Pinkie suffered bruising after falling from nest in tree and won't eat

[Chickenmomma]

I found a baby squirrel, definitely still somewhere in the first week of life (no hair, still a nub of dried umbilical chord attached to his belly) in my driveway. My guess is that he fell from a huge oak tree in my yard, and he has some horrible bruising all over his head and his back leg. I had to leave for an appointment in forty minutes, so I quickly googled what I needed to keep him alive and ran to the pet store for some kitten milk replacement and a cage to place him in where he could be safely away from my three dogs. He's a very vocal and wiggly guy and doesn't show any sign of being in pain, but his bruises are scary and he's refusing to eat. It's 2:30 am right now and I've tried every two hours since I've had him to feed him, but he just won't take it. I held him upright in my hand and gently held his head in place with two fingers while teasing his mouth with an oral child's syringe (Petco didn't have any 1 cc), but I was only able to get in a couple of drops of formula and even then he refused to swallow the second. I'm also scared that my holding his head this way is worsening his bruising. After hours of reading tonight I know that kitten formula isn't sufficient to squirrels and I've tried to order some formula from Fox Valley, but they haven't sent me the email to pay and I'm beginning to panic. I'm going to wake up at 7 tomorrow to go to CVS right when it opens to get some Pedialyte and ask the pharmacy for some 1 cc syringes. Using the skin pinch test I've determined that he's mildly dehydrated at most and he looks very healthy apart from his bruises. He's also pressing his face into the towel and making a quiet sucking sound after I try to feed him like he's trying to suckle, but I'm worried because I read about a clicking noise that indicates pneumonia, although he was making the noise when I first found him so I don't think it was a feeding error. He's currently sleeping in his cage with lots of soft rags and a heating pad on low. I also will go to the pet store tomorrow to try to find the puppy milk formula that seems to rival Fox Valley's formula. Help me please!

[Chickenmomma]

UPDATE: I slept through the 4:00 feeding alarm and woke up in a panic at 5:40, then quickly set to business trying to nurse the baby. I changed the angle of the syringe so it was facing up this time at a 45° angle and held him wrapped gently in a towel in a way that his head was still upright but he so he couldn't get away easily. He showed interest in the formula! Not enough to actually drink what I don't make him, but he sniffed the syringe and licked his lips twice. I also successfully stimulated him! After five minutes of tickling him with a warm damp Qtip he made a small BM. The poop was together and dark brown, which I believe is an indicator of mild dehydration. No pee yet, but I'm hoping that once I get the Pedialyte and a proper syringe that will change. I took pictures of him on both sides with and without flash. http://imgur.com/uKUfWiWhttp://imgur.com/vZ8iWWW
http://imgur.com/HVYO58W
http://imgur.com/aSPNyVE

[HRT4SQRLS]

I'm bumping your thread to the top so that others can sound in. I'm at work now.
You need to buy Esbilac puppy formula with probiotics and prebiotics.

[SammysMom]

Do you have him on a heating pad that is set on Low and placed under the container of fleece he is in, all of the time? The heating pad needs to be one with no auto shut-off. Where are you located? Maybe we can find someone to help. Is the formula heated to a very warm temperature? You need to get Esbilac POWDERED puppy formula. Are you stimulating his genitals before feeding and after feeding to help him potty? His bladder may be full and that will make him not eat readily.

[island rehabber]

Hi chickenmomma -- thank you for saving this little one. He's about one week old.
First, pinkies are challenging and difficult to keep alive -- would you like us to try to find a rehabber for you, to take him? His best chance is with an experienced person, and growing up with other babies his age.
Babies his age WILL make a tick-tick noise in their mouths when they are hungry. This is not to be confused with the inhale-exhale clicking or popping sound that comes from aspiration pneumonia. When you hear it on every breath, THAT is the bad clicking.

[Gardentoes11]

Thank you for saving this baby, & welcome to TSB! You're in for a magical experience if you raise this baby, but a stressful one, as you're already finding out! Would you like help finding a rehabber near you? There's quite an amazing network on this board.

Either way, be sure to keep the baby warm by putting a heating pad set on low under half of his bin so he can get off the heat if he gets uncomfortable. Ideally, it'll be a heating pad without an automatic shutoff, so you don't run the risk of forgetting to turn it back on & having him get cold. Cold babies won't eat. Their formula needs to be very warm too, warm enough to feel it when dropped on your wrist, around 102*. Fleece or old Tshirts are ideal bedding--try to avoid terry cloth as their nails get caught & can cause injuries.

You can try Tractor Supply as a source for the powdered Esbilac also, if there's one near you. Glad you got things straightened out with the formula right away, as you're right that kitten formula is not the way to go! The puppy milk replacer you want has a blue band around the top that says "with pre and probiotics." If you're not able to come up with that today, goats milk is readily available at any grocery store, & that'll tide you over till you can get some Esbilac ordered. If you need to order it, here's a link to the right stuff at a decent price: Pet Ag Esbilac Powder - 12oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UCV9GQG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_DdBSxbSMAFRXG

If you're planning to raise this little squirt yourself, I highly recommend investing in miracle nipples, which are made especially for the wildlife rehab community. They're aptly named because they really do make a difference! I've used plain syringes & some other kind of nipples, but had far better success with getting the babies to suckle & avoiding aspiration with these: https://www.squirrelsandmore.com/products/the-miracle-nipple?variant=18410440071. My most recently raised babies used two during their entire rehab, so they do last! You can also get the Esbilac and a non-shut off heating pad at Chris's Squirrels & More where the Miracle Nipples are sold.

Don't worry about the Fox Valley right now. The formula they sell for pinkies I
Has proven to actually be deadly to them--it basically turns to cement in their little tummies--so if you're trying to order the 32/40 formula, cancel or don't complete your order. Esbilac is the way to go right now. After your baby is 5 weeks old, you can cut the Esbilac powder half & half with the Fox Valley 20/50 formula, but that's for older babies, so you won't need it yet. That's what I feed mine. There are rehabbers who swear by straight Esbilac, others who swear by FV, and others who mix the 2. All have been safely successful. I use both, cuz it makes sense to me to get the best of both world So! But again that's not till your baby is older.

You were talking about poop..... Brown poop is the indicator of mama's milk passing through. You'll know when formula is passing through because the color will change to golden yellow. Ideally it'll still be firm, but sometimes their systems have a bumpy ride through diarrhea-ville during the transition to formula, & we don't want that because of the risk of dehydration. Let us know if that happens.

Overfeeding can also cause diarrhea. To be sure he's getting the optimum amount of food (once he does figure out the syringe!), you'll need to keep track of his weight. We weigh these babies on a gram scale, which you can get in the kitchen department of places like Walmart for $10-25. Well worth the investment! Set it to measure in grams, then aim to feed your sweetie 5-7% of his body weight at each feeding.

You said your baby is slightly dehydrated. It's more important to get him hydrated at first than it is to get him on formula, since feeding a dehydrated baby can kill him, so concentrate first on the pedialyte, ok? Warm it up like you will later do for the formula.

When transitioning to formula, gradual is ideal to prevent diarrhea. So, for your first feeding AFTER he's hydrated, you'll pull 3 parts water NOT pedialyte!) and 1 part formula into your syringe. You can give him that ratio for a few feedings, then progress to half & half for a few, then 75/25% for a few, and then full-strength formula.

Sounds like you're doing a good job with stimulating! Isn't it funny how pee & poop make us rejoice? Indications of good health do make us happy!

Keep up the good work & don't hesitate to ask questions!

[redwuff]

Thanks so much for helping this little one. I can tell how much you care for him/her. Welcome to TSB. Everyone has given great and necessary advice. My 2 cents is that before you give formula, esbilac is the food of choice now, your little one needs to be hydrated. You have everything you need for that: the formula is 2 cups water, 1.5 Tbsp sugar, .5 teasp of salt.

Everything that goes into this little ones mouth needs to be warmed. People have different methods, I heat up a glass of water in the microwave, hot, and then dip my syringes into that water. I test the syringe by putting it against my cheek to make sure it is not too hot. Having the correct temperature is important.

I see Gardentoes did a beautiful posting with most of what I was going to say. Like IR said in an earlier post. raising pinkies is a tough job, please don't hesitate let us get a rehabber before it is too late to help this little one. They crash fast.

[Chickenmomma]

Hi! Thank you all for replying. Yes, he has a heating pad at all times and his body temperature has risen so he's above room temperate now. Yes, I've been stimulating him before and after feeding but this last time was the first I managed to get him to make a BM. I'm in Houston, Texas and I volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center and have successfully rehabilitated several baby birds on my own, so I'm prepared to take him into the center if he doesn't take to feeding. The formula is room temperature! I read on a couple of websites that obviously got it wrong that it shouldn't be warm, so I'll heat up his formula for his next feeding.

I'm so relieved he isn't bad clicking! It's been a long day with this little one, but in an hour the pharmacy opens and I can get a 1 cc syringe, and in a couple of hours the pet store will open and I'll grab some Esbilac.

[Nancy in New York]

I'm bumping your thread to the top so that others can sound in. I'm at work now.
You need to buy Esbilac puppy formula with probiotics and prebiotics.

HRT4SQRLS is correct about the Powdered Puppy Esbilac.
We've noticed that some of the newer cans, don't state they have
probiotics, so the important ingredient to note is the third ingredient
Dried Whey Protein Concentrate. If you see that you know it's the newer version.:w00t

[Chickenmomma]

Is anyone concerned about the bruising or do you think it will heal with time?

[redwuff]

Bruising, of course, indicates broken blood vessel/capillary damage to tissue. That will dissipate with time, and it alerts us that there could be more serious trauma there. Hopefully there is no organ or bone issues. It also alerts us that this little one took a mighty fall and is in pain. Get some infant ibuprofen liquid to help with that.
We will help you dose.
There are no stupid questions.:grouphug:

Have you been able to hydrate. Can you get the 1cc syringes and nipples you need at your wildlife center?

[Chickenmomma]

I was just concerned about the bruising as I couldn't find any other threads that addressed it. I'll find some infant ibuprofen- thank you! My wildlife rehab is quite a drive away and is closed at the moment because of the weather, so I went to a CVS across the street where they gave me a 1 cc for free! I've ordered a nipple from the website Gardentoes11 recommended and chose expedited shipping so hopefully it will be here by tomorrow or Wednesday. Before the pharmacy opened I was finally able to get him to drink some Pedialyte! He drank quite a lot and I was able to stimulate him and get him to pee for the first time! I'm excited to see how much he'll drink with the proper syringe.

[redwuff]

Yeah, they truely are eager to live!

[Gardentoes11]

Youre doing a great job so far! Sounds like you have a rehabber's heart since you volunteer at a wildlife facility. You're certainly among friends here! Please keep us updated about your baby, and we just LOVE pictures......:grin3

[HRT4SQRLS]

I noticed one thing you said... "the formula is room temperature".
Pinkie usually won't drink room temperature formula. They like VERY warm formula. Of course, don't make it hot.

Edit... I read further and saw that you already noted that. Thank you. You're doing great. I have a pinkie about the same size right now. It's just about to kill me. :)

[CritterMom]

EVERYTHING he drinks needs to be warmed - the pedialyte, too. You are shooting for mama squirrel body temp, so a rough range of 105-110 degrees...