decrease in appetite

[TLD]

We have 3 five week old grey squirrels. We were feeding them the Esbilac puppy formula but they had diarrhea so we switched over (gradually) to the Fox Valley formula. The diarrhea is over but now their appetites have decreased and they are less active. Is this because of the formula or could it be something else?

[island rehabber]

We have 3 five week old grey squirrels. We were feeding them the Esbilac puppy formula but they had diarrhea so we switched over (gradually) to the Fox Valley formula. The diarrhea is over but now their appetites have decreased and they are less active. Is this because of the formula or could it be something else?

A few things could be happening here:

Fox Valley is digested much slower than Esbilac. baby squirrels on FV usually don't need to be fed as often -- you can go an hour to two hours longer between feedings when they are on FV. Therefore, if you're approaching them for another meal too soon, they aren't hungry yet.

Pneumonia from aspirating formula can cause a decrease in appetite. Have they spluttered or bubbled formula out their noses while feeding? Listen to their chests by puting them right up to your ear: if you hear wheezing or clicking sounds, they need antibiotics.

If they are not eating as much, they may be dehydrated. Dehydration = loss of appetite = more dehydration = death. What you'll want to do is make some homemade hydration formula (our recipe for homemade Pedialyte is a Sticky in the emergency section) or you can use flavored Pedialyte itself. Offer them the hydration in between meals for a full fay; you may see their appetite increase a lot.

[TLD]

Thank you, we were still feeding them every 4 hours and they did just seem to not be hungry. They have no wheezing or clicking and don't seem to be dehydrated at all, so we'll just go to 5 hours and see how that works.

[island rehabber]

Thank you, we were still feeding them every 4 hours and they did just seem to not be hungry. They have no wheezing or clicking and don't seem to be dehydrated at all, so we'll just go to 5 hours and see how that works.

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