Can I sleep???

[jenniferposey86]

My babies will be seven weeks on Wednesday. They are eating 12 cc's at a time. Eyes are open, hopping, running, tails up over backs. How many hours should I wait in between feedings? What about night feedings? Does anyone move up to 3ccs at this age or keep with the 1 cc. They are halfway eating HHB and shredding most of it.

[Rhapsody]

You can feed every 6 hours now, use a 3 cc syringe and skip their late night feeding. Once they are eating the hhb block on a regular basis you can slowly add vegetables and wild plants as listed in the nutrition section. (rule of thumb: feed 5-7 % of their body weight @ each feeding).

[jenniferposey86]

So they just ate at 8:00, I could feed again at 6:00am or what?

[Nancy in New York]

So they just ate at 8:00, I could feed again at 6:00am or what?


No that is too long in between feedings. 6 hours maximum.
Can you post a picture of them? 12 cc's just sounds low, do they want to take more?
Most people that have done squirrels before throw that rule of 5-7% out the window.
As long as they don't get bloated and their tummies hard, I let them take more.

[jenniferposey86]

Oh I thought she said skip the late night?? I don't mind waking up I had thought at some point they go through the whole night.

[Nancy in New York]

Oh I thought she said skip the late night?? I don't mind waking up I had thought at some point they go through the whole night.


Right, you can skip the night feeding. I think that you may need to feed later than 8:00. Do you feed every 4 hours?
Starting tomorrow, can you try to feed 8:00, 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 and 12:00.....if you got in 5 good feedings like this, you could let them go until 8:00, AND you would be getting 8 hours of sleep....:wahoo

[jenniferposey86]

Every five right now. And at five I'm having to wake them up to eat.

[Rhapsody]

Oh I thought she said skip the late night?? I don't mind waking up I had thought at some point they go through the whole night.
Correct --their LATE night feeding...... If I started feeding at 6 am then my feeding schedule would be @ 6-12-6-12.
They will go through the night around 8 weeks old, when the hhb blocks and wild plants are started.

[jenniferposey86]

When I feed I have been counting hours from when I get finished feeding. Is that wrong? With the 1cc and 2 squirrels from feeding to pooping and peeing its close to an hour.

[Rhapsody]

I would count the time when I started feeding the first squirrel and I would make sure I feed that squirrel first at the next feeding..... it you start at 7 am and it takes 45 minutes to feed them it was still 7 am when you started feeding them...... just start with the first feed squirrel at the 1:00 pm feeding.

[jenniferposey86]

I always feed the same one first bc he is a little monster to feed and I like getting him fed and over with. He is a wild wiggle worm when it's feeding time. When he is full he is a snuggling mommys baby.

[treeman]

I'm amazed at how much they can eat and how much milk a momma-squirrel would have to produce. I have 4 greys and they are about 10 weeks and eating 20 cc (more or less) per sitting. It's hard to believe a momma can make that much milk!

[rainrshine]

My schedule at 7 weeks was 4 x's a day and skip the night feeding. It was 7, 12, 5:30, and 11pm. They have thrived on this, still gaining weight and I did not have to wake them for feedings.

At 8 weeks I went to 3 x's a day, and I did not choose that, the squirrels did. At this age I felt they knew when they were hungry and like clockwork they wake up for a formula feeding at 8, 4, and 11. I may be wrong, but this combined with the hhb's and greens has served us well. If I wake them to feed they are crabby and didn't eat well. They are both still gaining weight and doing fine. However, I do mix my formula with ultra boost and offer only greens and hhb;s along with "cookies" made with formula, hhb's, and applesauce and a few nuts. I don't give nuts freely nor do I give any fruit except for a very small piece as a treat.

[jenniferposey86]

I got up tonight and its now two and I'm still feeding bc I spilled the last of my mixed formula everywhere while feeding. I'm so exhausted :(

[rainrshine]

I got up tonight and its now two and I'm still feeding bc I spilled the last of my mixed formula everywhere while feeding. I'm so exhausted :(

SLEEP :sleep1

Just make sure the last feeding is 11 or 12. Then you can safely get a good 8 hours!