Transitioning to Fox Valley

[prism]

greetings squirrelie friends :w00t
this is my 1st post- Im sure glad you are all contributing to squirrelie health & this great resource! two questions-
A. wondering if the generic (?) PetLac is also to be avoided? mine has a “crafted in the USA” star. assuming they are produced by the same mfgr. i have been using it for a week & my 5wk old is experiencing constipation.
i just got my first bag of fox valley after hovering in the background here for a few days. that said-
B. what is the best way to transition from PetLac to FV? many thanks. p

[Nancy in New York]

greetings squirrelie friends :w00t
this is my 1st post- Im sure glad you are all contributing to squirrelie health & this great resource! two questions-
A. wondering if the generic (?) PetLac is also to be avoided? mine has a “crafted in the USA” star. assuming they are produced by the same mfgr. i have been using it for a week & my 5wk old is experiencing constipation.
i just got my first bag of fox valley after hovering in the background here for a few days. that said-
B. what is the best way to transition from PetLac to FV? many thanks. p

We never recommend PetLac either. It will constipate babies, and many
of them die from it sitting like cement in their stomachs.

You got the Fox Valley 20/50, correct?
I would try to do a quick transition, but not
so fast as to cause him more problems.
Start with feeding him your current formula at 50% that, and 50% Fox Valley,
for roughly 5-6 feedings. (roughly a day of feedings)
IF he is having problems, then cut it back to 75% your formula and 25% FV

If there are not problems with the 50%-50% then go to 25% your formula
to 75% fox valley for roughly 5-6 feedings.

If no problems then go to all Fox Valley.
Is your little one still constipated?

Here's a protocol for little ones that got constipated using the Fox Valley 32/40.
We also apply this to babies that were fed PetLac.

Keep us posted on how you're making out.

Quote Originally Posted by Duckman
The trick for me seemed to be getting in as much water, as quickly as possible, once you see and feel the hardness in the belly. Not sugar water or Pedilyte, but plain water. I did this every hour (giving about .2-.3 ml) and ensure you stimulate after each, for 2 reasons. 1. You have to get that water out of the bladder, and it will burst if you don't. 2. You want that water to start working on the crud in the belly. After 8-10 hours, you should start seeing some movement out of the bowel (they will continue to poop, but you will start to see it more watery, which is what you want). At that time, start introducing diluted formula at the ratio of 25% Esbilac, 75% water. Feed this for the first half day. The second half day, I bumped up the ration to 50/50. I fed this for a day and then went to 75% Esbilac, 25% water and introduced full food the next day (and the blockage was gone!). So far, I am at 100% success rate. One note though. I check my pinkies after every feeding, so see if their bellies are hard or squishy. I would suggest everyone get in the habit of checking them after every feeding as habit and you can't go wrong in catching them before they bloat up. Once they take on that angry red color on their bellies (this is when their system goes septic), they are gone and can't be saved, so the trick is to catch them before this happens (hence, getting in the habit to see if their tummies are hard or not).

[Javarat]

Note that Nancy asked if you got Fox Valley 20/50.

She is referencing that Fox Valley also sells a 32/40. Which can kill young squirrels. If you accidentally got 32/40 don't use it. The 20/50 is the only safe mix.

[prism]

Weird, i don’t see my previous response on here...anyhow thank you all so much for being here :) chance got his second feeding of the 50/50 blend of 20/50 FV & our icky petlac. Gave him a warm little sit bath and wala! Poop! Will follow through with transition regime as recommended. Pictures as soon as i can figure out how to share them. Bright blessings! P:w00t

[redwuff]

Hi Prism,

Are you having problems with your baby?

[prism]

Yes, also learning how to navigate this site. I DM you and Nancy from New York this am because I’m getting worried. Chance has steadily gained weight from the eyes closed 56g he started at to 77.9 this am. I have kept very detailed records of his intake/elimination/weight & other notes for 12 days. Last night was the first with no night feeding. He is a voracious eater but has only pooped like once a day and its been all over the board in consistency and color presumably form all the food transitions. He didnt poop at all yesterday and has not pooped today.
Yesterday he acted like he was interested in chewing his little blanket. I believe he is close to 6wks old now. Very small. Jittery. Mostly just eats and sleeps. A little sniffing, scratching, looking around and crawling a few steps but not as active as i feel like he should be.
Thank you for all of your advice and concern.
You are a blessed bunch for sure.
P

[prism]

I will take some pictures now - p

[Nancy in New York]

Introducing little Chance. :klunk

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-XGRxsvr/0/d58bc3e6/L/i-XGRxsvr-L.jpg

[prism]

He’s 20g bigger now - i’ll Get new pics and vid figure out how to post them.
BIG HOPES for prune juice he’s such a little snuggle guy. O gosh.:grouphug

[prism]

311653311654
Just figured out how to post pics.. vids next.
Still no poop since the 28th
Waiting to hear back from email msg to Nancy that I can’t tell if it’s being sent or not. Email is all wonky on my phone since I last updated to IOS11
Any advice is appreciated - I’m standing by - also avail by text if anyone felt up to it.
541.285.5568
Prism

[prism]

His belly looks shadowy to me

[HRT4SQRLS]

His belly looks shadowy to me

Do you mean dark? How does he appear? Does he seem ill or lethargic?

You have him on a heating pad, right? He looks small. When did the eyes open?

[prism]

His left eye opened 9\20 and the right on 9/21
I think he is small for his age. He was covered w a rash when I got him- dehydrated emaciated. I rehydrated him and started him on petlac then found this board and switched him to foxvalley

[prism]

Do you mean dark? How does he appear? Does he seem ill or lethargic?

You have him on a heating pad, right? He looks small. When did the eyes open?

He’s not lethargic when it’s time to eat but that’s really it. Eat pee sleep repeat

[prism]

I’m over in life threading thread with him now. Super worried

[prism]

Just wanted to update this thread with a message of triumph over another challenge. Chan Chan pooped after 2 days without doing so. Scarey but i have so much hope now. I am very grateful to the board members who give their time and advice to newbies such as myself.
Intention is one thing, experience and skills are quite another. So thank you.:hug

[prism]

one more sweet dreams update to anyone checking back. chance has now pooped normally after his last three feedings. which he hasn’t done since i got him two weeks ago.
i think he’s in the clear and i look forward to the next hurdle of transitioning to solid food.
i hope to get some video so you all can see how vocal he is. bless all the little squirrlies and the hands and hearts that nurture them. 🙏🏻
p

[redwuff]

Thank goodness. My heart was in my throat over this guy. He has some catching up weight wise but that comes on fast. Stay steady at feeding 5% and get him totally onto 20/50. How many times a day are you feeding?

[redwuff]

Hi Prism,

I hope your sweet baby has continued to do well overnight. Super thrilled he was able to poop!

So looking at your baby informs me that he has not had nutrition that his body was able to use. He has the typical malnourished look we see from babies being fed a pet lac diet. That is easily overcome but you really need to stay steady feeding at 5%. I would feed 5 times a day, watching his tummy closely. These guys can recover quickly and easily from this. My mentor gave me an important piece of advice, "all you got to do is feed them". So just stay steady!

[prism]

Thank goodness. My heart was in my throat over this guy. He has some catching up weight wise but that comes on fast. Stay steady at feeding 5% and get him totally onto 20/50. How many times a day are you feeding?

He’s been full on FV 20/50 since 9/29. He’s 96.3g now an eating 6.5cc about every 3.5-4 hours. Only eats once at night now. I’m keeping meticulous records but I am still letting him dictate when he wants to eat since he has some catching up to do like you said. His ears are still back but his tail fluffed out some overnight. So freaking cute! He also stays awake for an hour now after he eats - looking, listening, little bit of exploring and sniffing. Very timid. He is beginning to explore chewing so he must be approaching solid food introduction time? I ordered a bag of henry’s Wild blocks and was just sitting down to research here /how solid to offer him first. That, and cage lining/bedding. His current nest is a soft shelled insulated zipper lunch box but he’ll be able to escape that by this weekend i imagine.
My husband build a stand for a rescue cage i’ve Had in the basement just for this purpose :Love_Icon so i will be moving the lunchbox into the cage soon.
I need to research safe “toys” chew sticks? Busy squirrel goodies.
I have to say I am a bit nervous about what to do with him when he’s twice this big because when he decides to flip out he really goes for it. I cant wait to get some vid for you guys.
I have 30lbs of chanterelles to clean and process now so I’m greatful for his 4hr So glad you all are here. I hope everyone’s babes are happy and healthy.

[redwuff]

You know that Chance will need to be kept through the winter into spring to catch up. Many of us introduce a hard rodent block like Harlan teklad, Mazuri or kaytee as their first block. They are a lot cheaper than Henry Healthy block when one is rehabbing a room full of squirrels. I do feed my non releasables hhbs. The hhbs are a wonderful food source also. Once you get a bag, put it in the freezer and at first take out 1 piece and cut it into quarters. Put in two quarters. At first he will play with them and shred them. Wait until he eats them like, well, a champ before you introduce anything else.