conflicting info

[thumper]

wow,lots of sites out there.lots of info too.I need the straight scoop from those who have sucsessfully raised these cool lil critters. do I want to use pedialite to delute my esbilac liq.(all I could find) at what ratio? BUMPER is 5 or so weeks from what I gather. were going on our third day now and Im hooked. I need a schedule for him and amounts for feeding,advice on dry foods to introduce him to,bathing for fleas.bone-antler introduction friuts nuts etc. Im overloaded with info on these things and rather than trying the methods that the most sites agree on(who knows where their info came from) I have always researched all available info before making important decisions,and often find its much simpler to ASK SOMEONE WITH FIRSTHAND EXPERENCE. if your reply runs to long for the board feel free to EMAIL me and THANKS TO ALL, THUMPER,and bumper the wonder squirrel

[island rehabber]

Hi Thumper:
- Please try to get Esbilac powder, either online here thru Chris or at Petco, Petsmart etc. It's better for your squirrel than the liquid.
- If you can weigh the baby on a gram scale, a rule of thumb is that you divide the first two numbers of his weight by 2 and that's how many cc's you feed him. If he weighs 120 grams, for example, you would give him half of 12 which is 6 cc's of formula each feeding. 5-wk old squirrels will take anything from 6-10 cc's. DON'T OVERFEED by giving him as much as he will eat, because this can result in bloat...the fatal consequences of that have been described on this Board more than once. :nono He should get 4-5 feedings per day, no less than 3 hrs apart.
- When his eyes have been opened 3-4 days you can start giving him solids as well as the Esbilac....grapes are good but split them open and watch him the first few times so he doesn't choke....pieces of apple and raw almonds are also good as well as rodent block, available online or at a good pet supply.
Don't let him get too cold, although you can discontinue heat when he's about 6 wks old....give him wood to chew on as well as leaves and branches in his cage....if I think of more things I'll be back :peace

[thundersquirrel]

hey thumper!

i put a lot of info in my response to your last thread, just so i don't repeat myself!

straight pedialyte is mostly used for hydration purposes, but it can also be used to mix with formula. check for hydration (again, see my previous response) and if it seems hydrated, you can discontinue the pedialyte. if you do decide to put pedialyte in the formula, then you CANNOT microwave the formula to warm it. if you microwave it, it takes away most of the nutrients in the food. we warm our formula by putting it in a small glass jar, then putting the jar in a bowl of very hot water. it only takes a minute or two to warm up.

like island rehabber said, you don't want to overfeed bumper. when you're feeding him, feel his belly regularly; you'll know he's done when his belly feels like a slightly deflated balloon. if it's so tight that it's hard to squeeze, then you're overfeeding him. also, i don't care if he's clamoring for more formula; if his belly feels big, he's done. they are all too willing to bloat themselves.

does bumper actually HAVE fleas? have you seen them? if there aren't any on him, you don't need to treat him.
if there are, i suggest you get a KITTEN FLEA AND TICK SPRAY from the pet store (not a cat spray, a KITTEN spray lol). do NOT, however, spray the squirrel directly; instead, spray a cloth and then wipe bumper down with it. avoid his face and genitals. for us, that gets rid of the fleas usually by the next day.

if you have access to antlers, you can offer them to bumper, but at his age i'd expect maple tree twigs to work better. maple tree twigs taste good, too. :) just make sure you get them from a tree that hasn't been sprayed with pesitcides or anything.

this is a really good site to get information. i love it because all of the rehabbers, myself included, do things somewhat differently and have heard different things, so we all check each other on our information. there are many links on this site also that are reliable. stick with us. ;)

hehehe sorry if this seems like a long list of do's and don't's. i don't mean to sound bossy. :rolleyes:

keep us updated! :D

[Scott McCargar]

... if you do decide to put pedialyte in the formula, then you CANNOT microwave the formula to warm it. if you microwave it, it takes away most of the nutrients in the food. we warm our formula by putting it in a small glass jar, then putting the jar in a bowl of very hot water. it only takes a minute or two to warm up ...


Can you point me to a reference for this microwaving-destroying-nutrients-that-double-boiling-won't concept?
I'm startled by it.

Thanks,

-- Scott

[thundersquirrel]

in response to scott's question;

don't ask me, our parent rehabber told us that. something to do with the chemistry, i suppose. i'll ask her about it next time i see her, but until then that's all i know. :dono

[island rehabber]

Danger of microwaving formula? A Google search resulted in the following:
Found a site called ''How Things Work,'' by a physics professor, Louis A. Bloomfield, at the University of Virginia http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/microwave_ovens.html (http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/microwave_ovens.html). He explains how microwaves work, addresses the perceived dangers of microwaves, and discusses whether microwaves have an affect on the nutritional value in food. His answer,'' No more so than conventional heating does. Overheating some nutrients can damage them, so that microwave cooking does affect food's nutritional value. But microwave cooking is far less likely to cause serious molecular damage to food than flame broiling or frying."
The one actual danger from microwaving formula is "hot spots", which happens with any liquid, so don't burn your squirrels!

[thumper]

let it be known;:smiley_pirate THUMPER is not scott!!!!! THUMPER is chris (I dont even know a scott) after asking for advice,I certanly would not challenge the validity of your responce. nor would I ask you to prove it!!!!!!!!!!! nuff said bout that, I hooked bumper the wonder squrrel with some apple and strawberrys today also he's going to try cheereo's here in a few min. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE THUNDERSQURREL and ISLAND REHABBER and everyone else on the board,any more tips will be greatly appreciated... oh and scott..................nevermind

[Scott McCargar]

let it be known;:smiley_pirate THUMPER is not scott!!!!! THUMPER is chris (I dont even know a scott) after asking for advice,I certanly would not challenge the validity of your responce. nor would I ask you to prove it!!!!!!!!!!! nuff said bout that, I hooked bumper the wonder squrrel with some apple and strawberrys today also he's going to try cheereo's here in a few min. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE THUNDERSQURREL and ISLAND REHABBER and everyone else on the board,any more tips will be greatly appreciated... oh and scott..................nevermind

Thumper, no one could confuse anyone else for me.


Danger of microwaving formula? A Google search resulted in the following:
Found a site called ''How Things Work,'' by a physics professor, Louis A. Bloomfield, at the University of Virginia [URL="http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/microwave_ovens.html"]
He explains how microwaves work, addresses the perceived dangers of microwaves, and discusses whether microwaves have an affect on the nutritional value in food. His answer,'' No more so than conventional heating does. Overheating some nutrients can damage them, so that microwave cooking does affect food's nutritional value. But microwave cooking is far less likely to cause serious molecular damage to food than flame broiling or frying."

The one actual danger from microwaving formula is "hot spots", which happens with any liquid, so don't burn your squirrels!


About the "hot spot" thing, yes, I remember that one from days of heating saved expressed human milk. The thing was to give the bottle a long, long shake to even the temperature throughout.

I searched on "oral electrolyte solution microwave" and got several hits on the notion that microwaving can render the contents of electrolyte replacement fluids ineffective.

No one explains the mechanism. Grump, grump.

Another guy on usenet said that pedialyte has aspartame, and that's the affected ingredient. Some references regard higher heat from microwave.
But in general the stuff I found sounded lke it was simply repeating what had been read in another article.

So, who knows. Double boiling is certainly the gentlest way to heat food.
Better safe than sorry.

But now I'm hooked. Urban legend? Established science? I have to find out.

-- Scott

[CliffordandDaisy'sDad]

Another guy on usenet said that pedialyte has aspartame, and that's the affected ingredient.

-- Scott

http://www.pedialyte.com/faqresources/faq.cfm

Is there aspartame in Pedialyte?

Aspartame is not in reformulated Pedialyte. If you are concerned about your child's consumption of aspartame, please check the ingredient listing on the product's label to ensure you do not have the old Pedialyte formulation containing aspartame.



http://www.splendaexposed.com/

"In the midst of the continued controversy over aspartame, many pharmaceutical and health food manufacturers - Pro Lab, Twin Lab and Ross Products, makers of PedialyteŽ, for example - have switched to using sucralose in their manufactured products."

[thundersquirrel]

:goodpost but i looked on that link, check this out;

Q: Can Pedialyte be heated?
A: We do not recommend heating Pedialyte. Heating Pedialyte in an open container would evaporate water from the product and increase the concentration of electrolytes, which could cause damage.

By the way, if you use water to mix the formula, our dispatcher said it was OK to microwave. that's why i think it's something in the pedialyte.....but i'm not sure what they mean by "damage". what's being damaged? the nutritional value, i suppose, but they're really unclear about it.
anyway, i think i'm gonna continue to play it safe and not microwave pedialyte. good old fashioned slow heating is the way to go. :)

[MissDolittle]

Hmm, I always boil the water before I mix it with anything for the babies.
I was sick for 7 years from drinking contaminated drinking water (cryptosproridium),
since then I boil every water for 5 minutes..but not the formula or pedyliate itself.

I put Pedialyte in a bottle, then in hot water until warm and I test it on the wrist
before I feed it. Nothing goes into the microwave.

:goodpost