i have no idea what to do

[timmyandI]

My squirrel timmy has been acting very strange. He has been scratching hid nose so much that it bleeds. I'm not sure what to do at first I thought he was gnawing on his boy parts but the blood is coming from his nose. What can I do to relieve the itching. Or get him to stop scratching at it?

[farrelli]

Please tell us EXACTLY what his diet is daily, also his age and breed of squirrel.

[timmyandI]

I have been feeding him skim milk, sugar water, regular water, and gerbil/mice pellets. I think he is 7-9 weeks old.

[timmyandI]

He is a grey squirrel

[farrelli]

Also, why do you think that he was gnawing on his genitals? They sometimes do that, though usually when really young, and sometimes you have to go to the extent of cutting holes in a baby sock and providing them with underwear until you can break them of the habit. It can cause serious damage.

My greatest concern is that his diet is bad and that he is suffering from metabolic bone disease, which not only can cause itchy skin but is the most common malady we see here. It usually quickly deteriorates into seizures, paralysis, and death. But if we catch it now, we have a treatment which often can be effective. So, what is his diet like, and what is his history for being with you?

[timmyandI]

All of that is what I have been feeding him. I have only had him for a week now. And I am so scared something is going to go wrong.

[farrelli]

Oh, he's a baby! That diet is totally wrong. Cow's milk is harmful. For now, you will have to go to the store and buy goat's milk. Lots of places have it, often even walmart. If they don't have fresh (which is best), they often have canned, right by the condensed milk. The following is what you should be using for a temporary formula. Please get it first thing tomorrow. His life in in jeopardy.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29904

[timmyandI]

I thought it was his genitals because he curls into a ball and there was blood on them. Later I found our there were no actual bite marks or scratches on his genitals. But his nose was bleeding.

[timmyandI]

I have heard so many things on what to feed him. I'm so lost!

[farrelli]

But right now, you should order what you will be using for real squirrel formula.

http://www.foxvalleynutrition.com/product-lines/milkreplacers/

Use the goat's milk until it arrives.

You can also buy Emu oil as a moisturizer for his nose and entire body. Cow's milk can ravage them.

Also, is he hydrated? If you gently pinch the skin between the shoulder blades does it tent or does it go right back down like on the back of your hand?

Finally, is he being kept warm? At this age they cannot regulate their own temp and need a heating pad set on low kept under their container, half way under so that they can crawl away if too hot.

You should also provide a rice buddy. Put a fair amount of rice in a sock, tie it off, microwave it for a minute or two to get it warm, mush it around to make sure there are no hot spots, and give it to him to cuddle with.

If you have pictures, send them to me at farrelli-at-rcn.com and I will post them here so that we can better evaluate the situation.

[farrelli]

I have heard so many things on what to feed him. I'm so lost!

It's very common but you are in the right place. This is THE squirrel resource on the net. We have many licensed rehabers and get new people like you daily, especially now that it's baby season. You will get all questions answered in a short period of time. We will help you.

[farrelli]

The pictures will help a ton, but given your age estimate, he has his eyes open and is furry, right?

If he is indeed eating solid food, the healthy diet pyramid is below:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39275

But because yours is a baby, it should be mostly formula. They should subsist on that for as long as they will take it. But if he wants something to chew on, you should get rodent blocks. You can get rodent blocks like Harlan Teklad at most pet stores. But again, getting the formula from FV is key.

Also, what are you feeding him with? A 1cc syringe is best. You have to be careful of feeding them too fast or at an angle other then head up. if they aspirate, they can go down fast. if you ever hear clicking, you will need to get antibiotics immediately.

[farrelli]

Oh, and copy this to someplace on your computer, this site is undergoing an upgrade where it may or may not go down at any moment for the foreseeable future. If that happens and you're still at a time of immediate need, go to the following site and members from here (like me) will meet you and continue your help.

http://apps.thetsbfund.com/Forum/TopicGroup/

[farrelli]

You're marked as no longer active. I may be going to bed at around 5:00 EST. I will keep checking periodically here and will be altered immediately if you send email. If I am not here, others usually show up at around 7:00 or so. This late at night, it's usually only me and maybe a couple others.

Because of the maintenance, I can't approve you to post pictures, so perhaps one of the others will volunteer to do it for you in the morning.

But again, getting off the cow's milk it critical. It's not easily digested by any animal, much less a tiny one. And heat is also key. A squirrel's nest is a marvel of engineering and internal temps even in cold weather can be in the 80's.

[farrelli]

Oh, and of course make sure that the formula is fed WARM.

[stepnstone]

Nose bleeds are possibly already due to seizures, :shakehead
due to that diet this little one needs immediate attention!

[sage4dylan]

he will die if he continues to drink skim milk. he at least needs goats milk. you can get it in the can at walmart. its about 2.50$ a can so not expensive. it needs to be diluted per instructions on the can.Is he acting lethargic?

[island rehabber]

If this animal is 7-9 weeks old, with that diet it probably has more problems than a bleeding nose. You've gotten excellent advice here on the goat's milk formula and NUTRITIOUS healthy foods you should be feeding him.

What kind of rat/gerbil pellets are you giving him?

[timmyandI]

I accidentally said skim milk!!! I have been feeding him SOY MILK. does that chap.he anything? I have kept him warm. He has his own cage. About the size of a cat carrier. He is doing fine now. Th bleeding and scratchi.g have both gone away.

[farrelli]

Soy milk is still not what you want, but I'm somewhat less concerned than cow's milk. You will still need to replace it with goat's milk for now and Fox Valley formula when it arrives (you should order it now). Can you go out and get the GM now?

Btw, are you prepared to take care of this little guy? If not, we might be able to find someone in the area who has experience.

Also, if you could send me photos in the next half hour or so, I'll post them.

farrelli-at-rcn.com

[farrelli]

Oh, and you are making sure he's kept warm with the heating pad and the rice buddy, right? Warmth and correct diet are absolutely, super critical. Babies are very fragile and when their health declines, it's very fast and hard to reverse.

[Baxied]

Where in TN are you? I have fox valley formula and work with licensed rehabbers here in southeast TN. If you are close maybe I could get the little one or get the fox valley to you, so you could have some until you can order it.