Feeding and Antibiotics

[Mochi&Mocha]

I recently rescued my second baby squirrel and have a few questions. I'm posting on the Emergency board because I've had her a few days and I'm afraid if I don't get answers soon my squirrel will suffer. First off I'll tell you the story of how I got this poor baby. A friend of the family was cutting down trees in his yard and ended of cutting down a nest of baby squirrels. He left them there hoping their mother would come back and she did. She left one though. Her tail was cut off which is why I think the mother did not take her back. My mom called me to see if I would take her because I have raised them before and I currently have one baby. Of course I said yes and went and picked her up from my mom as soon as I could. Boy was she tiny! My mom was the one who actually took the baby out of the tree though. She said that she was covered in ants and up to her head in saw dust (poor baby.) And as I said before, her tail was cut off. I cleaned her up and got her warm immediately. I introduced her to pedialite for the first 12-15 hours and then started her on the Goat's Milk Formula a vet recommended while I waited for Fox Valley to arrive. The Fox Valley arrived late Wednesday and I gradually introduced her to it by mixing the Goats Milk with it for a few feedings. When I was giving her the pedialite I was giving her a little under 1cc (while carefully watching her belly.) I gave her about .5cc of the Goats Milk and she was pooping OKAY, not great. Every few feedings I ended up giving her pedialite because I didn't want to feed her before she digested what she had already eaten. It seemed like that was working because she would go to the bathroom after the pedialite. Now that she is on the Fox Valley she has almost completely stopped pooping. She is 1ounce. Correct me if I'm wrong but when I did the math according to the Fox Valley formula label I figured out that she should only be getting about .2-.3 cc's. That seemed like a small amount but I went along with it. I'm afraid I am underfeeding her and that is why she isn't going to the bathroom (she doesn't have enough food to digest?). Can anyone help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? I'm new to Fox Valley and am not used to it yet. I know I will get lectured for this but I used KMR for my other squirrel (that is what I was told to use by another person who raises squirrels in my small town.) Don't worry she is perfectly healthy! I guess she is one of the lucky ones because she is doing perfectly fine. My other question is concerning antibiotics. I got in contact with someone who raises squirrels (I found her from a link off of here, her name is Chris) and she recommended Clavamox. I'm wondering if I should still get the antibiotics for her. Her wound is healing nicely and I wasn't sure if antibiotics could cause any other problems if she didn't need them. Anyways, I'm sorry for such a long post! I wanted to be as detailed as possible!

[astra]

:Welcome ,

I am not expert, so I will leave it to the experienced ppl to figure out all the little details.
Just a couple of things:

as far as I remember, FV is mixed 1 part powder and 2 parts water, so if that's what you are doing, it should be correct.

A rule of thumb for feeding is 5-7% of her weight. .2-.3 cc does not sound enough at all. You need to weigh her and calculate how much to feed her based on 5-7% of her weight. Also, this is just a general rule: some babies need a bit more, some - a bit less. YOu will have to monitor her and see how she is doing.
Perhaps, she is not pooping because she is not eating enough.
Increase her intake and if she still doesn't poop, then, you can add some canned pumpkin (not pie filling, but pumpkin), or cook some yourself - that helps with constipation.

As for the ABs... I am sorry, I must be really tired (this is way-y-y past my bedtime ;-)), but I must have missed something - is she ill?... why were you considering ABs?... is it for her wound?... is the wound healing well?... that is just the wound on her tail, where it was cut off, right?...
I just think that unless it is absolutely necessary, it's better to stay away from ABs and other meds. 1) using them w/o serious reason might lessen their effectiveness due to being accustomed to them when they are truly needed
2) they often negatively affect gut flora, which in turn affects digestion etc.etc.
So, I, personally, would not use any ABs or meds unless she is diagnosed with certain health problems that require those.

But again, I am no expert - will leave this to our experienced rehabbers to advise,

If you could post photos, that would be very useful, too - rehabbers will be able to evaluate her better (besides, pics are a MUST here:) :poke )

[Rhapsody]

We feed our squirrels 5-7 % of their body weight..... how much does your baby weigh in grams?
Your squirrel is not pooping as there is nothing in it to poop out - it needs to be fed more formula per feeding.

Edit: 1 ounce = 28.35 grams (so feed at least 1.5 cc) 5%

[Mochi&Mocha]

This is a picture of her when I first got her. I can't upload any of the recent pictures because I don't know how to re-size them :/

[Mochi&Mocha]

Wow I have been underfeeding her! I thought something was off! Thank you so much for the help! and as far as the antibiotics I will keep her off of them unless I see any signs of infection.

[Rhapsody]

and as far as the antibiotics I will keep her off of them unless I see any signs of infection.Sounds good to ME!! -- :thumbsup
a little Neosporin wouldnt hurt.

[Mochi&Mocha]

That is what I've been using :) Neosporin does wonders.
:thankyou