New to pinkies and I think he might have Aspiration pneumonia

[Riley17]

Hello, I was given a pinky baby this morning by a concerned neighbor. I had no idea how to care for it so I've been researching all I can and read most of the sticky's on this forum. I *think* it's close to 2 weeks old, as it has one ear flat to head and the other one is popped out. I warmed it up, I cleaned mites off of it, I gave it pedialyte (and accidentally got some in its lungs on the first try :'( ) and then I held it upside down and tried to drain it out and blot it's nose. Then I mixed up some homemade goats milk formula, diluted it with water, and squirrely weighed 25 grams so I drew up 1.25cc. I dont think it's dehydrated. However I noticed it's making a clicking noise and also is doing that guppy mouth breathing thing every time i try to feed it. I'm not sure it's actually swallowing any formula....a lot ends up on the towel even though I'm going drop by drop and soooooo sloooooow. And then it tries to suck it off the towel. I have gotten it to poop and pee quite often. So far all looks well there. Poop is not diarrhea. I have zero experience with this and tried to find a rehabber in my area. I called and left messages with 3 and no one called me back yet. :( Stores are all closed, I'm not even sure I could get any antibiotics until morning. Help please, I'm so nervous I'm going to lose him. :( Although he doesnt seem really bad yet, he's still eating and warm, but I dont know how fast he will go downhill.
Thank you,
Holly

[TomahawkFlyers]

Holly. You have come to the right place. I am a junior person here with little experience but a truly qualified person will be along shortly. One thing I've noticed is a common concern for Esbilac formula. If you can hold off on that (if that is what you're using) until an expert answers your request for help, that will likely be a good thing.

Good luck!

Jamie

[Riley17]

Thanks! No, I have raw goats milk on hand for a bum bottle baby I'm also feeding, so I just quick grabbed some yogurt and the other stuff out of my fridge and mixed some goats milk formula for baby squirrel.

[Spanky]

Here is a excellent 6 page primer on baby squirrel care. It is 6 (Six) pages long:
https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Some babies do the "guppy mouthing" thing when you feed them and it does make it more challenging. I will rub them under their chin or their cheeks to try to bring them out of that.... sometimes (usually older babies though) pulling the syringe nipple away from them a little seems to work. But that is after they have learned to latch on.

Hold the baby to your ear and listen for a persistent clinking noise or even a "rice crispy" like crackle in its lungs. Note they often have little bit of a click after eating / hydration that usually goes away within 15 minutes or so... if they have Aspiration Pneumonia (AP) the clicking will be constant and not stop. If he has AP, it does take them down fast so antibiotics are necessary... Cipro (human) or Baytril (Animal) are good as are Augmentin (human) or Clavamox (animal). If he does ave AP and you have any antibiotics at all tell us what you have and someone will advise if that may work for AP and assist with dosing. It is good to have antibiotics on hand when caring for little squirrels as a precaution.

[Riley17]

Yes, thanks. I read that article last night. And thanks for the other info! He does not seem to do it in between feedings so I guess that is a good sign! Maybe I can do this after all. I was so scared I might have killed him. Also, last night I stayed up with him and I realized that during a feeding he's doing that guppy mouth thing because he's trying to nurse. (I think) It just seems like he's trying to do that to suck on it. Feedings are going much better this morning and he seems ok after all. Thank you for the help. I guess I just go to my vet and ask for some antibiotics to keep on hand? Or where do you buy them?
Thank you,
Holly

[CritterMom]

Well, your vet may help if you have a really good relationship with him. If this little one had A/P (and it doesn't sound as if he does), Baytril would be the drug of choice.

However, many drugs made for humans work just fine in animals and many are actually the same drug. Cipro is excellent for for A/P, urinary tract problems and for banishing pasturella from cat bites (though another med may be required if the wound abscesses). Cipro is nearly identical to Baytril, and is almost universally prescribed for urinary tract infections in humans. Any female friend who has ever had a UTI in the past 20+ years was prescribed Cipro. We always immediately suggest that you contact all of your female friends (who get the vast majority of UTIs) and ask if they have ONE leftover pill somewhere. If you can tell us the size of the pill in milligrams and the current weight of the squirrel, someone here can give you detailed directions on how to properly dilute and dose this.

Amoxicillin / Clavulanic acid is sold to people under the brand name "Augmentin" to people and "Clavamox" to pets, and to EVERYONE under a variety of names since it is generally sold now as a generic. It is an excellent drug to have on hand because it covers a broader range of issues that other drugs will not. If you used this in my hypothetical cat bite mentioned above you likely would NOT have problems with the possible abscess for example.

The "guppy mouth" thing is freaky. My first squirrel did it - it is a feeding trance. It is also a pain in the butt because you don't want to feed while they are gaping like that or he WILL aspirate. I used to pull the nipple out of his mouth and gently bop him on the head with it. He would usually snap out of it. We have absolutely NO idea why some babies do it and some don't.

When he gets bigger he will get harder to feed. They will suck so hard that they DO aspirate, so practice controlling the flow NOW so you can when he is trying to inhale his formula. I wrap my index finger around where the plunger enters the barrel of the syringe. Just pressing slightly slows down how fast it goes, a little more stops it. This happens fast, BTW. Like "delicate little frail creature sipping" to "Dyson vacuum cleaner" between two feedings!