Trying to get away from the heat????

[LiLTreeRat]

Hi!

Well, here I am again! :D This time with a sweet little female. She's still in the warm and hydrate stage...just got her this afternoon. She's skinny and dehydrated, but seems strong. She's a bit younger than my last little guy. She's taking small slow drops of pedialyte...about 0.5ml every couple hours. Wish us luck!

Here she is.......

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:wave123

[LiLTreeRat]

So something woke me up suddenly this AM...went to check on my little girl and she had made her way all the way to the other side of the box without heat and was soooo cold! I thought she had died....barely moving. I checked the heating pad and it was on and on low....it is under the box with a towel at the bottom of the box so it can't be TOO warm for her to seek a cooler area....can it?? Now I'm too worried to sleep at all.... :morning..... will be checking on her every few minutes! Ugh! I hope she'll be ok.......:shakehead

[LiLTreeRat]

Ok, my new little girl...4 weeks old....keeps crawling away from the heat in her box. I woke up (after a three hour "nap")this AM to find her all the way on the other side of her box...the side without the heating pad under it. The heating pad is on low and it is under the box and the box is lined with a towel. I cannot imagine its getting too hot?? I put my hand in there for a couple minutes, and it seemed fine. She has been doing this since I got her yesterday....only this time she was way too far away and got really cold...now i'm worried. She's so skinny and not yet completely hydrated.

Should I heat the entire box?? I thought about laying a second towel in the bottom, but that seems like it isn't warm enough....any thoughts??.... suggestions??:dono



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[CritterMom]

Either roll a piece of fleece up into a tube and put it around her in a circle like a corrall so she can't leave the warmth, or put the entire container on the pad so she cannot leave the heat.

Instead of flat layers of fabris in the baby box I used for my boy, I put a layer of fleece on the bottom and then cut a ton of fleece up into little 5 or 6 inch cubes that I dumed in on top of the flay layer of fleece. He could crawl all over under and though them and if he got hot I would find him on top of the pile, then if he was a little chilly he could burrow down into them. But he could never get to an area that was cold because the whole thing was on heat. The little squares were stuffed into a lingerie bag for washing.

Make a couple rice buddies for her - pour uncooked rice in a sock and tie it off, microwave until warm (hold and mash them for a few minutes before turning them over to her so you know there are no hot spots). She is probably hunting for her siblings.

[CritterMom]

I responded to your other pst.

[LiLTreeRat]

She is probably hunting for her siblings.

Poor thing....that didn't even cross my mind...she wants her siblings. Awww (tear)....Thanks CritterMom....I'm going to make her some rice buddies.:Love_Icon

[CritterMom]

Also, just because it says to put the heating pad on "lo" you need to check and monitor the temp - low on yours might not be warm enough. A digital meat or candy thermometer is a good way to see how warm it actually is in there.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I have always put the heating pad under the entire cage for babies and they always like to snuggle under the blankies towards the heat. The only time they actively crawl away from the heat is when they are dying! I would keep a very close eye on this little one and try to get the heating pad under the entire container and make it so she can't crawl off and get cold. I don't like the way she is laying in the picture either, she looks like she is very sick. You are going to have to take it slow with this little one, keeping her warm is top priority, second is rehydrating. You might want to start off with Vital HN or ensure before giving fox valley is she is really weak because both are easy to digest and will get her systems working again before they have to digest the formula. Small meals more often is the way to go when they are weak like this as well.

Good luck, I hope I am just being a worrier and she is just fine. :grouphug

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Forgot to ask: how much does she weigh?

[Jackie in Tampa]

Like SRBT has said...when a baby continues to leave the warm heated area, it is called THE DEATH CRAWL...
usually these sqs have more wrong with them than we can see...
most times, nothing will change that.:(

Otherwise, she may have been seeking warmth...
I use a heating pad with one layer of something fabric between the container and the pad...inside the container I use cotton baby recieving blankets, three fold thick...I add small squares of soft fleece to use as covers.
Ideally you want to feel a fist sized warm area...that's all, NOT HOT.
A rice buddy is a must for a single as young as yours...it is medical and mentally a good thing.

All fluids need to be warm to almost hot...
Wrap your baby in a small pc of fabric while feeding, no chills.

I am not one that adds all sorts of stuff to get a baby to eat..I do not flavor pedialyte yada yada...
However, when a baby is so emaciated, they usually do not have appetite, so this is one of the times I do dip my nipple or syringe tip in molasses.
This will up the blood sugar {the mouth is very fast to absorb}, helping to increase appetite.
Go very slow, slow is key...head up tail down , do not tip back like a human baby{I am sure you already know this, but I just want to say it anyways:peace }
Hydration test...gently lift the skin between the shoulders, if it stays tented, continue to rehydrate...if it relaxes slowly, you are getting there!:thumbsup
Once you feel that she has a wee bit more energy ...you need to start adding nutrition...dilute formula...remember we need the baby warm and semi hydrated...this little one is going to be tricky ...emaciation is diffecult. Less fluid more often is best...do you work?
can you take baby with you, all the while keeping him warm...{the rice buddy will hold heat for almost an hour if large enough....}
Dilute formula is still hydrating...watch the milk line to make sure the baby is digesting it...

You will get alot of good ideas from TSB members..
but if you need to talk thru this, I have experience with babies in this condition, and am home all day and night.
Send me a PM if I can help more!
Thank you for loving a squirrel...sending good vibes to you both!:Love_Icon :Love_Icon

[island rehabber]

Merged your threads into one, here in the Emergency forum. How is the little girl this morning?

[CritterMom]

See the pic below? Your pic of your baby took me aback - they are almost identical. That is my little guy almost 2 years ago to the day. He, too, was horribly dehydrated. I did not have the benefit of TSB, either; he was a bratty teen when I found this place. I accidentally did one thing right - hydration. The first day I gave him dribbles of rehydration fluid every half hour, day and night. Day 2 I started with very diluted formula and again, small amounts all day and night. Yes, I was a zombie. It wasn't until the third night that he was hydrated enough to WANT to eat and started to actually nurse, and not just lay placidly letting liquid drop in his mouth.

He weight nearly 2 pounds today!

You may have to just bust your butt for the first couple days getting her hydrated and getting some nutrition, but it CAN be done. The dehydration can make them feel bad enough to crawl off the heat...

[LiLTreeRat]

Well, she still wants to crawl away from the heat....I made her a rice buddy and she was laying on top of it when I checked on her just now. I am having pretty good luck getting fluids into her....she's not eager to drink, but swallows drop by drop just fine. She's making little squeeks when I pick her up. Her hydratrion is getting better, but not great yet. She is peeing a little.
Her breathing bothers me a bit....seems a little labored..no clicking or anything.

One thing I noticed when I pick her up she fights to get into may hair and wants to lay in it on my shoulder....maybe I'll just be lazy all day and let her sleep there. :D

Jackie... I do work, but ideally I manage a Veterinary Hospital so she will go to work with me. :)

[CritterMom]

A vet hospital! OK, you win!

Don't give her the option of getting off the heat, especially since you can monitor so closely. Also, make sure you have her in some kind of plastic container, like the little sterlite bin boxes they sell, with many vent holes. Get a jar lid and place it on the bottom of the container she is in, over in a corner, and place a piece of water saturated sponge or paper towel on the lid. This will help raise the humidity in the container she is in and will help prevent her from also losing water through the skin. Plastic containers hold the moisture in, Cardboard will leach moisture from the air (and from the squirrel).

[island rehabber]

If she's leaning on her rice buddy, that's a great sign that she's coming around. The hair thing -- I always have one or two every year who just want to be in my hair. Feels like mamma's fur, I guess. :)

[LiLTreeRat]

well, so far so good. I ended up giving her a couple ml's of Lactated Ringers sub-Q to quicken her hydration. She's hydrated well now but still isn't eager to eat. I've added a little formula to the pedialyte...1 part formula to 3 parts pedialyte.

Has anyone used Orbax (orbifloxacin) for treating infection? She's still not breathing as nicely as I'd like to see....wondering if I should start treating her for infection such as pneumonia....I can hear a tiny bit of "clicking" when she breathes now...... she hasn't aspirated while I've had her, but the people who found her did have her for the first 24 hours...who knows if she aspirated then or not. I just happen to have some Orbax on hand.....cant find any info on the net as far as it's use in squirrels.

[CritterMom]

I cannot speak to the abx, but please don't mix pedialyte and formula. Mix the formula up with plain water to a diluted state to feed, and if you feel the baby still needs rehydration fluid, feed the pedialyte in between the formula feedings. Don't mix the products together.:thumbsup

[LiLTreeRat]

Why not pedialyte with the formula? The last little guy I had did awesome on Lactated Ringers mixed with his formula....I did this for the first week with his and he did amazingly well. Isn't pedialyte basically just electrolytes? Why would this create a problem?

[LiLTreeRat]

Oh well, doesn't matter anymore right now...she's gone. She died this afternoon. I tried.

I would still like to know the answer to the above question for future reference......

Thanks

[SammysMom]

I'm so sorry to hear she passed. You did all that you could! :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug
Pedialyte has high sodium so that may be the reason for not using too much.