Baby squirrel bloat?

[madameflan]

Hello! I am new to this forum, but wanted to reach out for some advice. After a family member cut down a tree in our backyard, we discovered two de-homed baby squirrels. Unable to reunite them with their mother, we are now raising a tiny little boy and girl. They appear to be between two or three weeks old. After rehydrating with pedialyte for a day, the boy seems to be doing pretty well. In transitioning from the pedialyte to formula, I have been feeding them watered down esbilac.

This is day 3, and today is the first day our little boy has been peeing and pooping in decent amounts. Our little girl seems to be having some troubles, though. She has been pooping in very small amounts, and today peed for the first time, although not as much as I would think she should be after the pedialyte and formula she has been receiving. It seems like she is bloated, although it looks like her right side is a little more swollen than her left side. Her genitalia is a little red, although that could be from all the stimulating I've been doing to try to get some results. I haven't noticed a scab that could be making it hard to pee, and I have tried to keep a close eye on both of them to make sure they aren't suckling on each other (I haven't seen them do that at all.)

I did just give her a little warm water abdomen soak, in which i massaged her poor tummy and her genitals/butt. After doing that for a bit and drying her off, she started to pass a lot of stool. Started off hard and black, but by the end of her session, it was beginning to get softer and lighter. Still not a golden/yellow, but definitely seems like she started to move some sort of blockage. The pic I have attached is after that little massage session. Next feeding, I'm thinking of skipping formula and just giving her a little bit of pedialyte, and then perhaps another warm massage. Based on this info and these pics, is there any advice on what might be happening and how I can help her?

Thank you so much!! (Also not sure how to rotate the pics so sorry that they're sideways!)

[stepnstone]

First a couple questions that can help us understand how to help...
Do you have weights on them to know how much to be feeding?
Are you feeding the powered Esbilac pictured below?

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[madameflan]

First a couple questions that can help us understand how to help...
Do you have weights on them to know how much to be feeding?
Are you feeding the powered Esbilac pictured below?

I have not been able to weigh them unfortunately, but tonight I am borrowing a scale so that I can collect that info! I have been feeding them 2-2.5cc every 3 hours. She does tend to eat faster than her brother. I am feeding them with a 3cc (smallest I could find) luer-slip syringe. I am also planning on purchasing proper feeding gear online tonight! (miracle nipple?)

I am feeding them with the can pictured on the right, with the "Now with prebiotics and probiotics" banner. However the third ingredient listed on this container is also "dried whey protein concentrate."

Thank you so much!

[stepnstone]

I have not been able to weigh them unfortunately, but tonight I am borrowing a scale so that I can collect that info! I have been feeding them 2-2.5cc every 3 hours. She does tend to eat faster than her brother. I am feeding them with a 3cc (smallest I could find) luer-slip syringe. I am also planning on purchasing proper feeding gear online tonight! (miracle nipple?)

I am feeding them with the can pictured on the right, with the "Now with prebiotics and probiotics" banner. However the third ingredient listed on this container is also "dried whey protein concentrate." Thank you so much!
Knowing the weight and feeding between the 5-7% is pretty vital.
Under feeding could not be putting enough in their system to void properly.
Over feeding not only causes diarrhea it could be too much to digest and process properly.
Pedialyte should not be given over 24 hours, 48 at the max. For extra hydration go to plain
water, you can sweeten with a touch of honey to make it more acceptable.

Most drug stores will give you a (needle less) 1cc syringe if you ask and tell them you are nursing
a kitten, never mention squirrel. Be extreamly careful with the 3cc especially with an eager eater,
these babies can choke, formula come out nose, and aspirate causing aspiration pneumonia which
is deadly without immediate treatment.

I will move your forum into non life threatening for more eyes on it and faster response to any
future problems or questions you may have.

If you haven't read this go to this link this is a HUGE help.
It's 6 pages long with the next button on the top right corner.
http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/ (http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/)

[stepnstone]

Another thing....
Don't water down the Esbilac, mix it 2-1 as directed, these babies need the nutrition.
If extra hydration is needed feed water in between regular feedings.

[madameflan]

I do have one more question: in the pictures above, does her genitalia seem okay? Is it supposed to protrude that far from her body? We first assumed they were both boys because hers protrudes so much. I realized she was a girl once I saw how close it is to her backside. But I can't tell if its extremely swollen or if that just what it looks like.

Thank you so much for the advice and for the website link!! I am about to run out to grab the syringes and better homing supplies -- this should help with their hydration. And noted about the formula!

After her most recent feeding, she has finally peed, and continued to void a healthier poo! Her tummy has shrunk just a little bit, although still a little firm.

[Spanky]

It would be good to grab some Gas-X drops (simethicone) if you can as well.

Her bits do seem swollen. Could that be from stimulating her to pee? Tissue and make up pads work well, paper towel and the like tend to irritate their parts.

[madameflan]

It would be good to grab some Gas-X drops (simethicone) if you can as well.

Her bits do seem swollen. Could that be from stimulating her to pee? Tissue and make up pads work well, paper towel and the like tend to irritate their parts.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll absolutely go pick some up! I feel like it could be from the stimulation, and unfortunately I don't exactly remember the state of her genitalia when we found her. I had been using q-tip/cotton ball, but have found recently that she responds better to tissue and finger (don't mind it as long as she can pee!!).

So far she seems to be doing better after the tummy massages and a bit of hydration! She still seems a little bit bloated and firm, but her stomach is definitely smaller, and she has peed twice now. I just want her tummy to be better so that I can feed her as much as she needs, because I don't want her to starve!!

[Mel1959]

Have you gotten a weight? It is critical that you weigh daily so you can adjust the amount to feed accordingly. Keep a record of how much, the time of feeding and the pee and poop at each feeding. I find it very helpful so I know if a gradual increase in food is ok.

Also, I had very good luck using an old eye shadow brush to stimulate one of mine who was exceptionally difficult.

[madameflan]

I do have their weights now, and have been feeding accordingly! Her brother is still going strong, peeing regularly and with orangey poop. Bellatrix should be eating 2.45cc at her meals, but the last two feedings, she has been stopping around 2cc. I try to encourage her to eat, but I am hesitant to force feed her because I am so afraid of aspirating. However, I did receive some 1cc and 3cc o-ring syringes along with some miracle nipples from Henry's today. They definitely take better to that than to just the straight 1cc syringe.

But there has been some improvement! Her bloat seems to have gone away, and she is pooping and peeing (huge improvement from nothing at all!!). Her poop is kind of a mix of brown with yellow-ish spots, so it seems like she is improving there. But she poops once every three feedings or so, and less than her brother, which is still concerning. I have been supplementing her meals with honey-sweetened water as suggested by Stepnstone.

Edit: Also I caught Betelgeuse (her brother) suckling on her bits. Then yesterday poor Betelgeuse himself had a swollen pee-pee, although I'm not sure if he himself or his sister is responsible for that. Regardless, I am now feeding them more often (every 2.5ish hours) and the problem seems to have resolved!