4-4.5 week old squirrel pooping blood?

[Vikkyrussell]

Hi all, so I’m new. We rescued the baby boy on Oct 9th from a hawk. We estimated he was between 2-3 weeks. Long story short, hawk grabbed 2 babies out of a nest and while he was eating one, dropped the one we found. We brought him in and warmed him, gave him fluids, got the Esbalic, waited for the Fox Valley formula, slowly switched formulas, everything’s been great. He had a large laceration around 3/4 of his ankle, that I was worried may have went through the tendons, but that’s healed up very nicely and he seems to use it well. Everything has been going great until 4 hours ago. He’s now believed to be 4-4.5 weeks old, eastern grey squirrel. He has bottom teeth and eyes are about to open. My issue is….. he weighs 100g, so we’ve been feeding 5cc every 4-5 hours. I make sure he pees and poops before and after feedings. He always pees and usually poops. The past 3 feedings went- little poop, little poop, bloody mucous poop (red/orange color.) I saw some of it stuck to his bum when I went to feed him, so I gently stimulated him and A LOT came out. Like 15 little turds and looked mucousy bloody. Fed him a little, maybe 2cc, and have been giving 1cc of warm water every hour since. Gently stimulated him again, and now no turds but it’s a smaller amount of thick blood. My questions are- am I feeding him correctly? What could’ve caused this suddenly? Could he have possibly been backed up and strained himself and that’s causing the bleed? What can I do to help?

[Spanky]

...so I gently stimulated him and A LOT came out. Like 15 little turds and looked mucousy bloody.

I know this is gross, but if you could post pics it would help. Is this diarrhea or maybe not quite diarrhea yet? The mucousy bloody sounds like diarrhea but the 15 little trurds does not... Has he lost any weight and has his appetite decreased?

Best guess I have based on info is this may be coccidia which would require treatment. Medications used to treat coccidia include Sulfadimethoxine (Albon), Baycox (Toltrazuril) or Bactrim (SMZ-TMP). See if you can find any of these meds.... ask family friends and neighbors. The Bactrim is the only human med in this group and another called Metro or Flagyl (Metronidazole) may also be helpful (I add this one because I have seen a few (too many) GI type cases recently that only Metro would resolve.

[Vikkyrussell]

I’ve been feeding smaller portions more frequently with a little more water added to formula, either 2cc at 2 hours, or 3cc at 3 hours. The mucous has stopped completely. He passed 2 decent pellets this morning with dark colored blood (like black), but his appetite is still feisty and he’s still wiggling and trying to walk all over the place. His belly feels soft, not hard, and he doesn’t seem to be in pain. I always save meds, so I had Bactrim and gave him .05ml because he weighed 101g last night. Just weighed him now and he’s 102g. I’ll try to post a picture next time he poops. This is my first time rescuing a squirrel and posting, so bear with me please.

[Vikkyrussell]

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Here’s the photos. Again, he ate 3.5cc this time, been roughly 3.5 hours since he’s eaten. I used 8cc of standard mixed formula and added extra 2cc water, and he ate 3.5cc. The poop is really dark, and I smushed it as to see the color better. Very dark brown.

[Mel1959]

Before you give any more Bactrim please post the strength of the medicine and the current weight of the squirrel. These two items are needed to properly dose the medicine. Depending on the strength of the Bactrim that dose might be high.

Looking at the pictures I’m a little baffled that the stool is so dark if you’ve had him on formula for more than a week. Of course if it’s colored from old blood that would explain it. Formula fed babies poop is a golden yellow color. Was his ever this color?

Was this little guy dropped from a height by the hawk where he could have sustained internal injuries?

[Vikkyrussell]

His poop was never this color. Always yellow little nuggets. It came on very suddenly, as I said in my first post, everything was going great. His weight is 101g, strength of meds is not listed. It’s standard, so believe it’s 800mg. If I’m correct, correct dosing would be .05mg 2x day. We rescued him on the 9th, and got him on Esbalic formula later that night. He wasn’t dehydrated or sick when we rescued him because I watched him almost get eaten as soon as he was taken from the nest, and saw the mom squirrel at the nest earlier in the day. Then 4 days later the FoxValley arrived and we slowly incorporated that over 2 days. Yes he fell pretty high, but landed on a bunch of leaves. He is acting 100% normal. The only reason we didn’t try to give back to mom squirrel was because he had a badly injured ankle, mom probably wouldn’t have taken him back, or he would’ve gotten a serious infection.

[Vikkyrussell]

Could he have just been really backed up, and tried to push the poop himself without stimulation, and that’s what caused the bleed? What are other reasons for bleeding?

[Mel1959]

I sent you a pm about dosing.

All I can think of for the bleeding is internal injuries that were bleeding at one time. The injuries could be to the lungs or some other internal organ.

I released a squirrel that fell from a tree and must have hit some branches on the way down. She had contusions on her lungs and a ruptured spleen. I never saw anything with her like what you’re describing. It took many weeks for her to recover.

It might be a good idea to get your little one in to see a vet. Do you have one that will see squirrels? If not, would you like me to help you locate one?

[Vikkyrussell]

The first time he bled it was a lot of reddish orange and mucousy, and came out of nowhere. I don’t think it’s an internal injury that would’ve finally bled 2 weeks later. I live in a rural area, no centers near me would see a squirrel, and if I go to the one that’s over an hour and a half away it would cost $150 just for the office visit fee. He’s still spunky. Still only giving me 2 nuggets at feedings, but lots of pee.

[Spanky]

I live in a rural area, no centers near me would see a squirrel, and if I go to the one that’s over an hour and a half away it would cost $150 just for the office visit fee.

If you are in NW / Upstate SC I can assist with getting him seen by a wildlife vet (no costs).

I'd get him back on full strength formula if he is not already and provide additional hydration between feedings as long as the poos continue to be small and dry.

Is the Fox Valley the 20/50 or 32/40?

[Vikkyrussell]

I have Fox Valley 20/50, but I also have Esbalic as a back up. He pooped a single light brown nugget this morning. I think he’s getting better. I have him full strength formula at 8 this morning. We’ll see how he does. How much and often should he be pooping? Before this happened he was pooping before or after every feed, about 5-8 nuggets, is that normal?

[Vikkyrussell]

We have normal color now.

[Spanky]

I have Fox Valley 20/50, but I also have Esbalic as a back up. He pooped a single light brown nugget this morning. I think he’s getting better. I have him full strength formula at 8 this morning. We’ll see how he does. How much and often should he be pooping? Before this happened he was pooping before or after every feed, about 5-8 nuggets, is that normal?

They do not necessarily poop every feeding, but usually they will have poop every other feeding or more. Keep an eye in his cage and bedding as he may have dropped some in there and he is quickly approaching the time when stimulating is not required, but still a good idea as it keeps the cage cleaner for sure. Sometimes their simply moving around will stimulate a turd or three.

How much poop is correlated to how much he is getting fed (solids). When the formula is diluted by 1/3 so are the solids. When it is diluted by 1/2 so are the solids. This means there will be less poop simply because there is less solids going in to be excreted as poop.

As a general statement I see some folks come on TSB posting that they are diluting formula by 1/4 to as much as 3/4 but since they are still feeding 5% (the same volume) they expect the amount of poop to remain the same... despite the significant decrease in solids. Then sometimes they freak out that the baby is constipated when the is is a case of putting less into the system means less is sent out. I am not suggesting this is the case in this thread, but I wanted to take the opportunity to post my observation for the greater TSB community at large. And it can take 2 - 3 days after resuming full strength formula before normal amounts of poos begin being produced. This is I why I suggest the focus be on ensuring the baby is not bloating and giving time for the poop factory to get back up to full speed!

Good news on the return to normalcy in the turd department! :poop

[Vikkyrussell]

Thank you Spanky! He’s had 3 full strength feeds now, still no poop. He’s definitely not dehydrated and he’s still peeing great. Yeah I diluted formula before by about 1/4, I had 8cc of formula and 2cc of water. He’s an absolute spazz when it’s time to feed. How would I know exactly if he’s truly bloated or backed up again? His belly is still soft. I could post a pic of him if needed.

[Spanky]

If he is that hungry at feeding time I would feed every 4 hours. And let him eat up to 7%... start with 6% a few feedings and then if he still wants more go up to 7%.

A soft and squishy belly (like a water filled balloon) is good. A hard belly (like an air filled balloon) is bad / bloat.

Give it some time for the formula to work through his system. Have you checked his bedding and bin/cage for turds?

[Vikkyrussell]

Okay. He weighed 106g earlier this afternoon, so I’ve been feeding anywhere from 5cc-6cc every 4 hours. He does seem to want more after feedings, so I can go up to 7cc correct? He hasn’t pooped or peed on his own in his bedding since the blood incident. He has given me a few good nuggets when stimulated since this evening, and it’s the standard color again, so I’m going to assume he’s officially on the mend. Poor little dude.

[Mel1959]

Yes, it’s normal for them to want more but the increases have to be done gradually so it doesn’t upset his system. At his current weight of 106g 7% = 7.42ml. and 5% = 5.3ml. You might be able to still see a milk line on his belly still. You want the milk line to get smaller before you feed again and also as Spanky mentioned, his belly should always feel squishy.

I’m glad to hear he’s on the mend.