Help!!

[JLFrance]

I cant get my baby to use the bathroom. Ive been trying to rub his belly and his privates but maybe im not doing it right? He still seems a little weak. I've been awake all night. he sleeps alot and doesnt eat much but i am feeding him out of a bottle so i really cant tell yet..

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

What kind of squirrel do you have?

[JLFrance]

hes a flying squirrel

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Someone will be along to help you soon, I dont know very much about flyers.
Keep checking back!!
I quickly glanced at my book and it says to make sure he is totally hydrated.

[hazel]

Nothing in, nothing out! He won't urinate until he's more hydrated and if he hasn't eaten for a couple of days it could be a day or two before he poops. (Then GB will do the poopie dance for you)(Not surprisingly, it involves bananas.)

Do you have pedialyte?

Darn, I wish I knew more about flyers. We don't recommend bottles for tree squirrels. You may need to get a small dosing syringe at a pharmacy.

[squirrelfriend]

Unfortunately I don't know much about fliers either. I have only had eastern greys so far. But what I can do is get some info from you so that when one does come along they cna have a head start.

What is his age?
How long have you had him?
How much does he weigh?
Fully furred, eyes open yet?
Any injuries?

Any other possible illness symptoms? such as mucus in eyes or nose, trouble breathing, clicking when breathing?

any parasites?

Have you been keeping him on a heating pad half under his enclosure?

What are you feeding him in that bottle? Use Esbilac puppy formula.

Have you tried Pedialite to rehydrate?

I can't think of anything else off hand. I will see if I can PM some members that do have fliers.

Good luck with your little guy.

[JLFrance]

His eyes are open he just squints alot... He has fur.. He just seems a little frail and he sleeps alot but ive been using kitten fourmula and ive had him since 5 yesterday... he peed a little and pooped a little tiny bit yesterday evening but that was it. He has no wounds and hes taking well to humans

[thundersquirrel]

JL,

he may be having some trouble digesting the KMR you fed him. as long as you've got him on esbilac now, this problem (hopefully) won't get worse.

try backing off on the formula feeding- switch to very warm pedialyte for a couple of feedings. if he's having trouble digesting, the last thing he needs is more food in his system.

don't worry about him being sleepy. he's a nocturnal animal AND a baby, so he'll spend a lot of time sleeping and most of it should happen during daylight hours.

continue gentle stimulation- use a soft tissue with some warm water on the tip. some babies like long rubs, others like very fast back and forth motion.

HEY OTHER REHABBERS isn't there something JL could feed his baby that fights constipation? i want to say yogurt or benebac but i can't remember (i've got a head cold).

[jules]

Yes TS, both yoghurt or the Benabac will help with digestive problems. Maybe Mars has some Homeopathic remedy she could recommend ?

Like you said, hopefully the Esbilac will help, now!

Jules. :Love_Icon

[JLFrance]

By the way thank you everyone for all the help

[Apple Corps]

JL - several are asking the question: are you giving him pedialyte fluid?????

If not - I would suggest you go to the drug store or grocery store and purchase a couple of bottles and have the pharmacist give you a syringe WITHOUT a needle. You hold your fuzzer with its head up higher and place the syringe with pedialyte in it at his mouth from below - YOU ARE NOT SQUIRTING THE PEDIALYTE IN - just press the plunger enough to keep a drop at the tip and he will suck it in with less chance of aspirating into his lungs - a big no no.

Feedings are about every three hours - get him hydrated before worrying too much about food. The pedialyte has sucrose in it so it will keep him from having a low bllod sugar problem.

AC

[JLFrance]

Thanks AC I just sent someone to get the pedialyte and its CVS brand but im sure it will work just as good. I guess I will keep him on this for the rest of the day to see how hes doing. I need to get him to use the little boys room. Other then that I think hes coming along pretty good. Hes a sweet little fella.:Love_Icon

[Apple Corps]

Great - are you getting the syringe as well ???

[JLFrance]

I didnt manage to do that, and I have to work at 5 (Im bringing the baby with me) I will pick one up tomorrow though. Will WalMart pharmacy have one?

[Buddy'sMom]

I was able to get syringes at a WalMart pharmacy -- but it depends on the person that's there at the time-- if you have to, explain that it's for feeding an orphaned kitten.

The CVS-brand hydrating fluid should be just fine. Keep up with that for a while -- once he's hydrated, he should start peeing. Don't worry about poop yet, since he really hasn't eaten much to be pooping yet. Let us know when he pees.

Do you have a heat source for him? Heating pad on low is best. If not, a "rice buddy" -- if you have a microwave at work?? (fill a sock 2/3 with rice or lentils, knot the end, microwave until warm (not too hot); re-heat as needed). If no microwave, you can fill a bottle with hot water; refill as needed. If none of those, can you keep him under your shirt for body heat?

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[JLFrance]

He has half of a heating pad set on low. Hopefully WalMart will be nice and give me one. I will go to every WalMart if I have to!

[Apple Corps]

Most any pharmacy will give you a few - especially if NO NEEDLE is included.

[thundersquirrel]

also, not sure if you mentioned this, but do you have a gram scale? weighing the baby daily is a BIG indicator of it's health. if you don't have a gram scale, or have one that's only for larger stuff (no decimal places), you could get one at wal-mart in the kitchen supplies section for under $30.

sounds like an adorable baby. :)

[macytree]

I'm still new to squirrels, I've only had mine for 3 weeks or so but I wanted to share what I've learned. Different squirrels respond to different stimulation. I could never do the wet tissue or cotton ball thing at all, it just didn't work. No amount of genital stimulation seemed to work for her either. What did work was using a dry washcloth and rubbing semi vigorously in small circles on her belly. She responded almost immediately to that.

Of course, like everyone else said, nothing in-nothing out.

[JLFrance]

Hes going pee pee now! I had him on pedialyte but just gave him a feeding of pup fourmula. Can I give him both?

[thundersquirrel]

of course you can give both! just don't overfeed. now that he's back to peeing, i think you should actually do both, just to be gentle.

give him half a feeding of formula, half a feeding of pedialyte. together the two will transition him. i can't be sure about his weight (then i'd say how much he should eat at each feeding) but considering his age i'd say maybe do 1.5 ccs of pedilyte, 1.5 ccs of formula?

i've never had to deal with feeding a flyer, so just make sure that you feed him until his belly feels like a day old balloon- visibly round, but soft and pushable (though don't push TOO hard- eek!)


someone far more experienced with flyers will *hopefully* jump in here with formula amounts. :)

[JLFrance]

He took his first poo poo. It was really really small a little bit bigger than the size of a flea. He coming along good. He was also peeing really good last night.

[thundersquirrel]

YAY! WE HAVE POOPY!

TIME FOR THE


:flash3 :wahoo :jump POOPY DANCE!:jump :wahoo :flash3


hehe.....any poop at this point is good poop. ;)

see if you can wrangle some more. feed him a little (maybe 1/4 mL) more than you usually do, unless he's already full. see what comes out next! :D

[JLFrance]

This whole thing is such an awesome experience. Im glad I get to share it with everyone! :wott

[Buddy'sMom]

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

[Sarah]

Dancing Poop!

[hazel]

SEE, I told you this would happen. :secret :banana

[JLFrance]

I just tried to feed the little guy and he wasnt interested much in eating... He ate good at 2 and I tried feeding him at 5 and he wasnt interested much and I just tried again at 6:30...

[JLFrance]

He made poo poo and pee pee again!!! He ate some more as well. He doesnt seem too entergetic yet...

[thundersquirrel]

this is good progress! it's going to take some time for him to become fully healthy, don't worry! just continue with caution. ;)

could you describe the new poops (i.e. color, size, shape, texture)?

you'll find that the squirrel board is HIGHLY interested in poopy. :D :rotfl comes with the territory, i'm afraid!

[JLFrance]

its like a dark brown almost black poopie.. it looks like teeny teeny tiny human poopy. thats how i can best desribe it. it isnt runny or anything..

[thundersquirrel]

ok, that sounds normal. just so you know (more fun facts) the initial dark poop is usually from their previous diet of mom's formula, and probably now the KMR as well.

you will know when the formula is the only thing he eats by his poops; they should turn a lighter brown/tan color, and hopefully will always be nice smooth pellets.

so he's not TOTALLY out of the woods, but he can see the light through the trees. ;)

[JLFrance]

thats a good way to put it! his poopie was like pellets now that you say something.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I don't have a lot of experience with flyers, but did 3 tiny ones this year. There is a very tiny nipple available that you can use and will make your job easier. What are you currently using?

[JLFrance]

i am actually still using a bottle with a long skinny nipple, i tried the syringe but had no luck with that and he didnt like it but i still use that for measurements.

[Apple Corps]

The problem with the bottle is the amount of air that may get sucked in with the formula. A syringe with a nipple attached avoids most of that risk. Even a syringe w/o the nipple avoids most of that problem as well.

[JLFrance]

yeah i noticed the little air pockets and i remember seeing something on here about them so whenever her goes to suck the tip again i always squeeze a tiny bit out so theres no air pockets. im not sure if that makes any sense haha

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Yes..she can be on both...if still hydrating...make sure theres more pedi..than formula..and no more kitten formula..puppy formula is better..tomorrow can you get some Esibilac formula...I have a grey Squiirel too..and have had him since he was 31/2 weeks..eyes closed..and his eyes opened at one of his 3:am feedings..as far as the peeing rubbing thing goes..you do what works..your there..and know how your girl responds...
I used a warm cloth at times..I did the cross method..up down..and the side to side...and the finisher..the snow flake...all angles..get all the points of your snow flake...tissue...what ever..works...:thumbsup
Mine is now 4 1/2 months old...so, hes thriving..I hope this helps..:Love_Icon

[JLFrance]

hes on puppy fourmula now, well since last night. Again thank you everyone for being so caring. :grouphug

[Apple Corps]

Sounds like a lot of progress and caring - keep up the great work :bowdown

[JLFrance]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/RoxyChild188/cid__1002070234.jpg


:)

[Buddy'sMom]

Oh, how SWEET!! :Love_Icon Thanks for the picture! A little darling :Love_Icon

[thundersquirrel]

oh he's SO CUTE!

haha how does it feel to be a 17 year old mommy-dad? :jump

yeaaaaah you should get him on a syringe, probably. it's just safer. try it again. ;)

[JLFrance]

Im deff a 17 year old mommy. Its different haha. My mom asked me the same thing. I woke up at 5 am this morning to feed my baby and my mom was up for work and laughed because I was up at the same time and I haven't woken up that early since I graduated this past May. Its alot of fun and its so worth it. I will try the syringe again though!