baby limp and not eating

[busiga]

she was normal this morning and when i came back to feed her on my break. Now she is limp and struggling to lift her head. Please respond quickly with anything i can do for her.

[Shewhosweptforest]

First is she warm...do you have her on heat? Second do you have molasses at home, if so put some on you finger and rub in her mouth....you can use a qtip or her nipple...if you don't have molasses....Karo syrup, maple syrup will do....her blood sugar may be down and she's crashing...you've still been hydrating her..right? I would also hold her close ...set her on your stomach or chest so she can hear your heart beat and feel your presence....she will be less likely to give up :Love_Icon

[Nancy in New York]

Please when you post a new problem, give some background.
I know you are in a rush to get this answered, and many of us
are strapped for time, as are you I'm sure.

Do you want me to combine all of your threads, because I know,
myself included have no idea of the age, or anything else about this
little one.
Information is VITAL when trying to solve the problem.

[busiga]

First is she warm...do you have her on heat? Second do you have molasses at home, if so put some on you finger and rub in her mouth....you can use a qtip or her nipple...if you don't have molasses....Karo syrup, maple syrup will do....her blood sugar may be down and she's crashing...you've still been hydrating her..right? I would also hold her close ...set her on your stomach or chest so she can hear your heart beat and feel your presence....she will be less likely to give up :Love_Icon

Yes, she got wedged off the pad and i didn't realize it until now. Shes warm again and no longer limp, she ate a little and i'll try the molasses thing.

[Nancy in New York]

I asked in your other thread if you would like us to try to find a rehabber for you. :dono

[busiga]

Please when you post a new problem, give some background.
I know you are in a rush to get this answered, and many of us
are strapped for time, as are you I'm sure.

Do you want me to combine all of your threads, because I know,
myself included have no idea of the age, or anything else about this
little one.
Information is VITAL when trying to solve the problem.


i did what the other person said and gave her some sryup, she ate it but is still fussy with formula. Should i wait to feed her or give her more water? Is i put her on my chest will that be enough heat for her? She's now no longer limp and was climbing around to get comfortable. For background i think she's about 5-5 1/2 weeks old. Eyes open and top teeth coming in. I wasn't able to get to her until the day after my friend said her sister found her. She was very dehydrated but after a night with pedialyte she was doing better until last night when she looked dehydrated again. I gave her more water and some formula when i left this morning, again 3 hours later on my break, and then when i got home she was like that.

[Nancy in New York]

She needs a heating pad, not body temp.
I'll ask again, would you like us to try to find a rehabber to help.
What city are you in? Perhaps we have someone close that can help with this
little one.

Here's a very helpful link:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51708-4skwerlz-Baby-Squirrel-Care



I asked in your other thread if you would like us to try to find a rehabber for you. :dono

[busiga]

She needs a heating pad, not body temp.
I'll ask again, would you like us to try to find a rehabber to help.
What city are you in? Perhaps we have someone close that can help with this
little one.

Here's a very helpful link:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51708-4skwerlz-Baby-Squirrel-Care



no thank you

[busiga]

Do i need to wait to try and feed her again? I have a towel over the enclosure but i leave some of it uncovered so there is air, do i need to cover the whole thing? It's a ten gallon aquarium with fleece padding so she can't touch the glass sides.

[redwuff]

This is not a fat healthy baby direct from mom. This is a baby that is very compromised and might easily not survive without skilled care.

I know you have had 1 successful baby before, and you are working hard to help this baby survive, but it sounds like she has too many problems. Please consider letting a rehabilitator work with this little one. Loving them is also knowing when to let them go.:grouphug

Trysh

[Shewhosweptforest]

Yes I should have mentioned....when I put them on my stomach or chest....I surround them with a rice buddy (a sock filled with rice, then tied shut, heated in the microwave for 15 sec intervals and squeezed each time until heated, and heat evenly distributed) this baby is failing for some reason....there are oftentimes problems we don't know about....sometimes even their mothers cast them from the nest because they know they are not viable :dono we really need all the info you can give us...we are answering blind....I know you are worried sick....and you know what's going on...but we don't....think of explaining every detail to a child...that's what we need:great I understand if you want to keep this baby...but it wouldn't hurt to find out if there's an experienced person near you that could assist you...we've had members meet finders and exam the baby...we've had members that take a deathly ill baby home for a few days and return to the finder. Our number one goal is to save squirrels:Love_Icon please think about seeing if someone is near that could assist you and your little one...I promise we will not send you anywhere your baby would be in danger :Love_Icon

[busiga]

Yes I should have mentioned....when I put them on my stomach or chest....I surround them with a rice buddy (a sock filled with rice, then tied shut, heated in the microwave for 15 sec intervals and squeezed each time until heated, and heat evenly distributed) this baby is failing for some reason....there are oftentimes problems we don't know about....sometimes even their mothers cast them from the nest because they know they are not viable :dono we really need all the info you can give us...we are answering blind....I know you are worried sick....and you know what's going on...but we don't....think of explaining every detail to a child...that's what we need:great I understand if you want to keep this baby...but it wouldn't hurt to find out if there's an experienced person near you that could assist you...we've had members meet finders and exam the baby...we've had members that take a deathly ill baby home for a few days and return to the finder. Our number one goal is to save squirrels:Love_Icon please think about seeing if someone is near that could assist you and your little one...I promise we will not send you anywhere your baby would be in danger :Love_Icon

Ok i will try to be as detailed as i can. When i got her she was very dehydrated with a bloody nose. I gave her pedialyte that whole night (they were giving her honey water but she wasn't taking a lot) She really loved the pedialyte but everyone told me to not give her that after 24 hour's so i put sugar and then some maple syrup in warm water, she doesn't really like it as much but still drinks it. She is drinking powdered esbalic mixed with water, heavy cream and goats milk out of a kitten bottle with the long thin nipple. I gave her some syrup and put in another pad and fixed the area she got stuck and she is now bright eyed and moving around. She has only gotten it in her nose once but i turned her upside down right away and she sneezed it all out. there is no clicking when she breathes and her heart beat is now strong and fast again.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Have you tested her to see if she's still dehydrated? You can gently pinch the skin on her back...if it stays up...like a tent...then she's dehydrated....how long it stays up lets you know how badly she's dehydrated...if it springs back down...she's not dehydrated. I would get some more hydration formula in her. You can use the syrup trick right before you feed her....it will perk her up and make her more likely to drink. I personally would look for help .....if no one is near...I would sit up with her on my stomach with a rice buddy around her...and offer her hydration fluid every hour....I'd also rub her and stimulate her for encouragement...this is basically a last resort. I'm sorry there's not more we can tell you:sadness it's hard being on this side and unable to help ...but not being there limits what we can do :Love_Icon

[busiga]

Have you tested her to see if she's still dehydrated? You can gently pinch the skin on her back...if it stays up...like a tent...then she's dehydrated....how long it stays up lets you know how badly she's dehydrated...if it springs back down...she's not dehydrated. I would get some more hydration formula in her. You can use the syrup trick right before you feed her....it will perk her up and make her more likely to drink. I personally would look for help .....if no one is near...I would sit up with her on my stomach with a rice buddy around her...and offer her hydration fluid every hour....I'd also rub her and stimulate her for encouragement...this is basically a last resort. I'm sorry there's not more we can tell you:sadness it's hard being on this side and unable to help ...but not being there limits what we can do :Love_Icon

Thank you for your help, also is it ok if i cover her tank completely with the towel to keep the heat in? I'm worried she won't get air if i do but it;s a big ten gallon.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Ok i will try to be as detailed as i can. When i got her she was very dehydrated with a bloody nose. I gave her pedialyte that whole night (they were giving her honey water but she wasn't taking a lot) She really loved the pedialyte but everyone told me to not give her that after 24 hour's so i put sugar and then some maple syrup in warm water, she doesn't really like it as much but still drinks it. She is drinking powdered esbalic mixed with water, heavy cream and goats milk out of a kitten bottle with the long thin nipple. I gave her some syrup and put in another pad and fixed the area she got stuck and she is now bright eyed and moving around. She has only gotten it in her nose once but i turned her upside down right away and she sneezed it all out. there is no clicking when she breathes and her heart beat is now strong and fast again.

Ok....sounds like she's improving...I'm not sure...but it sounds like you have the heating pad in the aquarium....that's a no no. The heating pad should be under the aquarium...not with the baby....then lay a few layers of fleece on the bottom...you will have to regulate the temp...checking often to make sure it's not too hot or cool...remember their body temp is higher than ours...around 102. I always leave some of the container off the pad...just in case it gets too hot...they will be able to escape the heat:great I would really listen carefully for clicking, I'm not sure about the type nipple...but you must feed the baby from underneath...like she lying on her mommas tummy drinking....go very slow. I would still do what I suggested in my last post....keeping a close eye on her....something seems off with her. She's not behaving like a healthy baby :( I will pray for you both. I would still at least find out if anyone is near you...you don't have to contact them....but if an emergency should arise...you'd be ready for help :great

[Shewhosweptforest]

I would leave an edge uncovered...babies generally crawl under the fleece which helps keep them warm...think of some flat layers on the bottom...then a few small folded pieces for her to crawl under :great

[busiga]

I would leave an edge uncovered...babies generally crawl under the fleece which helps keep them warm...think of some flat layers on the bottom...then a few small folded pieces for her to crawl under :great

Thank you for your help, i do know a place i can go to for help.

[Daisey007]

I'm a licensed rehabber in GA... if I'm needed.

[redwuff]

how is your baby this morning?

[busiga]

how is your baby this morning?

Much, she had her eyes open and crawled into my hand to feed.

[redwuff]

Great!

Have you able to get a gram scale yet?

[Spanky]

She is drinking powdered esbalic mixed with water, heavy cream and goats milk out of a kitten bottle with the long thin nipple.

"Kitten Bottle" is a huge NO-NO! You should be using a small (1ml) syringe with a nipple to feed, that way you can control how much formula she sucks in... with a bottle, they you have zero control. This is extremely dangerous for this baby!


She has only gotten it in her nose once but i turned her upside down right away and she sneezed it all out. there is no clicking when she breathes and her heart beat is now strong and fast again.

Good job turning her head side down, but know it only takes once... every time this happens it is like Russian roulette. Please, please, please do not use a bottle to feed the baby!

[ALittleNutty]

I am in coastal MS if I can help. I don't have any her age right now but one thing to consider is that they do better if they have buddies to snuggle, play and be released with. That's why many of us who get a single one in will try to find a buddy to give/take for the squirrel's best interest.