Questions on Diarrhea and use of Clay/Charcoal...

[cnmnnaturalist]

SOOOOO, one of my three has diarrhea. It may be the home-made squirrel blocks, or it could possibly be some White Pine pine cones. I'm not sure who has it or what has caused it yet, but I just discovered it a few hours ago. They are now about 9-10 weeks old.

I've held off on food for tonight and just letting them have water. I'll keep a close eye on it to find out who has it and what might be causing it.

In the meantime, I'm wondering, has anyone used natural clays or activated charcoal in treating diarrhea? Knowing clay is a natural remedy for diarrhea and irritation caused by things like pine sap, and that animals seek it out for relief, I'm wondering if that might be a good thing to do? Rather than resort to any medications (unless of course this is an ongoing issue and ensuring good hydration and preventing further irritation isn't enough and they NEED meds). I'm not taking any chances, considering how fast they dehydrate. But if this is just an upset tummy that might just need a little clay to ease problems, maybe a little ripe banana, I'd like to use the gentle route.

I'm not going to do anything until I have a clearer picture of what is going on (like who has it, how bad it is, etc.) For now, they're just going to be getting water.

[cnmnnaturalist]

Okay, here are the things they have eaten in the last few days:

Pine Cones (Green White Pine and White Spruce pine cones) maybe once a day if I can find them
Sunflower Seed Sprouts (most meals)
Radishes, cucumbers and celery - celery more often than the other veggies, maybe once a day
Blackberries (like one each every couple of days)
watercress
Dandelion/plantain greens

Then there is the home-made squirrel blocks. I made it according to the recipe, but I may have accidentally added more buckwheat flour and whey protein than the recipe stated. I am not sure if that might cause the diarrhea.

I wish I knew they had the runnies BEFORE I let them out of the cage. It's all over the room! Ugh! :yuck

[Fireweed]

Just bumping this so the more experienced in "runnies" (:grin) will see it and help you out.

Did they eat dandelion roots?

[cnmnnaturalist]

@ Fireweed : Nope. They might get the bottom of the leaf stem but I never give them any roots.

Just took the kids back inside after cleaning their room.

Sweet Pea appears to have some sort of nasal discharge (just a little bit of mucous) and is quite poofy and seems to not feel well. Her poop is a little stickier than normal, but nothing serious.

Hobbes has diarrhea that is a bit more watery (like 75% solid, with some liquid). He didn't appreciate me wiping his bum off. I may have to put them in the carrier and just keep them in there since I don't want them spreading poo everywhere and possibly passing it on (I cleaned the room top to bottom with a broad-spectrum antimicrobial). They are drinking plenty of water, and I have a bottle of rehydrate water for them just in case.

Should I go ahead and get some vanilla yogurt to give them some good microbes? The diarrhea issue I can handle, but Sweet Pea just looks to be unwell. She has been stressed lately too, clicking her teeth.

Any meds that I should have on hand in case this isn't just a passing thing?

[SammysMom]

I am going to see if I can get someone more experienced than me with this issue. Mostly, I think pushing WATER is the best thing to do right now. Are they still getting any type of formula?

[cnmnnaturalist]

They are pretty much weaned onto just squirrel blocks and wild foods. I'm making sure they are drinking plenty of water, and regularly checking for signs of dehydration.

[SammysMom]

If possible use a syringe to give water for a while. Flushing whatever it is that is causing this is probably the best thing to do. Just water, not pedialyte. Too much salt and sugar for the moment.

[cnmnnaturalist]

I've been using syringes with nipples on them to give them extra water. They've taken that along with water out of the bottle.

I'm keeping them in their large carrier since I don't want them getting poopy all over the room again. What a mess! Plus I want them to rest a bit, but they still want to come out and play. It's hard to say no to those faces, but they'll just have to wait until they feel better.

[Nancy in New York]

When hydrating a squirrel that is either vomiting or has diarrhea, it's best to do so with Pedialyte for the first 24 hours as they loose electrolytes.

You can try some canned pumpkin, NOT the pie filling, just plain, nothing added, canned pumpkin.
Also Fox Valley makes a wonderful product for diarrhea called Dia-Stat. I always keep this on hand,
you may want to pick up some.

[cnmnnaturalist]

I'll go ahead and offer some canned pumpkin. We always have quite a bit on hand since we have a dog with a sensitive stomach.

Fortunately, the diarrhea isn't very bad. Slightly watery, loose stools.

[Nancy in New York]

I'll go ahead and offer some canned pumpkin. We always have quite a bit on hand since we have a dog with a sensitive stomach.

Fortunately, the diarrhea isn't very bad. Slightly watery, loose stools.



OK that's good!:thumbsup

[cnmnnaturalist]

I gave them a slurry of water and canned pumpkin with some syringes. They really made a mess! I gave them about the same amount of solids they are eating now. They got it all over their faces and licked the carrier gate and just went crazy. They still have slightly loose/soft bowels, but they're not getting any worse. I gave them some sugar-free organic strawberry yogurt last night (just about 3ml each) for some culture. They are very upset that they can't leave the carrier. I have pretty much finished their release cage (though it still needs the next box, roof and stuff. But it's ready for them to go out in it for a bit each day), but I don't want to put them out there if they are sick. Plus it rained last night and it's a bit cooler, so I don't want to put the stress on them.

The next couple of days I'll be gone for most of the day, but my folks will be caring for them. I've instructed them to give them about a spoonful of the pumpkin mix each during each feeding (feeding 3 times a day).

[cnmnnaturalist]

I'm happy to report their poos are much more formed and only a little soft. The pumpkin appears to be working the trick! I've started adding the plain yogurt and making pumpkin/yogurt 'smoothies' which they eagerly lap out of the bowl.

They still look like they are not feeling well, keeping their hair puffed up. They still may not feel very well, but it appears their diarrhea is improving.

[Nancy in New York]

If the fur is puffed up, spikey.....that's a sign of dehydration.
You can try syringe feeding them water in between the regular feedings.
Diarrhea really depletes the fluid so give them all that they'll take.
Do you have any recent pictures?

[cnmnnaturalist]

I've been making a watery slurry with the pumpkin to give them more fluids, since they refuse to take any water from a syringe. I'll even just add a smidgen of pumpkin to the water just to give it flavor so they'll take it.

I've got a DNR training session most of the day today, but I will get some photos tonight. Very grateful that my mother is helping take care of them during the day.

[cnmnnaturalist]

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Here are a couple of photos I just took. Couldn't get all three in a photo at the same time! They were happy to be out of the cage.

So the fur sticking up/prickled is a sign of dehydration? I'll keep loading them with fluids then. The dish has 'pumpkin tea' which is just water with a little pumpkin mixed in. They do like it, though get themselves wet.

The other photo is Hobbe's poor little booty. They all have slightly swollen anuses, but I would assume they would just be irritated from the diarrhea.

Their poop is still a little soft, but is solid and not watery. They love pumpkin a little TOO much. They won't stop eating by themselves!

[cnmnnaturalist]

Since they didn't seem to make much progress with pushing water, I went and picked up some Pedialyte (fruit flavor). I gave them each about 12ml of it. They really liked it! Hopefully this will rehydrate them up a bit. I'll only do it today (since it's recommended to only use it for 24 hours).

[farrelli]

Have you tried sugar water, water flavored with a bit of apple (or other) juice, or watermelon? They often take one or more of those easily.

[cnmnnaturalist]

I attempted the sugar water, but they didn't take to it well. Watermelon/cucumber was not a hit either. I made some juice from apples, oranges, strawberries and pumpkin and they really liked it. They drank it for a few days, but didn't show much sign of their hydration improving, so I went to get the Pedialyte to supplement them today. Then I'll go back to the juice/pumpkin water tomorrow again to see if they improve after the day long feeding of pedialyte.