Just Verifying Formulas

[Snicker Bar]

My helper has :


2 pinkies approx. two weeks or less ( the ones the cat got), and a three week old ( uninjured) She had Fox Valley 32/40 on hand, and has had them all on it before I realized :(

Then she has two about 5 weeks old ; they are on 20/50; one is extremely stunted.

Should they all be switched to Esbilac?

[redwuff]

The problem with 32/40 is that it turns GI system into cement. I would put all on Esbilac just to be on the safe side.

Sounds like the pinkies are doing well?

[Snicker Bar]

Yes!! The one with pictures is thriving :) ! She has one however that is so tiny; see pics: it’s at least 5 weeks old but so scrawny and it’s head doesn’t look normal (?) to me? I may take it for the next few days just to lighten her load. Also monitoring the teeth; it looks like it could have an overbite but hard to tell just yet

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She ( my helper ) has huge hands ha; but still, it looks way too small to have its eyes open, to me?? Came to her in poor shape, and is t thriving like it’s sibling (?twice it’s size and furring out). Got her some ultraboost today.

[Mel1959]

As she puts on weight it will be easier to determine if she’s just a runt or a dwarf. I helped someone once that had one that looked like that. They said they couldn’t get her to eat. I kept her for about two weeks and fed her formula/Ultraboost combo and she began to put on weight and looked like a normal squirrel. This one may just be severely malnourished. She may never get as big as her sibling, though.

I’d feed every 2-3 hrs. Use the FV 20/50 or Esbilac mixed 50/50 with Ultraboost.

[Snicker Bar]

Ok will do;

And HUGE edit... Meant the one with PUNCTURES is thriving ... Not this poor baby in the pics :(
Need to clean my glasses

[redwuff]

Hi Snicker Bar,

Can you tell us at what percent of the baby’s weight she is being fed? She looks like a malnourished baby, like she is not utilizing the formula she is eating. If I didn’t know it was you/ your vet tech taking care of her, I would swear it was a baby being fed canned Esbilac. She definitely needs nourishment/ calories.

Let me know feeding %, 5,7,9 %? My concern of adding 50% ultra boost to a formula that she seemingly can’t digest already makes me feel that this is going to be detrimental. Please know that I am just making an educated guess, I surely can’t say for sure. She is in rough shape, but not deadly yet. You do have a small amount of room with her condition If you feel you want to try the ultra boost, but make sure she gets weighed every day. If she does not start putting weigh on consider switching to the goats milk formula. It is a pain to make it but it does seem to do pretty good with babies that don’t seem to be digesting Esbilac.

Trysh

[redwuff]

Hi Snicker Bar,

Can you tell us at what percent of the baby’s weight she is being fed? She looks like a malnourished baby, like she is not utilizing the formula she is eating. If I didn’t know it was you/ your vet tech taking care of her, I would swear it was a baby being fed canned Esbilac. She definitely needs nourishment/ calories.

Let me know feeding %, 5,7,9 %? My concern of adding 50% ultra boost to a formula that she seemingly can’t digest already makes me feel that this is going to be detrimental. Please know that I am just making an educated guess, I surely can’t say for sure. She is in rough shape, but not deadly yet. You do have a small amount of room with her condition If you feel you want to try the ultra boost, but make sure she gets weighed every day. If she does not start putting weigh on consider switching to the goats milk formula. It is a pain to make it but it does seem to do pretty good with babies that don’t seem to be digesting Esbilac.

Trysh


Oops, I see it is a he, not a she.

[Nancy in New York]

Not sure if she is already doing this.
But make sure that she makes the formula
ahead of time with HOT water, if she's using
the Esbilac powdered puppy formula.
Then keep it on the counter
for ~30 minutes whisking every 5 minutes
or so.
This way the formula is still warm and it
will dissolve better than putting it in the refrig.
right away.
Let it sit in the refrig for several hours stirring occasionally
before feeding.

[Snicker Bar]

I’ll get a weight and percents here directly; I’m off the next few days so thinking maybe I need to do like Mel, and just volunteer to try and give it some more one on one. With her schedule (with the others ) it may be hard for her to do. We’re still novices here ha; can’t juggle buckets of babies like y’all ! Don’t know how you all do it!

Will switch over to Esbilac gradually over 24 hrs ,

[Mel1959]

I think it might be a good idea to offer to take this little one since you’re the one getting the feedback from the board on what to do. That way you will know immediately if the baby is gaining, getting stronger and improving. Redwuff’s suggestion for switching to goats milk formula might be necessary and it may be best to do that sooner rather than later. You might want to make sure you have the necessary ingredients on hand, just in case. I think the fresh goats milk is superior to the powdered or canned, if possible.

[Snicker Bar]

Per tech he’s about 59 grams; feeding from 6 am until 12 pm , about every 3 hours 4/5 mls

[redwuff]

How long have you had him and what weight did he come in at?

[redwuff]

He is eating between 7-8% of his body wt and not thriving. If you want to add the ultra boost feel free to see if that would help. He looks like he has kitten fur syndrome so there is a problem in absorbing the nutrients in the formula he is on.

If he were mine I would change the formula to something that is more natural and see if that makes a difference. I am not sure if he is on Esbilac or 20/50, but I would put him on the GMF using fresh goats milk versus a powder just in case it is an additive in powders that is the problem.

Another thing to check is to see if he has a parasite load.

[Mel1959]

If a parasite load what would you recommend to treat with? How would you know if that’s the problem. Stool culture?

[Snicker Bar]

If a fecal float would work, we can get on that right away! He’s been on the Fox Valley for olders ( I believe?) So do we just gradually switch over to the goat milk, and do 3 parts goat/ 1 part ultraboost?

Sorry so many questions :(

[redwuff]

Never apologize for asking questions. The goats milk formula is 3 parts goats milk, 1 part heavy whipping crime, 1 part full fat yogurt. If you plan on switching formulas I would not use ultra boost. See what happens on GMF first, or add ub to the formula he is on now. But keep them separate so you know what does or does not work. I wonder on these babies that don’t thrive on powders if there is an additive in the powder that causes trouble. That is why I would see if you can get fresh not powdered goats milk.

The way I would transition would be to make up a batch of GMF and do 50% GMF 50% water. I would completely get him off 20/50. Feed that for 3 feedings and then go to 75% gmf 25% water for 3 feedings, then 100% GMF. I would stay at 7% of body weight per feeding and same amount of feedings per day. Hopefully he will do better on this formula. You can freeze the goats milk in smaller batches but not the cream.

Yes to fecal flotation since you have the means to do it.

[Snicker Bar]

Thank you so much for all the help, everyone ;

Marie