diarrhea

[thundersquirrel]

hey guys

the little girl squirrel has been joined by two other fox squirrels that are older and more wild than she is. they're all happy together, that's not the point of this post.

the little girl is having bowel issues. when we first got her, there was a small dark brown blockage over her heiny, but we didn't think too much of it; sounds like dehydration and malnutrition, right?
but now it's getting worse. the color is getting lighter, there's more of it, and it's still causing blockages. i cleaned her up and her rectum is pretty largely open.

anyway, you get the picture. :eek:
any ideas on what we're doing wrong? we've been giving her all the formula she needs, she seems perfectly healthy except for the runs. :help

[yolandacrosby]

I found that with my baby that if you give it just a pinch of banana it will stiffen the bowel some. Not too much. Just a very small amount.

[Secret Squirrel]

Hi Thundersqiurrel,

I have a 9 week old girl who has diarrhea and is losing weight. It's pale, watery(of course) and smells really bad!!
I called my rehabber ( I am working under her teaching ) and she asked me if I was feeding any corn? No, I replyed and she told me to get her to a vet tomorrow.
She mentioned a medicine which I can't remember that the Vet might put her on..... Sorry!!
I have no answer for you now, I'll find out more tomorrow.
BUT THE REASON FOR THIS POST IS TO LET EVERYONE WHO IS READING THIS KNOW HOW IMPORTAINT IT IS TO HAVE A REBABBER TO WORK WITH. THE VET IS FREE BECAUSE I AM WORKING WITH A LICENSED REHABBER SO TAKE THIS VAUABLE INFORMATION AND USE IT FOR THE HEALTH OF YOUR BABIES.
Thunder thanks for letting me use your post. :thankyou I will keep you posted on my baby girl.

[thundersquirrel]

:goodpost

i have a bad history with veterinarians and squirrels. i'm sure not all veterinarians are like this, but the ones in town absolutely HATE dealing with wild animals, or even exotics. they don't know :madd about them either.

usually my mother and i refer to our licensed rehabber, just as you do. she gets us the medicine from a place that gives rehabbers discounts and the like, cause she lives out of town. still, without her, we would have NO CLUE what to do with this baby. she's taught us everything we know, and if she hadn't we would have killed an awful lot of squirrels.

Licenses are very very important.
We're not feeding her any corn.....i have a feeling that this is an actual bacterial sickness rather than malnutrition, cause she's had it from the start and it's only getting worse. course, maybe her body needs to adjust to the formula?

[BuckeyeSqrl]

Thunder,

She may have some internal parasites. The only way to tell is to get a fecal run on fresh stool. Depending on the parasite, different medications are required. That is always my first check when they develop diarrhea.

Another thing that works well is yogurt or another type of probiotic. If she can afford the calorie reduction, you can put her on about 4 straight feedings of pedialyte and then wean her back on to formula. What formula are you feeding her?

Buckeye

[Secret Squirrel]

Thundersquirrel,

What did your rehabber recommend?? :dono

Yes, there are Vets out there that don't want to handle wild animals and some that do. It's like shopping around for a good Doctor for you and your mom. You want the best!! Well I do......don't want some grumpy old quack looking at......you get the point!!!:nono
I'll be taking Mary to the vet at 2:30 pm.....I'll let y'all know what I find out.
Becca

[thundersquirrel]

we haven't asked our rehabber yet. unfortunately she's not allowed within fifty feet of a squirrel until July because a rabid bat got in their house.

still, we should call her. good thinking.
we're about to feed the babies, i'll update if anything is different.

[Connie]

The first thing you must do is separate her from the other babies.

Do not share feeding implements and formula among the healthy babies and the sick one. Smelly runny stool is likely an indication of a bacterial infection, which can spread to the others.

Never ever put unrelated babies together until enough time has passed that you can tell everyone is healthy.

Others have given advice on how to treat. But you should not wait to contact your rehabber. Do that right away!

Connie
NYS Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator specializing in newborn and juvenile gray squirrels