is this normal???

[cuteascnb]

Ok so Sadie seems to be doing well...nibbling on acorns...apples....I've been rehydrating her with pedialite....she runs around....jumps....climbs all over me.....but when o feed her she seems to shiver.....then it stops....is this normal? She's completely furred and warm....she doesnt seem to have any broken limbs and doesn't feel bloated...shes peeing...and pooped a little??? Oh and while she was out playing she just completely sprawed out on my hand for a couple seconds then got back up to playing...then did it again...is that normal? are there any signs of aspiration pnemonia....I dont know if these are signs bit i dont want to give her meds if sge doesn't need them! I have an antibiotic called cephelexin...if i need toits in a capsule how much should I give her?

[Nancy in New York]

Ok so Sadie seems to be doing well...nibbling on acorns...apples....I've been rehydrating her with pedialite....she runs around....jumps....climbs all over me.....but when o feed her she seems to shiver.....then it stops....is this normal? She's completely furred and warm....she doesnt seem to have any broken limbs and doesn't feel bloated...shes peeing...and pooped a little??? Oh and while she was out playing she just completely sprawed out on my hand for a couple seconds then got back up to playing...then did it again...is that normal? are there any signs of aspiration pnemonia....I dont know if these are signs bit i dont want to give her meds if sge doesn't need them! I have an antibiotic called cephelexin...if i need toits in a capsule how much should I give her?

How old is Sadie? What is her diet? Is she a grey squirrel. If you are thinking aspiration pnemonia, she must be taking a syringe still right? Can you post a picture?
I'm thinking that perhaps she just gets excited when she has her formula....she is on formula right?
Do not give pedialyte for more than 24 hours. Why are you rehydrating her?
How did you get her?
No need to give antibiotics if you see no signs of anything.
Sorry for so many questions, this will help us determine if there is a problem.

[cuteascnb]

I'm really not sure how old I'm gestimating about 8 weeks old maybe 9 my sister brought her to me...she is a vet tech...they don't work with squirrels....aNd since ive taken care of other small animals she gave her to me....a lady found her under a tree...I've had her since tuesday night ...she is a flyer.....my profile pic is her if its even up I'm having trouble loading them...do they do the whole sprawled out thing??? If u email me i can send u pics of her....

[Nancy in New York]

I'm really not sure how old I'm gestimating about 8 weeks old maybe 9 my sister brought her to me...she is a vet tech...they don't work with squirrels....aNd since ive taken care of other small animals she gave her to me....a lady found her under a tree...I've had her since tuesday night ...she is a flyer.....my profile pic is her if its even up I'm having trouble loading them...do they do the whole sprawled out thing??? If u email me i can send u pics of her....

I have never had a flyer, but if they are like the reds and greys, they do a lot of sprawling....they call it pancaking....:rotfl
Sure send me your pictures, and I will post for you.
So we don't know either if this little one was cat caught or not...:dono That can be deadly. I wonder if you should start abs. just in case. Let me find some people that are flyer friendly....:)
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[Jester]

How or what are you feeding her aside from acorns and apples? Are you holding her when you feed her? Could the shivers just be shaking out of fear of being so close to you? Flyers at that age are very functional, more mature than other squirrels are at that age I think, so they're rather fearful by that age. I got my flyer when he was about 6-9 weeks, I'm not sure the exact age. But he was roughly around the same age as yours is now and when I first got him he was EXTREMELY uneasy about being near me. He would hop or climb on me a little bit, but very briefly before he would zoom away again. He was pretty terrified of me. If I offered him food by hand, he was extremely hesitant and easily startled for the first few weeks, and he was a domestic. I can imagine a wild the same age as him when I got him being even more frightened. Its in a flyers nature to not want to sit still very long, (or at least its not in my flyers nature to sit still for more than five seconds if he's not sleeping... :D), maybe it makes them feel more vulnerable? So maybe if you're holding her and feeding her by hand she could be really frightened and that's why she's shaking? If you hold her still any time when you're not feeding her does she do the shivering thing? If you leave food for her in her cage does she shiver when eating that? :thinking

[Jester]

Okay I just read through some of your other threads to try to get some more info on what might be wrong.. You said she wasn't dehydrated, I would definitely not give her the pedialyte then. A 8-9 week old flyer can drink on its own out of a water bowl, it can even eat on its own for the most part. Letting her drink on her own will lessen her chances of getting aspiration pnemonia if she doesn't already have it.

While it's good to still offer her formula, I would introduce her to a lot of healthy solids too. Although if you're using Esbilac which I saw you mention on another thread, I don't know what is better, to offer Esbillac despite the fact that it's not really good for squirrels or to not offer her formula at all at this point. :dono If your flyer is in the age range that you think she is, then she's already in the age when they are weaning. Mine was already fully weaned when I got him from the petstore, and like I said, he was somewhere in the 6-9 week range. I started him up on Fox Valley once I got him, and I would give him a little bit of that every day, but I also gave him a lot of solids still since he was already weaned. What I ended up doing was just mixing FV into his yogurt, which I still give him every day and hes almost a year old. Does anyone know if for a flyer at that age, if FV is not available, if it would be better to embrace the weaning or to try to continue Esbillac?

For solids, limit the acorns and apples.. those are good treats, but she needs healthier food for her diet. Full-fat yogurt, I give this to my flier every day with some Fox Valley mixed into it. Also it is extremely important for a flying squirrel to get protein. Unlike other squirrels, flyers are mostly insectivores in the wild. I give my guy live wax worms, mealworms, or superworms, freeze-dried chicken, or often a combination of those, every day too. Cooked egg and cooked chicken are also good for them, but mine won't eat them. Other than that, you can choose veggies from the healthy squirrel diet list to give her, but they really need the protein which isn't really emphasized on the list for regular squirrels. Just keep that in mind.

Still have the same questions as in my previous post though, hopefully we can figure out what's wrong with her if something's wrong. :) Also the pictures or a weight would help us determine her age, so we can know for sure.