Need help urgently

[Saans]

Hi. This is my first time rehabbing baby squirrels and I don’t have the proper resources to do as guides in the internet. I have 2 baby squirrels almost 3 weeks old who opened their eyes a few days back. The male baby which already had some clicking noise but was fine till yesterday suddenly went downhill today. He started refusing his formula and didn’t even drink some water with sugar and salt. He has very consistent clicking noises with his breathing, he has become severely dehydrated, he sleeps with his belly facing the ceiling and his mouth is open from time to time. He is very lethargic as of now but there are no discharge from his nose.
I gave him some cephalexin with a vets permission to see if he gets better. I’m quite scared if he will make it through the night. He isn’t accepting any sort of meal from water to formula. I do not have pedialyte and esbilac available in my town so I used ensure and self made electrolyte with sugar and salt.

Please help…I want to try my best to save him. I do not know how to proceed.

[CritterMom]

First, do not give the formula and electrolyte at the same time, and do not mix them together.

Second, this sounds like aspiration pneumonia. Cephalexin would not be my first choice. Will your vet provide you with enrofloxacin (brand name Baytril) or the human version of the drug, ciprofloxacin (Brand name Cipro)? Either would be a huge improvement.

[Saans]

I have ciproflaxcin…is it safe to administer it ..as I’ve already administered cephalexin tonight ? I did give him ciproflaxcin for 4 days continuously from Monday to Thursday last week…I was hoping he would get better…and I did not mix the formula and electrolyte…he fully refused his formula that is why I tried giving him some electrolyte afterwards.
Can u please tell me the dosage of ciproflaxcin I have to give and how fast I’m supposed to act to save him

[CritterMom]

I have ciproflaxcin…is it safe to administer it ..as I’ve already administered cephalexin tonight ? I did give him ciproflaxcin for 4 days continuously from Monday to Thursday last week…I was hoping he would get better…and I did not mix the formula and electrolyte…he fully refused his formula that is why I tried giving him some electrolyte afterwards.
Can u please tell me the dosage of ciproflaxcin I have to give and how fast I’m supposed to act to save him

I need the weight of the baby in grams, and I need the size of the ciprofloxacin pill in milligrams. Do you have a small syringe - 1cc or smaller - to measure the medicine with?

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

I'm sure CritterMom will be right back with you. While waiting it is essential that you obtain an accurate weight of your little Squirrel and also find out the specific strength of the Cipro tablets you have. Some of the usual strengths are 250mg, 500mg and 750mg. With those two bits of information, CritterMom will be able to guide you as to how prepare the Cipro and how much to give to your Squirrel with each dose. I wish you and your Little One the best!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Sorry CM. I was typing while you were posting.
StS

[Saans]

I done have the weight of the baby as i dont have measuring equipment. He's a 3 week old indian palm squirrel and right now he's really skinny. The ciproflaxcin i have is a 500 mg tablet and the smallest syringe i have is a 2ml syringe. There were no 1cc or 3cc syringes available in my town. i generally roll up cotton wet them and keep it in their mouth for them sense it as a nipple. I can send a picture of the baby if you want.

[CritterMom]

OK, this is as close to impossible as it gets. I am going to send you directions via PM - keep refreshing the page and a notification will show up in a drop down box instructing you where to go.

I am guessing 20 grams for the baby, based on what little info I can find on the internet. If you can get an actual weight on him it would be very good. Your syringe is too big to measure the amount you will need so I am going to try to give you drop sizes. Ugh.

Give me a couple minutes.

Damn. I will have to put it here - you haven't been a member long enough to have PM privileges. Please verify that you have gotten the directions and written them down so I can delete this from the open board.

[Saans]

Hi. Im sorry about the troubles. ill try to get you his weight. Got really poor resources here to help this little guy. Thank you so much for your help!

[Saans]

Hi. yes i got your instructions. just a small doubt. " five this twice per day" implying the ab course is for 5 days? and i will get you his weight tomorrow asap.

[CritterMom]

Hi. yes i got your instructions. just a small doubt. " five this twice per day" implying the ab course is for 5 days? and i will get you his weight tomorrow asap.

I am sorry, that is supposed to be GIVE this twice per day. But 5 days is a good length of time for giving the drug.

[Saans]

ok thank you. im starting the ab course right now. ill give you an update on his weight in the morning. thank you for the immediate assist! i hope he pulls through the night!

[CritterMom]

Saans, while I was frantically hunting for weights on baby palm squirrels, I stumbled on this site: http://rehabbersden.org/index.php/36-pages/pricing-table/simple/261-hand-rearing-and-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-palm-squirrels-funambulus-sp-revised-contd

It has a lot of good dietary info. Check it out. The Ensure is not really suitable for long term. They mention a formula, and you can also make one from goats milk, yogurt and heavy cows cream if you can get those ingredients. We can give you the recipe if you can.

Trying to feed tiny babies like that with a 2cc syringe is really problematic. We are feeding much larger babies here in the US with 1cc. Make absolutely certain that when you feed, the tip of the syringe is pointing UP at the roof of the mouth, not down the throat, and that the baby is either lying down on it's tummy, or a little easier is to wrap them in a little cloth to keep them warm, stand them up like a little person so back feet are hanging down and the head is up, then point the syringe tip at the roof of their mouth and dispense the formula V-E-R-Y slowly - drop by drop. The bigger the syringe the less control you have of it. I understand you are having issues finding supplies... Do you have a pharmacy nearby? Sometimes the pharmacists are willing to give you a couple .5 or 1cc syringes if you tell them you are nursing a tiny baby animal. The single use syringes like that are literally not made to be used over and over, and the black rubber plungers begin to stick, which is very dangerous because it makes the formula squirt out unevenly. When you pull it apart to clean it after use, dry that rubber plunger and then wipe a tiny amount of vegetable oil on it. It will make it work more smoothly.

I hope your little one makes it. :Love_Icon

[Saans]

Hi. thank you for the link. i will be sure to follow it. Ive given him two doses of ciproflaxcin as of now, but I am not sure if there is any improvement in his breathing,he still isnt taking in any food, he keeps his mouth shut whenever i try to feed him. he's super weak and i dont know how to get him to eat a little bit of food or water. im worried he is gonna be starving.
Do you have any advice on how to get him to eat?

[stepnstone]

He's a 3 week old indian palm squirrel and right now he's really skinny.


Hi. thank you for the link. i will be sure to follow it. Ive given him two doses of ciproflaxcin as of now, but I am not sure if there is any improvement in his breathing,he still isnt taking in any food, he keeps his mouth shut whenever i try to feed him. he's super weak and i dont know how to get him to eat a little bit of food or water. im worried he is gonna be starving.
Do you have any advice on how to get him to eat?

I can guarantee he's dehydrated. A dehydrated baby won't eat and if they did they couldn't process what they are fed.
You really need to hydrate him, thats more important then food at this point!
Below is the formula for homemade hydration. If he won't open mouth put the syringe tip through the side of his mouth.
Give it drop by drop if that's what it takes!
Babies also like their formulas very warm so make sure your warming it.

Home Made Hydration:
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon sugar (1-1/2 teaspoons)
8 oz water

[Saans]

Thank you. I will try it right now!

[Saans]

OK, this is as close to impossible as it gets. I am going to send you directions via PM - keep refreshing the page and a notification will show up in a drop down box instructing you where to go.

I am guessing 20 grams for the baby, based on what little info I can find on the internet. If you can get an actual weight on him it would be very good. Your syringe is too big to measure the amount you will need so I am going to try to give you drop sizes. Ugh.

Give me a couple minutes.

Damn. I will have to put it here - you haven't been a member long enough to have PM privileges. Please verify that you have gotten the directions and written them down so I can delete this from the open board.

Hi. i got the weight of the baby. he weighs around 10 grams. I even finally found a 1 cc syringe but i couldnt find a latex nipple to attach to it as they are not commonly used here for animals. he still isnt taking in any food includig the electrolyte. im not able to force feed him he gets wet all over. what should i do? should i wait? or is there something else i can try?

[island rehabber]

Seans, you've got one of our best helping you so I won't interfere, but please remember to be sure the hydration mixture is VERY warm, as well as any formula you give him. He only realizes that liquid is food when it's the temperature of his mamma's milk, and that's about 100 degreesF.

[CritterMom]

Waiting really isn't an option. Make sure the fluid is warm. Use the 1cc syringe without the nipple. Pull up some of the hydration fluid, slip it into his mouth and give him ONE drop. Wait a couple minutes and do it again. And again. One drop is small enough to stay in his mouth without drooling out, and the sugar in the hydration fluid will be absorbed through the mucous membranes in his mouth. Once he gets enough that way, he may be more willing.

Do the same with his formula, and make sure you keep it quite warm. Drop by drop. It is very time consuming but he is shutting down and if you can get through this he may become more willing to eat.

If you use your 1cc syringe, the dose of the meds will be .04ml (point zero four) 2 times per day. Make sure you give the meds separate from the food - it tastes nasty and you don't want him to associate that taste with his formula. Be sure you wash the syringe out well between meds and food for the same reason.

[Saans]

Hi. My baby Squirrel passed away today evening. I did everything I could, made sure everything was warm and gave everything slowly drop by drop. Yet, Suddenly he went pale and started gasping for air and slowly passed away. Thank you for the guiding system to try to save him.

[CritterMom]

I am so sorry. He was so tiny and just didn't have the reserves needed to hang on until the meds could help him.

Please look into changing the formula for the other one. As I mentioned earlier, if you cannot find what is recommended on the website I sent you, if you can find goats milk, yogurt and cow's cream, you can make your own formula for him.

:grouphug

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi. My baby Squirrel passed away today evening. I did everything I could, made sure everything was warm and gave everything slowly drop by drop. Yet, Suddenly he went pale and started gasping for air and slowly passed away. Thank you for the guiding system to try to save him.

I'm so sorry for the passing of your little Squirrel, Saans. This so very sad but please know that you did everything you could and loved the Little One through it all! I wish you and your other little Squirrel the very best, Saans! Please stay in touch on TSB.
SamtheSquirrel

[Saans]

Thank you so much for the support. I'll be sure to take care well of the other baby.