We need ideas for more hydration

[Rexie]

My boy is almost 3 years old. I follow the nutrition chart and he eats henrys. I feel he is healthy with his diet as I am pretty strict about it.
Our problem is hydration.. He has never been a big water drinker and i give apple juice and watermelon several times a week for extra fluids. His poops are almost always tiny, and hard . I feel he is always on the verge of being constipated. He pees good though so it's puzzling. I also have always given Greek gods vanilla yogurt. He has become tired of apple juice, watermelon and yogurt. Now his stools seem to be even more dry and hard. So my question is?. We really need some liquid ideas or food ideas to work with this problem. Other juices?? More fiber?? Coconut water maybe?? I am just constantly worried about his poops. Any ideas are gladly welcome. Thanks, Rexie and his mom.

[Cubby]

Just a thought, but maybe you could flavour the water with something that might make it more appealing to him? Or maybe try some bottled water, perhaps there is something in the water which has an unappealing taste or scent to him.

[Mel1959]

I agree, maybe trying a bottled water. There is one type of spring water (expensive stuff) that Chickenlegs and some others have used that they swear by. I cannot remember the name so maybe a pm to Chickenlegs asking the name?

I think coconut water is always a good choice. I know there seems to be a controversy about squirrels and salt. To me coconut water has a very slight salty taste. I think wild squirrels like some salt. We live along the coast in Florida and there is always a salt spray. It accumulates on the screen. I have watched the wilds lick the screen. Maybe there are times that their bodies tell them they need some salt. :dono.
I also believe coconut water has some naturally occuring electrolytes, which would explain the slightly salty taste.

Another type of juice you could add to the water is WHITE grape juice. It has a very mild, low acid taste.

I also feed my wilds orange pieces. Living in Florida I know this is something they would take advantage of in the wild as a food source. They get some juice that way.

Hope some of this helps.

[Rexie]

Thanks for the replys. I will try some other juices and try some coconut water. He does get bottled water but I have noticed some brands he will drink less of so I will start keeping track in which ones he drinks more of. I do give him oranges as well. Since he pees good and sometimes alot maybe there is some other reason his poops are so dry and small. Sometimes they look normal and are sifter and that is when he eats is butternut squash. So maybe it's a fiber issue. I can going to try can pumpkin today and see if he will eat it. I will keep you posted
Thanks

[Lighten-Up]

I think Iceland Spring is the name of the expensive spring water that Mel was referring to.

Maybe consider trying a little pure coconut oil on a nut if you have some. Both oil and water are necessary for the body. That's just a thought in case it would help.

[Mel1959]

Rexie, can you refresh my memory if there are medical issues with your boy? I ask because squirrels can have a condition called mega colon. It is an enlarging of the colon and a weak neuro signal that sends the message to expel the feces. Therefore, the stool stays in the system longer and dries up making it harder to pass. It occurs in rats as well. My little guy has it, he's a dwarf, although I have heard of other "normal" squirrels having it too. The diet that is recommended adds oil to their food like Lighten up suggested.

[Rexie]

Well he does not have medical issues. He never wilded up and I couldn't bear to release him. He has never shown me any indication that he is unhappy being a kept squirrel. I am totally dedicated to him, almost obsessed, lol. He does get avacados about 5 times a week and about 2 times a month a whole coconut to chew on for dental insurance.. on Fridays and Sundays he gets one black Walnut. The only pecans he gets is in his Henry's. So yes maybe his diet is lacking oil. Because he seems to pee good size amounts. I will get some expelled pressed coconut oil today. Do you think a few drops on some food will be sufficient ?? Thank you for all your input.

[Rexie]

Rexie, can you refresh my memory if there are medical issues with your boy? I ask because squirrels can have a condition called mega colon. It is an enlarging of the colon and a weak neuro signal that sends the message to expel the feces. Therefore, the stool stays in the system longer and dries up making it harder to pass. It occurs in rats as well. My little guy has it, he's a dwarf, although I have heard of other "normal" squirrels having it too. The diet that is recommended adds oil to their food like Lighten up suggested.
Wow I have heard of mega colon in cats and dogs. I work in the veterinary field. So rodents get it too. So adding oil keeps your baby regulated??

[Rexie]

I think Iceland Spring is the name of the expensive spring water that Mel was referring to.

Maybe consider trying a little pure coconut oil on a nut if you have some. Both oil and water are necessary for the body. That's just a thought in case it would help.

Thanks I will try to find it

[Lighten-Up]

The avocado is going to have fat/oil in it by virtue of what it is. It sure won't hurt to try coconut oil, and you can always use it for yourself.

What I have done is put the coconut oil in a cool place that it semi-hardens up, then I take a dull knife, and butter a small nut that has crevasses, like a pecan or walnut. I put the nut in the fridge and it hardens solid. Then I give the nut, when they eat the nut, they eat the coconut oil. Note, I have seen a wild squirrel occasionally dig and toss out all the coconut :-) One nut is sufficient. If I have a wild squirrel with an "issue" that coconut is good for, I'll give them two nuts per day. Otherwise, I just randomly give them once a week or so.

If you find that a couple drops on food will work, for sure find your own best way. :-)

[Mel1959]

Wow I have heard of mega colon in cats and dogs. I work in the veterinary field. So rodents get it too. So adding oil keeps your baby regulated??


No, my little guy is on Cisapride and Metoclopramide two times a day. It works like a champ. Because he's a dwarf he's a really picky eater so he gets baby food by syringe 4-5 times a day. I add coconut oil to it sometimes and mash avocado for him as well. I try to give him the types of food normal squirrels eat, just in baby food form.

[Rexie]

The avocado is going to have fat/oil in it by virtue of what it is. It sure won't hurt to try coconut oil, and you can always use it for yourself.

What I have done is put the coconut oil in a cool place that it semi-hardens up, then I take a dull knife, and butter a small nut that has crevasses, like a pecan or walnut. I put the nut in the fridge and it hardens solid. Then I give the nut, when they eat the nut, they eat the coconut oil. Note, I have seen a wild squirrel occasionally dig and toss out all the coconut :-) One nut is sufficient. If I have a wild squirrel with an "issue" that coconut is good for, I'll give them two nuts per day. Otherwise, I just randomly give them once a week or so.

If you find that a couple drops on food will work, for sure find your own best way. :-)
Got the coconut oil today and gona try it tonite. So should I do this every other day for a week or so and see how it is working on the dry poops? Gona put it on a shelled pecan half.

[Rexie]

No, my little guy is on Cisapride and Metoclopramide two times a day. It works like a champ. Because he's a dwarf he's a really picky eater so he gets baby food by syringe 4-5 times a day. I add coconut oil to it sometimes and mash avocado for him as well. I try to give him the types of food normal squirrels eat, just in baby food form.

Your little guy has a great mom who takes fantastic care of him

[SammysMom]

You could try a touch of molasses in water. It has a laxative effect and is also good for them because it contains trace vitamins and minerals..

[Rexie]

You could try a touch of molasses in water. It has a laxative effect and is also good for them because it contains trace vitamins and minerals..

OK I will try it, is all molasses that same or is there a best kind?

[Lighten-Up]

Got the coconut oil today and gona try it tonite. So should I do this every other day for a week or so and see how it is working on the dry poops? Gona put it on a shelled pecan half.

That sounds good. You will know right away if they like the coconut, or reject it. Note, when I butter the nuts, I do not heap it up in a mound, I just fill in the cracks. Of course there is some that sticks up, but I'm only aiming to get them little bits of it, not a pile of it. Once I take it out of the fridge it starts melting if it is hot out, so I give it to them right away.

Funny note, I tossed one to a wild yesterday, who flicked all the coconut oil off, so she could eat the nut. Another squirrel came along, and ate up all the flicked off pieces of coconut oil...

[Rexie]

Wow I have heard of mega colon in cats and dogs. I work in the veterinary field. So rodents get it too. So adding oil keeps your baby regulated??


You could try a touch of molasses in water. It has a laxative effect and is also good for them because it contains trace vitamins and minerals..How much would a touch be?? Don't want to overdue it and cause loose stools???

[SammysMom]

I honestly don't measure it. I put a butter knife tip in the jar and put that in a very small container of hot water. I give an amount like other hydration, by weight.

[Lighten-Up]

OK I will try it, is all molasses that same or is there a best kind?

Here is a little bit of info about molasses:

Unsulphured molasses is the finest quality. It is made from the juice of sun-ripened cane and the juice is clarified and concentrated. Molasses from the first boiling is the finest grade because only a small amount of sugar has been removed.

Sulphured molasses is made from green sugar cane that has not matured long enough and is treated with sulphur fumes during the sugar extracting process. The second boil molasses takes on a darker color, is less sweet and has a more pronounced flavor.

Blackstrap molasses is from the third boil and only has a commercial value in the manufacture of animal feed and other industrial uses.

I'm not an expert on molasses. I got that off an internet site that was written back in 1999, I will add that today, Blackstrap molasses is a big hit in the health stores and forums, as it does contain higher amounts of minerals; manganese, copper, iron, and calcium. It has the least sugar. From what I read, it is not the molasses to use when baking gingersnap cookies etc. because it is stiff and hard to use.

So after all that. I would stay away from "sulphured" molasses because of the added sulphur fumes, and go with either unsulphured or blackstrap. Hope that helps.

[Rexie]

Black strap molasses is what I though would be the best. I will definitely get some to try and let keep posting so others can learn from it too.

[Rexie]

Trying Blackstrap molasses and coconut oil. Will update in a few days to see if he accepts it and if it makes a difference with his hard dry poops

[Rexie]

Well black strap molasses is a no go. But he is accepting coconut oil in yogurt.

[Milo's Mom]

Years ago I had an injured wild come into my life, her name was Momma Jr., but we all called her MJ. She has a thread here on TSB and just a few months ago she passed away. She was wild to the core and I was the enemy and everything I gave her was poison, at least in her eyes.

Anyway....I tried EVERYTHING to get her to drink water, actually to drink anything at all. I resorted to sub-qing her twice a day every day. I tried all of the suggestions...tap water, distilled water, molasses, honey, sugar, bottled water, boiled water, water left to sit for 24 hours...you name it I tried it. A long time member suggested using Swiss Miss Orange Drink...I thought oh Jesus, that is pure sugar...it's so thick it's like syrup. The member (Kat762) went and bought the orange drink and brought it to me AND she brought me a special bottled water called Iceland Springs.

I cut the orange drink with water and believe it or not the darn squirrel drank it...okay, I now had a way to get fluids into her orally. Very slowly I added more and more water to the orange drink and one day I just dipped the tip of the syringe into the orange drink and she drank straight water.

I still had the bottle of Iceland Springs bottled water so I put it in a dish for her and she DRANK IT! Just like that, she walked over and drank it, like she'd been doing it all her life. (yes, I did fall over at this point) I found this very intriguing so I did some reading. Iceland Springs bottled water is Ph balanced. And since I don't like water myself I did a taste test, because there was no way this "special" water from Iceland was going to be any different. I think all water tastes like old clam juice. :yuk This Iceland Springs water...it was good. It was refreshing and I liked it. I was 39 or 40 years old and for the first time in my life I LIKED water.

Needless to say, MJ got nothing but Iceland Springs bottled water for the rest of her life. I got curious with another squirrel I had...her coat always seemed very coarse to me. She drank water regularly and a decent amount, but her fur felt different. I changed her water to the Iceland Springs water...1 WEEK LATER HER FUR WAS SOFT AND SILKY.

I see that other people have mentioned it to you, but I'm not sure if you've tried it. It's not THAT expensive, and I feel it's worth every penny and the squirrels drink it readily. If you're still having problems, please consider trying it. It really saved me.

[Rexie]

Years ago I had an injured wild come into my life, her name was Momma Jr., but we all called her MJ. She has a thread here on TSB and just a few months ago she passed away. She was wild to the core and I was the enemy and everything I gave her was poison, at least in her eyes.

Anyway....I tried EVERYTHING to get her to drink water, actually to drink anything at all. I resorted to sub-qing her twice a day every day. I tried all of the suggestions...tap water, distilled water, molasses, honey, sugar, bottled water, boiled water, water left to sit for 24 hours...you name it I tried it. A long time member suggested using Swiss Miss Orange Drink...I thought oh Jesus, that is pure sugar...it's so thick it's like syrup. The member (Kat762) went and bought the orange drink and brought it to me AND she brought me a special bottled water called Iceland Springs.

I cut the orange drink with water and believe it or not the darn squirrel drank it...okay, I now had a way to get fluids into her orally. Very slowly I added more and more water to the orange drink and one day I just dipped the tip of the syringe into the orange drink and she drank straight water.

I still had the bottle of Iceland Springs bottled water so I put it in a dish for her and she DRANK IT! Just like that, she walked over and drank it, like she'd been doing it all her life. (yes, I did fall over at this point) I found this very intriguing so I did some reading. Iceland Springs bottled water is Ph balanced. And since I don't like water myself I did a taste test, because there was no way this "special" water from Iceland was going to be any different. I think all water tastes like old clam juice. :yuk This Iceland Springs water...it was good. It was refreshing and I liked it. I was 39 or 40 years old and for the first time in my life I LIKED water.

Needless to say, MJ got nothing but Iceland Springs bottled water for the rest of her life. I got curious with another squirrel I had...her coat always seemed very coarse to me. She drank water regularly and a decent amount, but her fur felt different. I changed her water to the Iceland Springs water...1 WEEK LATER HER FUR WAS SOFT AND SILKY.

I see that other people have mentioned it to you, but I'm not sure if you've tried it. It's not THAT expensive, and I feel it's worth every penny and the squirrels drink it readily. If you're still having problems, please consider trying it. It really saved me.
Wow....thank you so much for your story of MJ. She was a lucky little squirrel to have you. I am going to try to find Iceland Springs water and give it a try. I will give a update soon.

[Rexie]

We have been doing the coconut oil a few days a week. Tonite his poops are the best yet ( as far as poops go) they are bigger, softer and more frequent. Now I am leaning towards him needing more oil is his diet than him being dehydrated. I am so strict with nuts it looks like he really needed the oil. Thank you for your help

[SammysMom]

I do dip a block in coconut oil (nuked to liquid) and the put in the fridge for a few minutes for a few of mine who are fussy.

[Diggie's Friend]

A little coco oil goes a long ways; a good source of magnesium, good stuff to add to the block. If there is an issue with constipation, not going when food is eaten, add a small measure of organic Pumpkin powder, which has most of the fat removed. It is a good source of fiber and protein. I like the Oregon Oil Seed Company's product for this purpose. 1/8 Tsp. should do the trick. Add the measure to a small measure of organic yogurt, 1/2 Tsp. to hydrate before feeding.

Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Oil-Companys-Pumpkin-Protein/dp/B06XDJ7XXN/ref=sr_1_2?m=A30YTAS4PH3G26&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1495426577&sr=1-2&keywords=Pumpkin+seed+protein+powder+1+lb.

I'll have to check out that Icelandic water, sounds like good stuff for taste and for health. Thanks

[lucygail]

I mixed in maybe a half to a whole teaspoon of organic local honey to the water when I was first teaching my young squirrel to drink from a bottle, and she seemed to enjoy it.