baby fell from our tree

[mcole]

Yesterday, A baby squirrel fell out of the tree in our back yard, mother is nowhere to be found. My dog had picked it up but dropped it immediately on command, i dont think he hurt it.
I've felt each of his legs and around his body and i dont think he has anything broken.

we've called around to all of the vets, and animal rescues we could find, either they wouldn't take/care for him or they would take him and euthanize him.

sooo, down to the pet store i went, got some kitten milk replacer and some bedding. took a small cardboard box, put a dishtowel in the bottom, and filled it with bedding. set the box on top of a heating pad, and filled a hot water bottle for him to snuggle with.

he looks to be about 4-5 weeks old, hasn't gotten his eyes open yet but looks like he should soon.

The only problem i'm having is his appetite, i've only been able to give him a 1cc syringe full every 3 hours, and even that is a bit of a fight.
he seems like he just doesn't want to eat.

suggestions?

[mcole]

btw- we named him Newton since he fell from our tree...

[SammysMom]

:Welcome :Welcome :Welcome
Baby Squirrel Information


1) Is the baby uninjured? Is mom still around? and if so, warm the baby and place in a safe spot where mom can reunite if possible. Mom will not take a cold baby!
2) Okay, so you couldn’t reunite with mom. Start by warming the baby in a plastic container full of fleece or tee shirt material. (Not towels as the loops catch little claws and can cause injury) Place the container half on a heating pad that is set on low. It needs to be a heating pad that does not have an automatic shut-off. It needs to be half on and half off so that the baby can get off of the heat if it gets too hot.
3) Check to see if the baby is dehydrated. You can do this by gently picking up the skin on the back of the baby’s shoulders. If the skin goes right back down it is not dehydrated. If the skin remains “tented” for a time, you will need to rehydrate with Pedialyte or homemade Pedialyte.

Hydrate them right away (use a 1cc syringe and go slow)........ give some homemade pedialyte every hour for six to eight hours and then you can start start feeding them some formula made from goats milk (if they are thoroughly hydrated).
Pedialyte for no more than 24 hours!!! Too much sodium!!


Homemade Pedialyte
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt (teaspoon)
1 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)

Feed slowly with a 1cc syringe - head UP tail DOWN
Keep warm at all time – If no heating pad available fill bottle with hot water (cover bottle with sock) or fill a sock with dry rice or beans and microwave. Be sure to squish the rice or beans around to be sure there are no hot spots that might burn the babies.

____________
4) Once rehydrated begin to feed Fox Valley formula which can be ordered from http://foxvalleynutrition.com or while waiting for that to arrive use recipe below. As a general rule you will feed 5 - 7% of their body weight per feeding

Homemade Goats Milk Recipe -

1 cup Goats Milk * (if can - dilute)
1/3 cup Full Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1/3 cup Heavy Cream (frig section)

(lasts 72 hours in frig)
5) This information is really just meant to get you through until you can get the baby or babies to an experienced rehabber. If you are here on The Squirrel Board, you have access to all of the information you could ever need about squirrels. Most importantly there is generally someone here who can help to find you someone who can take the babies and prepare them for life in the trees. The trees are where they are meant to be and people here know how to get them safely there!

[mcole]

umm, thanks.

but, again, the only problem im having is his appetite, he doesn't seem to want to eat, at all.

[SammysMom]

I would venture to guess that he is dehydrated. They do not eat when they are dehydrated. The hydration formula or pedialyte warmed very warm and given even if a drop at a time will help. DITCH the kitten formula though. Never use kitten forma for squirrels!

[CritterMom]

First warm the baby.

Then, rehydrate the baby. Dehydration will make them NOT EAT among other things. Most rehabbers ALWAYS rehydrate first, regardless of the baby's condition.

Once you get those things, done, THEN the food. And please get rid of the kitten formula - WAY too high in protein and way too low in fat...

[stosh2010]

How is NEWTON..??.....Is he accepting some of the pedialyte?
Praying for an appetite...He will get stong fast with your help !!!

[mcole]

Newton seems to be doing a bit better this morning.

he managed 2ccs this morning, and 3 ccs a few minutes ago, he was even licking up the spilled milk off my hand!

he loves snuggling up with his water bottle.

[SammysMom]

Please be sure to hydrate with pedi either homemade or store bought before feeding formula. What had he been eating?

[mcole]

he's been eating nothing but the kitten milk replacement, and continues to do well. this morning he had 6ccs and was licking up what he spilled off my fingers.

here's a pic of him trying to crawl up under my chin after dinner.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0xoGh6aKguxbmRGQmgtUWdCOE0

Pic doesn't want to post, here's the URL:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0xoGh6aKguxbmRGQmgtUWdCOE0

[SammysMom]

I am going to e harsh, but it needs to be said. He will not be healthy on kitten formula. That cannot be stated enough times.
Good luck, but they go along seeming fine and then you will find that he is crashing. Make the change before it is too late.:nono

[stepnstone]

I am going to e harsh, but it needs to be said. He will not be healthy on kitten formula. That cannot be stated enough times.
Good luck, but they go along seeming fine and then you will find that he is crashing. Make the change before it is too late.:nono

:goodpost

This is a squirrel, not a kitten! A squirrels nutritional values are not the same and
they cannot thrive on a formula made for kittens!

[LuckyIsHisName]

Hi,
Just want to say that I had the same thing happen to me with Lucky, and I listened and DID everything everyone told me too and Lucky is doing really good, only because I listened o all the advise everyone offered...please don't continue to give Newton kitten milk it's going to kill him eventually and he's depending on you to care for him the way his mom would've so please take ALL the advise you can and do it!!!!!
Best of luck for Newton and you!mjs

[Nemehoto]

Not trying to meddle or anything, but I found this board about a month after I found my babies (I found 4 pinkies about 3 days old) I lost 2 of them, one unexpectedly, and one from a head injury. I had a Rehabber in SC tell me to feed them KMR which is a kitten milk replacer and I did for nearly a month. THey were tiny, not very active and had their eyes closed. After finding this wealth of information on TSB, I did a gradual switch to FV, and between 5 weeks and 7 weeks the kiddos doubled their size and tripled their energy on the FV formula. The fox Valley made a HUGE difference in them and love it.

I will be honest, the kitten milk seemed to be doing well for them, (after all a licensed rehabber told me about it, it seemed right) but they had loose greasy stools, they were tired all the time. When they got the "right stuff" FV it was the difference between night and day for these guys. Their poops are firm, they are energetic, bright eyes and bushy tailed (well sorta, they don't have a lot of bush on their tails yet.) I do really recommend switching, and it is less expensive than KMR as well and will make a big difference to help them grow well and sound.

I'm not an expert by any means, just an older lady that found a handful of cold starving babies and couldn't find experienced help for them and dove in to try. I've done well, but the only reason I have was by listening to the folks that know what they are doing. and I have two thriving bouncing (cuddly sweet cute manics) babies because of it.

[mcole]

alright, is there a retail store I can buy it from?

I can get Esbilac locally, is that the same or similar?

If not, there are about 8 different formulas on FV's site, which one?

[SammysMom]

No, that is why I gave you the goats milk recipe and Fox Valley's website. Use the goats milk until you get the FV.:thumbsup

[mcole]

well, a person could go nuts trying to figure out what to use and what not.

i've been surfing around and finding various websites and personal stories that all have different (and conflicting) opinions on the matter.

One person says use esbilac, another site says goat's milk, one says NEVER use goats milk, one says NEVER use Fox Valley...

I have decided to go with the recommendation I found on "Squirrel Tales", which is 1 part heavy whipping cream, 4 parts esbilac, and 8 parts water.

sorry if anyone here disagrees, but I have to do what I think is best.

[Nemehoto]

I use the 32/40 day one formula. It takes a few days to get it in (it smells good too, kinda like vanilla) it's about 11.00 ish + shipping and it took me 3 days to have it shipped. I would get a couple of syringes from them too, I used an eyedropper at first and it was a bit of a nightmare mare controlling the flow and switched to a syringe as soon as I could get one.

When I switched over from the KMR to the FV I took 4 days to do it. first day was 25% fv 75% KMR, second day was 50/50 third was 25% KMR and 75% FV and the 4th they were on FV totally. My Kiddos were having tummy issues before switching so I added 1/4 if a teaspoon of plain yogurt to the formula the same day I ordered the FV and kept that up for a week during the switch. It prevented tummy upsets and was soothing to them.

If you would like to see my babies I have a thread on them http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36169

[SammysMom]

Just remember to come back here if the baby develops loose stool. There is wonderful help here from people who have saved and released more squirrels than pretty much anywhere.
Good luck...:grouphug

[Nemehoto]

Squirrel tales was my bible for raising these guys until I found this board. Esbilac WAS the formula of choice and during the time that document was written. Since then Esbilac has changed the formula (I think in 2010) and it has caused deterioration of squirrels. It is no longer recommended, but Ms. Rowes Squirrel tales is a very informative document in raising the babies.

[mcole]

I am happy to tell you all that we finally found a local rehabber that was willing to take Newton. He is now living with 5 other young squirrels and will be released when he is old enough.

We will miss him very much. Our goldendoodle was truly fascinated with him and was beginning to develop some mothering instincts (he's a male).

I wish we could have kept him but I know he'll be better off with a more experienced person to care for him.

-Mike