More help for Miss Suzy please!

[blessedbeingmom]

Miss Suzy is probably about 5.5 to 6 weeks old now. She is still having diarrhea. She has been on the goat's milk formula (with yogurt but no cream) exclusively since Tuesday afternoon. We bought some children's Imodium & gave 2 drops yesterday at 3 pm and 10pm. We also gave 2 drops before her 8 am feeding today. How often is it safe to give this? It contains 1 mg per 7.5 mL. It doesn't really seem to be making a difference that we can tell. Our Fox Valley formula should be arriving sometime tomorrow & we plan to transition her to it slowly, by mixing 1 part FV to 3 parts goat formula, then 1:1 ratio, then 3 parts FV to 1 part goat formula. How many feedings should we spread this out over?

Also, would it help the diarrhea to feed less formula more often? We are currently feeding about 5 times a day, occasionally 6 times. It is usually about four hours between feedings (sometimes five). Once we slept too long & forgot to wake up for a middle of the night feeding but ordinarily one of us does get up in the middle of the night. She weighs probably about 95 grams now. How much do your babies of similar size eat at a time? We do have rodent block in her box with her, although she hasn't done much with it yet. Her top teeth are barely in.

FWIW, the diarrhea is definitely not watery. It's mustard-colored & kind of sticky.

This is her feeding schedule for the past two days.

Wednesday:
4 am 6cc
9 am 7cc
12:30pm 8cc
5:30pm 8cc
10pm 5cc

Thursday:
2 am 5cc
8am 6-7cc
12pm 8cc

We plan to feed her around 4pm, then around 8pm & then around 11 or so before we go to bed. Our oldest daughter wakes up to feed her around 4 a.m. (They are homeschooled so she can sleep in, although she usually wakes a parent to help her.)

She should be taking anywhere from 4.75 to 6.5 cc per feeding according to the 5-7% rule, but she is often greedy & begging for more. If we try to stop at 6cc sometimes, she will continue chewing on the syringe or our finger like she is looking for more food. I tried giving her a cc of warm water after her feeding, and you should have seen the look she gave me for trying to trick her! LOL!

Along similar lines, up until what age will she need to be stimulated after feeding? She is able to pee well on her own as for some reason she usually pees on the scale. I can tell by her blue fleece that she is pooping on her own too. I do stimulate her anyway, but it never really seems to produce anything. We did have to submerge her bottom half in a bowl of warm water with a tiny dab of dish soap after her noon feeding today to clean up all the dried poo stuck on her legs, tail & bottom area. We made sure to dry her thoroughly afterward.

And another question is when is it time to think about new housing for her? What will she need in her new housing? What would be a good size for it and what type of housing? What type of accessories for her house? When will she need a water bottle, and what type? I bought another small plastic one like we use for our guinea pigs, but then I heard it should be glass. Why is this? And, would it be helpful for her to have a small stuffed toy or something to keep her company & for her to cuddle up with since she's alone?

Currently she is housed in a cardboard box with a lid with many small holes punched in the top of it (one of those boxes that reams of paper come in).

Sorry to have so many questions! :thankyou so much for your continued support & advice!

[pappy1264]

Never more then 2 doses total of Immodium. this is what happened last year with Bean and the crew. How long has she had diarrhea? Have you done pedialyte at all? I will have to look back for her history (ie, how long have you had her, how was she found, what has she been fed, when did diarrhea start). Does her poo have a very strong odor? Could be coccidia, which you will need meds for. Is it pale mustard, sort of like a frosting consistency? I always stimulate until well after their eyes have been open and they are really fighting me to do not do it. No glass! For now, a small bird cage will work, just line the bottom with fleece. You can put fleece blankies for her to pile under, as well. Also you can add a water bottle and if you want, you can add a solid running wheel (the big silent spinner works well.) I would also give her a little stuff animal (nothing with any type of beads inside) to snuggle and wrestle with. Is she on heat? she should still have the option, under half her cage. Gring up some rodent block and keep small pieces for her to start nibbling on as well. I am sure others will be on soon.

[blessedbeingmom]

Do you mean two doses of Imodium ever or in 24 hours, or what?
Yes, she had pedialyte when we first started hydrating her, and also for a couple of feedings before switching to goat's milk formula. (She was on Esbilac prior to that.)
There is no unusual smell to her stool.
It is not a frosting or pasty consistency.
She has rodent block but isn't really interested in it yet.
She is still half-on, half-off the heating pad.
:worthless
Okay, here are some pics. We just got our catac nipples in the mail today. She had no problem starting to use them. We are surprised by how much of the nipple she's able to take in, as it looks like she is trying to choke herself! :eek: :squirrel1

[blessedbeingmom]

How would this be for a next step cage? We already happen to own this one. We bought it for our pair of guinea pigs before we learned a lot more about them & realized they needed a much bigger cage. The GPs are now in a cage is made out of metal grids & coroplast (but the holes on that type cage would definitely be much too large for Miss Suzy!
Here is the old GP cage. We would drape a large piece of fleece over it when she needs peace & quiet.
http://www.petstore.com/Superpet_%28Pets_International%29_Deluxe_My_First_ Home_Cage_Large_With_Stand_Burgundy_Small_Animal_P et_Wire_Cages-Super_Pet_Pets_International-IL60223-SPHBWC-vi.html

What do you think? We do not have the hay rack for it anymore, but I don't think squirrels need that anyway.
We do realize she will eventually need something bigger, but right now we just want to get her out of the box she's currently in.

We plan to make her a rice buddy out of fleece for warmth & companionship. We also plan to put a layer of fleece on the bottom of the cage as well as other fleece she can curl up with. What else would she need in her cage? We do have a water bottle as well.

[pappy1264]

Bar spacing is too wide, would need 1/2", that cage is 1" bar spacing, her head can get caught.

Generally you never want to use Immodium more then 2 times. It should work. Has she had diarrhea all along, since being on the Esbilac? Did you do pedialyte in between to flush that out? You may want to in between feedings offer a cc or 2 of plain water, to give extra hydration with her having diarrhea.