Please help, fed wrong formula.

[AmyK]

If there’s anyone out there that can offer advice, I would greatly appreciate it. On 9/11/19 I had my trees trimmed and a nest with five baby squirrels came down at about 11 am. None were injured, but the nest was destroyed. They appear to be six weeks old and in good shape. I warmed them and attempted to reunite them with the mother. She did not come back for them, so at nightfall, I brought them in and gave Pedialyte and properly set up a heating pad nest for them. I gave Pedialyte for the next two feedings until all urinated and dedicated and appeared fully hydrated. I purchased what I THOUGHT was the correct Esbilac formula. IT WAS ACTUALLY PET AG PUPPY MILK REPLACER. I fed it diluted with Pedialyte (as directed by another site) 3:1 for the first two feedings , then one at 50/50. All babies consumed within 5-7% of body weight (80-100g) and continued to pee and poop at each feeding. During this time I discovered the Esbilac warning on your site. I immediately made the GMF 3:1:1 (NOT mixed with the “Esbilac” to transition bc I was afraid of the warning on here) as per another thread and fed 5-7% body weight for two feedings. I was worried about bloat and also gave two doses of simethicone gas drops, just in case because their tummies were puffier than before, yet not fully distended like pics on line. At the second GMF feeding, not all of the squirrels pooped and their tummies look puffier. I just realized that I fed the Pet Ag Puppy Milk Replacer that’s like cement instead of Esbilac. I just gave the first dose of water per the instructions on this thread. I won’t give GMF again and I’ll give plain water with stimulation until I get more advice. Are the squirrels ok as long as they’re still pooping? How do I know if they’re going to be ok and can this be reversed? Should I continue simethicone? Should I do the warm water bath? As of now, they’re all acting normal and had an appetite at the last feeding. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I feel so terrible that I did so much research to try and save them, but I picked the wrong can of Pet Ag product out of my google search. If they’re ok, I have Fox Valley 20/50 arriving via Amazon Prime on Monday 9/16. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Welcome to The Squirrel Board Amy

Wow, you have it going on there don’t you. :) Not to worry, you can fix this. You’ve only had them 3 days.

I’m going to assume that their abdomens are flat this morning and the babies are hungry. I would mix the Goat Milk Esbilac per the label instructions. I haven’t used GME but I assume the mix is like other PetAg formula which is 2 parts water to 1 part of powdered formula. The PetAg Puppy Milk Replacer won’t kill them. It just doesn’t provide adequate nutrients. The GME will be fine until the Fox Valley arrives. I wouldn’t add a thing to it. Mix per label instructions. They should be fine. Because they have been switched so many times in a short period of time you should probably do a short transition tomorrow when the FV arrives. Mix your GME in one container. Mix the FV 20:50 in another container. Take 20ml of the GME.... Take 20ml of FoxValley. Mix the two in one container and feed. This is a 50:50 ratio. If they do well I would go to Fox Valley the next feeding.
I have noted that some on the BAD Esbilac are going straight to FV without a transition and they are doing fine.

You mentioned that the babies are 80-100g. I assume the eyes are either open or soon to open. They are old enough for the Fox Valley.

[HRT4SQRLS]

This is a link with baby squirrel care.
https://www.henryspets.com/1-caring-for-a-baby-squirrel/

They are suggesting a homemade formula that can be used until the Fox Valley arrives and for the tiny ones too young for Fox Valley. You can ignore that because your GME will be fine.

[AmyK]

Thank you! They’re not on Goat Milk Esbilac, but in the homemade goat milk formula. I would have transitioned them more slowly, but I read on here in another thread that someone went cold turkey when they suspected the Esbilac 2019 had harmed them. Is it ok to feed them even if they haven’t pooped from the last feeding and their abdomens look a little puffy, but not hard? Also, assuming they’re ok, I’m definitely planning to transition them slowly to Fox Valley. I also have rodent block available to them and I’ll follow the instructions for eventually adding other foods found here.

Their eyes are open, they have furry tails (not so much on the underside), and they have front teeth, but not cheek teeth. Some are starting to eliminate on their own. About 6 weeks?

THANK YOU AGAIN! You all are AMAZING for what you do!!!

Amy