New Baby Help Needed!!!

[TexasSquirrel]

Hello. Last Sunday my son found a baby squirrel. Her eyes are not open and she is just starting to get fur on her. I have been doing so much research on how to care for a baby squirrel and I get so much different information. So here is my delimia:
I started feeding esiliac (excuse the spelling) the read that is not good for the squirrel but to feed boiled whole milk with vitamin E (5 drops per 1 cup mixture) so i started feeding the milk. Now looking through this forum I noticed alot of recommendations on "Fox Valley". She eats regular, and enough for her weight 30grams. What is the difference in feeding the fox valley food opposed to what i am currently feeding?

Issue #2: She urinates after every feeding which is every couple of hours. There for a while she had healthy orangy poopie on a regular basis. Now i get no poopie at all. The last few times she did, it seemed to be pretty sticky, I have a feeling she is "clogged up" and its to much for her to push it out. I have tried massaging her belly in warm water, but no luck. I need assistance with that. I did see where others have recommended plain yogart, is there any specific brand and how much do i give?

Issue #3: her skin is REALLY dry, its a little flakey. She did have a ton of fire ant bites on her when i first got her, but they are pretty much going away now. I was using triple antibiotic ointment. But now she has the dry skin, can i put lotion on her?

This is the first time i have even been close to a small animal, she is so tiny. I am the 'parent' of two great danes so this is, needless to say, quite the change.
mjs

[Kristal]

Uggh, I know. There is so much contradictory info on food that it is enough to drive you mad. I spent many hours reading sites and still had no idea what to do. There is only one thing that rehabbers seem to agree on when it comes to food, and that is that fox valley is the best

http://foxvalleynutrition.com/prod/details.asp?CID=1&PLID=1

Esbilac is known to cause a lot of digestive problems and worse, so you should not stay on that. I used the temp formula posted here: 3 parts goats milk, 1 part heavy cream and 1 part natural yoghurt with no chemical additives - for over a week with no digestive upset in four squirrels. So I can recommend that from experience.

I always rub vitamin e into my dogs skin when they get some skin irritation, but I don't know if that would be safe for squirrels or not. Some of it is likely to wind up in her tummy, so moisturiser is probably not a good idea. Olive oil or butter are good natural moisturisers that most people have in their house, anyway. Vitamin e and aloe vera will speed healing and are generally safe to eat... but for a tiny one, and her whole body maybe not vitamin e as it can thin blood a lot and increase risk of internal injury in very large doses. And to a tiny one a small dose is much larger.

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome
hi...no scalded milk..there is not enough nutrition or fat in cow milk to support the required nutrition of a baby sq..
Awe but you hit pay dirt here...we know how to raise baby sqs!:alright.gif
Thank you for helping the little one.
Can you post a pic, for the rehabbers to help...
Dry skin, hmmm, what kind of container are you using, no cardboard, it sucks the moisture out of them.
Make sure the heating pad is not too hot. I set it on low and the best temp is be able to barely feel warmth...too hot will also cause flakey skin.. no lotion, more oral hydration.
No poops...bad sign, next you will see diareha. Clarissa is responsible for the deaths of many sqs from dehydration alone...diarreha is def from the scalded milk...I too am guilty and tried it for awhile...Fox Valley rocks!
Esbilac was the choice for many years. Pet Ag, the manufacturer changed the process in which they make it now.It too will cause diarreha...
When urine is clear, the baby is hydrated...
Do you know how to do the pinch test? Gently pinch the skin between the shoulders, if it relaxes, all good!
If it tents, you must stop formula and rehydrate.
Here is a homemade recipe for Rehydration solution
1 quart warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt, mix and store in fridge for up to 3 days...
Hang on someone will be here soon..
Fox valley must be ordered from Nick at Foxvalleynutrition.com
or henryspets.com, the later sells proper syringes and nipples also, saving postage:thumbsup
Edit..kristal types fast!

[taz42018]

I noticed by not usuing FV they are always dried out, as soon as I changed their skin stopped being dry and they always look hydrated as opposed to just meal times.

[lookmomchickens]

:Welcome Texas Squirrel,

What part of the state are you located in? I'm in Houston (you don't have to give your city, you can private message me if you want), so we are here to help.

I'm in Denver at the moment on a stupid business trip, but flying home tomorrow if you need anything! I'll PM you my number as well.

Also, how old do you think this baby is? Could you possibly post a picture?

And I'm a Dane owner as well (3 of them) so I can relate to the size difference! :)

[Kristal]

Here is a page that will help you figure out how old s/he is if s/he is a grey:

http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/feature/174/how-to-determine-the-age-of-a-baby-squirrel.htm

[TexasSquirrel]

Thank you all. I have just gotten off the phone with Nick and should have my FV formula tomorrow afternoon. I am attempting to upload a picture of the baby (which as been named CoCo by my son.) I hope it works. Update is last night I got a little poopie out of her, about the size of a grain of rice. It was a little lighter than the color of mustard but really hard. Is that okay?