Baby lost weight?

[Wolfhailey]

So this is my first time posting and first time rehabbing so I'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong section and for how long this post is...I recently was asked by a friend of mine to take in a baby squirrel they found in their yard. We took all the right steps to try to get mom to come back but she never did. So I've had her for 8 days so far and she has been a happy and healthy baby so far aside from an abscess on her back left knee (I believe from the 30ft+ fall she took from the tree) which has drained on it's own and is healing well. I believe she is a 2-3 week old fox squirrel. (Darkened skin, pink belly, covered in peach fuzz and has red/brown hair growing on her head and down her neck and a reddish tail. Her bottom teeth have already come in which is confusing because she is so young?) Anyways, I've been doing research all day and night learning how to care for her. Well she managed to get dehydrated the other day so I cut her off formula and gave her about 1.5-2cc of the sugar/salt/water solution every 2-3 hours for about 24 hours. I believe she is hydrated now and has been eating 2-3ccs of formula every 3 hours since this morning. But since she was on the fluid she has lost a good amount of weight...I can see her ribs pretty well and her spine slightly. Her belly seems to stay an okay size though. (Not bloated though) which I'm assuming is just from the formula in there. just wondering if I should be concerned? Do they normally lose weight when rehydrating? How fast will she put the weight back on? I wish I could tell you her exact weight but I have no scale to do so. She has been acting the same, still squirmy and likes to try and crawl up my shirt while feeding. She is going to the bathroom ( #1 and #2) with every feeding. She has been on esbilac goat puppy formula that was recommended to me by the worker in the feed store I go to. He has rehabbed many baby squirrels and said it works well for him. I've been using this website since I got her and it's been so helpful without even posting anything, but just havent seen anything on this and was hoping I can get some answers! Thanks in advance!

[cava]

Hi there and welcome. Let me try an answer all of your questions.

First of all, when we want to hydrate a baby we ADD hydration in between regularly scheduled feedings. What you did, by taking formula away was replace the fluid in the formula (water and food) with just water so you essentially took nutrition away for a day and this can contribute to weight loss.

How often are you feeding baby. Every three hours is suitable if she is thin and needs to put on weight.

You absolutely MUST BUY A SCALE if you want to be successful with this baby. You're guessing how much to feed so how do you know if you're meeting her requirements. The rule is to feed them 5% of their weight in grams. So weight in grams x 0.05 = how many ml's to feed at each feeding.

You're describing a too thin baby, ribs and spine showing.

The Esbilac puppy goat's milk formula isn't the best option for this baby. The POWDERED PUPPY ESBILAC formula will offer the most suitable nutrition, everything else will cause diarrhea, failure to gain weight, and other problems.

304133

Can you post a photo of this baby? I think we can get you back on track with by getting a weight on baby, feeding the proper amount of the correct formula. Also please check out this link, it has great information that is tried and true. https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

[Wolfhailey]

The other thread seems to have gotten deleted before I could see the reply :/

[Spanky]

I did a merge and cleaned up the dup posts... :thumbsup

[Spanky]

Cava's attachment (I think for Esbilac pic) was not working for me (I hope I did not break with the merge?!?)... so here is a pic of Esbilac:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=304145&stc=1

[Wolfhailey]

Hi there and welcome. Let me try an answer all of your questions.

First of all, when we want to hydrate a baby we ADD hydration in between regularly scheduled feedings. What you did, by taking formula away was replace the fluid in the formula (water and food) with just water so you essentially took nutrition away for a day and this can contribute to weight loss.

How often are you feeding baby. Every three hours is suitable if she is thin and needs to put on weight.

You absolutely MUST BUY A SCALE if you want to be successful with this baby. You're guessing how much to feed so how do you know if you're meeting her requirements. The rule is to feed them 5% of their weight in grams. So weight in grams x 0.05 = how many ml's to feed at each feeding.

You're describing a too thin baby, ribs and spine showing.

The Esbilac puppy goat's milk formula isn't the best option for this baby. The POWDERED PUPPY ESBILAC formula will offer the most suitable nutrition, everything else will cause diarrhea, failure to gain weight, and other problems.

304133

Can you post a photo of this baby? I think we can get you back on track with by getting a weight on baby, feeding the proper amount of the correct formula. Also please check out this link, it has great information that is tried and true. https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Well the only reason I took her off the formula was because I read somewhere they can't digest formula while dehydrated. The internet says so many different things its hard to figure out which one is right :dono I'll make sure if it happens again to NOT cut out the formula. And I should be able to go to the feed store today and pick up the right formula. Do I need to gradually transition her into the new formula? Also I might just be optimistic here but I feel like maybe shes put on a little weight since getting back on formula. And where is the best place to get a scale? Do they carry them at the grocery stores? I.e. fred meyers. Target. Etc? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions...I have no resources where I am. No vet or rehabilitation centers are able to help me at all! :help

[Wolfhailey]

Here are the best 2 I could get of her...she wont stay still for a picture!

[Spanky]

I'll try to answer all your questions, but let us know if I miss anything...

Hydration: True that severely hydrated squirrels (animals) cannot properly digest formula, it is also true that when giving "food" fluids rush to the stomach for digestion complicating the dehydration situation.

Since from the info posted it seemed she had been hydrating before starting formula then getting formula for a few days, I suspect the advice to hydrate between formula feedings was assuming this was mild dehydration.

You can get a scale at Target, WalMart and probably Fred Meyers thought it may be a few bucks more (they usually are $15 - $20). I cannot address the weight gain since without a scale it is difficult or impossible to know.

Transitioning formula... use 75% of the Esbilac Goat Milk and 25% of the Esbilac Puppy formula for a feeding or two.. then 50%/50%, the 25% Goats / 75% Esbilac Puppy and then finally 100% Esbilac Puppy. Of source, you will need to adjust if she has trouble (e.g. diarrhea or such).

She looks adorable... oops that was not the question! She seems a tad on the skinny side, but getting her switch over to Esbilac Puppy formula will start helping with that!

We understand the challenges with lack of rehab facilities and vets... we (TSB) are here to help! :thumbsup

:thankyou for helping her and :Welcome to TSB!

[cava]

I'm sorry, I should have explained my advice more thoroughly. I was in a hurry to get moving this morning. Yes, to what Spanky said!

[Wolfhailey]

Thank you both so much for your help! :hug I will update on her weight gain if I see any more improvements :dance