Baby keeps crawling off heat

[tgramsey]

Hi,
I have a little 49g squirrel who has crawled off heat several times since yesterday. I find her curled up and cold. I've seen this in the past with really sick babies when they first arrive - but this one has been with me 2 weeks and is seemingly healthy with a few exceptions: She is super puny, but gaining weight slowly daily. Also, she had diarrhea last week, but was on the mend until yesterday when she went in reverse -- not pooping much at all. A little watery discharge on last feeding. I'm giving electrostat between feedings.
I'm keeping a watchful eye on here to not get off heat. Thoughts? Thank you.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi,
I have a little 49g squirrel who has crawled off heat several times since yesterday. I find her curled up and cold. I've seen this in the past with really sick babies when they first arrive - but this one has been with me 2 weeks and is seemingly healthy with a few exceptions: She is super puny, but gaining weight slowly daily. Also, she had diarrhea last week, but was on the mend until yesterday when she went in reverse -- not pooping much at all. A little watery discharge on last feeding. I'm giving electrostat between feedings.
I'm keeping a watchful eye on here to not get off heat. Thoughts? Thank you.

Hi Tgramsey:
A couple of things that came to mind. is it possible the heating pad is getting too hot? This would be my primary concern until this is proven otherwise!

Most of the heating pads that do not turn off automatically (which is what should be used so that there can be heat at all times) are really the least sophisticated of the heating pads and usually just have setting like Low, Medium & High. The setting should be on Low but usually the temperature that the Low setting really is set for by the manufacturer and its actual temperature setting in degrees is not known. In my limited baby Squirrel care, I frequently check the heating pads condition and also get "readings" of the actual temperature being generated. I can use this in comparison and hopefully recognize a trend of malfunctioning in either direction; too warm or too cold. The baby should also feel warm to the touch. I have found a nice temperature to be around 100 degrees but I have seen others with ranges that differ some.

The heating pad should be UNDER the plastic box and as you are apparently doing, it should be under only half the box so the Squirrels can "regulate" their degree (no pun intended) of temperature exposure. I would suggest that every time you are going to start a new "nest" that you set up the plastic box, put in a generous amount of fleece and then obtain a baseline accurate digital temperature with the thermometer touching the inside bottom of the box. That way you will know whether it is a satisfactory temperature to begin use and then use that as the baseline for further temperature readings as the heating pad is used so that any potential deviations of temperature will be recognized before the pad may become excessively warm or cold.
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Mel1959]

What formula are you feeding? What’s her daily weight gain been? When you hold her up to your ear like a phone do you hear any clicking?

She might benefit from being carried around with you inside your shirt next to your heart. You can make a little sling with a scarf and tie it around your neck and put her in it.

[CritterMom]

Hmm. The getting cold would certainly affect her ability to digest and everything else. Crawling off the heat is not a good sign, certainly. I suggest you don't give her the option.

I admittedly haven't raised babies by the ton, but I don't give them the option to get off the heat, and I set my baby box up very differently than most to do that.

I bought a bunch of cheap microfleece lap throws from Walmart. But the hemmed edges off completely - raveling long threads are a big baby danger. I then cut a dozen or so pieces the size of the bottom of the bin, and then cut up the rest of the throws into little pieces ranging from 4" x 4" to 6x6. It is very tedious. Do it outside if you can. That stuff ravels like crazy and you will be finding little bits of it forever if you don't. Once cut up, bundle the whole mess into your dryer for about 20 minutes. The dryer will pull all of those little bits out of the fabric and they won't ravel anymore. And then clean your dryer vent! The big pieces sit on the bottom of the bin - I usually stack up 5 or 6 of them. Because they are not folded, even if a baby burrows down between layers they won't get stuck in a corner of the fabric and suffocate. Then, I put a big pile of the little squares in the bin and the bin goes completely on the heating pad. If they genuinely get too warm all they have to do is crawl a little higher up in the "fluff pile" to get to cooler air, but the box itself is still going to remain warm. At no point are they going to even approach room temperature.

Obviously you can't do all of that now, but I would remove getting off the heat from her available choices, and offer her the chance to crawl up a little to get some space from the warm bottom of the bin without actually getting chilled.

[tgramsey]

Thank you for the info. - good tip about getting a baseline temperature. The current heater is one that will not turn off automatically. I keep it on low and only on half of the bedding. She is (or was - hasn't done it again since I posted, luckily) crawling way off into a corner and I found her cold to the touch. I'm keeping an eye on her.



Hi Tgramsey:
A couple of things that came to mind. is it possible the heating pad is getting too hot? This would be my primary concern until this is proven otherwise!

Most of the heating pads that do not turn off automatically (which is what should be used so that there can be heat at all times) are really the least sophisticated of the heating pads and usually just have setting like Low, Medium & High. The setting should be on Low but usually the temperature that the Low setting really is set for by the manufacturer and its actual temperature setting in degrees is not known. In my limited baby Squirrel care, I frequently check the heating pads condition and also get "readings" of the actual temperature being generated. I can use this in comparison and hopefully recognize a trend of malfunctioning in either direction; too warm or too cold. The baby should also feel warm to the touch. I have found a nice temperature to be around 100 degrees but I have seen others with ranges that differ some.

The heating pad should be UNDER the plastic box and as you are apparently doing, it should be under only half the box so the Squirrels can "regulate" their degree (no pun intended) of temperature exposure. I would suggest that every time you are going to start a new "nest" that you set up the plastic box, put in a generous amount of fleece and then obtain a baseline accurate digital temperature with the thermometer touching the inside bottom of the box. That way you will know whether it is a satisfactory temperature to begin use and then use that as the baseline for further temperature readings as the heating pad is used so that any potential deviations of temperature will be recognized before the pad may become excessively warm or cold.
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[tgramsey]

Hey Mel, she is on 20/50. Gaining maybe a gram every day to two days. Slow, but steady. She was stunted at first, not gaining at all, but starting to take off. No clicking, but you remind me she did have a bit of a snorty nose one day. It went away by the time I got her out for the next feeding, so I didn't worry about it.
I actually did carry her around with me for this afternoon and will continue to do that. I'll try the sling idea. Thank you.




What formula are you feeding? What’s her daily weight gain been? When you hold her up to your ear like a phone do you hear any clicking?

She might benefit from being carried around with you inside your shirt next to your heart. You can make a little sling with a scarf and tie it around your neck and put her in it.

[tgramsey]

Thanks for the advice. I create height just using blankets, bunched up fleece, etc, but your layering sounds like a great plan. I'm going to keep a watch on her. I padded all the corners with extra blankets.




Hmm. The getting cold would certainly affect her ability to digest and everything else. Crawling off the heat is not a good sign, certainly. I suggest you don't give her the option.

I admittedly haven't raised babies by the ton, but I don't give them the option to get off the heat, and I set my baby box up very differently than most to do that.

I bought a bunch of cheap microfleece lap throws from Walmart. But the hemmed edges off completely - raveling long threads are a big baby danger. I then cut a dozen or so pieces the size of the bottom of the bin, and then cut up the rest of the throws into little pieces ranging from 4" x 4" to 6x6. It is very tedious. Do it outside if you can. That stuff ravels like crazy and you will be finding little bits of it forever if you don't. Once cut up, bundle the whole mess into your dryer for about 20 minutes. The dryer will pull all of those little bits out of the fabric and they won't ravel anymore. And then clean your dryer vent! The big pieces sit on the bottom of the bin - I usually stack up 5 or 6 of them. Because they are not folded, even if a baby burrows down between layers they won't get stuck in a corner of the fabric and suffocate. Then, I put a big pile of the little squares in the bin and the bin goes completely on the heating pad. If they genuinely get too warm all they have to do is crawl a little higher up in the "fluff pile" to get to cooler air, but the box itself is still going to remain warm. At no point are they going to even approach room temperature.

Obviously you can't do all of that now, but I would remove getting off the heat from her available choices, and offer her the chance to crawl up a little to get some space from the warm bottom of the bin without actually getting chilled.

[Mel1959]

Another thought in regards to her weight gain….you could add some FV Ultraboost into her (their) formula. It contains nutrients as well as some added fat and is designed to be substituted for 25% of the FV 20/50 powder when mixing the formula.

[tgramsey]

Crossed my mind to get some. I'll order - thanks.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Tgramsey:
How is your Little One doing?
Regards,
SAmtheSquirrel

[tgramsey]

Hi STS, just noticed your followup on the baby. Sorry I'm months late to respond, but good news - she is doing well! I plan to release in the fall. Size-wise, she is on the puny side - never going to get very big. I think her growth was stunted from her very rough start. She was basically a skeleton when I took her in. Still has a little respiratory problem - snorting and runny nose now and again, but has been on several meds and nothing seems to zap it completely. Maybe allergies? Otherwise she is very spunky and healthy. Thanks for asking!


Hi Tgramsey:
How is your Little One doing?
Regards,
SAmtheSquirrel