baby with diarrhea

[Croquette]

Hello helpful people,

Maurice is a gray baby squirrel. Probably the cutest ever. About 6/7 weeks old. He is with me since September 6th.
He was having diarrhea on and off at first. I thought it was the stress, or the new milk. I'm giving him Fox Valley milk and rat blocks. Iwonka is like a squirrel fairy here and helped me so so much with everything.

The diarrhea wasn't really going away, so on Sunday the 16th we started to give him antibiotics (Metronidazole). on the 18th and 19th the diarrhea stopped. It was such a relief... But it started progressively again. Today, the 21st, he has full diarrhea and I think I saw a bit of blood in it.

He is acting top shape, he is drinking very well since he started the antibiotics, he is gaining weight, but this diarrhea, that can't be normal.

I'm worried. What could it be? Can someone help me?
Iwonka came to see him and she doesn't think it's coccidia.

I'm adding a bit of fat yogourt in the milk once in a while, I'll stop it just to make sure that it's not related... Could it be? His two little buddies are super healthy and they all are on the same diet.

Please help me!!

Thank you,
Gen

[iwonka]

http://www.tiptopglobe.com/skin/smile/s10730.gif (http://www.tiptopglobe.com/free-smiles-smileys-emoticons-blog-forum-email)

[rocky63]

OK, Just some thoughts.
What fox valley is he on 32/40 or 20/50?
have you introduced any other foods to him other that rodents blocks?
I know it may sound crazy:crazy but the water used to mix the FV is it clean?
boil the water to make sure it is clean.
just trying to think of things that might be causing the diarrhea:dono

[Rhapsody]

Is it possible that this little guy is being over feed on the fox valley? --basic rule of thumb is to feed 5-7% of their body weight at each feeding. How much of the fox valley are you feeding him and how often........ Is there any foul smell to the poop and what color is it (green)?

[Jackie in Tampa]

Anti Biotics do cause soft poop/diarrhea.
the yogurt is GOOD, and needed.
If this continues after a full course of ABs, try switching the FV formula to GMF as a last resort..he may have some intolerance.

[Croquette]

Still has diarrhea this morning, a little blood in it.
: (

He drinks 5% to 7% of his weight every 4 hours. Fox Valley Milk 32\40. (will soon switch to 20\50 but I didn't receive it yet). Rocky, it's a good question the water... I use the tap water from the town and the two other squirrels I have are perfectly healthy with it. But as an experimentation I boiled the water for a while before making the formula and it changed nothing.

I'm very worried now. I'll go buy rat probiotics Today, maybe it will help but should I stop giving him the fvm and switch to gmf now?

I introduced him to a few vegetables and pumpkin seeds but he's not very interested yet and I stopped giving him anything else than fvm and blocks to see if it would help.

He has been taking the antibios for 5 days. I'm stopping today. My gut feeling tells me it's not helping and I don't want to irritate his little bowels any more than this.

Before thinking about Immodium, is there a more natural solution I could try? Will the probiotics help? for human babies we sometime use the water we cooked rice in to stop diarrhea. Would it harm Maurice to try rice water?

Thanks!

[Jackie in Tampa]

canned pumpkin , not pie filling..
a natural fiber:thumbsup
add it to his formula..
I would add 1 cc of pumpkin to 10 cc of formula..
I would try try try to keep him on FV and rule out everything else first..
if today is the last day of ABs, that may be what is bothering his belly..
we are all different, he may have a sensitive belly too..
not sure what rat probiotics are:thinking ..... maybe ben bac:thumbsup

did not reread thread, what ABs did you use?
did you stop the yogurt?
immodium:shakehead :shakehead :shakehead {use as a last resort..find cause first ideally}

[Pip]

Try DIA-Stat Probiotics for diarrhea?!
Iwonka has some maybe you can get it from her. It is to be given only for 1 day! Have you tried it already? Others that have tried it can give you more input; I am told it works right away. :grouphug

[Croquette]

Hello!

Ok ok ok, I don't want to get too excited but it seems his poop is getting more solid (and no blood this time). Last feeding I gave him only yogourt. Iwonka suggested it to me. I don't want to rejoice yet but.. hum... seems better. But it could also be because I stopped the antibios...

I'll give him yogourt only again on next feeding to see what happens AND I'll go get the probiotics. Iwonka told me where to get it so I guess it's the product you are talking about Pip and Jackie.

If he gets better with just the yogourt I'll try to reintroduce fvm Tomorrow to see if it could be the cause of the diarrhea.

He was on metronidazole.

Maurice is super collaborative. He's the best. : )

ahhhhhhh, thank you all!

[Pip]

Dia-Stat Probiotics is a diarrhea treatment for squirrels and it is available only on line, Iwonka has some and you can get it from her. If his diarrhea has stopped then you will not need it.
The probiotics that Iwonka and Jackie recommend will help to restore his intestinal flora or restore healthy bacteria in him which is important after antibiotic treatment and he will need this now.
So glad he is feeling better| :Love_Icon :grouphug

[iwonka]

:grouphug :Love_Icon Maurice & Genevieve :Love_Icon :grouphug

[Croquette]

Argh... Sweet Maurice...
So, still has diarrhea. It's much better when I give only yogourt but still...

I started the Bene Bac yesterday. I'm giving .05ml per day (is that enough? He's 210 gr.)

Could it be a parasite?

If it's bacteriologic, should I try with another ab? (Metronidazole seemed to irritate his bowels too much... Should I start metronidazole again but giving him yogourt instead of milk?

I DON'T KNOW!!!!!


Thank you all...

Gen

[Jackie in Tampa]

Hi..
will go back and re read everything so I don't miss anything being done.
maurices bowels will not stablize until his treatment and diet do..
sometimes it will take a few days to see the results,
metro is not really the right treatment for cocidia..
and...the treatment would need to be for longer, not just 5 days if the diarrhea persists.
At this point, I would hydrate with pedialyte now and again in 2 hours, maybe three,,, 8ccs the first and whatever he wil take in a couple hours..
I would start Sulpha based meds at that time, preferably SMZ-TMP, Iwonka calls it bactrim..
I would feed Fv as his formula with an all natural good quaility yogurt mixed in it as soon after second feeding of pedilyte as he will take it..
and try to get him back on normal feeding schedule.
I would keep him on the bactrim twice a day for minimal 10 days.
Antibiotics need to be used in full treatment duration and for specific of what bacterial you suspect..

If you are using suspended ABs, do they require refridgeration?
sometimes that is key to their stability.
keep us in the loop..
sending good vibes up to you:)

[Croquette]

Hi Jackie,
Thanks for your reply : )
I put everything in the fridg, we used metro since we don't think it's coccidia.
He has a regular feeding schedule and I make sure he drink not less, not more than what he is supposed to take. For those reasons I'm a bit puzzled on what it can be... He was supposed to take metro for 7 days but I stopped after 5 days since there was blood on his diarrhea pooped and it scared me.

Does Bactrim have a larger spectrum?

I' ll use pedialite to try flush everything again but I tried this before... I don't know..

Anyway, please let me know if you have any other idea.

He has a good appetite, nibbles the blocks as well...

thank you thank you

[Croquette]

the metro seemed to work at the end of the 2nd and 3rd day but after it seemed to get worse...

[Pip]

It is important to give him yogurt or probiotics during the same time you are giving any antibiotic treatment? :grouphug

[I Love Lucy]

I agree you should use the sulfa antibiotics for 10 days, twice a day. It is great for digestive issues and is easy on their systems. I would feed him diluted FVand take away all other food for now . If his diarrhea is watery you can use Diastat for 1 day. Do not give him anything to firm his poop except a little extra psyllium fiber. Do not give him Immodium at all. You will not see immediate results but give it several days.

[Croquette]

Hello again : )
Thank you all so much for your advices, and sorry for being intense with all my postings. The squirrel world is a bit new to me and I'm afraid of not doing things right.

Jackie and I Love Lucy, you sent me advices for Coccidia, thank you so so much. Before proceeding to a treatment for it I would like to have your opinion again... I'm just wondering if it's Coccidia since it doesn't smell anything. I heard it smells something. Is this possible? What do you think from your senior-squirrel-care-taker experience?

Just to make sure you have all the infos, I'll try to do a little recap here. Also I added some pics. Sorry the poop picture is not very inspiring but I thought it could maybe help identifying what it is. This picture shows pretty much the worst it gets, often it's more "consistent"...

September 6th:
Maurice arrived here, was found by a dog. Joined the two other squirrels that will be released soon. He was having diarrhea on and off at first. Difficult to remember exactly. I thought it was the stress or the new milk. I'm giving him Fox Valley milk and he also eats rat blocks. He also tried a few vegetables but he's not super interested yet.

September 16th:
The diarrhea wasn't really going away. We first thought it was Coccidia but the diarrhea had no smell at all so we thought it's probably another bacteria we decided to go with Metro. So on Sunday the 16th we started to give him metronidazole.

September 17th and 18th:
Those two days the diarrhea pretty much stopped. It was such a relief... But it started progressively again.

September 21st:
Full diarrhea again and BLOOD in it. The ab was finishing anyway (it was supposed to be 5 days (I thought it was 7, but it's 5 so he did the whole treatment).

September 22nd:
Early in the morning, I tried giving him yogourt only and the poop was much more solid so I thought it was getting better.
I gave him yogourt all the feeding after that.
I started giving him the Bene Bac, .05ml 2 times a day.

September 23rd:
Diarrhea again...

***********

- Maurice is 210grams,
- I think he's 7 weeks old (You can have a better idea with the pic)
- I feed him 5% to 7% of his weigh every 4 hours (during the night too).
(After speaking with Pip I think that maybe I'm overfeeding him a bit?)
- He's not on AB anymore now.
- Except for this forever diarrhea, he is very active, playful and has a very good appetite.


Questions...........

1. I realize, as you said Jackie, that maybe I'm trying to many things, not waiting long enough. What do you think would be his ideal ideal diet and feeding frequency? fvm and yogourt, right? + the blocks, + a bit of canned pumpkins + the Bene Bac 2 times a day?

2. Should I put him on an AB again? Do you still think I should treat him for Coccidia or I should try something else?


THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, Thanks for your patience...
Argh, I'm worried...

[Croquette]

oups, here are the pictures.

[I Love Lucy]

Coccidia usually does not smell and can range in color from green to yellow, with or without mucous, with consistency ranging from watery to mushy. Their appetites and activity are usually normal. I would definitely treat him with TMP-SMZ aka Bactrim and Sulfatrim.

At his age/weight I feed them 18-21 cc's three times a day. Do not try this until he is recovered.

I would only feed him his formula and block until this is resolved. I personally never use an additive to their formula.

[Pip]

What a cutie :Love_Icon ! :grouphug

I hope he feels well soon!

[Jackie in Tampa]

Coccidia usually does not smell and can range in color from green to yellow, with or without mucous, with consistency ranging from watery to mushy. Their appetites and activity are usually normal. I would definitely treat him with TMP-SMZ aka Bactrim and Sulfatrim.

At his age/weight I feed them 18-21 cc's three times a day. Do not try this until he is recovered.

I would only feed him his formula and block until this is resolved. I personally never use an additive to their formula.
yep agree TOTALLY with the excepton of yogurt in the formula...



I say this after doing mega research...yogurt is a great probiotic...
it adds good gut flora..
healthy people and animals must have good gut flora to recieve all the nutriants in the food we eat..
otherwise the food is pushed quickly thru the digestive tract and much nutrition is lost in motility..
the yogurt adds extra flora and more nutrition is filtered and remains in the body..
in a nut shell...living with probiotics is best! THAT"s why I use it in every tank of formula I make..
and that's why I eat it myself..
Research Dr Ohhira...he's the man!!!:alright.gif :bowdown
------------------------------
treat for coccidia... it's giardia that smells like death,,coccidia smells like poop!:D

[Croquette]

Thank you all so much!
I just started to treat him for Coccidia.

When he will get better I will diminish the number of feeding per day (and start sleeping at night). The older one of the 3 squirrel here (Berthe) is starting to be a tiny bit overweight. oups. She wasn't complaining very much about all the feeding. She always steel the syringe from my hand and acts like she will destroy it if I don't give her the milk fast enough. She is a little bully (but an elegant one).

:thankyou

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

Coccidia usually does not smell and can range in color from green to yellow, with or without mucous, with consistency ranging from watery to mushy. Their appetites and activity are usually normal. I would definitely treat him with TMP-SMZ aka Bactrim and Sulfatrim.

At his age/weight I feed them 18-21 cc's three times a day. Do not try this until he is recovered.

I would only feed him his formula and block until this is resolved. I personally never use an additive to their formula.

Hmmm, I've had 3 different squirrels with coccidia (stool sample tested by the vet) and the only thing that smells worse in poop land is giardia. Coccidia smells almost like the wrath of God, but not quite. Giardia is the wrath - 100%.

[Croquette]

Ho boy, I don't want to mess with the wrath of God. Especially if it's in a little squirrel stomach.

Let's see what happens, He got treated for Cocci this morning.... I hope that, cocci or not, this medicine will work and that he will make the best poops ever in a few days to end this diarrhea festival. :fireworks :fireworks

:fireworks

[Pip]

How are your babies! :grouphug Any updates? :thankyou

[Croquette]

They are doing well! Thanks :)
I'll take new pics and post them soon...

That was taken a bit more than a week ago:
http://vimeo.com/51028803