Poop normal during day diarhea through the night NEED HELP!

[Coppersmom]

I have a 6 month old fox squirrel that has had poop issues for the last few days. Previously I began slowly trying to transition his formula to fox valley 20/50 with a little bit of the ultra boost to try to get him to gain weight. His stools went from normal to long soft poops. Then one night after a formula feeding he had watery diarhea. Color was a yellow light brown color and has bad odor. Next day I quit giving any type of formula and that day focused on hydration. Sunday he began Envigo 2018 blocks after soft poop began. He has had no formula for two days and he has normal poop during the day but over night he has had either long soft poop or diarhea. Tonight his stomach was very bloated and firm. Gave him belly massage which initiated diarhea. He is pooping quite a bit through the day so no constipation issues. He has always had 2 Henry’s blocks each day and since Sunday we have added the Envigo blocks. He used to get just Henry’s and fresh vegetables and fruits but since starting blocks I have only given Henry’s along with those and a couple pieces of fruit. Yesterday he also had some green cabbage with Henry’s and the blocks but today I only gave him the Henry’s and the Envigo with one blue berry with some calcium carbonate on it. I am only giving about 100 grams of calcium carbonate daily because a month ago he showed symptoms of MBD. I have read about maybe coccidia being an issue. A month ago he also had a severe UTI and was on antibiotics which has been cleared up.we’ve had a lot go in the last month which has been exhausting from one thing to the next it seems like. So does anyone have any ideas on if it could be coccidia and how to treat it if so or what could possibly be going on?

[Charley Chuckles]

Do you have bene-bac plus pro biotic?
This is what I copied it applies to dogs but it's used on Squirrels. Hope this helps 🙏

The beneficial bacteria help establish and maintain microbial population in the intestinal tract and can help prevent stress-induced diarrhea and help firm stools if a dog already has diarrhea. Bene-Bac Plus is a must-

[Mel1959]

Was it a typo for his age? Is he really 6 months old and still taking formula? There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just unusual. Formula is a good source of calcium and nutrients. With that said, has the formula and Ultraboost been kept in the freezer? It’s not rancid, is it? When you say you were transitioning to Fox valley and Ultraboost, what are you transitioning from?

If he’s having diarrhea the first thing you want to eliminate is fruit. Try offering some canned (or fresh if you can find it) pumpkin. Pumpkin helps solidify loose stool. A couple of drops of Immodium AD can also be given. As it passes through the system it can cause the stool to be dark, don’t be alarmed.

As CC suggested Benebac or full fat yogurt are good sources of probiotic.

Is he underweight? You mention you introduced Ultraboost in an effort to help him gain weight. I was just wondering why he needed to gain weight?

Baycox is the recommended treatment for coccidia, as it kills all stages. It is an expensive drug. My internet search found it here. https://www.newegg.com/bayer-baycox-5-toltrazuril/p/02W-00E0-00005
I have no idea if a Rx is needed to purchase or not.

I have never dealt with coccidia so I’m not sure if what your guy is experiencing could be it or not. I hope others will chime in with their thoughts.

Is this guy going to be released in the spring? You definitely want to be sure the loose stool is corrected before release.

[Coppersmom]

He is 6 months old and he has never turned his nose up to formula he loves it so I figured it was more calcium/nutrients. He has always been on pet ag powdered puppy formula with no issues. If fox valley is supposed to be in the freezer I did not know and he only had it for a few days it sat on my kitchen counter. So is it now bad since it’s not been in freezer? I can try the pumpkin and see how that helps. I’m just confused as to why his poops are perfect through the day and we have issues at night. I can not find full fat yogurt at Walmart but I did buy some low fat original vanilla yogurt great value brand the other day to possibly begin using but the only way I can get him to take yogurt is with his formula which I have been holding off on to try to get his stomach back in line. Should I attempt that with his old formula to see if that helps? And I had ordered ultra boost to help with his weight since he went from 600 grams down to 500 grams the last 4 weeks with this issues we have been having. His weight has been fluctuating so much the last few weeks today he weighed about 535 first thing this morning which is more than he has weighed first thing in the morning for a while. Also his stomach bloating is gone this morning with normal poops again.

[Mel1959]

He is 6 months old and he has never turned his nose up to formula he loves it so I figured it was more calcium/nutrients. He has always been on pet ag powdered puppy formula with no issues. If fox valley is supposed to be in the freezer I did not know and he only had it for a few days it sat on my kitchen counter. So is it now bad since it’s not been in freezer? I can try the pumpkin and see how that helps. I’m just confused as to why his poops are perfect through the day and we have issues at night. I can not find full fat yogurt at Walmart but I did buy some low fat original vanilla yogurt great value brand the other day to possibly begin using but the only way I can get him to take yogurt is with his formula which I have been holding off on to try to get his stomach back in line. Should I attempt that with his old formula to see if that helps? And I had ordered ultra boost to help with his weight since he went from 600 grams down to 500 grams the last 4 weeks with this issues we have been having. His weight has been fluctuating so much the last few weeks today he weighed about 535 first thing this morning which is more than he has weighed first thing in the morning for a while. Also his stomach bloating is gone this morning with normal poops again.

It’s possible he’s reacting to the FV formula, although I’ve known of more squirrels that react to the PetAg formula than FV. :dono. Any formula should be stored in the refrigerator once opened…. at a minimum, but for long term storage it’s best to put it in the freezer. Smell the FV you have and see if it has an off-putting smell. FV formula should smell sweet with a hint of vanilla.

Stoneyfield Yo Baby yogurt is a full fat vanilla yogurt that many squirrels like. You might keep your eye out for it in the grocery store. I found that a small shallow dish worked best for feeding yogurt.

You can mix Ultraboost with any formula to increase the fat and calories of the formula. I’d try mixing 25% Ultraboost with 75% PetAg and see how he does with that.

Try not to make too many changes at one time. That way if he’s stable and you make a change and he starts having issues you will have an idea of what’s causing it.

[Black Squirrel]

A lot going on there... Any formula transition should be gradual & incrementally introduced into the old formula. The abrupt change to FV may have caused the issue. Mel1959 is correct, unusual to be on formula at 6 months but not unheard of. Formula should not be the primary or major part of diet at 6 months. Teklad on demand in a bowl with Henry's Adult Blocks supplement is a good regimen. Albon (Sulfadimethoxine) or Ponazuril works for Coccidia but it would be best to get the stool tested for Coccidia (fecal) by your vet before administering. You can bring a fecal sample to a trusted vet to look at under microscope. Proper dosing is important.

[Coppersmom]

He only would get 30 ml of formula a day and when I began the FV I mixed powder of 1/4 FV with the 3/4 old formula and 1/8 teaspoon of the ultra boost. That’s as far as we made it doing that for 3 days. I would do 15 ml in between food twice a day. Before all of this he would have Henry’s blocks along with vegetables and some fruit and his formula. I was taking it very slow with the formula change. Depending on how tonight goes with his bowels I’m thinking the diarrhea may be due to over eating of the Envigo blocks. Today I only gave him 2 Henry’s this morning at lunch he had two Envigo blocks and dinner time he had 3 Envigo blocks and an hour before dinner I gave him 1/8 teaspoon of pure canned pumpkin. If he has no diarhea through the night I would imagine he should not have unlimited access to the Envigo because he eats all of them I put in there at once. I try to give a few at lunch time and last night he had 5. We shall see how the night goes fingers crossed!