New Squirrel Baby- Under 2 Weeks Old

[Marty333]

Hello! After the recent hurricane in Florida, I received a very young pinky from my neighbor that was found in the aftermath of the storm, and was the only survivor of his litter of 3. I have rehabbed a squirrel before but never one this young. I believe he is just under two weeks old, he weighs 23 grams as of today.I feed him 1cc every 2-3hrs unless he seems to be bloated or his milk line is still predominant. I noticed he had diarrhea yester so I stopped feeding him the esbilac formula I was giving him and immediately bought some pedialyte, I gave him nothing but pedialyte for almost 24 hours. I ordered some Fox valley formula but it might not arrive until next week. So I went out to whole foods and bought ingredients for the goat milk formula that was provided by this forum and started him on diluted formula around 2pm today. However, when I stimulate him to poop he only produces poop colored bubbles, is that because he has nothing in his system yet? Also I attached a picture of the ingredients i bought for the formula, since I heard cow milk is bad for squirrels yet the only cream I could find was cow based and same with the yogurt. Thank you!

[Shewhosweptforest]

Hmm...looks like you're doing everything right:great sometimes if they are over fed they will develop diarrhea:dono you could give him a little cooked pumpkin...mixed in his formula...or rice cereal for babies...that helps sometimes:please

Also, I would hold off feeding the Fox Valley....we've had terrible luck here with pinkies...it just becomes a sludge in their system....when he's a little older you can give it to him....I've been giving it to 4 week old and she's done fine on it.....something about pinkies tho :sadness

Thank you for saving this sweet lil bub :Love_Icon :blowkiss

[Nancy in New York]

Your little one is just precious! :klunk
You will want to get this formula
Powder Puppy ESBILAC.
If you already placed an order for the Fox Valley 32/40 cancel it and change
it to Fox Valley 20/50 and you can start feeding him that after his eyes open.
Most members do a 50/50 mix after their eyes are open. OR you can stick with
just the Esbilac OR just Fox Valley.
Goat's milk is just a temporary formula.

Here's another link with tons of infomation in it after
you follow the other link and remember this is 6 pages, so
hit the next button on the top.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51708-4skwerlz-Baby-Squirrel-Care


https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-CDTTKJg/0/O/i-CDTTKJg.jpg

[Marty333]

I was going to order powder esbilac but I heard there were issues with the new process of manufacturing of the product that made it harder for baby squirrels to gain nutrients from and thus caused diarrhea, is that still true? Also thank you for all the advice thus far!

[Chickenlegs]

Some time back there WERE issues with Esbilac. That was a few years ago. Now the formula has changed and Esbilac is the formula of choice for babies under four weeks of age. After that age you can continue the Esbilac, go Fox Valley 20/50 or mix the two. 32/40 Fox Valley was turning to concrete in their little systems. It would NOT go through. Many many babies bloated and died. Dunno if it was a change of ingredients or that the ingredients were ordered from China or somewhere with little quality control. Goats milk is great for teenies tho I don't add the heavy cream untill they're at LEAST two weeks old--and it IS temporary as they need additional nutrients as they grow. That precious precious little boy. He's pretty wrinkly--and kind of discolored. Bruising? Is he still dehydrated? If he has the runs give him extra hydration between feedings. He can't absorb nutrients if he's dehydrated. Poor baby has had a rough start. Thank you for being his hero. :smiley_superman

[Nancy in New York]

I was going to order powder esbilac but I heard there were issues with the new process of manufacturing of the product that made it harder for baby squirrels to gain nutrients from and thus caused diarrhea, is that still true? Also thank you for all the advice thus far!

They actually DID have issues with the OLD Esbilac.
At that time we started recommending Fox Valley 32/40 and it was the BOMB.........THEN.

Something switched with the FV 32/40, though they deny it, but it was sitting like cement in the babies tummies.
They couldn't digest it and were dying from bloat and starvation.
Esbilac reformulated their process and also added pre and probiotics and (3rd ingredient) DRIED WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, which makes a world of difference.

You should be able to buy the Powder Puppy ESBILAC at any pet store. Just make sure you get the correct one as shown in the photo above.
It may not have the banner, but look at the third ingredient to be dried whey protein.

[Marty333]

Okay I'll get some powder esbilac tomorrow I didn't order the 32/40 fv formula I ordered the other one, also the dark coloration seems to be very short hairs after looking at him more closely in the light. I was worried about the wrinkles as well but I had him on pedialyte already for 24hrs and I read that I shouldn't do more then that. How should I hydrate him?

[Spanky]

I will add that if you were feeding the liquid Esbilac initially, that would cause the types of issues that he was having. The liquid Esbilac is very different from the powdered version.

:thankyou for taking care of this little one!

[Chickenlegs]

:thankyou for taking care of this little one!

Amen to that! Give your baby some water. If he won't take water straight add a little sugar. Give him some, drop by drop, every hour or so--between feedings, whenever you think of him--OK--so maybe not THAT often. Warm it like you would warm formula--very warm but short of hot. :Love_Icon