Transitioning to solids.... or not...

[cleolovelee]

Okay yall... I have put off posting this because I was trying to give my babies the benefit of the doubt, but it has just come to the point where I need validation that I am still on the right track....

Okay.. so I have two baby fox squirrels... These are my first foxies, as all I have had in the past are grays... Anyways, they are developing nicely. Each is a little over 250g at this point, maybe more. They are about 5-7 weeks old. They should be on solids now, right??? I have tried everything!! I put fresh veggies/fruits and HB in their cage every day. They shred the HB and don't even acknowledge the veggies/fruits. Aren't they old enough? They both groom my fingers and have some definite pressure to their bites. They don't "bite" me, but when grooming sometimes they apply pressure to my fingers. Anyway, if these were greys, they'd have been on solids ages ago... Do foxies develop differently than grays??? I have added baby food stage 1 to their formula (banana, veggie, sweet potato). I have capped their formula at 15cc each and spread the feedings out every 5/6 hours instead of every 4, in an effort to get them to be "hungry" for the veggies. Alas, nothing has worked!!! They just wait patiently for their formula... Like they know I will give in to their cuteness... I don't want them to starve!!! But I think they should be on solids by now... GRRR!!! am I doing something wrong??? Am I confusing their size with their readiness for solids?? I know foxies are a larger species than grays... so am I thinking they're ready when in fact they are not?? Please assist!!!

PS: these are the babies that were hit with a chainsaw about a month ago... the one here in the front is the one that had the horrific injury to her little face.. you can BARELY tell!! She's healed up perfectly!!! Now if she'd only eat solids, we'd be that much closer to sending her out to Mother Nature!!! :D

PSS: I don't know how to realign the pic to right side up... sorry... :(

PSSS: Their bed is a recycled bed from last year.. They didn't chew it themselves... They have another basket type bed made of rope at the lower part of their cage... But they like the "loft" since they can spy on everything from up there.. :)

307957

[cleolovelee]

I might add also that I THINK they are about 6-9 weeks (I counted on a calendar this time instead of est.)... When I received them, they had a good amount of fur, except on their bellies, and eyes and ears were closed. Intake was Jan 24, 2019. I am guessing they were between 2-3 weeks at that time.

[Rhapsody]

I personally only feed Esbilac formula up until 7 weeks of age, then I introduce a good quality squirrel block for three weeks or until the squirrel has fully accepted the block as part of its diet, then and only then do I start to incorporate approved vegetables into the diet and in time limited fruits and nuts.

[CritterMom]

Ugh. Mama keeps her babies in the nest until they are pushing 10 weeks old, and enforces that rule seriously. Mama squirrels don't have carry bags to bring solid food to the nest. That means that the babies are eating milk ONLY until they leave. Your babies are doing what is normal.

Keep giving them as much formula as they want, and start putting blocs in the cage for them to play with, stumble over, practice stashing and tear up. They will eventually also begin to eat them. You will know when they are done with formula, believe me!

[cleolovelee]

I personally only feed Esbilac formula up until 7 weeks of age, then I introduce a good quality squirrel block for three weeks or until the squirrel has fully accepted the block as part of its diet, then and only then do I start to incorporate approved vegetables into the diet and in time limited fruits and nuts.

I am feeding Fox Valley... I use Esbilac also since it's readily on hand (local stores), but these babies have been on FV since the second week...

[cleolovelee]

Ugh. Mama keeps her babies in the nest until they are pushing 10 weeks old, and enforces that rule seriously. Mama squirrels don't have carry bags to bring solid food to the nest. That means that the babies are eating milk ONLY until they leave. Your babies are doing what is normal.

Keep giving them as much formula as they want, and start putting blocs in the cage for them to play with, stumble over, practice stashing and tear up. They will eventually also begin to eat them. You will know when they are done with formula, believe me!

I guess I am just seeing them as being so large and comparing that size to my grays... Grays this big would be on solids for sure by now... I am guessing that is throwing me off with these two since they are a different species... Learning is an every day process!! Well, I will restart them at 6%... maybe do a boost of 7% for a day or so to make them less mad at me for limiting their formula intake!! lol!! They are such chunky little things!! Good at climbing tho... They love the loft... :D

[SammysMom]

Yup...you've got it. Formula as long as they want and nothing but block added until they like block. They are adorable!!!
Also remember that mama wouldnt let them do anything out of the nest yet. Be careful with any fall dangers. They do get hurt more often than you think.

[cleolovelee]

Ok... new issue... Well, not "new" but related... one of them now has diarrhea.... It's not darker or anything. It's the normal yellow formula colored poop, it's just super runny, to the point it oozes out of her between feedings. I have already had to give her a complete bath, head to toe, because it gets everywhere. Her little bottom and legs are generally soaked when I get her out to feed her, and it's usually not due to urine (I don't smell urine, at least). It's not new foods, because as mentioned previously, she has no interest in the HB (other than to shred) or the veggies. She seems to still have a good appetite. I do have a vet here that I can take her to, but I won't be able to do that until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. I don't have a description of the poop other than it's yellow and bubbly...

307964307965307963

I also have moved them back to a smaller cage since it was mentioned that they don't leave the nest at all before they are weaned. This way, they can get out if they want, but they have a nice soft padding of Timothy grass to land on if they stumble. Don't want them hurting themselves because I moved them too early!! :)

[stepnstone]

Ok... new issue... Well, not "new" but related... one of them now has diarrhea.... It's not darker or anything. It's the normal yellow formula colored poop, it's just super runny, to the point it oozes out of her between feedings. I have already had to give her a complete bath, head to toe, because it gets everywhere. Her little bottom and legs are generally soaked when I get her out to feed her, and it's usually not due to urine (I don't smell urine, at least). It's not new foods, because as mentioned previously, she has no interest in the HB (other than to shred) or the veggies. She seems to still have a good appetite. I do have a vet here that I can take her to, but I won't be able to do that until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. I don't have a description of the poop other than it's yellow and bubbly...

I also have moved them back to a smaller cage since it was mentioned that they don't leave the nest at all before they are weaned. This way, they can get out if they want, but they have a nice soft padding of Timothy grass to land on if they stumble. Don't want them hurting themselves because I moved them too early!! :)


Well, I will restart them at 6%... maybe do a boost of 7% for a day or so to make them less mad at me for limiting their formula intake!! lol!!


My first thought is overfeeding.
Personally I'd back her down to 5% and hydrate in between feedings.

[cleolovelee]

My first thought is overfeeding.
Personally I'd back her down to 5% and hydrate in between feedings.


I think I will do just that... I have been wondering if it wasn't from overfeeding..... My sponsor said to also give her yogurt... I don't have yogurt on hand, but I do have culturally probiotics for kids.. the single use packets... Instructions say to mix with cool drink... Would this work in place of yogurt? I could mix one packet with 8oz of formula, and set that off to the side for her to use for a couple feedings... She has backed off of wanting to eat the last two feedings... I am thinking its because she's not feeling too hot... She does get some down, but just not much...

[Mel1959]

Probiotics might be helpful. It usually doesn’t take much. Many folks buy the capsules of probiotics and separate them and use the powder inside. They give the amount that will fit inside this “O”.

[SammysMom]

I might try probiotics with pedialyte for couple feedings. How often and how much are they eating?

[cleolovelee]

Probiotics might be helpful. It usually doesn’t take much. Many folks buy the capsules of probiotics and separate them and use the powder inside. They give the amount that will fit inside this “O”.

would i mix that amount with one feeding’s worth of formula?

[cleolovelee]

I might try probiotics with pedialyte for couple feedings. How often and how much are they eating?

i had been feeding 15cc every five hours in an effort to get them to take in more solids, however other members suggested nixing solids since they’re not ready to wean yet... they are my first fox squirrels so their size was throwing me off a bit as far as readiness... i am still offering the HHB, but cutting formula back to 5% for the diarrhea baby, and 6% for the other one. 6% is what my normal standard is for feeding healthy babies.

[cleolovelee]

so i added the yogurt with probiotics to her formula... i also added a bit of banana baby food, and reduced to 6% four times a day... nothing is helping... she still has diarrhea... i am including a pic for reference... it’s the same color as normal formula poops, but just really runny.... could it be giardia? i had one last year with giardia.... but her poops were tarry and mucousy.... these do not resemble that....

308063308064

[SammysMom]

Do you have any metro aka flagyl? Is that hay what they are in? I would switch that out for soft fleece bedding. Hay is quick mold if it gets damp and mama doesnt use hay, but does use very soft things in her nest. Change bedding frequently and use unscented detergent if possible.

[cleolovelee]

Do you have any metro aka flagyl? Is that hay what they are in? I would switch that out for soft fleece bedding. Hay is quick mold if it gets damp and mama doesnt use hay, but does use very soft things in her nest. Change bedding frequently and use unscented detergent if possible.

i am using hay because when i put fleece down they want to dig and it won’t allow them to dig like the hay does... i find hay better for them than the processed paper bedding stuff at pet stores... it is changed out quite frequently... they do have fleece in their nest, but they usually get out of the nest to use the bathroom, which is where i have the hay... they tend to do a little dig before they go, much like a cat does... when i had just the fleece on the floor, they seemed to be irritated that it wouldn’t allow them to dig... once they graduate to a much larger cage, it will be lined with paper or fleece, and the hay will be in a separate bin that they will use as a dig box... or litter box... whichever they prefer... the outside release cage is lined with soil so they can learn to dig in dirt... but that’s a ways off yet...

i do not have flagyl... what is it, and where would i get it? is it an Rx?

(UPDATE) i googled flagyl... i don’t have that but i do have amoxicillin... would that work in place of the flagyl?

[SammysMom]

Amoxi is not a substitute and would probably worsen the problem. Smz/tmp aka bactrim might help also but is a prescription. Ask around and friends might have one pill of one of the meds that we can dose for you.