5% or 7%??

[Sommer]

Okay, so this feeding 5% to 7% rule. Is this based on solely the squirrels appetite and just giving and acceptable range? Or are there specific reasons you would choose one over the other? I have of course I've been doing 7% because my baby was underweight at first. She seems to have caught up now and is a little chunk. She gained nine grams in 24 hours. Now I know her weight gain per day is going to go up as she grows bigger But if she's active her digestion and poops are normal and she seems to prefer 7%, would there be any reason to cut her back to 5%?

[stepnstone]

The 5-7% rule represents the capacity of a squirrels stomach according to body weight.
As long as bowels are stable feeding 7% is ok, as they get older they can digest and eat more.
If the bowels start to loosen, get soft or they bloat, that would suggest overfeeding and their
system is unable to process properly.

[Sommer]

Okay. I've never had a super chubby squirrel but this one seems like at the rate she's going I may need to find out if there's such thing as too chubby 🤣 But who knows maybe she'll just keep growing into her belly. I'll just make sure her poops stay good then. Thank you!

[Sommer]

Every squirrel I've ever had at this age can curl into a tight little ball. Her belly is just too fat. Now it's soft, it goes down some between feedings she's getting very active and her poops are normal. I'm just worried that I'm bumping her food up everyday based on the weight of her belly instead of her frame lol I'll post some pictures. I've seen pictures of some very chubby squirrels but I've never had one. Also the first time I've ever used Fox Valley.

[Sommer]

Hazel 4.5 weeks

[Mel1959]

I don’t ever worry about squirrels I raise being too plump. Matter of fact I ALWAYS use a mixture of Fox Valley 20/50 and Fox Valley Ultraboost, which is a fat/nutrient additive. It has been my experience that when they go to the release cage they cut way back on the amount they eat, plus they’re far more active. I’d rather have them go into the release cage with some extra weight so when it’s time for release they’ll hopefully still have a good store of fat on them.

[Sommer]

Okay, good! I have never used anything other than esbilac puppy. It seems 50% of it beefs up the squirrel and 50% of it gets pooped out. What the Fox Valley the poop is very healthy but definitely less and I've never had a squirrel so chunky. I was happy with it at first because she was below the curve. But now she's just packing it on and I wanted to make sure that was no complications with gaining weight too fast.

[stepnstone]

Every squirrel I've ever had at this age can curl into a tight little ball. Her belly is just too fat. Now it's soft, it goes down some between feedings she's getting very active and her poops are normal. I'm just worried that I'm bumping her food up everyday based on the weight of her belly instead of her frame lol I'll post some pictures. I've seen pictures of some very chubby squirrels but I've never had one. Also the first time I've ever used Fox Valley.

That one picture standing showing belly is a bit concerning, how often are you feeding?

[Sommer]

She's eating every four hours.

[Sommer]

That's what I mean, her belly just seems chunky to me. But it is soft she's clearly not in any discomfort and she's pooping normally... 🤔

[Sommer]

That was after I fed her. She's about due for a feeding so I'll take a picture of her beforehand

[Sommer]

Right before feeding. Lol it was difficult to get a still shot when she was hungry! She doesn't seem to look off to me before a feeding but afterwards it's like she has a beer belly.

[Mel1959]

She looks fine to me in those pics. :w00t

[Sommer]

Okay hear me out, I was just thinking something. This might be a stupid question but I've always weighed my squirrels in the morning after I feed them. It's that wrong? Combine that with I've never used Fox Valley. But she does seem abnormally distended after eating from what I'm used to. Maybe I am over feeding weighing her at the wrong time?

[Sommer]

Everything is easier when they're not hungry, am I weighing wrong? I noticed the esbilac slides through them quicker...

[Mel1959]

You should be weighing her BEFORE feeding and then consistently do it either before or after pottying her.

Yes, you are getting an erroneous weight if you are feeding her before weighing.

FV does stay in the stomach longer as I think it’s richer.

[stepnstone]

Right before feeding. Lol it was difficult to get a still shot when she was hungry! She doesn't seem to look off to me before a feeding but afterwards it's like she has a beer belly.

The two pictures before and after look perfectly normal,
the one below just looked wrong...
321234

[Sommer]

That picture you just replied to was the after. She always looks like that after she eats. The other two were before.

[Sommer]

Actually just trying to get before pictures as wiggly as she was I told my husband this is why it's easier to do things after she's eaten and he pointed it out. Duh. I guess I just never had the belly do that because the puppy formula had them on E by next feeding. Her belly only started doing this she caught up to her average weight range. Thank goodness. I knew it wasn't bloat but I was thinking is this some condition I'm unaware of...

[Mel1959]

I hope you weighed her before feeding her this morning. You will then be feeding a percentage of her actual body mass and not body mass plus formula that you had just fed.

[Sommer]

I did! Let me tell you how fun that was...

[Sommer]

I guess in my mind I was being consistent because I was doing it at the same time every day after her first meal. 🤦🏼*♀️

[Mel1959]

Get a medium sized Tupperware container, one she will fit in and that will fit on the scale. Put a small piece of T-shirt or fleece in it. Now put it on your scale, without the baby in it. Press the “tare” button on the scale and it will zero out the scale. Don’t remove the container. Now you place the baby in the container and you will get a weight of just the baby. If you don’t remove the container this method can be used day after day without having to re-tare the scale. You could even put a lid on the container to prevent her from getting out if she’s super active, as long as you put it on the container without the baby and “tare” the scale again.

[Mel1959]

I guess in my mind I was being consistent because I was doing it at the same time every day after her first meal. 🤦🏼*♀️

It might have been consistent, but it was a false weight. It was her weight PLUS ??ml of milk. That would not be the weight of her body mass. Basically, however many ml of milk she was taking it increased her weight up by ?/10ths.

To get a visual of how this affects her weight try weighing her, then feeding her, then weighing again. You will see the weight increased in tenths by how many ml of formula she ate. It could be slightly off, but you get the idea, I’m sure.

[Sommer]

Yeah I always put the Tupperware and cloth on there and use the tare button. But like this morning she does not like being in the container so the weights going up down and all over the place and as I'm waiting for it to even out she's getting more upset about being in there. Was definitely harder than feeding her and waiting till she curls up into a little ball and placing her in there but I definitely understand why it was messing me up now.

[Sommer]

Now let me ask you this. A bigger container maybe helpful but if it's hanging off the edge of the scales am I going to get an accurate weight?

[Mel1959]

Yes, as long as it’s sitting firmly on the scale, not touching the countertop or anything nearby.

These are the many challenges of raising a baby squirrel. :grin3

[Sommer]

This one just activates when you wake her up. More than normal. I've always potty before and after feeding. It's impossible on her. The best I can do is mid-feeding and after. Before she gets anything in her belly she is just a windup toy with no stop. And the more you try to do anything except putting food in her mouth the worse it gets. She gets down right angry.