URGENT! Formula for an adult with MBD and possible pneumonia?

[zensquirrel]

Hello, I am currently doing the Tums protocol for Fievel, a 6-7 year old squirrel we have had in our care. He became extremely lethargic and can’t move well or regularly. I believe he has MBD so I’ve been treating him and see only some improvement. We take him to the vet this week (she is not until til later in the week) but in the meantime he needs to eat and he is not wanting to chew solids. I even tried blending up Henry’s blocks but bc of the ingredients they turn into too sticky of a paste to move thru the syringe. (I’m willing to try again.) in the meantime I am obsessing over his nutrition needs and am wondering if anyone has ever fed squirrel baby formula at times like this.
His poop is already coming out white due to the tums treatment btw.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
And, to add insult to injury, I think he slightly aspirated on one of his Tums feedings.

[zensquirrel]

Also I am out of baytril so I stuck a sponge with some drops of tea tree oil in his habitat and made a respiratory tent for him. I’ve seen it work wonders before and it is helping.

[CritterMom]

Well, the tea tree oil doesn't sound like a good idea - it IS toxic. Your squirrel can take all manner of human antibiotics and most of the time you need only one pill to do an entire round of meds. If you or any friends/family have any leftover antibiotics, get the names and the milligram size of the pill, and with the weight of your squirrel, someone here can give you ACCURATE directions based on that weight to dilute the pill and dose your squrrel. Baytril is not the only thing that will treat pneumonia.

And absolutely you can feed formula to an adult squirrel. You can also make some "goop" with your Henry's blocks and formula - if he likes the formula it may make him try the blocks. I would try offering it on a spoon rather than trying to get it through a syringe.

[zensquirrel]

Why I think it’s MBD: husband was feeding more treats than blocks (he’s fired from this chore, btw) and didn’t tell me he’d changed the diet.
He was giving:
Some blocks
Walnuts
Carrots
Broccoli
Oxbow Natural Science Vitamin C discs
Selective Naturals Berry Loops
and other things I’m getting more info from him about…

[zensquirrel]

Ok thank you very much for your feedback! We both really appreciate it!

I will look for antibiotics and get back to you all here.
And I’ll make some formula asap.


Well, the tea tree oil doesn't sound like a good idea - it IS toxic. Your squirrel can take all manner of human antibiotics and most of the time you need only one pill to do an entire round of meds. If you or any friends/family have any leftover antibiotics, get the names and the milligram size of the pill, and with the weight of your squirrel, someone here can give you ACCURATE directions based on that weight to dilute the pill and dose your squrrel. Baytril is not the only thing that will treat pneumonia.

And absolutely you can feed formula to an adult squirrel. You can also make some "goop" with your Henry's blocks and formula - if he likes the formula it may make him try the blocks. I would try offering it on a spoon rather than trying to get it through a syringe.

[CritterMom]

Why I think it’s MBD: husband was feeding more treats than blocks (he’s fired from this chore, btw) and didn’t tell me he’d changed the diet.
He was giving:
Some blocks
Walnuts
Carrots
Broccoli
Oxbow Natural Science Vitamin C discs
Selective Naturals Berry Loops
and other things I’m getting more info from him about…

The pertinent questions to pry out of him are: How many blocks; "some" being pretty conveniently vague, and How many walnuts?

And for YOU, how much total calcium a day are you giving him? To determine the actual answer to that, ignore the big "750mg calcium!!" banner which is actually ALSO vague, and turn the bottle around to read the info in the box on the back. Somewhere it will tell you how much "elemental calcium" is in each serving. Determine what a serving is (same box) as on some of the small mg tablets a serving is actually 2 tablets. Then you know how much actual calcium you are giving. For example, I have a bottle of "1000mg" Tums but there is only 400mg elemental calcium in them. The rest is flavoring, color, and a bunch of stuff that actually turns it from a pile of powder into a formed pill.

The white poop is usually an indication that you are giving too much, as it is being flushed unused from the body, and too much calcium can be an issue, too. Also, the dosing needs to be broken up into multiple doses per day, not just one or two big ones. You are trying to keep a level amount in the body, not big high/low fluctuations.

[zensquirrel]

I will continue prying info out of him.

OK, I was giving him too much of the calcium. I misread the instructions and gave him 400mg twice a day but over the span of every 4 hours. Ugh�� so he was getting 300 more than he should have gotten.


The pertinent questions to pry out of him are: How many blocks; "some" being pretty conveniently vague, and How many walnuts?


I will rewrite the plan now and work from that.


And for YOU, how much total calcium a day are you giving him? To determine the actual answer to that, ignore the big "750mg calcium!!" banner which is actually ALSO vague, and turn the bottle around to read the info in the box on the back. Somewhere it will tell you how much "elemental calcium" is in each serving. Determine what a serving is (same box) as on some of the small mg tablets a serving is actually 2 tablets. Then you know how much actual calcium you are giving. For example, I have a bottle of "1000mg" Tums but there is only 400mg elemental calcium in them. The rest is flavoring, color, and a bunch of stuff that actually turns it from a pile of powder into a formed pill.

The white poop is usually an indication that you are giving too much, as it is being flushed unused from the body, and too much calcium can be an issue, too. Also, the dosing needs to be broken up into multiple doses per day, not just one or two big ones. You are trying to keep a level amount in the body, not big high/low fluctuations.

[zensquirrel]

I just found one and a half 500mg ciprofloxacin tablets.

And two 100mg doxycycline Hyclate tablets


Well, the tea tree oil doesn't sound like a good idea - it IS toxic. Your squirrel can take all manner of human antibiotics and most of the time you need only one pill to do an entire round of meds. If you or any friends/family have any leftover antibiotics, get the names and the milligram size of the pill, and with the weight of your squirrel, someone here can give you ACCURATE directions based on that weight to dilute the pill and dose your squrrel. Baytril is not the only thing that will treat pneumonia.

And absolutely you can feed formula to an adult squirrel. You can also make some "goop" with your Henry's blocks and formula - if he likes the formula it may make him try the blocks. I would try offering it on a spoon rather than trying to get it through a syringe.

[CritterMom]

Excellent. Cipro is basically Baytril for humans - they are the same class of meds. Squirrels can take either one, humans can only take Cipro. If you can get a weight on him, we can give you directions to dilute and dose it properly. YOU will need a 1cc syringe (no needle) with clear markings on it to dose.

[zensquirrel]

I was able to get his weight this morning.
He is 1lb6oz or 625g

Any suggestions on how much doxycycline I should be giving him?

He is much more energetic having had formula! Getting back to his sassy self.
Now my concern is where to keep him so he doesn’t hurt himself.
I could get a plastic tub and drill air holes in the top. (Is that what is usually done for MBD recovery?) Normally, he has a big bird cage habitat but he can climb the sides (and fall) so that won’t work til he’s much better and isn’t falling.

[CritterMom]

I suggested using the Cipro, not the doxy. I can calculate the dose using the weight you gave and send it to you but if he is getting sassy and eating it doesn't sound like he needs it. If he had A/P he would be lethargic and refusing to eat - the opposite of what you are describing. Adults don't usually get A/P unless they are in some sort of drowning situation - they have a lot more control of their functions like swallowing.

I would absolutely NOT put him in a bin - he will be terrified and miserable. If you can slide something in to the cage to divide it in half and give him access to the top half only (not the bottom - they want to be up high, not on the ground - very vulnerable feeling there), that is an option. Option 2 is to thickly pad the bottom of the cage - like if you have any old pillows that would work, and remove anything that they might hit on the way if they fall.

[zensquirrel]

OK, thank you for this feedback.

I should clarify: he is still quite lethargic and is dragging himself around an little and not eating solid food yet but is taking the formula ok. I can hear the rattling like he has A/P as well. I think it happened when I was dosing him his calcium the other day or when I was giving him his syringe. I trust your expertise just wanted to be sure I’m conveying good details. :-)

As far as his sassiness goes he is back to complaining a little and is biting his blanket and toy friend but that’s it. Sorry for the confusion - I was just so excited to see signs of life beyond completely immobile and wheezing that I may have misrepresented the quality of what I’m seeing. I’ll try to get a video.
I suggested using the Cipro, not the doxy. I can calculate the dose using the weight you gave and send it to you but if he is getting sassy and eating it doesn't sound like he needs it. If he had A/P he would be lethargic and refusing to eat - the opposite of what you are describing. Adults don't usually get A/P unless they are in some sort of drowning situation - they have a lot more control of their functions like swallowing.

I would absolutely NOT put him in a bin - he will be terrified and miserable. If you can slide something in to the cage to divide it in half and give him access to the top half only (not the bottom - they want to be up high, not on the ground - very vulnerable feeling there), that is an option. Option 2 is to thickly pad the bottom of the cage - like if you have any old pillows that would work, and remove anything that they might hit on the way if they fall.

[CritterMom]

OK, thank you for this feedback.

I should clarify: he is still quite lethargic and is dragging himself around an little and not eating solid food yet but is taking the formula ok. I can hear the rattling like he has A/P as well. I think it happened when I was dosing him his calcium the other day or when I was giving him his syringe. I trust your expertise just wanted to be sure I’m conveying good details. :-)

As far as his sassiness goes he is back to complaining a little and is biting his blanket and toy friend but that’s it. Sorry for the confusion - I was just so excited to see signs of life beyond completely immobile and wheezing that I may have misrepresented the quality of what I’m seeing. I’ll try to get a video.

I sent the dosing for the Cipro via PM.

On another subject, check the expiration date of your doxycycline. It is one of very few drugs that you actually need to pay a lot of attention to the expiration date with. It will SAY 1 year, but it will last for 2 years. The DOD did extensive testing on antibiotics and expiration dates because discarding the entire supply of meds for the armed services was costing a fortune, and they found that doxy had a safe expiration of 2 years.

[zensquirrel]

OK, thank you for this feedback.

I should clarify: he is still quite lethargic and is dragging himself around an little and not eating solid food yet but is taking the formula ok. I can hear the rattling like he has A/P as well. I think it happened when I was dosing him his calcium the other day or when I was giving him his syringe. I trust your expertise just wanted to be sure I’m conveying good details. :-)

As far as his sassiness goes he is back to complaining a little and is biting his blanket and toy friend but that’s it. Sorry for the confusion - I was just so excited to see signs of life beyond completely immobile and wheezing that I may have misrepresented the quality of what I’m seeing. I’ll try to get a video.
I suggested using the Cipro, not the doxy. I can calculate the dose using the weight you gave and send it to you but if he is getting sassy and eating it doesn't sound like he needs it. If he had A/P he would be lethargic and refusing to eat - the opposite of what you are describing. Adults don't usually get A/P unless they are in some sort of drowning situation - they have a lot more control of their functions like swallowing.

I would absolutely NOT put him in a bin - he will be terrified and miserable. If you can slide something in to the cage to divide it in half and give him access to the top half only (not the bottom - they want to be up high, not on the ground - very vulnerable feeling there), that is an option. Option 2 is to thickly pad the bottom of the cage - like if you have any old pillows that would work, and remove anything that they might hit on the way if they fall.