how do i know he is getting enough?

[elkette]

:goofwe i just fed my little guy again, and he only ate .5 ml of pedialyte. how do i know if he is getting enough? Also, do i wake him to feed him, or should i wait until he wakes up to feed him?:thinking

[Bravo]

I hope you won't mind if I mention that the title of your thread made me laugh, long and loud. Thank you. :)

Okay, over to the experts. :thumbsup

[island rehabber]

Bravo, you're such a GUY.....:shakehead but it's one of the reasons why we love ya....:Love_Icon:D
Anyway, elkette, we use two methods to determine if a baby squirrel has eaten enough: if you can weigh him on a gram scale, you should divide the first two digits of his weight by two. So, if he weighs 60 grams he should get about 3.0ml at each feeding. 100 grams, 5.0ml, and so on. Also, if the baby is very young and there's no fur on his belly, you can actually see the "milk line" after you've fed him, stretching across his belly. That line should be midway up the abdomen when the baby has had enough.

[LynninIN]

For those of you following this thread. Mars has spent a lot of time with elkette in the chat room and given her great information.

:thankyou Mars.




:wave123 Bravo :rotfl

[Mars]

Has anyone heard anything to day? :)

[elkette]

I want to thank Mars for all of the great advice i got last night.:thankyou :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou Now that i know what to do a little better we are doing great. He is eating alot better now that i have slowed down. He eats about 1.5 ml at each feeding. I can see the belly milk line when i feed him. He is really starting to crawl around alot! :D I am still working on getting to the health food store to get what i need for his aspiration, but it is Sunday so everything is closed. Any ways, I am so glad i found this site, you all seem to care so much for your little creatures it makes me smile:flash3 just wanted to give everyone an update and i will keep you posted!!:grouphug :thankyou

[4skwerlz]

Great news! Thanks for caring for this baby. And thanks Mars for coming through again. Elkette, please keep us posted on how your baby is doing. We worry about all the babies and really appreciate updates and especially pics!:grouphug

[elkette]

You bet i will. I feel like i found a new part of my family. Just to let you know, i also have 2 dogs, 3 cats, 1 hamster, 1 Iguana, and LOTS of fish!! (can you tell i don't like animals!:D )

[4skwerlz]

You bet i will. I feel like i found a new part of my family. Just to let you know, i also have 2 dogs, 3 cats, 1 hamster, 1 Iguana, and LOTS of fish!! (can you tell i don't like animals!:D )

I have fish too. Four very large goldfish in an outdoor pond that are so friendly they practically jump out of the water to say "hi." Love 'em all. Now that your baby is doing better, I'll say :Welcome to TSB. The best board on the internet!

[Momma Squirrel]

:thumbsup great job elkette. Looking forward to more great updates and the pics when you get a chance :thankyou :bowdown

[elkette]

I just pray that he will keep on thriving and grow to be a big boy. I ahve attached a recent picture as my avitar. He crawled up on my thumb and fell asleep!:rotfl

[Bravo]

Looks great. I hope he continues to grow into a healthy, happy fuzzer. :thumbsup

(and please excuse the yahoos around here.)

[elkette]

Ok, update on my little guy. I just finally weighed him and he is 12.44 grams. I am guessing he is about 19 days old. Does that sound OK, or should he weigh more? He looks kinda skinny to me, but he eats 1 - 1.5ml each feeding. He does not seem to like the powdered milk as much as the liquid. Is there a reason you prefer the powdered to liquid? He is getting hair on his head and back and you can just see little fuzz on his belly. I can't wait until he opens his eyes.:jump I feel like an anxious expectant mother!!:rotfl

[Momma Squirrel]

You are doing such a good job :thumbsup I'm not expert for the weight so I will let someone that knows chime in.

Can you post pictures for us, we would love to see that lil one??

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

It sounds as if he is underweight birth to 1 week they should be weighing in at 15-35 grams.
Try weighing him again, At 2 weeks he should be 35 grams.
Try getting him to eat more.

We need a new picture please!

[elkette]

Ok, i will post new pictures when I get home from work tonight. He is crawling around a lot. What do you think about powdered milk vs. liquid? Have any of you had any trouble?

[Buddy'sMom]

:wave123 You will find some discussion on liquid vs. powdered Esbilac here: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4465 [scroll down past the initial discussion to about Post #9 (fyi, the liquid formula does NOT get diluted --- there was a little confusion about that in the early part of the thread]

It should be a matter of convenience and cost -- they should be the same nutritionally. Especially with one squirrel to feed, you may end up throwing a lot away. -- However, if he will drink the liquid but not the powdered, that may be your answer, especially if he needs a little fattening up :D .

:grouphug :grouphug

[elkette]

:thankyou :thankyou :grouphug
Great, that is exactly what I needed to hear!! :shine I am not worried about the cost as much as I am worried about making sure he is eating enough!!