Preferred nipple attachment ?

[Snicker Bar]

Oh my gosh.... a new baby is on the way to the clinic! No details yet on age; just a call it’s on the way now. I just happened to get a delivery of Fox Valley today for recipes .. what luck!
It’s been gosh, couple years since my girls are on formula. Didn’t have a clue what Inwas doing ... didn’t find y’all until later , when they were weaned. A thousand miracles they made it those early weeks. I used Esbilac, and your basic puppy/kitten nipple on a syringe; you know, the roundish tip kind? Is that ok, or is there a better one I could buy at pet store today? Or- I still water Doodles daily with the tubing from a 23 g butterfly catheter. I attach the hub to her syring and trim the tubing to about 1/4” length- it’s small enough that it won’t allow the water to go too fast, and it’s a very soft, flexible tubing. Would this work?
And now on the way to get him/her now ! So excited! Y’all just keep me in line- if it’s NOT brain damaged , parapslegic or blind, it MUST be released .... Please keep me Candidate for release Squirrel sober!!

[Mel1959]

I have only used miracle nipples, both the long and short ones. I get mine from Henrys, but Chris’s squirrels has them, too. I’ve never found, or looked for, a local source.

[Snicker Bar]

Just got home; it’s TINY; way smaller than the three I raised up. Eyes closed but has hair on body and tail... STONE COLD, rode home in my shirt. Barely moving, he may not make it. The people who brought it said they found it yesterday, brought it in the house, then decided best to leave outside for mama to hopefully find it. So most likely it hasn’t had a meal in over 24 hrs. ( they didn’t feed him). I just got in the Fox Valley 20/50 , or we have the puppy Esbilac powder . Which is better? Thank you for info on ordering proper nipple; will invest in that for days to come if he makes it. May just use the 1 cc syringe and catheter tip for now as tiny as he is.

[CritterMom]

You need to warm it all the way up first and then hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before feeding any formula.

I, personally, would start with esbilac at 3:1 for the first few feedings, decreasing the water eventually to 2:1. See what others suggest - no babies this year so I don't know if the esbilac needs doctoring or not...

[stosh2010]

it’s TINY; way smaller than the three I raised up. Eyes closed but has hair on body and tail.


What is the baby's weight..TINY--is a relative word....Grams tell the story...

[Snicker Bar]

299497

It weighs approx 85 grams; has white hair on belly, ears are open and eyes are closed.

[Snicker Bar]

299498

Is this a boy?? Has a protrusion very close to rectum...

It’s far more alert and “alive” since getting warm. I gave just a small amount of formula , after reading to be cautious if they are weak and cold (?). But it’s been about 3 hours, so maybe now try 2,3 ml? Did Cittermom mean 3 parts water to one part powder ? Sorry for ignorance- it’s been so long since the girls were little; they also were older, and ( other than being disabled in various ways) they were NOT cold, weak or malnourished .

[Mel1959]

Did you offer any water first? He should be hydrated prior to feeding formula. Yes CM meant to dilute the Esbilac with 3 parts water to 1 part powder.

Can you take a picture of the belly? If there’s no protrusion further up on the belly then I’d say it’s a girl, a skinny one at that. :shakehead

[Snicker Bar]

299503

Here is a better picture of belly

No :( I messed up, I didn’t do straight water first. Should I now? Or just start the 3 parts water: 1 part powder?

3 ml per feeding?
Every 3/4 hrs?
And make it pee like a kitten/puppy?

[Jen413]

My girl was just like yours and I got her a week ago today. Your little girl looks about a week or so younger than mine. Sadie was 83g. I hydrated for about 12 or more hours before starting esbilac but she got diarrhea the next day so I switched to goats milk formula. Just got my FV in last night so I’m incorporating that now.

After she’s warm do hydration first. It’s 2 c water, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1.5 tbs sugar. Refrigerate it and it’s good for 24 hours.

[Snicker Bar]

Ok , I hope I didn’t mess up already . A girl? Ok!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Here is a helpful link for baby care.
https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

On Page 2 is a recipe for homemade hydration fluid.
Of course, Pedialyte is better but this can be made with commonly available items.

Definitely hydrate for a few feedings.

Yes, it's a girl. :grin2 Looks about 4 weeks old. My favorite age.

[Jen413]

Definitely a little girl! At 85g she can eat between 5 almost 6ml. It’s 5-7% of their body weight. I feed every four hours. But when I was hydrating I was attempting every 2-3 while awake. Once she starts on formula it’ll probably be 3-4 but I’m having trouble remembering eyes closed cause it’s been so long since I’ve had one.

[HRT4SQRLS]

. A girl? Ok!

Boy squirrels look like boy puppies... very obvious. :grin2

[Snicker Bar]

Skin VERY tented :( Thanks for the link , I’m making the solution now. I could have killed her not knowing this; thanks for help :)

[HRT4SQRLS]

I would hydrate her throughout the night. Hydration is more important than food at this point. She might be ready for formula in the morning.

[Snicker Bar]

She just guzzled 6 ml of the solution.

Ok, will get up every 2/3 hrs and use this. Last dumb question , when we start the formula should we use the electrolyte water for the 3 parts water, or just plain ?

[Jen413]

I’ve always read not to use anything but water to mix formula. You can feed the hydration solution between feedings though.

[HRT4SQRLS]

How is baby girl this morning?

I forgot to mention but it's probably in the link that the hydration fluid should also be warm.
You should stimulate her to pee and poop. She might not have a lot in her because of dehydration so don't get concerned if she isn't producing much waste. She will. :tilt

[Snicker Bar]

299513
She did well, and took fluids three times during the night. This morning I started the 3:1 formula , and she is ravenous for it ( makes the little grrr, grrr, grrrrr sound , looking for the syringe). She has eyeballs now, peeking through the lids; they were too sunken in to see yesterday. Her pee has been very minimal, but there’s poo every time ( kind of brown soft serve, not watery) . She’s all legs, no body mass; so, so thin.

I literally , just yesterday overhauled our back bathroom. It was mild here, so I rolled the “Teenies” ( the two now adolescent flyers) cage to the finished, flyer by night version of the community squirrel room. They had their maiden flight last night; Temp. was around 60; they LOVED it! It’s so much more entertaining out there, than in a bathroom. I had opened the windows during the day to get some fresh air; cleaned out all the leftover little poos, salad pieces, dead bugs etc. from the sills. Finally had the smell of Spring air; squirrel odor gone. My husband was quite pleased, thinking he could reclaim the bathroom....
Then this tub thing showed up ... :)

[HRT4SQRLS]

That's funny SB! He ALMOST had his bathroom back. :rotfl

Hey, I see a little issue there. The bin and setup is great but the heating goes under the bin not in it. Put the heating pad under 1/2 the bin.
A squirrel will chew a cord before you can blink. NOT good.

[Snicker Bar]

Oh cuss, so glad you saw that, what a brain fart. She does have tiny little teeth coming in .

[Jen413]

We are walking in the same shoes SB. I’m gearing up to release my wild boys I over wi feared when hubs brings me a new baby last Friday. It’s amazing everything you forget that was once second nature, huh. So glad she’s eating and seems to be doing well.

[Snicker Bar]

Thanks for all the review :)

The end of this month , the local rehabber that helped ( brought me lol) half of this nonrelease crew ( for “observation” she calls it) is taking me to a rehabber seminar she has to attend ( I assume to renew her license). I’m hoping to learn more, maybe even start the certification process; so someday when I’m retired I can be a real rehabber :)