PLEASE HELP>>>>CONSTIPATION

[alana1957]

New to this site...frantically searching for some help...I have raised 7 other squirrels...always on esbilac and heavy cream...never a problem...got baby aquirrel 4 days ago...started on same formula...a new can...eating great...doing good...very few stools but thought ok since it had been 2 days since he had eaten/delivered to me. This morning...grunting while breathing fast...thought pneumonia or infection ...cat had gotten him from nest and he had a few scratches on him....but now I think he is severely constipated and breathing hard from that...I need help finding a way to make him poop soon...he is hard around anus...hes so unconfortable...he cries when I try to stimulate him....fully haired...ears are unfolded...not sure of his age....any suggestions?

[Chickenlegs]

Apple juice can help constipation--and pumpkin. Have you tried soaking his back side in warm water?--or if he'll let you--a warm compress. Esbilac always gave mine the runs. I don't use the stuff. Is he well hydrated? If he was dehydrated his little innerds might have been in shutdown mode. I'd get fluids in him NOW. Experts please chime in. Is he on antibiotics? He should be if he was cat caught--but hydrated FIRST!

[SammysMom]

Okay, did you get him good and hydrated before starting on formula? It may be a case of dehydration. That can cause constipation. Can you do the pinch test between his shoulders. Lift the skin and see if it goes right back down or stays tented. Also, a picture would help on age determination. If you are unable to post a pic yet, feel free to email it to me at vfwpost7666@sbcglobal.net and I will post it here for you. Putting a bit of apple juice into water and giving it to him may well help. I will also post a recipe for goats milk formula in a minute.

[SammysMom]

Personally, since a cat had him I would see about a course of Baytril. In the meantime here is some general information that includes formula information. Esbilac has changed its formulation and is no longer recommended by TSB.
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!

[CritterMom]

First, do you know his age?

Try this to begin with - fill a bowl with warm water deep enough to submerge the baby to about the armpits. You want the temp right about where you would heat formula - 105 or so. Support him in the water and gently stroke downward on his tummy. The warm water relaxes the muscles and sometimes it will help them go.

A few drops of mineral oil is a laxative.

Give him hydration ONLYfor a while, and plenty of it.

Here is what happened: Esbilac has changes it's manufacturing process and the powder is VERY hard to dissolve. It has to sit after mixing for many hours, get mixed again, etc... He is full of esbilac powder sludge and WATER is the answer. You can put a teaspoon of sugar in a cup of water and the slight sweetness will make it more agreeable.

You must stop using the esbilac. Since this happened, many have changed to a lovely formula made for SQUIRRELS by Fox Valley. It can be purchased from www.foxvalleynutrition.com and www.henryspets.com.

Until you get it, please substitute this:

3 parts goats milk*
1 part full fat vanilla yogurt (Stoneyfield Yobaby is good)
1 part heavy whipping cream

*Measurement for fresh goats milk only - if you get canned or dried, mix with water according to package directions, THEN use in this recipe.

[farrelli]

So many things going on. First, is he bloated? His belly should feel like a partially full water balloon, not hard and round. Also, is he dehydrated (which alone can cause constipation)?

You can soak his lower half in warm water while gently massaging it to get things moving. You can also give him a bit of prune, pumpkin, or a drop or two of olive oil. Fruit juice can also work. Is he gassy? If so, a drop or two of infant gas-x would be good.

Now about the Esbilac. It used to be good but it was reformulated and now causes GI issues. You should switch to the temporaray goat's milk formula found here and then order Fox Valley:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29903

Lastly, if the cat got him, he should be on antibiotics because cat saliva can be fatal. Do you have any?

[alana1957]

Thanks everyone...heres what I have done...soaks under tepid water frequently...does help alittle to relax him and only pea size poop today(hard) I have stopped the Esbilac...called the phone number to order recommended formula but no answer from them yet...started on pedialyte...slowly with 1ml syringe...he does look dehydrated NOW but not yesterday when he was eating fine....NO pet stores here...no vets will treat wild animals....went to feed store for cows and horses...bought amoxicillin..gave 1 drop (due to the )IM. I bought some gas relief for babies and thinking bought giving 1 dro in pedialyte. I have apple juice also....should I try that in pedialyte too??? I have never had this problem before....so sick so fast....wish I would have known about the new change in Esbilac....I would have never started. I am a RN and feel so helpless. I just want him to POOP! I will try sending you a pic...

[Chickenlegs]

Can you get Baytril? (Cipro)--better than amoxicillin and the good folks here can help dose it down. If he's bloated the gas-x will help. If he's constipated then the apple/prune juice should get things going. If you got a couple of tiny poops --good--means the plumbing is workin just stoppered up. Getting him rehydrated might solve a world of problems. Just remember that pedialyte--homemade or store bought--is only for 24 hours. It's got salt in it and salt can cause problems. Sugar water or water and apple juice will get him rehydrated--and feed it WARM. A baby won't take tepid/cold food. They like it almost hot--nice hot chocolate temp--toasty goin down but don't have to blow on it.

[SammysMom]

I suggest just using sugar water. The sodium is not needed in this situation. Maybe even sweeten water with a bit of Karo. Canned pumpkin is really good for this issue. Plain pumpkin, not pie filling. You can mix it with water and use a syringe if that works better.
A little vaseline or even Neosporin ointment on his anus might not hurt. His bottom probably hurts at this point.

[farrelli]

Did you massage while soaking?

I would go with juice over pedilyte because he doesn't need the salt or electrolytes and, as you may know, sugar draws water into the intestines, so it could start to get things moving.

[alana1957]

I just put 1 drop of gas-ex....half apple juice and half pedialyte..he took 1.5 mls..I will offer every half hour...poor lil guy...tummy feels empty...alittle hard around anus...I did softly massage when soaking under the warm water...I will start goats milk formula tomorrow and re-call the fox valley tomorrow...I cant get any vet to write me a script for Baytril...cipro or anything..they all said they wont let ANY wild animal in their doors for fear of disease...I feel helpless...do you have any suggestions where to find such stuff...I do have a large town 1 hour away that have pet stores...do they carry them?

[SammysMom]

You said you are a nurse, right? Might you have any friends who have had a UTI and took Cipro? It is a very popular drug for such things and all you need is one tablet. So often we don't finish a prescription and have a couple in the medicine cabinet. Call around to friends.

[alana1957]

Crittermom...my baby looks like the baby on your name....hes still a crawler..not a hopper...tail full...ears open...weighs 130 grams (4 1/2 oz)..I use rice socks...a stocking hat for a nest and is in an aquarium with Timothy hay. ALL my babies are released when well adapt to foods...I have been doing this with the fish and game for 25 years...all kinds of animals..all sizes...currently am hand feeding doves...just released raccoons...I am not new to this...Ive just NEVER had a problem until now....darn it...:( So I appreciate all your suggestions...:)

[astra]

sorry, when you said you gave him a drop of amoxi, just would like to make sure you meant that the dose looked like a drop, but it was actually dosed, right?
Since looks like you've raised so many animals, this must be a typo, but just wanted to make sure just in case.

[Chickenlegs]

Nature sure has a way of keeping us humble huh? And it doesn't help that vets are actually afraid of wild things. They're more likely to come in contact with disease from a cat or dog. Tsk.

[SammysMom]

This is from orphanedwildlifecare.com:
Overfeeding and other digestive upset can also lead to bloat. Bloat can sometimes be relieved by massaging the abdomen while holding the baby with the bottom half of its body submerged in a basin of warm water. Sometimes a few drops of a human pediatric colic medicine (symethicone) will help relieve bloat in a baby squirrel, and sometimes a small dose of stool softener (such as lactulose syrup or docusate sodium “Colace”) will help. Do not feed the baby formula if it is bloated, offer Pedialyte instead, and if your best efforts do not resolve the problem within a day, please take the baby to a veterinarian for an assessment. Digestive upset is often a feeding problem (wrong or too much formula, or formula feeding before the baby is fully rehydrated), but occasionally it results from intestinal parasites or a coccidia infection, and your vet will be able to treat for these conditions.

[alana1957]

I am trying to find friends..family or my patients who may have not finished their Cipro..that will give the old pills to me...Cipro generally comes in 500 mg tablets....Can anyone tell me how to prepare this...and the dose for a 130 gram...(4 1/2 oz baby?)

[Nancy in New York]

I am trying to find friends..family or my patients who may have not finished their Cipro..that will give the old pills to me...Cipro generally comes in 500 mg tablets....Can anyone tell me how to prepare this...and the dose for a 130 gram...(4 1/2 oz baby?)

I can do this for you and I will send it in a pm. Just hold on a few minutes while I type it up.

[alana1957]

thanks so much...still not able to find ciprto...did find amoxicillin 875mg....PCN 500mg and a Levoquin 750 mg..can any of them be used until I can find Cipro?

[alana1957]

ooo know...where did the message go...?

[Nancy in New York]

Can you get a picture of his little butt?

[SammysMom]

Has he passed any more stool? Do you have any stool softener or suppositories or can you get them if needed?

[astra]

thanks so much...still not able to find ciprto...did find amoxicillin 875mg....PCN 500mg and a Levoquin 750 mg..can any of them be used until I can find Cipro?
i think you could use amoxi, but you will need to add probiotic (yogurt, kefir - type of thing) to the formula b/c amoxi is harsh on the gut bacteria.

don't know the other two - maybe, experts will advise

EDIT: probiotic - 2 hrs before or after (or both) before administering amoxi. If your baby can eat yogurt/kefir without it being added to formula, that will be even better.

But now since there is constipation and it's not good to use formula (esp. Esbilac) when constipated, try giving him just yogurt/kefir (which, too, can help relieve constipation). Maybe, mix it with something (pumpkin or apple juice) if he doens't like the taste

[Unikorngrrl]

pancake syrup is a laxative also...

[farrelli]

He might also do with a bit of hemorrhoid cream applied to his bum. It should reduce swelling and, if I remember correctly, can't really go wrong. There was one case where a squirrel ate a fair bit of this, and when I researched it, it wasn't very toxic at all. If his little butt is swollen (and therefore hard), this might help.

[SammysMom]

How are things going with this little guy thus morning?

[Jackie in Tampa]

mineral oil...just a few drops in his formula..
warm bowl soaks...
let's see that bumm...

[Scooterzmom]

If you do use the hemorrhoïd ointment you can suck up a little bit inside a syringe and slide the tip a little bit (not deep, just to make sure it will penetrate) & very gently inside his little anus. Besides bringing relief and reducing the swelling, the ointment is greasy and will also help him evacuate stools.

Hold him in your hands for about 5 minutes then wipe off the excess on the outside - that way you'll be sure he won't lick it off.

[SammysMom]

Any news here? This poor guy has been on my mind....:Love_Icon