pat yourself on the back for all the hard work you've done so far. The first one is tough... hard to go to bed and not check on them every two minutes, hard to leave the house EVER without them, and hard to figure out what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. You'll be great though.

[RiverRock]

I just gave Rockyboy his first feeding of FV! I sure hope he does better now. I hope the redness goes away soon, poor guy makes me hurt for him.

Skunkangel..thank yo so much for all your help, I truly appreciate you.

[jo_schmoe]

and soon you will see some great nice solid poos!! And when you do......jump for joy and scream it to the world!! ( only telling u to do this so I feel better about doing it myself) :jump Good luck little mama/papa. You are doing an amazing job just by recognizing that the FV is best.