Sweet 8 week old now turning into Monster at feeding time.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

Hmmmm.... is this normal. He was a good boy and drink his milk, now it is turning into a chase. He can't seem to sit still long enuf to eat.

Refuses to stay in his burrito. It's like chasing liquid velcro.

anyone got any tips?

CSL

[island rehabber]

At that age I feed mine thru the bars of their cage.

However if you still want to take him out and hold him, put him on your lap and hold him firmly across the back with one hand while you hold the syringe with the other. You won't hurt him if you stay below his shoulder blades. As a rule, when I am feeding baby squirrels I ALWAYS have one hand on the squirrel.....never let go for a minute. That's when accidents happen.....

[CrazySquirrelLady]

Thanks. It's just like he wants to play more than eat, and I KNOW he is starving.

I am trying to feed little devil boy right now. We are taking 10 minute breaks between syringes and only one syringe at a time.

But since he has not eaten since midnite. I know he gotta be hungry.

He would rather escape, and run and jump back into his nest box. I think I should have ordered my new Henry's cage a week sooner.....

30 minutes and still only 6 cc in him! ahhhhh!

[Jackie in Tampa]

as long as I am not counting, I guess I shouldn't say anything
it seems it's all I do is feed...
holy syringes and hot water batman!

no BS..I know I open and close that microwave door 50 times a night while fred is sleeping..
bam bam bam bam bam bam:shakehead

fall asleep sitting up a few times a day:tilt probably drooling...
and last night I dreamed I had a baby sq in an uncovered cage all alone with no fleece no nothing..
I woke up freaked, sat up and really had a weird feeling...yikes:dono

JIT can thread jack on 6 cups of Maxwell house:peace :)

Good Morning!!!:wave123

[Nancy in New York]

I have a problem feeding through the bars, they are all maniacs and I miss their mouths as they fight for the syringe.
I put the cage on the table, and take them out one by one, cover their face with my hand and feed....oh and try to take pictures.:D
I put them on a non skid mat/rug because they squirm and push to try to get away....I also preload the syringes so that they don't have to wait too long before getting another one in their mouth.
This little one is Maura's girls, Lena, who is going on 9 weeks old.:Love_Icon

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/nancym518/Bronx%20Babies%202012/027-1.jpg

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/nancym518/Bronx%20Babies%202012/028-1.jpg

[CrazySquirrelLady]

WOW she is huge. My squirrel is like a munchkin from the wizard of Oz, compared to that one.

Now he is having a fit, and barking at me, cuz he is hungry, but won't eat.

Seems I have to sneak up on him while he is asleep and start feeding or else he runs WILD like a banshee....


ahhhhh!

[pappy1264]

Is he playing or is he scared? Many go through a fear period and that might be what you are seeing, esp. with him running back to his box. Since he is a single, can you put your arm in his cage and feed him in there? Mine do spook and zip off, so really have to keep a hold on them. Just a suggestion.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

started feeding at 7:30 AM and just gave up at 9:30. In between he seems to want to sit up on my shoulder, and run wild.

When I put him back in nest box he whines and complains and tries to escape it.

I'm sure he is a little bored, but 2 hours and my patience is worn thin, so he will hafta entertain himself for 10 or 15 minutes.

Only 7.5 cc in 2 hours... very frustrating, considering, he used to eat like a champ.

Now he wants to RUN WILD.

He lives in a plastic tote box with a towel over the top, his Henry's cage was ordered 3 days ago, finally had to bust out my credit card with the 21% interest rate... ouch. I tried to get his grandparents to help with the $$, since the govt. don't pay s**t, but they did not seem to want to help. I tried raising money for cage by painting squirrel pics, but that did not work....

I guess I will try again at 11, see if he will eat then.

sorry to be so cranky this morning, but it is a little frustrating to know baby is hungry and won't eat like good boy.

[rosewitch]

How much does he weigh? At the rehab center where I volunteer, we start calling sq's self-feeders at 150 grams, for similar reasons. Do you leave food in the cage as well?

[CrazySquirrelLady]

well if he won't scrub the bathroom floor, then no FOOD for him... hahahahahahahah

no, he has HB and he weighs 5.5 oz. Up a whole half ounce since day before yesterday.

My brain refuses to do math before noon, so multiply by 28 for grams.

The problem is that if he is Super hungry, he won't settle down to drink, he squirms, and jumps and climbs my leg, and gets out of the fleece burrito I put around him when he eats, and jumps back into his box, then he jumps back up on the side and sits there, then he tries to escape into not squirrel proofed house, which is in a mess, cuz I ain't picked up nothing for 2 weeks, and we can't have him falling, or biting electric cords, then we play with stuffies, then he climbs out again.


well you get the picture, all the above happens about 4 minutes, then repeats.

He is mostly chewing up quartered Henry's blocks, but who knows how much goes in his belly?

I think he must be a dwarf, cuz he is just ridiculously small next to everyone else's squirrels.

He gains weight every day, so that is not the problem, it is getting him to sit still and eat.

Thanks for posting EVERYONE, I will try out your suggestions and if anyone has any more suggestions other than Valium for the both of us, then please let me know!

Hugs
CSL

[rosewitch]

5.5 ounces converts to just about 156 grams-- so, he is big enough to be eating just solids. Maybe he's just weaning himself-- lots of sq's do start refusing formula.

At the shelter, we give self-feeders: 5 or 6 zupreem biscuits (soaked in formula at first), 2 small pieces of fruit, 1 or 2 nuts, a tsp of sunflower seeds and a handful of crushed corn. There might be a better diet, this is a sort of institutionalized approach to rehabbing.

I'd say, try to provide lots of in-cage food to make sure he's getting enough to eat. Is he a nr? At my shelter we start trying to leave them alone as they get older, so as to not get them to used to humans before they are released at 12 weeks or so.

[Nemehoto]

My house isn't squirrel proof nor the room they are in, but ever since they were pinkies I would take them out of the cage and alternate syringes between them. Whiskers one CC then Biff one CC. So mine have gotten used to being handled and developed a little patience. (but I only have 2 of them unlike the folks with 4+ to take care of) and I've not yet had to use anything to hold them but my hands. and they are 7 weeks old now. Sometimes they don't want to eat right away and want to play. So I give a syringe then play a few minutes (they have free run of my double bed) and when they had stopped for a breath I call them over and give another syringe. Trying to hold them when they are full of energy = scared squirrel and painful scratches.

There has been a time or two where Whiskers would be timid and eat 2-3 CC's and hide to avoid the syringe... when she does that I put her back in the cage. finish feeding her brother and come back in an hour and she is ready to eat the rest. My dog sneezing, or one of the others barking in the hallway when someone comes in can set her off... I just let her relax a bit and come back. Biff? well he is laid back and pig... he will suck a syringe dry before his allows his fear or energy level to prevent his tummy from being full.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

thanks rosewitch

I got him to eat a bit more, then I weighed him in Uncle Mikey's new scale at 155.

But yes, I do think he has Primordial Dwarfism. So NR status as of today.

[Mochi&Mocha]

Can you post a picture of him? Why is he a NR?

[daniellenc]

I just had this conversation with another member here....at 8 weeks mine are biting and clawing the crap out of me at feeding time, lol. I have the best luck not holding them but letting them come to the syringe out of the cage- I tried in the cage and they just clobber each other to be the first to eat and while one eats the other is eating me:D

So basically our feedings start with me holding, a chase always ensues, they eat, run, eat run, gnaw on me, eat, and usually get between 12-21cc's 4 times a day depending on when they got HHB's. I finally made the HHB connection after being really worried my male was off two feedings a day and would only take 9cc's for 2 feedings and 18+ for the other 2- then it occurred to me the little monster was storing his HHB's and not hungry because he was eating them too close to our next scheduled feeding:poke

Just know he will not starve if you don't chase him with the syringe for 2 hours. As a matter of fact they are smart enough to know when they eat and if he doesn't eat wait until his next scheduled formula feeding providing no HHB's- this is what got my male on track. I removed solids until he ate a full feeding so now when he wants to pull his I'm only eating 9cc's then playing I pull oops I forgot your HHB's my friend. Now he is back to scarfing between 15-21cc's and get's his HHB's after I feed. 2 hours later if it isn't gone I chuck it so he can't eat right before his next formula feeding:D

[CrazySquirrelLady]

Can you post a picture of him? Why is he a NR?
I am pretty sure he has primordial dwarfism. He is perfectly formed, but just tiny tiny tiny.

I ruled out Downs Syndrome first, read your threads.

So since he is gonna be tiny, he won't be able to open a hickory nut in the wilds.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

I just had this conversation with another member here....at 8 weeks mine are biting and clawing the crap out of me at feeding time, lol. I have the best luck not holding them but letting them come to the syringe out of the cage- I tried in the cage and they just clobber each other to be the first to eat and while one eats the other is eating me:D

So basically our feedings start with me holding, a chase always ensues, they eat, run, eat run, gnaw on me, eat, and usually get between 12-21cc's 4 times a day depending on when they got HHB's. I finally made the HHB connection after being really worried my male was off two feedings a day and would only take 9cc's for 2 feedings and 18+ for the other 2- then it occurred to me the little monster was storing his HHB's and not hungry because he was eating them too close to our next scheduled feeding:poke

Just know he will not starve if you don't chase him with the syringe for 2 hours. As a matter of fact they are smart enough to know when they eat and if he doesn't eat wait until his next scheduled formula feeding providing no HHB's- this is what got my male on track. I removed solids until he ate a full feeding so now when he wants to pull his I'm only eating 9cc's then playing I pull oops I forgot your HHB's my friend. Now he is back to scarfing between 15-21cc's and get's his HHB's after I feed. 2 hours later if it isn't gone I chuck it so he can't eat right before his next formula feeding:D
hahahahahahaahah what a fun story, thanks a lot.

Mine is not even as big as my hand at 8 weeks old.

[rosewitch]

Oh. My. Gosh. He is ADORABLE! Definitely up there with the most handsome squirrel babies! :D I'm in love.

[daniellenc]

My male isn't much bigger than your's at 8 weeks they were just severely malnourished by the time we found them. In dwarfism I believe you see shortened limbs and other signs besides smaller stature. He has 4 sisters 2 of which make him look like a dwarf and the other 2 are his same size. Bigger litters also contribute to smaller babies who eventually catch up and health during the mother's pregnancy can play a huge role as well. I would give him some time before you assume he is an NR his development is right on target as far as eating, attitude, pottying on his own, play, climbing, and all that jazz that seems to happen around 8 weeks. Plus at 10 weeks they can start to crack nuts on their own so adult size for eating isn't necessary:)

[CrazySquirrelLady]

I was thinking this is primordial dwarfism. In people Primordial Dwarfs are perfectly porportioned, except they are just tiny.

But hopefully, he will grow out of it. Yippie!

[Mochi&Mocha]

My male isn't much bigger than your's at 8 weeks they were just severely malnourished by the time we found them. In dwarfism I believe you see shortened limbs and other signs besides smaller stature. He has 4 sisters 2 of which make him look like a dwarf and the other 2 are his same size. Bigger litters also contribute to smaller babies who eventually catch up and health during the mother's pregnancy can play a huge role as well. I would give him some time before you assume he is an NR his development is right on target as far as eating, attitude, pottying on his own, play, climbing, and all that jazz that seems to happen around 8 weeks. Plus at 10 weeks they can start to crack nuts on their own so adult size for eating isn't necessary:)

:goodpost
This is exactly what I was going to say! I've seen and had plenty of small babies. One of the two I have now is half the size of his sister, and they are just about the same age. He's about 8 weeks now and he isn't any bigger than yours. Babies come in different shapes and sizes. As long as he is healthy he should be fine. He's too young to diagnose in my opinion.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

Ya'll are the experts!

THANKS FOR POSTING :D