10xmama
10-10-2019, 05:22 PM
I’ve had Esther since 9/5. She was brought to me to rehab after a friend found her while mowing their yard. Our area had just had a storm go through so she must have been displaced from mama/nest due to that.
She was in bad shape. Her head looked big for her body and her eyes seemed to be too big too (bulging). I started her on Esbilac and it was a new can (that I didn’t know until later was one of the bad ones). She also had several scrapes on her and was so lethargic that I did a round of antibiotics.
She seemed to recover from her initial injuries; she drank her formula well; but as the days went by she was not pooping much at all. She was becoming lethargic again. I came on this site and learned about the Esbilac issue. While waiting for the Fox Valley to arrive I moved her to goats milk formula. But in the interim she somehow fractured her right front paw. Poor dear was a mess. The paw and then she started having diarrhea.
Once the Fox Valley arrived she ever so slowly improved. So slowly! Now she is healthy. Off formula, and recovered from the paw. But the lasting effects seems to be she didn’t fully grow (stunted growth?). Her size is definitely smaller than my others at @10 wks (age guess). Because she was so sick, she couldn’t be kept with the other two same age babies I was rehabbing. They transitioned to outside last week and are in the release process.
So what should I do with this little girl? I’m concerned her small size, lack of interaction with other squirrels, and over attachment to me from all the extra care will not set her up for a successful release. I’m out in the woods with every predator you can imagine... and I don’t just want to release her to get eaten!
I’m prepared to keep her if that’s the best idea; but she is a squirrel! I’d sure love some expert advice.
Here’s a pic of her the day I received her:
311753
Here’s a pic from this week:
311754
She was in bad shape. Her head looked big for her body and her eyes seemed to be too big too (bulging). I started her on Esbilac and it was a new can (that I didn’t know until later was one of the bad ones). She also had several scrapes on her and was so lethargic that I did a round of antibiotics.
She seemed to recover from her initial injuries; she drank her formula well; but as the days went by she was not pooping much at all. She was becoming lethargic again. I came on this site and learned about the Esbilac issue. While waiting for the Fox Valley to arrive I moved her to goats milk formula. But in the interim she somehow fractured her right front paw. Poor dear was a mess. The paw and then she started having diarrhea.
Once the Fox Valley arrived she ever so slowly improved. So slowly! Now she is healthy. Off formula, and recovered from the paw. But the lasting effects seems to be she didn’t fully grow (stunted growth?). Her size is definitely smaller than my others at @10 wks (age guess). Because she was so sick, she couldn’t be kept with the other two same age babies I was rehabbing. They transitioned to outside last week and are in the release process.
So what should I do with this little girl? I’m concerned her small size, lack of interaction with other squirrels, and over attachment to me from all the extra care will not set her up for a successful release. I’m out in the woods with every predator you can imagine... and I don’t just want to release her to get eaten!
I’m prepared to keep her if that’s the best idea; but she is a squirrel! I’d sure love some expert advice.
Here’s a pic of her the day I received her:
311753
Here’s a pic from this week:
311754