2.5 Week Old, Singleton Pinky Tips?

[lgyure85]

So about 2 weeks ago I got a trio of tiny, dehydrated pinkies (tree was cut down, babies brought to the local zoo), none more than 24g. They have been giving me some trouble from the beginning, mostly with digestion, but just when I thought we had figured it out, I lost one of the babies. I fed at 10pm, and one baby was a bit lethargic, but she ate and did her business. At 1am she had died. She had not aspirated, was not cold, and had been gaining weight. Today I lost another similarly. The rehabber I work with didn't expect any to make it, given their late-season arrival, and status on intake, but I have tried.

I now have one little girl left. There are, to my knowledge, no other babies of similar age/size in the area, so it looks like she will be a singleton. I have found little bits and pieces of advice on raising singletons, but I am wondering if you all would mind throwing out tips/links here.

Thank you!

Edit: I have been adding a small amount of whipping cream and probiotic powder to the formula for over a week, to help with weight gain, and digestion.

[farrelli]

What kind of formula are you giving, how much and how often?

Do you regularly listen closely to make sure you don't hear any clicking? Does she have a good appetite? Have good energy?

Are you using a 1cc syringe and following proper feeding technique - head pointed down, syringe pointed up?
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?36777-PROPER-FEEDING-TECHNIQUE!!

[lgyure85]

What kind of formula are you giving, how much and how often?

Do you regularly listen closely to make sure you don't hear any clicking? Does she have a good appetite? Have good energy?

Are you using a 1cc syringe and following proper feeding technique - head pointed down, syringe pointed up?
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?36777-PROPER-FEEDING-TECHNIQUE!!

I am feeding the Fox Valley 20/50, every 3-4 hours, depending on how well the last feed was digested. If the milk line has not gone down, or is palpable, I give 1cc of warm water, and check it again in a couple hours. They only eat about 1-2cc/feed, but they ate enthusiastically. I always check for clicking after everyone has been fed, stimulated, and settled back down. Energy has been great on all three.

I just released 11 fosters in October that I had raised successfully, most from pinkies. Prior to these 3, I had taken 17 this season, only 3 of which didn't make it to release. (1 cat attack, 1 fed human formula by the finder, and 1 was aspiration that I missed).

I feed with them on their bellies, using either a catac or miracle nipple attached to a 1cc syringe. Syringe is nearly vertical, the baby is nearly horizontal.

[stepnstone]

So about 2 weeks ago I got a trio of tiny, dehydrated pinkies (tree was cut down, babies brought to the local zoo), none more than 24g. They have been giving me some trouble from the beginning, mostly with digestion, but just when I thought we had figured it out, I lost one of the babies. I fed at 10pm, and one baby was a bit lethargic, but she ate and did her business. At 1am she had died. She had not aspirated, was not cold, and had been gaining weight. Today I lost another similarly. The rehabber I work with didn't expect any to make it, given their late-season arrival, and status on intake, but I have tried.

I now have one little girl left. There are, to my knowledge, no other babies of similar age/size in the area, so it looks like she will be a singleton. I have found little bits and pieces of advice on raising singletons, but I am wondering if you all would mind throwing out tips/links here.

Thank you!

Edit: I have been adding a small amount of whipping cream and probiotic powder to the formula for over a week, to help with weight gain, and digestion.

What formula are and were you feeding?
At what ratio are/were you feeding?
Why would you add whipping cream when you have stated you have
had problems with digestion?
When you said baby "did her business" were you stimulating them
for them to go?

As far as singletons, I have raised quite a few singletons and I don't treat
them any different then the rest with the exception of providing them with
more activity since they don't have siblings to help entertain them and I
give them a longer outside cage time for soft release.

Edit: Must have been posting same time, I see most questions answered.

[lgyure85]

What formula are and were you feeding?
At what ratio are/were you feeding?
Why would you add whipping cream when you have stated you have
had problems with digestion?
When you said baby "did her business" were you stimulating them
for them to go?

As far as singletons, I have raised quite a few singletons and I don't treat
them any different then the rest with the exception of providing them with
more activity since they don't have siblings to help entertain them and I
give them a longer cage time for soft release.

I am feeding 1:2:4 whipping cream:formula:water, per the woman I have been apprenticing. She has had luck with whipping cream, even when they have difficulty with other formulas, especially with the addition of the acidophilus. I stimulate after each feed until they are through peeing, and have pooped as much as they seem to be able to.

[stepnstone]

I am feeding the Fox Valley 20/50, every 3-4 hours, depending on how well the last feed was digested. If the milk line has not gone down, or is palpable, I give 1cc of warm water, and check it again in a couple hours. They only eat about 1-2cc/feed, but they ate enthusiastically. I always check for clicking after everyone has been fed, stimulated, and settled back down. Energy has been great on all three.

I just released 11 fosters in October that I had raised successfully, most from pinkies. Prior to these 3, I had taken 17 this season, only 3 of which didn't make it to release. (1 cat attack, 1 fed human formula by the finder, and 1 was aspiration that I missed).

I feed with them on their bellies, using either a catac or miracle nipple attached to a 1cc syringe. Syringe is nearly vertical, the baby is nearly horizontal.

Outside the fact that I would not feed a pinkie (or baby) 20/50 FV due to
known digestive issues, whipping cream would just be adding to those issues IMO.
There has been so many issues reported with the use of FV , many have resorted
to the new Esbilac puppy formula with probiotics with a much better success rate.

[lgyure85]

Our local zoo donates the 20:50, so that's what I use. We don't have much in the way of resources, so we take what we can get. If I can get this girl through the next week, she'll be old enough for it, from what I understand.

[stepnstone]

Our local zoo donates the 20:50, so that's what I use. We don't have much in the way of resources, so we take what we can get. If I can get this girl through the next week, she'll be old enough for it, from what I understand.

Good luck with that, I have a 9 week old I recently had to pull off of
FV and put back to Esbilac just to get her bowels straightened out.
It's working too which tells me there is an issue with the FV.
This will be the second time in a row that I've personally had a
problem with a baby's digestion and FV. I don't know what has changed
with the formula but it's not as dependable as it used to be.
There has been quite a few complaints about it and pinkie deaths
contributed to it in our forums from various members also.

[island rehabber]

igyure85, I tend to get more pinkies than most rehabbers because I love them and the other rehabbers can't stand doing them so they give 'em to me. :grin2 That said, I will tell you that I never use whipping cream at all and have so far had a 95% survival rate with my pinks.

Although I used to swear by FV 32/40, I now give everyone under 2 weeks of age the Esbilac WITH PROBIOTICS, only. NO FV at all, because of GI issues experienced over the past two seasons. After two weeks old I mix 50/50 Esbilac with Probiotics and FV 20/50, which i use until eyes are opened and then transition the baby to pure FV 20/50. If I can suggest something to you, I would bite the bullet and get yourself a can of the Esbilac, mixing half with FV 20/50 until this little baby's eyes open. It worked beautifully for me with 11 pinkies this year.

[SammysMom]

Private message me your address and i will send esbilac. I have a lot and for one pinkie you wont need that much. That is a lot of cream for them to digest.
i would suggest changing the cream out with full fat yogurt. Get the type for infants and something like vanilla. It will add fat and also probiotics to help digestion rather than hinder it.
they are tough, but their little tummies are sensitive.

[pappy1264]

Please, please, please, listen to IR! This baby's life depends on it. Lots of people have had pinkie issues. FV is not what it used to be, sadly. But the new Esbilac, with pre and probiotics, is a game changer. It is how I feed everyone now and have had great results!!!

[lgyure85]

Please, please, please, listen to IR! This baby's life depends on it. Lots of people have had pinkie issues. FV is not what it used to be, sadly. But the new Esbilac, with pre and probiotics, is a game changer. It is how I feed everyone now and have had great results!!!

Sammysmom is sending me some, and ill grab a can at the store todayvto get me through. Until now the FV had worked well, but in the future I'll start them like IR does.

I'll try for updates as much as posible.

[SammysMom]

You will have it on Monday!:thumbsup

[island rehabber]

Until now the FV had worked well.....

Yes, exactly. And nobody is more disappointed by this than me, who loved Fox Valley and used to come across like some paid spokeswoman for it. :(

[lgyure85]

First, HuGE thank you to Sammysmom! The Esbilac arrived safely on Monday, as planned.

I started her right away on a 50/50 Esbilac/FV, to avoid sudden stomach upset. She loves the taste, and eats well. She is very active, too. Up until switching her, I didn't have trouble getting her to poop, but I have had some trouble since switching. Should I go back to the FV, since this baby wasn't having much trouble? Stick with the 50/50? or go all Esbilac?

My mentor thinks there is a good chance that the whole litter had some sort of metabolic issue, and were probably from a young mom that probably shouldn't have had a litter until Spring. Even though Little Girl is doing better, she does still seem fragile, and regardless of what I do (short of subcutaneous fluid) she is always just a bit dehydrated (back skin takes a bit longer than we would like to go back down). She pees great, however, and it is perfectly clear. I don't want to do sub-q fluids unless I have to, since it's quite painful.

Thank you all so much!:Love_Icon

[Nancy in New York]

First, HuGE thank you to Sammysmom! The Esbilac arrived safely on Monday, as planned.

I started her right away on a 50/50 Esbilac/FV, to avoid sudden stomach upset. She loves the taste, and eats well. She is very active, too. Up until switching her, I didn't have trouble getting her to poop, but I have had some trouble since switching. Should I go back to the FV, since this baby wasn't having much trouble? Stick with the 50/50? or go all Esbilac?

My mentor thinks there is a good chance that the whole litter had some sort of metabolic issue, and were probably from a young mom that probably shouldn't have had a litter until Spring. Even though Little Girl is doing better, she does still seem fragile, and regardless of what I do (short of subcutaneous fluid) she is always just a bit dehydrated (back skin takes a bit longer than we would like to go back down). She pees great, however, and it is perfectly clear. I don't want to do sub-q fluids unless I have to, since it's quite painful.

Thank you all so much!:Love_Icon

Has it just been since this past Monday that she has had the 50/50?
I would give her plenty of hydration, in between feeding. You can do so with plain water,
or a little bit of apple juice and water.
I don't think it's long enough to warrant her going back onto only FV. Typically if they are going
to have problems, it is usally that they have diarrhea, not constipation.
However, since you have cut out the whipping cream, that could explain why she is a little bound up.
Just make sure that she doesn't bloat. How many days since she has had a bowel movement?
Hydration in between feedings helps tremendously with that.
Is there anyway that you can post a picture of your little darling?

Just make sure too that her tummy feels like a half filled balloon and not hard after
she eats. Can you see a milk line on her?

[lgyure85]

Here are some pictures of the little nugget. She wanted no part of unrolling for her photo shoot. Sorry they are such poor quality.

[lgyure85]

Has it just been since this past Monday that she has had the 50/50?
I would give her plenty of hydration, in between feeding. You can do so with plain water,
or a little bit of apple juice and water.
I don't think it's long enough to warrant her going back onto only FV. Typically if they are going
to have problems, it is usally that they have diarrhea, not constipation.
However, since you have cut out the whipping cream, that could explain why she is a little bound up.
Just make sure that she doesn't bloat. How many days since she has had a bowel movement?
Hydration in between feedings helps tremendously with that.
Is there anyway that you can post a picture of your little darling?

Just make sure too that her tummy feels like a half filled balloon and not hard after
she eats. Can you see a milk line on her?

It has only been 48 hours since starting the 50/50. I gave her a 0.4cc enema last night, which produced a significant BM after some tummy massaging. She was starting to look bloatey, also, so I only gave her water over night, and she looked better again this morning. I give her water in between feedings, and after she is done with the formula at feedings, too, if she'll take it.

FYI- the green blankie she's on in the pics is a heating blanket, which keeps her nice and toasty when she's snuggled up. CM2260

[Nancy in New York]

Akkkkkk.......she is adorable!!!!!!!!!!!
What is her weight?
I'm glad that she has had a bowel movement. :thumbsup
Typically how much does she eat at every feeding?

[lgyure85]

Akkkkkk.......she is adorable!!!!!!!!!!!
What is her weight?
I'm glad that she has had a bowel movement. :thumbsup
Typically how much does she eat at every feeding?

She usually takes 2cc at least every 3 hours (more frequently if she starts rooting). She just weighed in at 45.2g! That's a 20g increase in less than 3 weeks! Yay!

[SammysMom]

Oh sweet baby...:Love_Icon You are in many TSB prayers. Just keep doing what you're doing and it should work out fine. You are giving her a wonderful chance.:grouphug:Love_Icon:grouphug