New Squirrel Mom/ Some questions

[Maple17]

Hello,
I have been reading through the forum and found lots of wonderful information so I would first like to say thank you for all of the great info.
My name is Angie, and on Easter Sunday I seen my pup sniffing at what I thought was her bone I walked down to look and it looked like a dead squirrel I picked it up and it appeared to be barely alive. I warmed her up a bit and put her back next to the tree I found her by but her mom never came back for her and there was no mom in sight. I retrieved the baby squirrel and brought her back in to be warmed up again and began giving her some warm sugar water concoction I found on squirreltales.org. The next morning she seemed to be doing better was becoming more active (from what ive read I'm guessing she is somewhere around 6 weeks old) I then starting feeding her the esbilac formula 2 parts water/ 1 part formula/ 1/4 part heavy cream I gave it to her in these increments
Feeding #1
Put the tip of the syringe in the jar of formula and pull into it 1/2 cc of the formula. Take the syringe to the sink and add 2 and 1/2 cc's of plain water. Give the baby all it wants.
Feeding #2
Into the syringe put 1 cc of the formula - add 2 cc's of plain water.
Feeding #3
1 and 1/2 cc's of the formula - add 1 and 1/2 cc's of plain water.
Feeding #4
2 cc's of the formula - add 1 cc of plain water.
Feeding #5
2 and 1/2 cc's of the formula - add 1/2 cc of plain water.
Feeding #6
You have reached full strength formula which you will continue to feed

She is now eating the full strength mixture I am feeding her every 4-5 hours she weighs 126g and eats 6-9cc each time. I ordered henrys blocks they should be here today and I also ordered fox valley 20/50 but I am intimidated to switch to that bc this is my first time every rescuing a squirrel and we have been doing well on esbilac so far. I've had her 4 days now and she is so sweet. Her name is Maple and she is a fox squirrel.


The reason I believe she is 6 weeks old is because she has all her fur and teeth ad her eyes were open when I found her, one eye was half shut but is now open and with each passing day she seems to be seeing more. She loves to eat her formula and has been doing well with the bathroom up until now I'm a little worried.

She pooped yesterday atleast once maybe twice. Still nothing yet today so I'm wondering if I should dilute her formula a little as she is at full strength now 2 parts water 1 part esbilac and 1/4 heavy whipping cream. Any input on this would be helpful.

Throughout the four days I have had her 3 times ive heard her make a clicking noise she hasn't done it in two days and today she did it for about 5 minutes then stopped? She has active spurts right before I feed her usually then maybe for a couple minutes but usually after she eats she likes to snuggle into her bedding and sleeps.

My main worries are is she getting constipated and what should I do to prevent this?
Should I stick with Esbilac since it seems to be working?
I bought calcium from Henrys as well should start giving her this right away? Or hold off for a little?
Also I am concerned if she is hydrated enough? is formula enough or should I be giving water too?

I try to end each feeding with a little water but she doesn't like it much, and I try to do water in between feedings and she takes a sip or two then shakes her head and rubs her nose on her bedding. Should I sweeten the water ? If so how much sugar or honey should I put in it?

Also I would like to be prepared in case she gets pneumonia what is the best medicine to have on hand for her? I have no antibiotics at home and i'd like to make sure I have the correct stuff just to be safe. My sister works in a pharmacy and if I only need one pill I am sure she can get me one.

Sorry for all the questions I appreciate any advice I really am getting attached to Maple and I want to see her do well.

Thank you!

[Maple17]

Here are some pictures of her I hope they upload.


287421

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[cava]

Hi there. Thanks for taking care of the little one.

What do you want to do with her? Release her yourself or find someone near you to do it? Either way, we can help.

I think you could be feeding her more and if she is receiving the correct amount of formula based on weight, she should be receiving plenty of hydration.

http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Check out this link and buy a kitchen gram scale so you can be sure she's getting what she needs--5-7% of her body weight in grams. (her weight in grams multiplied by .05 - .07 = how many ml's to feed every 4 hours.

What kind of esbilac--powdered puppy Esbilac with pre and probiotics??

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=287424&stc=1
As for the Fox Valley, you can slowly add it in bit by bit to the formula you are using until you are at a half and half of each formula.

Diet change can make poop schedules a little wonky. She is also old enough to poop on her own so she may be going in the cage. They're tiny so you have to look hard, and could be buried in her blankets.

She's very cute. Have you looked around the yard to be sure no siblings are out there?

Can you describe the clicking sound in more detail?

Look at the site link I left and see if you have any more questions after reading that.

Happy mothering!

P.S. Get her out of the cardboard and into a plastic container like the one on the website or a small animal cage. She will soon be able to chew through the cardboard and it also tends to dry them out.

[lennysmom]

Hi Maple17, welcome to TSB!:Welcome Thank you for rescuing this little one. Sounds like you've been doing your research and off to a good start. As cava suggested, please watch and listen for siblings - it's very possible that something happened to mama and there may be others in need. Please do make sure you have the proper Esbilic as cava mentioned. Good meds to have on hand in case of aspiration phemonia is Baytril (Cipro) or Clavamox.
Also, it won't be long before the little one will start weaning - here is a link to the healthy diet chart to get you started -
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels
Nuts are to be limited to two a day as treats. A good block is essential to keeping the little one healthy while in captivity.
You will probably have lots of questions as this little one grows - feel free to ask away!:)

[Maple17]

Hi there. Thanks for taking care of the little one.

What do you want to do with her? Release her yourself or find someone near you to do it? Either way, we can help.

I think you could be feeding her more and if she is receiving the correct amount of formula based on weight, she should be receiving plenty of hydration.

http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Check out this link and buy a kitchen gram scale so you can be sure she's getting what she needs--5-7% of her body weight in grams. (her weight in grams multiplied by .05 - .07 = how many ml's to feed every 4 hours.

What kind of esbilac--powdered puppy Esbilac with pre and probiotics??

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=287424&stc=1
As for the Fox Valley, you can slowly add it in bit by bit to the formula you are using until you are at a half and half of each formula.

Diet change can make poop schedules a little wonky. She is also old enough to poop on her own so she may be going in the cage. They're tiny so you have to look hard, and could be buried in her blankets.

She's very cute. Have you looked around the yard to be sure no siblings are out there?

Can you describe the clicking sound in more detail?

Look at the site link I left and see if you have any more questions after reading that.

Happy mothering!

P.S. Get her out of the cardboard and into a plastic container like the one on the website or a small animal cage. She will soon be able to chew through the cardboard and it also tends to dry them out.



Thank you for all the info I will check for more siblings, I did look around that day but hadn't seen anything. Unfortunately the tree she was found near is the only one for a while my parents live on the water and it is a very large tree where many eagles hang out. So I feel maybe she was dropped or the mother was taken.

I do plan to release her myself as there is plenty of woods behind our house.

The esbilac I did not see the blue label with probiotics but I seen a picture on here that said if it the third ingredient was whey protein concentrate is was correct? is that true because that is what mine says or am I feeding the incorrect one?

She has a large cage at home I will need to get her into a plastic one for work days.
I will have to look closer in her cage for droppings lol whenever I see poop I get happy, never thought I would feel that way about it.

The clicking noise the first time she was doing it she stopped after I fed her more so I thought she was just hungry, but today I'm not sure why she was doing it she almost seemed to fill up faster today she ate 6cc no problem and then she lost interest and turned her head away and wouldn't take any more. Then I heard the noise about 30min later so maybe she was hungry still? Its pretty loud I mean I can hear it in my office pretty well.

Again, thank you so much! :D

[Maple17]

Hi Maple17, welcome to TSB!:Welcome Thank you for rescuing this little one. Sounds like you've been doing your research and off to a good start. As cava suggested, please watch and listen for siblings - it's very possible that something happened to mama and there may be others in need. Please do make sure you have the proper Esbilic as cava mentioned. Good meds to have on hand in case of aspiration phemonia is Baytril (Cipro) or Clavamox.
Also, it won't be long before the little one will start weaning - here is a link to the healthy diet chart to get you started -
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels
Nuts are to be limited to two a day as treats. A good block is essential to keeping the little one healthy while in captivity.
You will probably have lots of questions as this little one grows - feel free to ask away!:)

Thank you so much! I will ask my sister to get me those just incase. I do hope I have the correct Esbilac powder it does not have the blue label but the whey protein concentrate is the 3rd ingredient so I am hoping this is the correct one? When I get home the blocks should be in the mail box for her I will put them in her cage tonight. Again thank you so much I really appreciate all the advice and help I can get.

[lennysmom]

Thank you so much! I will ask my sister to get me those just incase. I do hope I have the correct Esbilac powder it does not have the blue label but the whey protein concentrate is the 3rd ingredient so I am hoping this is the correct one? When I get home the blocks should be in the mail box for her I will put them in her cage tonight. Again thank you so much I really appreciate all the advice and help I can get.

If the third ingredient is the dry whey protein concentrate, it should be the correct one. I'm glad you will be getting the blocks in soon too.:thumbsup

[Maple17]

If the third ingredient is the dry whey protein concentrate, it should be the correct one. I'm glad you will be getting the blocks in soon too.:thumbsup

Awesome, thank you! Maple took a healthy poop once we got home from work and she nibbled her block a little bit and is sleeping now.
Thank you so much!

[Mel1959]

You are doing a great job! :great:great. Does Maple have a non-shutoff heating pad set to low, under half of her bin? She is probably getting very close to not needing heat, but it might be comforting. If the pad is under only half then she can crawl off if she's too warm. She also might like a stuffie to snuggle with. If you can give her a little stuffed toy with no eyes or anything that can be chewed off, she might enjoy it.

Keep up the good work! :hug

[stepnstone]

The esbilac I did not see the blue label with probiotics but I seen a picture on here that said if it the third ingredient was whey protein concentrate is was correct? is that true because that is what mine says or am I feeding the incorrect one?

Feeding the correct formula is important...
Please take and post a picture of the formula you are feeding her.