Pinkie, one or two days old.

[button nose's mom]

Hello all. My neighbor brought a newborn to me that somehow fell into her fireplace. Her dog heard it crying. She survived the fall with no bad injury, but for a tiny scab on the elbow. She had a milk line across her tummy. We didn't know how to get it back to mom. She pooped twice, kinda loose. I'm keeping her warm and checking the temp with a thermometer, between 99-100 degrees. I mixed up canned goat milk, whipping cream and activia yogurt. I've also tried to give her pedialyte using a micropipette. I think I got maybe 2 drops of anything in her. She wakes up and cries when I try to feed her. Lord, this is the tiniest thing I've ever tried to feed. So far I haven't had anything come out her nose. I can suck it back out her mouth with the pipette if she doesn't swallow. I ordered the miracle tiny nipple and paid for fast delivery. She arrived at 2:45 pm tues. So almost 12 hours since writing this message. I guess I won't be getting any sleep tonight. My experience is with 5 week olds, 3 of them. Now 7 months old...we still have one. I'm praying I can get fluids in her soon. I found one Bactrim DS expired 2015. 325344

[button nose's mom]

7:30 am lots of tongue action which is an improvement and whining 2 drops. 9:00 am SHE Did it! 60 insulin units and I can see milk in the tummy! So I have a question about formula, when should I switch off of goat milk mix? With all the tainted formula I've read, mostly older posts, do I start powdered esbilac puppy milk? Also, I weighed her yesterday and she's 11 grams. Her name is Peanut.

[Spanky]

I use Esbilac until 3 - 3.5weeks then transition to half Esbilac and half Fox Valley 20/50... others I know transition over to Fox Valley 20/50 after 4 weeks of age. Both seem to produce good results.. so I would say yes to the Esbilac at this time. :thumbsup

[button nose's mom]

I started the esbilac today. She's taking 1 ml every two hours approx. I'm having trouble with the tiny insulin syringe, I'm hoping my order comes in soon. Not much with poops...they turned from brown to yellow and very scant and loose. I'm using a wet warm cotton swab to stimulate. I can't even be sure she's peeing. She did just start feeding today. Maybe she peed and I couldn't tell, she's so so tiny. I can see the milk line right through her so I know it's getting in there. I'm nervous caring for this peanut. I still want to secure some baytril or augmentin just in case.

[island rehabber]

Sounds like you're doing all the right stuff.. the beauty of Pinky squirrels is their life force -- they really want to live, they just need your assistance. Hang in there, mamma!

[button nose's mom]

Well she is 14 grams after feeding, up from 11 grams in one and a half days. 39 hours. The first 19 she just screamed and no fluids went in, spare a drop or two. She's a wiggler! This is a marathon for her to grow and for me to see how long I can go without sleep. I'm so glad to have this site and all it's info. I hadn't found it with my other three (5 weeks old) until I had them for a few weeks, I made mistakes...almost lost one from diarrhea and UTI. The smelly kind. He overfed right before too. He also nursed on himself. He pulled through without antibiotics...though I wished I knew you all were here to help. I don't think she'd have a chance if I hadn't been on here absorbing all the knowledge and tips. I'm very worried about aspiration. Waiting for her nipple to arrive.

[button nose's mom]

Update is she is feeding regularly now! A little up and down on how much milk she takes but mostly takes almost 1mm or 1cc. Poops are formed now & mustard yellow colored. She's gaining weight up to 17 grams now. The miracle nippled arrived today after 4 long days in the mail. What a game changer! She is now able to nurse proper with sucking and latch on. Even kneading like a kitten. No more fighting with head thrashing and crying, starting and stopping. It's just smooth going! I still put a tiny bit of pressure on the syringe, but it's like having a real infant bottle for her. I'm less afraid of aspiration now. Furthermore, my two daughters will be able to help with night feedings or if I have to go out. A big extra plus in her survival. I still have not landed an antibiotic yet to have on hand just in case. I had one glitch so far. She wiggled and crawled her way over the lip of her "crib" using the fleece blanket like a ladder. Luckily, she fell asleep in the middle of her grand escape! I took a picture and it's humorous, but seriously I have four cats and it could have been the end. I had just read about this on the board to be cautious of placement of the fleece, too. So she graduated to a new larger crib, the family popcorn bowl. 325366

[Spanky]

I'd suggest something even larger than the popcorn bowl. You want the heating pad under half and plenty of room on the other half for cooler areas that she can crawl to if needed.

You can buy some Baytril 10% from here:
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

[button nose's mom]

Oh thank you, that's great. I'll order some. I have a 7 month old who has been showing less appetite than usual, his sister just left for the trees...lonely maybe or sick, not sure yet.

Question, they sell two types now one is:
Baytril 10% Oral Solution
Baytril 10% is a broad spectrum antibiotic used for Birds, Rats, Reptiles and other Pets.

The new one is:
Respiratory
Scientifically Formulated To Be Superior Than Baytril
Now in Multipule strengths and sizes
Liquid 10%, 2.5% 25ml ml - 100ml Also available in water Soluble Powder 100g

Respiratory is a breakthrough product designed to provide superior care for your beloved pets. Developed as an advanced alternative to Baytril and Enrofloxacin this innovative veterinary solution offers a comprehensive solution to address a range of health issues in animals. With Respiratory, you can trust that your pet's well-being is in capable hands.

Which should I get? Both?

[Tashahaven]

I don’t have an answer on which product to get. I personally have ordered baytril from that site. Still continue to attempt to locate any other antibiotics from friends and family. Hopefully you will never need to use them, but the last thing you want to do if something happens and she needs them, is to be frantically searching! 😵

You are doing a great job so far! Pinkies can be stressful, because they are so tiny! But as IR said, they have an incredible will to live and are quite resilient!

If I may, I would like to make a suggestion for her “home/enclosure”…ESPECIALLY if you have cats anywhere around her!

Find a plastic shoe box, or a smaller sized plastic tote with a secure lid. Drill holes across the top every few inches, line it with multiple layers of fleece, and place the heating pad under 1/2 the box. That way not only can she move off the heating pad side to side, but she can crawl up and through the layers of fleece to find the perfect temperature for her. I cut my fleece into 5-6” squares.

Lastly, make sure you are keeping powdered formula in the freezer! When you prepare the liquid formula, keep it in the fridge, and try to always mix it up the night before and allow it to sit in the fridge overnight. This gives it adequate time to breakdown and properly dissolve, so Peanut gets the best nutrition and it’s easier for her body to process it.

👋❤️🥰 PEANUT! You are an absolute CUTIE!

[Spanky]

I would NOT get "the New One" which claims to be superior to Enrofloxacin (Baytril)... my biggest concern is they do not actually list the products ingredients (unless I overlooked it?). While it may well be a good medication for treating birds, I (we?) have no evidence to know if it can effectively treat squirrels in the awesome way Baytril does.

Stick with Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is you are asking me... also know that dosing instructions for squirrels are different from the instructions they include on the bird site. If it becomes necessary to treat your squirrel with Baytril, you will want to post the weight of the squirrel, the strength of the Baytril (in this instance 10%) and of course all the symptoms the squirrel is exhibiting. Someone with knowledge will assist with dosing via a PM....

[button nose's mom]

Powder just went in the freezer. Thank you very much. Yes, I noticed that it really doesn't mix up right away...even with hot water. I'm trying to break up lumps with a fork. (probably not a problem with larger puppies) I do overnight it now for that reason and for my teenager who has blessed us with taking over two night feedings so I don't suffer sleep deprivation. I make a very small amount and toss it after 2 days.

We changed the nursery after her great escape attempt. Larger bowl and no fleece over edges to climb over. We put a vented plastic basket over that as a lid. It's on a heating pad half on and off and a rice buddy is on the bottom to even out the heat, it seemed too hot. I also check the temp. We're going to replace all this soon.

Feedings are going pretty smooth, new nipple is making feedings a breeze. She mostly takes 1cc sometimes a little less...then I move her next feeding up a bit if she didn't drink as much. Every 3 hours or less. Keeping milk warm is key as I learned with my 5 week olds. She knows when she's is done. She unlatches and "unh unh unh" and tosses her head. If I try to put it back, "unh unh." Most babies first word is "no" right? Poops are good and seems to do most of them on her own. She's 22 grams now after 7 days up from 11 grams. I just realized she's doubled in size. The umbilical scab came off today. Her scratches are healed now. She had some dry flakes of skin but I figured that was from growing out of it. I put coconut oil on her. She's getting peach fuzz, that only my teen with bionic eyesight can see.

I agree with the original Baytril...I looked for a medication too, doesn't say.
325398
Thank you so much for reply and Peanut says, "unh"

[CritterMom]

Keeping the formula warm: If she is taking the approx 1cc of formula, fill TWO syringes with about .5ml each, with the nipples on the end of each syringe. Fill a coffee mug with enough warm water so that if you place the syringes nipple end down in the cup, the water level rises a bit above where the milk line in the syringe is. As long as the syringe is full, the water won't enter it. You want the water in the cup a bit warmer than you normally feed the formula. Place both syringes in the water to top off the heat, then grab one, leaving the other in the water. Feed until they get a little fussy. If you haven't finished the syringe, drop it back in the water and grab the other one and keep feeding. It will be nice and warm, and in a minute or two, the remaining milk in the other one will be warmed up again.

I actually heat the formula initially this way - just load my syringes and fill the cup with hot water and let it do the heating. It takes a couple minutes, but it prevent heating it so hot initially that you kill all of the probiotics in the formula.

RE: the "new" "Baytril." I went a lot further - dug up the manufacturer name and searched on that. ALL I found is a google image pic that is the same one used in the All Birds site - nothing more. Can't find anything on the manufacturer? Check. Can't find any info on the ingredients? Check. My nose detects a whiff of the finest in bovine excrement here.

[button nose's mom]

Yes, it's suspicious to me too. I have an education in the medical field and I wouldn't trust anything that doesn't spell out the drug in latin. Pet stores don't follow health care ethics, they'll sell anything. The price is weird too, $49.00 crossed out to $19.95 The only difference I could SEE was the amount of 25 ml and the other 0.08 oz. which I had to convert to 2.37 ml. So $35.95 for 25 ml regular Baytril and $19.95 for 2.37 ml for the "new" one. It works out to be $8.45 per ml for the "new" one and $1.50 per ml for the regular bottle of Baytril. So $6.95 more expensive per ml. The only new thing might be a rip off. This is marketing knowing some people wanted a "cheaper" bottle...I'm guessing. Cheaper, but 7x more expensive. Then a teaser rate higher than the regular price, crossed out..."look a sale!" Not. This might be the only "new" thing about it.

Feedings are going pretty smooth, this real nipple is great. I didn't have one with my older squirrels of 5 weeks. Pinkies are more intimidating, but I feel more confident now. I'm so fussy I even test the temp with the thermometer, and my wrist. When she only drinks half, I keep working and if she just won't...I try again in 30 minutes, then adjust the time of the next feeding. So she isn't getting away with it much. She's steady gaining. I feel good. My only fear now is a turn with an illness. My other one had loose smelly, stools and I had no tools, like Baytril. I found him unable to walk, weak... So I hydrated him and put him on a rice buddy. Gave him a bit of tums and a smidge of apple juice and he perked up after an hour. He still had soft stools but somehow fought it without any meds. We think he overfed, one of my helpers reported a meal in abundance that surprised me. Now I know the dangers of that! I hadn't found this board yet but got some articles online...which lead me here eventually. This is the best place for help, support and guidance. I would have passed them off to a rehabber, but there weren't any...all full after last years hurricanes. Thank you so much.

[button nose's mom]

This little peanut is doing good as far as I can tell. Feeding well, 1cc every 3 hours and now weighs 27 grams. She gained 2 grams today. I'll start using a larger syringe tomorrow and offer a bit more than 1cc. I just checked the feeding chart and it's 1.25 cc. Our notes show she had 9 feedings from 4am to 4am. She's getting stronger moving all around her bowl, but mostly sleeps. She's almost sucking the plunger, O ring down by herself. She's turning darker, less pink...is that normal? Might be some fur perhaps.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159672057262361&set=pcb.10159672057312361

Should I move out of emergency now for updates? I think she's going to make it, not life threatening anymore.

[Spanky]

I have done thousands of pinky feedings and prefer to stick with 1ml syringes until they are over 100grams... larger syringes are just too much a risk. JMO

[button nose's mom]

Yes, I see your point...larger amounts of milk into the mouth, harder to suck the plunger down, harder to control a tiny flow. I didn't even try to switch as she still only taking 1 and 1/10th cc and sometimes doesn't finish it all. I was just thinking about ease of measurement. Thank you for pointing that out.

She's 24 grams today.

She's so darn cute with all her human like baby movements. I'm thinking about naming her proper. What do you all think of Bindi?

[button nose's mom]

Bindi formerly known as peanut is doing great. I moved over to the Nursery. I didn't think she needed emergency care anymore. She is 46 grams and getting fur, two little bottom teeth. She's about 3 weeks old now.
Thanks for all the advice!