Three new babies and we need help!

[mgee76]

Hello! We got three new babies, 3 weeks old, a few days ago. They have mostly been doing really well, aside from some sucking that we think we have under control. Two boys and a girl. One of the boys was the first victim of the suction on the first night we picked them up... has a small scab on the tip of his penis but I have seen him urinating and the swelling and redness is basically all gone. The second boy is the little sucker, and he is doing well. The girl... I'm not sure about.

She developed a darkish spot on her belly a couple of days ago. I hadn't seen her urinate or defecate so I figured it was something to do there... used info from the board here to get her to evacuate her little bowels a bunch and I thought all was well. The darkness subsided, but came back with a force this morning. I took her to the woman here who gave them to us to see what she thought... said it could possibly be a hernia, but her boss, the head squirrel lady, upon seeing pictures, said she thought it was a bruise and not super alarming.

Well tonight I just took a look and it appears worse to me. Seems a bit larger and darker, and it looks and feels like a knot, to me, of swelling or I don't know what... not something superficial on the skin. I'm posting pictures of the three of them, and lastly a few pictures of this little girl and her belly. You can also see, in the other pictures, what she looked like yesterday!

Please let me know if you have any ideas of what it could be and what to do... we're really soft on these young ones and don't want to lose any of them!

Thanks so much.

[mgee76]

Oh, and here she is yesterday:

[Spanky]

Do you by any chance have any "back story" of what happened to these little ones? Did they fall from the tree?
Were they brought in by a cat or anything?

Edit: How long have they been with you? (I know, another question!!!! Sorry!!!)

[Mel1959]

They are adorable! :Love_Icon I hope you can figure out what is going on with the little girl. :thinking. Are they red squirrels?

[mgee76]

Spanky, I do not know. But I can ask the woman who gave them to us! They have been with us since Saturday evening.

[mgee76]

Foxes, I think.

[Norkthesquirrel]

What cuties....Looks like Fox babies to me! :Love_Icon:love


Hello! We got three new babies, 3 weeks old, a few days ago. They have mostly been doing really well, aside from some sucking that we think we have under control. Two boys and a girl. One of the boys was the first victim of the suction on the first night we picked them up... has a small scab on the tip of his penis but I have seen him urinating and the swelling and redness is basically all gone. The second boy is the little sucker, and he is doing well. The girl... I'm not sure about.

She developed a darkish spot on her belly a couple of days ago. I hadn't seen her urinate or defecate so I figured it was something to do there... used info from the board here to get her to evacuate her little bowels a bunch and I thought all was well. The darkness subsided, but came back with a force this morning. I took her to the woman here who gave them to us to see what she thought... said it could possibly be a hernia, but her boss, the head squirrel lady, upon seeing pictures, said she thought it was a bruise and not super alarming.

Well tonight I just took a look and it appears worse to me. Seems a bit larger and darker, and it looks and feels like a knot, to me, of swelling or I don't know what... not something superficial on the skin. I'm posting pictures of the three of them, and lastly a few pictures of this little girl and her belly. You can also see, in the other pictures, what she looked like yesterday!

Please let me know if you have any ideas of what it could be and what to do... we're really soft on these young ones and don't want to lose any of them!

Thanks so much.

[Spanky]

What cuties....Looks like Fox babies to me! :Love_Icon:love

I agree.. they are real cuties!!!! :klunk Oh, and I do also believe they are foxers!!!! :squirrel3

Hopefully the "head squirrel lady" is correct, but I would keep a very close eye on that bruise. Poor baby!!!

[mgee76]

Would a bruise feature swelling and feel like a mass? I guess maybe... I just hate to worry. Is there anything we can put on it, or other signs of things that may give us more information? Stuff to look for?

[island rehabber]

Would a bruise feature swelling and feel like a mass? I guess maybe... I just hate to worry. Is there anything we can put on it, or other signs of things that may give us more information? Stuff to look for?

That looks like an abrasion of some kind, to me. So you have any silvadene cream? It's great for angry looking bumps like that. If not, I would keep it clean and watch for green or white under the skin -- or worse, oozing from the injury. She should get antibiotics at the first sign of infection, because these little ones can crash quickly. If not, it will heal itself in a few days..

[mgee76]

We have some antibiotics on hand and can try to get others... what would you suggest, should it come to that?

[stepnstone]

I agree it looks like a contusion to me also, they always look worse when the blood
under the skin from the initial injury spreads out as it dissipates.
I would be more concerned with the little boys penis, I hope you are you keeping a
anti biotic ointment on it.
Many times suckling is due to being under fed. Do you have a weight on each one to
be feeding between 6-7% of their body weight?

[mgee76]

Yes I think they were underfed or we missed a feeding somewhere between the woman who gave them to us and bringing them home... I'm not sure. But the sucking is taken care of, I think. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on the penis, and Lick Guard on all three of them after each feeding. Seems to be working OK? We just fed them again now and... it's hard to tell, but I think it looks a little better? At least it doesn't look massively worse, which is a relief. She doesn't seem to be in any significant discomfort, and otherwise seems just fine like the other two. The last squirrels we had were very sick and we had to really work around the clock for them. We're wanting to stay out in front of any issues with these! Thanks for all your suggestions.

[island rehabber]

good job, glad the ointment is working. step is correct: making sure the little boy's penis is not scabbed over or blocked is key because that can become life-threatening in extreme cases. Regular feedings, and feeding enough, should stop the sucking issue. If not, we've got threads here that talk about all sorts of cute little kilts you can easily make to protect the boy babies. :grin2
Silvadene ointment (silver sulfadiazine) is a lifesaver miracle cream if you can get some. Great for urine scald, burns, road rash, etc. Good antibiotics to have on hand for your babies are Baytril or Cipro and Clavamox. Many people have these around from a cat or dog -- or even UTI's themselves, in the case of Cipro. One little capsule can often treat a squirrel for a week.

[kcassidy]

I've also seen that appear when babies are sucking on a girl. Is it possible they stopped because of the ointments and it is getting better?

Although as long as its getting better it's all good :D

[mgee76]

Thank you all! It turned out to just be a bruise and they were suckling on it... it has since completely disappeared.

They continue, however, to suckle each other constantly. Right after we feed them, they continue to try to suck on each other. We have been using Lick Guard, but it seems to have no effect anymore?

Are little socks the only option? Tape? How do you work it? Constantly changing the diaper?

Also... how can we tell the males apart? Is there a way to mark them that isn't permanent? Thanks!

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you all! It turned out to just be a bruise and they were suckling on it... it has since completely disappeared.

They continue, however, to suckle each other constantly. Right after we feed them, they continue to try to suck on each other. We have been using Lick Guard, but it seems to have no effect anymore?

Are little socks the only option? Tape? How do you work it? Constantly changing the diaper?

Also... how can we tell the males apart? Is there a way to mark them that isn't permanent? Thanks!

How much are you feeding, and what are the weights.
Perhaps they are still hungry. :dono

edit: I have used a little white out on their tails or the tips of their ears.

[lennysmom]

How much do they weigh and how much are you feeding them? I am wondering if perhaps one reason they are sucking one another so much is because they are still hungry?

Here is a pic that will help you to identify the gender of the babies.:)
271290

By the way, your little ones are super cute!!:Love_Icon

[lennysmom]

How much are you feeding, and what are the weights.
Perhaps they are still hungry. :dono

edit: I have used a little white out on their tails or the tips of their ears.

Lol, well looks like you beat me to it Nancy! :grin2

[Nancy in New York]

Lol, well looks like you beat me to it Nancy! :grin2

:rolf Great minds lennysmom! :w00t

Edit: Since you know you have two boys, you just need to mark one, either on
the ear or on the tail. A little white out will do the trick.
OR you can feed them and put them in a different heated container (heating pad half under
the container set on low) until you are ALL done feeding, then put them back in their heated bed.
I always take that opportunity at least once a day to change everything out.

[ALittleNutty]

Glad to hear the little girl just had a bruise. As far as feedings I would offer them a little bit more each time. Sometimes the 7% just doesn't satisfy some of them. Adding Ultraboost to their formula might be an option to consider. Henry's sells it. Just watch their poops. If they start getting loose and turning pale cut back a bit or add an extra feeding to their day. They are all simply adorable! I've never had the pleasure of raising a foxer.

[niapet]

Is this marking with whiteout a common practice? It doesn't seem like a good idea since whiteout contains bromopropane as a solvant, which is a suspected carcinogen and nurotoxin.

[mgee76]

I will have have to weigh them... pretty sure we are feeding them plenty? They each are getting close to 10 CCs every 6 hours.

We've attempted giving mid-feedings and hydration feedings between meals, but it's like they just want to suck on something constantly. Really, it's just the female and one of the males that we keep catching. Pacifiers?

White out, hmmm. Thanks!

[mgee76]

OK but seriously... short of diapers, what can I do here?

[Spanky]

OK but seriously... short of diapers, what can I do here?

The serious place to start is with how much they weigh so we can rule out that they are getting enough to eat which is the number reason for suckling. The question has been asked many times by different people but never answered. :dono

[Mel1959]

I had to separate my guys to keep the one from suckling the other. I also used Yuck! But it didn't seem to help too much. Good luck.

[PennyCash]

I will have have to weigh them... pretty sure we are feeding them plenty? They each are getting close to 10 CCs every 6 hours.

We've attempted giving mid-feedings and hydration feedings between meals, but it's like they just want to suck on something constantly. Really, it's just the female and one of the males that we keep catching. Pacifiers?

White out, hmmm. Thanks!

Hi, Thank you so much for caring for these babies.
You've gotten some great advice so far so I'll just add to what's been said and share my experience with raising my girl. Some of the best advice I received was
1. Weigh the baby before and after feeding
2. Record weight, amount fed, and all information in a notebook. This actually proved to be invaluable since my baby had problems with bowel movements. When her eating decreased but weight increased I knew that I needed to work harder at getting things flowing. I was also better able to calculate how much to feed using the 5% - 7% ratio.
3. At 3 weeks of age I was feeding 6 times per day which equates to every 4 hours during the day without needing to get up during the night. Babies have a strong need to suckle and mothers only produce so much for each feeding. Hence why they feed more often but smaller amounts.
4. Having two containers so that I could prepare a clean container prior to feeding to put her into after feeding. So much easier than juggling a squirming baby while trying to clean out the only container.
5. I remember reading about using a baby sock with the toes cut off to help prevent sibling and self suckling.
:grouphug

[stepnstone]

I will have have to weigh them... pretty sure we are feeding them plenty? They each are getting close to 10 CCs every 6 hours.
We've attempted giving mid-feedings and hydration feedings between meals, but it's like they just want to suck on something constantly. Really, it's just the female and one of the males that we keep catching. Pacifiers?
White out, hmmm. Thanks!

On 3/22 you said they were 3 weeks old so that puts them at less then 5 weeks old correct?
Every 6 hours is too long for them to go without feeding. As already said you need to know their weight
to actually know if you are feeding them the proper amount each time. "Pretty sure" not really going to cut it.
I'm going to "assume" since they still haven't been weighed and you seem to keep avoiding this, you don't have
a scale. One can easily be purchased for around $20.
I seriously recommend knowing their weight so they can be fed the proper amounts each feeding according to
their body weight and feed every 4 hrs. as recommended for their age group.
Over feeding to compensate for lengthy hours between feedings is counter productive to maintain a healthy baby.

Age in
weeks.........amount................how often...........night feeding
1 ......... based on weight....... every 2 hours........... YES
2.......... based on weight....... every 3 hours.......... . YES
3 ......... based on weight....... every 3-4 hours......... YES
4.......... based on weight........ every 4 hours........... YES
5.......... based on weight......every 4 hours....... If Needed
6.......... based on weight........ every 4 hours........... If Needed