Sleeping and Breathing Help???

[G0dn0te]

Hi all! Little Rocky is around 6 weeks old we estimated thanks to help from the board. He's an orphaned Flying Squirrel, his mother and brother were found dead, most likely due to a cat attack. He's doing great, eating about 2CC at each meal now (today we advanced from raw goats milk for the last 3 days, to the goats milk with heavy cream and vanilla yogurt which he LOVES), has a full-time heating pad set on medium covering only half his cage, which is a plastic pet carrier like for reptiles, filled with fleece and cotton, and another layer of fleece, he'll climb between the layers.

I've found a couple of things. When Rocky sleeps, his breathing sometimes slows down to being undetectable. Is this normal? I've found a couple times when he does this he's been a little chilly, having decided not to lay on his heat pad side.

Another thing, I'm noticing he'll sleep on his back. I'm probably over worrying, we've had a few losses in our family and a hard month in general, but wanted to make sure this is okay. I know dogs sleep on their backs, cats, etc. but I wasn't sure about flying squirrels.

Thank you all for your help.

Sincerely,
Worried Momma

[ALittleNutty]

I wouldn't worry about him sleeping on his back. What kind of container is he in? If it's a larger one then maybe a rice buddy at the cool end would help prevent him from getting too chilled if he crawls off the end with the heating pad. They can be very light breathers when they are asleep. Did he have any injuries, even the tiniest scratch that could have been from the cat and was he given antibiotics if so?

[G0dn0te]

I wouldn't worry about him sleeping on his back. What kind of container is he in? If it's a larger one then maybe a rice buddy at the cool end would help prevent him from getting too chilled if he crawls off the end with the heating pad. They can be very light breathers when they are asleep. Did he have any injuries, even the tiniest scratch that could have been from the cat and was he given antibiotics if so?

It's a small container. Maybe a 5 gallon? I can get an exact size later. Is it normal for him to go back and forth betwen 1.5 CC and 2 CC of milk?

[ALittleNutty]

It's a small container. Maybe a 5 gallon? I can get an exact size later. Is it normal for him to go back and forth betwen 1.5 CC and 2 CC of milk?

That sounds fine for that age. What does he weigh? He should be getting between 5-7% of his body weight. It is normal for them to eat a little more or less per feeding. Mine were ravenous early in the morning and late at night but during the day they weren't that interested. A lot of times if you potty in the middle of a feeding they will take more if they seem to lose interest.

Edited: I'm tired and I mis-read the size. He needs to be in a smaller container right now so he can't get too far away from the heating pad. I'd say something that had a base measurement of 9 x 13. He will need a cage soon though.

[G0dn0te]

That sounds fine for that age. What does he weigh? He should be getting between 5-7% of his body weight. It is normal for them to eat a little more or less per feeding. Mine were ravenous early in the morning and late at night but during the day they weren't that interested. A lot of times if you potty in the middle of a feeding they will take more if they seem to lose interest.

Edited: I'm tired and I mis-read the size. He needs to be in a smaller container right now so he can't get too far away from the heating pad. I'd say something that had a base measurement of 9 x 13. He will need a cage soon though.

Hi there. His tank is maybe a bit smaller than that base actually. It's about 12 x 6 or so. I may have called it a cage. I'm up there in being tired.

I'll get a new weight but Friday he was 20 grams.

[ALittleNutty]

Hi there. His tank is maybe a bit smaller than that base actually. It's about 12 x 6 or so. I may have called it a cage. I'm up there in being tired.

I'll get a new weight but Friday he was 20 grams.

Oh ok. That's pretty good. I am guessing it's an aquarium and sometimes they do get a little chillier in those. I would keep about 3/4 of it covered to help maintain the heat and humidity levels better. I know all about the tired. I feel like I could be a cast member on the walking dead.

At 20 grams 7% would be 1.4 cc of formula.