Very thin male found - need advice

[Elle_Jax]

Hello all! This is my first post... and third squirrel :)

Wednesday evening around 7:00pm I took in a baby squirrel. He was down on the ground and after finding him I waited one hour for mom to come back for him but in spite of his cries, she never came back. I took him and immediately warmed him. I believe he is about 3-4 weeks old. He's furred everywhere, even light white fur on the belly, ears are fully formed and away from the head but eyes are still closed. He's a strong climber and by all accounts in good shape except he is extremely skinny. That first night we did Pedialyte every hour - hour and a half because his slight frame was so alarming. I was so scared he wasn't going to make it that first night. But he did and he's still climbing and strong. We moved to diluted Esbilac formula and are now on full strength Esbilac formula. We're still feeding about every hour and he eats about on dropper full - roughly 1cc. Sometime not a whole one.

His mouth does not seem to be like my other rescues. His is very frog like. He just opens it and lets me dribble in the formula and the swallows. We go VERY slow to avoid aspiration but he has not suckled one time. It's almost like the sides of his cheeks that would wrap around the nipple are missing. Also, his head is very flat. Poor little dude. There might be something deformed about him, maybe he was rejected because of it?

He is peeing well after every meal. Upon arrival at my house he had mucus-y diarrhea, then, Thursday morning he made a single solid dark brown almost black poop, but no poopie since then. I can see what appears to be a yellow poop headed my way but he just hasn't pushed it out yet. I rub his little parts with a soft cotton ball but he fights that part. Today I noticed two small pimple-y bumps, one on his coming scrotum and one next to his anus. Maybe there are flea bites forming? I did pick two small fleas off him when I got him off the ground. But I haven't seen any others since then. They look like teeny tiny white heads. Maybe this is why he fights the rubbing art. Thay may hurt or itch.

Anyway, he's eating a tiny amount but he's eating. He climbing all around his box and grips my hard very tightly. All signs point to him doing well but maybe someone out there has experienced something similar and has advice.

I will be getting a gram scale today (mine is missing) to note actual progress, but is there anything else you can see that I should be doing differently or adding to our routine?

Thanks!

- Ellen

[redwuff]

Once you get your scale feed every 4 hours 5% of his body wt. Do you have a nipple for your syringe? Can you get a good picture of his mouth and head? Can you get a video of the feeding process?

Sorry for all the requests, can't quite figure out what he is doing with his mouth. Any injuries around his mouth. Often, when a baby is very thin, the head looks odd, not quite right.

Sounds like you have done a bang up good job!

Trysh

[janiemcm]

Hi!
The squirrel's mouth, while it may not look normal, is fine. I've had many babies who were exactly how you describe. I'd just dribble the formula in, just like you're doing. They eventually will start to suckle - but very often do this gaping thing after a few seconds of suckling. sometimes the gaping goes on and on and on - for minutes even.... I just let them - it's like they're in a warm cozy trance so I hate to stop them. If I need to get going, I move the nipple from side to side in their mouth - and that will very often snap them out of it and they'll latch on again and start sucking. Also, the shape of his head looks very normal.

the dark brown/black poop is the left over from his mom's milk. It will be more light brown/mustard color when on the formula. I can't help with the little bumps - maybe you can get a picture of them?
Otherwise, it sounds like he's a very lively normal baby. You could probably spread out his feedings a little more - maybe 3 1/2 or 4 hours apart - and in between feedings, do a little water (with a bit of honey maybe).

Good luck and thanks for taking this little one in!

[PennyCash]

Hello all! This is my first post... and third squirrel :)

Wednesday evening around 7:00pm I took in a baby squirrel. He was down on the ground and after finding him I waited one hour for mom to come back for him but in spite of his cries, she never came back. I took him and immediately warmed him. I believe he is about 3-4 weeks old. He's furred everywhere, even light white fur on the belly, ears are fully formed and away from the head but eyes are still closed. He's a strong climber and by all accounts in good shape except he is extremely skinny. That first night we did Pedialyte every hour - hour and a half because his slight frame was so alarming. I was so scared he wasn't going to make it that first night. But he did and he's still climbing and strong. We moved to diluted Esbilac formula and are now on full strength Esbilac formula. We're still feeding about every hour and he eats about on dropper full - roughly 1cc. Sometime not a whole one.

His mouth does not seem to be like my other rescues. His is very frog like. He just opens it and lets me dribble in the formula and the swallows. We go VERY slow to avoid aspiration but he has not suckled one time. It's almost like the sides of his cheeks that would wrap around the nipple are missing. Also, his head is very flat. Poor little dude. There might be something deformed about him, maybe he was rejected because of it?

He is peeing well after every meal. Upon arrival at my house he had mucus-y diarrhea, then, Thursday morning he made a single solid dark brown almost black poop, but no poopie since then. I can see what appears to be a yellow poop headed my way but he just hasn't pushed it out yet. I rub his little parts with a soft cotton ball but he fights that part. Today I noticed two small pimple-y bumps, one on his coming scrotum and one next to his anus. Maybe there are flea bites forming? I did pick two small fleas off him when I got him off the ground. But I haven't seen any others since then. They look like teeny tiny white heads. Maybe this is why he fights the rubbing art. Thay may hurt or itch.

Anyway, he's eating a tiny amount but he's eating. He climbing all around his box and grips my hard very tightly. All signs point to him doing well but maybe someone out there has experienced something similar and has advice.

I will be getting a gram scale today (mine is missing) to note actual progress, but is there anything else you can see that I should be doing differently or adding to our routine?

Thanks!

- Ellen

Hi Ellen,
Welcome and Thank you for saving this little guy. :grouphug
I'm sure your not using a dropper but a syringe. I just think that it never hurts to double check IMHO
On the off chance that you are using a dropper you would probably want to go to your local pharmacy and ask to buy a couple of 1 cc syringes WITHOUT needles so that you can feed a orphaned kitten. I've done this myself and was promptly handed some syringes. Having the syringes makes feeding so much easier to control once they are trying to suck down the contents faster than their ability.

[Elle_Jax]

Thanks for the feedback!

Attached here is a close up of the bumps. Sorry for the full front squirrel shot. :)

Today's feedings have been going pretty well. He seems to be eating a tiny bit more than before. Slow and steady. He eats and the he abruptly stops. No "one more bite" for this guy.

He's just so so skinny! Have you guys nurtured a squirrel this skinny before? I guess the two prior ones I rescued were found as pinkies so by the time they were this age they were fat and happy. I'm worried about him but I guess I just need to be patient.


Thanks again!

[redwuff]

Hi Elie,

Your boy is thin but not critical. A few groceries and he'll be fine. But I am not sure of what is going on with feeding your baby. There is a thing that is called 'guppy mouthing. Are you familiar with that? If not, there is a sticky in the emergency section that shows what it is. Is that what your baby is doing?

How do you heat the formula in your syringe? Could it be possible that this boy needs to have it warmer? Like I said in my first post, get a wt on him and feed 5% of his wt every 3.5 - 4 hrs. You are feeding too often. That is why he is not eating very much. If you are feeding with a dropper, it is critical that you get a syringe and a nipple. You can order them at Cris's Squirrels and More.

Watch the bumps. They could be from the fleas or they might be a skin infection. If he gets anymore, let us know.

[ALittleNutty]

I have a little girl that wouldn't suckle well for the first 3 days. Make sure he and the formula are warm. Some like to have a potty break in the middle of a feeding and will take more. He is skinny but will build up over time. Definitely get a 1cc syringe and nipple. It is too easy to aspirate them with a dropper.

[busiga]

Hello all! This is my first post... and third squirrel :)

Wednesday evening around 7:00pm I took in a baby squirrel. He was down on the ground and after finding him I waited one hour for mom to come back for him but in spite of his cries, she never came back. I took him and immediately warmed him. I believe he is about 3-4 weeks old. He's furred everywhere, even light white fur on the belly, ears are fully formed and away from the head but eyes are still closed. He's a strong climber and by all accounts in good shape except he is extremely skinny. That first night we did Pedialyte every hour - hour and a half because his slight frame was so alarming. I was so scared he wasn't going to make it that first night. But he did and he's still climbing and strong. We moved to diluted Esbilac formula and are now on full strength Esbilac formula. We're still feeding about every hour and he eats about on dropper full - roughly 1cc. Sometime not a whole one.

His mouth does not seem to be like my other rescues. His is very frog like. He just opens it and lets me dribble in the formula and the swallows. We go VERY slow to avoid aspiration but he has not suckled one time. It's almost like the sides of his cheeks that would wrap around the nipple are missing. Also, his head is very flat. Poor little dude. There might be something deformed about him, maybe he was rejected because of it?

He is peeing well after every meal. Upon arrival at my house he had mucus-y diarrhea, then, Thursday morning he made a single solid dark brown almost black poop, but no poopie since then. I can see what appears to be a yellow poop headed my way but he just hasn't pushed it out yet. I rub his little parts with a soft cotton ball but he fights that part. Today I noticed two small pimple-y bumps, one on his coming scrotum and one next to his anus. Maybe there are flea bites forming? I did pick two small fleas off him when I got him off the ground. But I haven't seen any others since then. They look like teeny tiny white heads. Maybe this is why he fights the rubbing art. Thay may hurt or itch.

Anyway, he's eating a tiny amount but he's eating. He climbing all around his box and grips my hard very tightly. All signs point to him doing well but maybe someone out there has experienced something similar and has advice.

I will be getting a gram scale today (mine is missing) to note actual progress, but is there anything else you can see that I should be doing differently or adding to our routine?

Thanks!

- Ellen

sometimes their poop can get stuck, if a whole day goes by and he still hasn't passed the visible poop you may need to soften the edges with some Vaseline and work it out slowly. My first baby often has crusty poops that would stick to her and crust over her anus so that she couldn't pass anything. The Vaseline stopped this.