Severely starved 6 week old

[Minaluvri]

I just got an around 6 week old baby gray, eyes open, fully furred, fluffed tail. The problem is he is 64 grams! I almost cried when I saw him for the first time, his body is so skinny and emaciated, he's all bones. His head looks normal but his body looks like a 2 week old squirrels. We had a pretty bad storm here last night, and apparently this afternoon a man was clearing branches off his roof when he discovered a fallen nest up there with three babies, the other two were not this skinny, and ran away when he disturbed the nest, this one didn't move however, they think they saw the mother squirrel get the other two from the other half of the roof, but they left this little guy out there for 4-5 hours and he was crying but the mom never came back to the roof, so around 5:00 I went and got him, but I'm almost certain there's no possible way he's only been without food for a day, his ribs are showing and he's just....I've never seen a squirrel this skinny. I'll post pictures soon, but warning, they're depressing. Although he's very active and acts normal.
But my question is; I've given him two feedings of pedialyte, two hours apart(he took 4ccs each time) how often should I feed him and when should I switch to FV. He's not very dehydrated now, and I'm worried if wait any longer without getting actual nutrition in him he'll die, but I'm not sure his stomach can handle it since he's so small his stomach capacity has obviously shrunken severely. How often and how much should I try for, and when can I switch to formula?! Also how is it possible for him to be so starved? Could he have some kind of parasite? Any advice is immensely appreciated!

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you for helping this little one.
Not sure why he was left or why he is so small.
First off, what kind of FV formula do you have?
Secondly if it's the 20/50 which I hope it is, you can start by diluting it
1 part FV to 4 parts water. Make sure that everything is nice and warm when
feeding him, I would do this for 4-5 feedings, then go to 1 part FV to 3 parts water.
First lets see a picture to determine how dehydrated he is.
You know unless they are fully hydrated, they will not absorb any of the food, so we
may have to hydrate in between these feedings also.
This one could actually be from another litter, perhaps he lost his mom. :dono That would account for
the difference in appearance.

[Minaluvri]

Yes, sorry I didn't mention, the FV I have IS 20/50. When you say four parts water to one part FV, do you mean, 4 parts water as opposed to adding 2 parts water to the powder, or only 1 part of the actual liquid formula to 4 parts water?

[island rehabber]

4 parts water to one part powder.
Go slowly and patiently with this little one....his system will be unable to digest large amounts of food, or overly rich formula. That's why we start with 4:1, then 3:1, then finally full strength. :)

[Nancy in New York]

Yes, sorry I didn't mention, the FV I have IS 20/50. When you say four parts water to one part FV, do you mean, 4 parts water as opposed to adding 2 parts water to the powder, or only 1 part of the actual liquid formula to 4 parts water?


This is just an example of what I mean.
If you use 1 tablespoon of dry FV,
you add 4 tablespoons of hot water.

I would do that for about 4-5 feedings, and
then go 1 part dry FV to 3 parts hot water. Do it at this
ratio for about 5-7 feedings (maybe even a little longer)
see how her tummy is accepting this,
and see how her poops are.

[Minaluvri]

242029242030

[Nancy in New York]

God help this little one.
OK feed the diluted FV formula, and don't give him too much, this may be an all night thing.
I have had little ones in terrible shape as well. I would feed them small amounts, every two hours.
I would do 2 cc's and then in a 1 1/2-2 hours do another 2 cc's, then wait 3 hours and then repeat.
I think you will be able to judge by how she is taking it, but I wouldn't feed her the whole amount at once.
Baby steps to start.

I have to run to feed the little ones here, I'm late doing so, not sure when I will be back on.
Others will help you I'm sure! :grouphug

[Minaluvri]

He made it through the night, and today, he seems to be less weak and he now weighs 70 grams, he is still so horrifyingly skinny but his belly looks at little less bony after I feed him. However he doesn't eat well. He ate the pedialyte much better but when I switched to the diluted FV he stopped really sucking, he just licks the formula and chews the nipple a little. I've been managing to get almost 4cc's in him, but I'm concerned that this isn't enough. I'm going to switch to the 3:1 dilution ratio tonight but I'm concerned how he will take it since I don't know if its his appetite or dislike for the formula that's keeping him from eating well. He did give me two black momma colored stools, after stimulation this last feeding but still no pee. He also has two marks on him, one looks like a blackish scab and is a little bit raised but not irritated around it and the other is a little round yellowish brown mark. Both are shallow and not bleeding, but I'm concerned that they are a bite of some sort or the black one is a bot fly warble, although its not a huge lump like pictures I've seen.

[Milo's Mom]

As you strengthen the formula he will most likely take to it better and better. 4:1 formula is pretty much white water and has very little to no flavor. (I've tasted it :tilt )

Just keep at it. :thumbsup

[Nancy in New York]

You're doing great! I agree with MM I too have tasted it and hydration fluid tastes better.:)
Remember that some like it really warm some a little cooler, so you may have to play around with the temp.
Also if he seems not interested, or wiggly, try stimulating him. I have a little one now who will take 1 syringe and then like
clock work squirm around so much, he doesn't even want the second syringe in his mouth.
I have to stimulate him, and then he will suck down 8 more. :grin2

[Mommaluvy]

:goodpost

Yep.. Just go slowly. Glad to hear he made it through the night and today !

[Minaluvri]

Should I continue feeding every two hours or go longer now? I was wondering if the length of time contributed to his loss of appetite seeing as a 6 week old would eat far less often then 2 hours. But they would also eat more at a time. Should I continue through the night feedings?

[ALittleNutty]

Should I continue feeding every two hours or go longer now? I was wondering if the length of time contributed to his loss of appetite seeing as a 6 week old would eat far less often then 2 hours. But they would also eat more at a time. Should I continue through the night feedings?

You would probably be okay stretching the feedings out to every 3 hours now and continue with a little sugar water in between. I personally would keep on with night feedings since this little one is in such bad shape but you could probably stretch one out to five hours in order to get some sleep.

[Minaluvri]

Sleep is much needed, all of my other babies feeding schedules conveniently don't coincide with his, should I do sugar water, even though I'm giving a 3:1 water to formula ratio?

[Mommaluvy]

Myself .. And hopefully you will have someone more experienced chime in...

I would not do sugar water at this point. I think plain would be better . If he will take it.


Why ? Maybe it's just me. But I had two intakes this year that got the runs on the sugar water. As the milk to water ratio cleared up this got better. And totally cleared by full milk feeding. The sugar and or hydrations formula is important and should not be skipped when taking one in.. Don't get me wrong. But sugar can cause the runs.. And you will not want a little guy who is starved to get the runs.

You might be getting close to bumping to a 50/50 water formula solution.

[ALittleNutty]

Ok, on the 3:1 water ratio you might not need the sugar water at this point. As long as the baby is passing the pinch test to test for dehydration.

I have never heard of going to a 1:1 (50/50) formula mix. It's too strong and might lead to constipation issues. After you work into a 2:1 formula mix and are getting good potty results you can start adding just a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream to add some extra fat and calories.

Example
1/4 cup powder
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream, then 1/2 then 1 teaspoon. You can work up to a full Tablespoon of cream.

Go up on the cream very gradually so his system can adjust. Just watch the poops to determine things ares still going in the right direction and make adjustments as necessary.

Right now I am making up
1/2 cup powder
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons Cream

Please note that I am feeding 8 right now so you might want to adjust the amount you make up since you only have the one.

[Minaluvri]

He's doing much better, slowly gaining weight, up to almost 90 grams now. But I was wondering, he's around 6 weeks, I also have a 7-8 week old female. She doesn't move around that much but she is significantly bigger than him (around 180 grams) and she has a lot of attitude. He's pretty calm about everything. I know it's much better for them to be raised with siblings, and both of them had some originally, so I'd like to put them together.
But I'm concerned because firstly, earlier this year I had five babies; four siblings and a singleton, all around the same age, 8-9 weeks. They wouldn't accept him, I tried ,even with just one of the four and him, but they freaked out, They tried to fight each other when I let them out together and ultimately hated each other until I released them and they basically ignored each other but got along. I don't want the same to happen with these two. I definitely don't want them hurting each other. Secondly since he is a week or two younger and physically behind I don't want him to keep her from being released earlier seeing as their release will be cutting it close anyways. (it gets pretty cold here in November/December, and I overwinter if I feel like they don't have enough time to acclimate/build nests/find food.)

[ALittleNutty]

You could start off by placing a piece of fleece in with each one and then swapping the fleece so they can get used to the other one's scent. Then you could move on to placing them close enough to smell each other but not make contact and if that goes well you might try putting them together and watching closely. I have two who are only about 2 weeks older than the other 3 little ones and I placed them all together and things work out pretty good. Usually they are all in one big pile when I go check on them. At this age it might work and to me they do better if they have company all the way up to release time. I don't like to release singletons, but that's usually never an issue around here.:eek

[Minaluvri]

At this age, are they at risk for hurting each other?

[ALittleNutty]

At this age, are they at risk for hurting each other?

At this age it's sort of a borderline, that's why I am recommending letting them get used to each other scents and introduce slowly. Mine sometimes make small squeaks if one of the big ones rolls on one of the little ones in their sleep but there are no aggressive signs. You will also want to keep a watch out if you do put them together and she starts suckling on his boy parts. Some do it, some don't, but making sure they are fed enough and on time can usually prevent it. They may end up being best buddies, you just have to give it a chance and see how they react.

[Mommaluvy]

I have never heard of going to a 1:1 (50/50) formula mix. It's too strong and might lead to constipation issues. After you work into a 2:1 formula mix and are getting good potty results you can start adding just a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream to add some extra fat and calories.

.


You are right..but I was meaning 50 prepared formula with 50 water.. Diluted formula was what I was talking about :) I thought she was slowly transitioning him toward full strength formula. I Guess it would be more like a 1;1.. I am new to all the squirrel Jargon :P

Glad to hear is is continuing to improve