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cloudpeak
09-25-2019, 03:29 PM
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kLuttBtJJNuuhz4d7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RFdSxFvMewzjsMYN6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/84FQFiB2TBbHmgrL6

I found the squirrel on Sat digging through a gutter. I walked up to it and it wasnt afraid, it just sat there.

I offered the squirrel some nuts but it couldnt bite them so I chewed some and offered that, which it ate. I held it and it fell asleep so I took it home and put it in a cage with a warm rice sock for a while. I offered it some water (room temp) & it declined, then offered it some water with a little salt since it was licking my hand. Finally, I drizzled a little karo syrup down the side of the bowl and it followed that down and drank a little water. It would not drink from a syringe and I didnt want to force it.

I examined it and found caked feces around its rectum. I cleaned it gently and afterwards the flood gates opened and it excreted some smelly liquid and some pieces of light colored more solid substances. I encouraged it to eat ground nuts with some water in the dish since it wouldnt drink otherwise. At first it would only eat from my hand but I transitioned it to the dish.

The next day I noticed caked feces with blood around its rectum. I cleaned it and again and offered it water from a syringe which it took, and some food. It wouldnt eat hard things but enjoyed softer things like ground nut paste I made from almond flour and ground carrot and a little honey, and bananna, peach, and minced apple. I went to the pet store and got Esiblac for puppies and tried to offer it via a syringe later in the day. It refused it and I didnt want to force it in case it was bad for the squirrel.

fast forward to today. The squirrel is kept in a room with a space heater so it is always warm. It still refuses the warm esiblac. I warm the rice sock often in case it needs more warmth. The stools are more formed, but a light color, and much less blood. I offer it a variety of foods and it still prefers the softer food. I saw it drinking water on its own today. It has more energy and climbs around the cage more but still wants to sleep a lot, so it is doing better but if I need to give it a different milk so it puts on weight, or if there is something I need to do to encourage more solid foods I would love to know about it. I dont plan on keeping it, just helping it recover and fend for itself then slowly reintroducing it to the wild as I have read about.

redwuff
09-25-2019, 03:41 PM
I could not open the pictures. That would really help so I could get an idea on age. The fact that he let you pick him up tells me that he really needs help. Thank you for doing that.

Esbilac is causing bad issues in squirrels that lead to euthanasia in many instances. We are recommending a temporary goats milk formula which is 3 parts goats milk, 1 part heavy whipping creme, 1 part full fat yogurt.

cloudpeak
09-25-2019, 05:22 PM
I could not open the pictures. That would really help so I could get an idea on age. The fact that he let you pick him up tells me that he really needs help. Thank you for doing that.

Esbilac is causing bad issues in squirrels that lead to euthanasia in many instances. We are recommending a temporary goats milk formula which is 3 parts goats milk, 1 part heavy whipping creme, 1 part full fat yogurt.

311570311571311572

redwuff
09-25-2019, 07:56 PM
Omg this baby is in bad shape

redwuff
09-25-2019, 08:49 PM
I would think this baby is around 7 weeks and most importantly needs mommy support, or surrogate mommy. He is emaciated. Isn’t it amazing that a baby squirrel is one of the few animals that seek help when it needs it. Get the ingredients for the GMF.

Use homemade hydration formula 1 cup warm water, 2Tbsp sugar, 1/4 teaspoon. Take a t-shirt and wrap the baby in it. Have a cup of hot water ready and warm a syringe full of the hydration fluid. No baby bottles to feed with, use a syringe that you can usually pick up at a pharmacy.

redwuff
09-25-2019, 10:12 PM
Very slowly offer the fluid to the baby. Just put a drop at a time in his mouth. Let him swallow. Put another drop, so on

redwuff
09-26-2019, 08:47 AM
How is your baby this morning?

cloudpeak
09-26-2019, 10:46 AM
How is your baby this morning?

He is doing pretty well. He woke up before me this morning which is a first since I found him last Sat. He was eating some of the mashed rat food I left for him last night and I also gave him a piece of warm banana. He fell asleep in my hands for a while. I warmed his sock and put him back in his cage to sleep more. He has been drinking water on his own. I just saw your messages from yesterday. Should I still make the rehydration fluid and offer it to him via syringe even though he is drinking on his own? Or just make sure that is whats in his water dish?

I will feed him the GMF in about an hour, once he warms up and naps a little. Thank you for the advice!

redwuff
09-26-2019, 10:54 AM
If he would take several offerings of the hydration fluid I would give it. It has important electrolytes in it that plain water does not. If he won’t take it I would not. Weighing him once a day would be important to see if you are moving in the right direction. We would need his weight if there were any reason to dose meds.

Sounds like you are doing great! Love the pictures of him. Does he have a name?

cloudpeak
09-26-2019, 12:23 PM
If he would take several offerings of the hydration fluid I would give it. It has important electrolytes in it that plain water does not. If he won’t take it I would not. Weighing him once a day would be important to see if you are moving in the right direction. We would need his weight if there were any reason to dose meds.

Sounds like you are doing great! Love the pictures of him. Does he have a name?


He had some of the pedialyte and was able to drink what he wanted on his own. He loved the milk formula and preferred to drink it on his own to being fed via the syringe. I warmed a towel in the dryer and held him in it. I ordered the goat milk esiblac & it will be here tomorrow.

Should I keep feeding him other foods in addition to the milk formula (mashed rat food, fruits & veggies)? Does he need to be fed in the middle of the night too?

He is 9.4 oz

redwuff
09-26-2019, 02:12 PM
He had some of the pedialyte and was able to drink what he wanted on his own. He loved the milk formula and preferred to drink it on his own to being fed via the syringe. I warmed a towel in the dryer and held him in it. I ordered the goat milk esiblac & it will be here tomorrow.

Should I keep feeding him other foods in addition to the milk formula (mashed rat food, fruits & veggies)? Does he need to be fed in the middle of the night too?

He is 9.4 oz

He is 266.5 g and a sweet Fox squirrel

redwuff
09-26-2019, 02:29 PM
I would hold off on other foods for a week just so you can get some solid nutrition in him. He needs to eat btw 5-7% of his body weight per feeding. If I had him I would syringe feed him cos then I know how much he is getting. Drinking out of a bowl is sloppy. He should be fed every four hours 13.3-18 cc per feeding which is five feedings a day. I would start closer to 13.3 cc. He is horribly emaciated which given food will correct itself quickly. Feed the 5 times a day for a week, then drop back to 4 times a day and introduce a rat block to him. That should be all he eats till he is good at eating this.

You guys have very cold winters happening soonish. To properly get him back healthy enough to survive outside, this boy should be kept through the winter and released in the spring. If all this is blowing your mind, you could look for a wild life rehabilitator in your area. I know it is a lot.

cloudpeak
09-26-2019, 09:23 PM
I would hold off on other foods for a week just so you can get some solid nutrition in him. He needs to eat btw 5-7% of his body weight per feeding. If I had him I would syringe feed him cos then I know how much he is getting. Drinking out of a bowl is sloppy. He should be fed every four hours 13.3-18 cc per feeding which is five feedings a day. I would start closer to 13.3 cc. He is horribly emaciated which given food will correct itself quickly. Feed the 5 times a day for a week, then drop back to 4 times a day and introduce a rat block to him. That should be all he eats till he is good at eating this.

You guys have very cold winters happening soonish. To properly get him back healthy enough to survive outside, this boy should be kept through the winter and released in the spring. If all this is blowing your mind, you could look for a wild life rehabilitator in your area. I know it is a lot.

I can handle it. I can work from home when I need to. Chippy is doing a lot better today. He spent most of the day sleeping in a warm shirt or eating. I have a 1mL syringe that I fed him from. He only wanted between 5 and 7 mLs and then would refuse more until after another nap. His poop this morning (after eating the rat food paste yesterday) was all brown, formed, and no bleeding. He is pooping and peeing as normal and I have only fed him the milk replacer.

redwuff
09-26-2019, 11:40 PM
You will need bigger syringes to feed with. These syringes have ‘o’ ring so it slides smoothly. Get a few 3 cc and a few 5 cc syringes and a miracle nipple. I know you have goat milk Esbilac formula coming in, but there are major life threatening issues occurring with the company that makes this formula. I can not endorse the use of that formula.

I would order Fox Valley 20/50 and the syringes and nipple from Henry’s Healthy Pet. The temporary GMF will work until the 20/50 comes in. Sounds like you are doing a great job with this sweetie!

cloudpeak
09-27-2019, 02:55 PM
You will need bigger syringes to feed with. These syringes have ‘o’ ring so it slides smoothly. Get a few 3 cc and a few 5 cc syringes and a miracle nipple. I know you have goat milk Esbilac formula coming in, but there are major life threatening issues occurring with the company that makes this formula. I can not endorse the use of that formula.

I would order Fox Valley 20/50 and the syringes and nipple from Henry’s Healthy Pet. The temporary GMF will work until the 20/50 comes in. Sounds like you are doing a great job with this sweetie!

Yesterday he would only eat about 5 -7 cc before going back to sleep. I fed him whenever he was hungry. Near the end of the day he started wanting to chew on solid things so I offered him a pellet of the rat food he had before and he shredded it, but didnt appear to eat much if any. Today he isnt as hungry as yesterday. He has only wanted to eat 2x and only took about 3cc each time, instead of showing interest in the syringe he would look around and try to chew on my shirt. He acts like he is more interested in shredding the pellets than drinking the milk :( He isnt hunched over as much any more but his poop has changed to a white color & is a little softer.


I put in an order for the fox valley and the syringes. I read on some other forum that the esiblac goat milk wasnt causing problems like the regular esiblac was but ill just avoid it all together if you think its safer.

I weighted him this morning and he put on 0.2oz.

cloudpeak
10-01-2019, 06:36 PM
You will need bigger syringes to feed with. These syringes have ‘o’ ring so it slides smoothly. Get a few 3 cc and a few 5 cc syringes and a miracle nipple. I know you have goat milk Esbilac formula coming in, but there are major life threatening issues occurring with the company that makes this formula. I can not endorse the use of that formula.

I would order Fox Valley 20/50 and the syringes and nipple from Henry’s Healthy Pet. The temporary GMF will work until the 20/50 comes in. Sounds like you are doing a great job with this sweetie!

Chippy has been doing pretty well. He had diarrhea from the milk replacer for a while but when I mixed in some of the rodent block that seemed to go away. He is refusing milk now and only eating a little of the moistened block. He wants to chew on things so I gave him an almond. Besides nuts, he doesnt want to eat much else. He hasnt put on any more weight. He sleeps a lot but when I wake him he seems playful and wants to chew/nibble and spend a lot of time grooming. His poop is solid and brown. I am worried about him refusing the milk and block and sleeping so much. Is this normal? How do I make sure he is getting the right nutrients and putting on weight if he is being picky?

redwuff
10-02-2019, 05:43 PM
This guy needs to be wrapped in a burrito/swaddling like of fleece or t-shirt material. He needs to be fed 5% of his body weight 4-5 x a day. Make sure you heat the formula and it is syringed warm. Stop giving him anything else but FV 20/50. His condition was poor when he came into you and he was too young to thrive on anything else. He has been in your care for a week. He should have put on 35-50 grams. He would still be on mommas milk if he were with her.

The fact that he has not put on much weight is very concerning. Don’t let him tell you what he needs. A healthy squirrel this age should be ravenous for formula. No nuts!!!

Nancy in New York
10-02-2019, 06:49 PM
Chippy has been doing pretty well. He had diarrhea from the milk replacer for a while but when I mixed in some of the rodent block that seemed to go away.

What formula/milk replacer are you talking about?
Did you get the Fox Valley 20/50 yet?

redwuff
10-04-2019, 11:06 AM
Please let us know how Chippy is doing. Or if we can help in any way.