Please help I'm a newbie to being a squirrel mommy

[acb]

On the 2nd of August my husband brought me home two baby squirrel's lil boy and lil girl :grin2 well I'm a newbie to being a squirrel mommy, well both babies aspirated on me, well since then the little girl has passed away broke my heart the little boy he was doing so good yesterday. Well yesterday he just really refused to take any formula or anything this morning I woke up and he's not doing too good at all today he looked really dehydrated so I did the the rehydration now he has that he has diarrhea and it's just not acting normal please help me I don't want to lose the little boy like I lost the little girl what am I doing wrong I don't want to hurt him I just want to help

[Lovely]

I'm pretty new to this also, two years ago we had two black squirrels, one made it to be released. But I have read a lot of posts from other members. What are you using to rehydrate? I have heard some say that its sometimes better to give diluted formula with a little more water rather than pedialyte. Also we had trouble with aspirating until we ordered the syringes instead of the tiny bottles they sell at most stores. How old is your baby? Very sorry for your loss of your little girl I know all to well how devastating it is as I lost a boy last night. They are so beautiful.

[lennysmom]

What kind of formula have you been feeding him? Diarrhea is a common problem we see when these little ones are on the wrong formula. How old is your little guy? A picture would help us approximate age if you're not sure. We recommend the powdered Esbilac with pre and probiotics or Fox valley 20/50. Do you have a weight on him? He needs to be eating 5%to 7% of his total body weight at each feeding and please don't feed him with anything bigger than a 1cc or a 3cc syringe. If he has diarrhea, please be sure that you are giving him hydration in between feedings - water with a little honey added works well. Also, he needs to be on a heat source - a heating pad on low works great under half of his bin so he can move off the heat source if he gets too warm.

Here is a great guide to baby squirrel care - it's rather lengthy but it contains a lot of good information on how to properly care for a baby squirrel.
https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

I know you said both babies aspirated - this can cause aspiration pneumonia which can be deadly in these little ones. Is your little boy clicking? You can hold him up to your ear and see if you can hear a faint clicking with every breath. If so, he needs to be on antibiotics ASAP. You would only need a single pill of Baytril (Cipro), Clavamox, or Amoxicillin to properly treat him and we can have someone dose it for you after you get a weight on him.
I'm sorry to hear the little girl didn't make it.:( Rest in peace little one.:Love_Icon

[acb]

I say 3 to 4 weeks old he has his bottom teeth, I doing the rehydration of A teaspoon of salt 3 tablespoons of sugar to 4 cups of water, he has diarrhea as well but I just don't know about putting him in warm water up to his arms idk what to do, he dont look to be bloated but he is dehydrated. I'm just at a lose here I've been breading and reading on the internet, but everyone says something different. I have now diluted his formula, but he just seems so Restless

[lennysmom]

Unfortunately, there is a lot of conflicting and wrong information on the Internet about how to care for baby squirrels. When I rescued my first squirrel, I also found information on the Internet to try and care for him and he ended up with awful diarrhea because I was feeding him the wrong formula that I had seen recommended on another website. Thankfully, I found The Squirrel Board and under the guidance of the many knowledgeable rehabbers here, I was able to get him straightened out and save his life. These tiny little ones are so delicate and it is imperative that they are on the correct formula and stay hydrated. If he has diarrhea there is no reason to soak him in warm water - that technique is used for constipation. What formula have you been feeding him?

[acb]

Omg thank y'all so much for responding, I'm feeding him pet AG puppy replacement formula. whenever we first got him on August the 2nd he weighed 45 grams. Whenever him and his sister aspirated on me I noticed that he lost a lot of weight whenever he wasn't feeling good so we he now weighs 30 grams. and yes his box is sitting halfway on a heating pad and half off. the other day he was fine he was the best I've seen him since I've got him but yesterday he just didn't really eat that much as normal. this morning whenever I woke up and went to check on him he was in the Box on top of the blanket and was cold. well after getting him warm this morning I started the rehydration and I've even diluted his formula today because he has diarrhea and let me look and see if I can figure out how to upload a picture and I will send the picture. thank you so much for the link that you sent and thank you so much for responding

[lennysmom]

Sounds like formula may be a big part of your problem - any other PetAg formula except the one below is known to cause terrible diarrhea in these little ones. If you have another kind, please stop feeding him that and get the powdered Esbilac sold at most major pet stores. The can should look like this :

291571

Or is this what you are feeding him already?

[lennysmom]

.. let me look and see if I can figure out how to upload a picture and I will send the picture. thank you so much for the link that you sent and thank you so much for responding

Oh yes please do post pictures of your little guy. We love pictures on TSB.:)
If you can't figure out how to post here, feel free to email the pictures to me at lennysmom01@gmail.com and I will be glad to post them for you. Heading to bed for the night but I will check back in the morning.

[Nancy in New York]

You are getting excellent advice.
Definitely change the formula to the one posted. PetLac kills
these little ones.
Where in Mississippi do you live?
Perhaps we have a member that can help you.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-ZLdZ7df/0/377c05c5/O/i-ZLdZ7df.jpghttps://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-VTCXht8/0/d17c683d/S/i-VTCXht8-S.jpg

[SandyC]

On the 2nd of August my husband brought me home two baby squirrel's lil boy and lil girl :grin2 well I'm a newbie to being a squirrel mommy, well both babies aspirated on me, well since then the little girl has passed away broke my heart the little boy he was doing so good yesterday. Well yesterday he just really refused to take any formula or anything this morning I woke up and he's not doing too good at all today he looked really dehydrated so I did the the rehydration now he has that he has diarrhea and it's just not acting normal please help me I don't want to lose the little boy like I lost the little girl what am I doing wrong I don't want to hurt him I just want to help
I'm also new to the board n they have been very helpful. U can put warm water bottles under his blankie for warmth. As far as the diarrhea it depends on what formula ur using n if the water to powder ratio is correct. I used puppy formula. There's a chart that shows how much n how often to feed them. If u type in feeding baby squirrel on line, the chart should pop up. I would also try to switch to syringes. That way u can control how much he's taking in so he doesn't aspirate again. It seems like he's need a vet ASAP. U can also private message the board exec. That's what I did when I first joined. He was able to give me more info right away. Good luck n I hope I helped in some way.