baby squirrel with diarrhea, bloat and frequent urination

[jivemonster]

a little over a month ago, my sisters found a baby squirrel in our yard. we couldn't find anyone willing to take him in, so i decided to take care of it. at the time his eyes were shut and he had very little fur.

he had been doing very well when all of a sudden my sisters discovered him in his cage covered in urine and seemingly dead. my mother was prepping a box to bury him in when she noticed he squeaked. they kept him warm, massaged him and gave him pedialyte. this occured 2 days ago. he is now very alert and active, but he seems very bloated, urinates frequently (and sometimes uncontrollably) and has had diarrhea. the diarrhea started out as a brownish yellow liquid, now it is a clear yellow liquid. he is being given pedialyte, but he is extremely hungry. i didn't want to give him any formula, but i can tell he is very hungry. i have given him 1/4 formula and pedialyte, but there is no change in the diarrhea.

i massaged his belly, but he still seems slightly bloated. i have no idea what could have caused all of this. the only thing different he ate (other than his regular formula (esbliac) and bananas) was a ripe guava (w/o seeds). sorry for the long message, but i am really worried for the little guy. if any one knows of vets in los angeles that will see squirrels please let me know ( the last vet i took him too looked disgusted that i would actually bring a squirrel into her office!)

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

One thing to add to GB's comments is that when you 'rub his belly' you actually need to rub his genitals to get him to urinate, and rub his bottom to get him to poop. You can use a warm damp cotton ball or Q-tip.

You may have been doing this, but just wanted to make sure you weren't just massaging his belly. His mother stimulates him by licking those areas. If you were rubbing the wrong areas, then he probably does have a lot to flush out.

[thundersquirrel]

hello, and :Welcome

what formula have you been giving this guy? do you know how old he is?

pictures are always appreciated, as a lot can be discerned from them.

i hope we can figure this out!

[Mars]

I'm thinking your baby may have coccidia. This can be determined by a stool sample and a vet. (Tell them it cames from a hampster if you must :) ) It is easy to treat if that proves to be the case.

You do need to risk feeding your baby as it cannot stay on just fluids. Start with a very weak formula. Dilute your esblilac in half. Please use water. Diluting with pedilyte messes up the salt balance and can actually cause more dehydration - just the opposite of what we want. Add about a 1/2 part of organic live cultured yogurt ( vanilla goes over well ) to your formula. I would also suggest adding Bioplasma ( also called cell salts or biosalts) I place one tablet into the formula twice daily ( first and last feeding ) while baby is recovering ( at least three days ). This is supportive care and need not be continued once everything is on track. This product can be found at heath food stores.

Alternate feedings of formula with one of pedilyte and watch the stool. Stay in touch with us. We will try to walk you through this and get baby better.

Hope this helps.:)

[jivemonster]

thank you all for the advice. he seems to be improving. he is very active now (he was chasing my sister this morning :) ) and the bloat has definitley gone down. he still has a little bit of diarrhea, though it's not as watery as it was before. i noticed he has urine burn, is there anything i can use to help soothe it? i think he is about 7 to 8 weeks old. i will keep every one posted on his condition (by the way, his name is humphrey)

[roguetiger]

Hey Jive!

Just wanted to try and ease your fears - these guys have helped me through some worried filled days (and nights!) They really know what they are doing.

Well wishes to you and the baby! I hope he gets better soon!

[susanw]

You can use vasaline on the urine burn. Welcome by the way!:Welcome

[jivemonster]

i am very sad to say that my baby, my humphrey, died tonight. he had seemed to get better, but started getting progressively worse yesterday morning. i had taken him to a vet a friend of mine recomended and he was prescribed antibiotics and antigas medication. humphrey started to get better, but suddenly died. now, my parents are worried that humphrey may have had rabies. he didn't exhibit any signs of rabies, and i have read that it is extremely rare for squirrels to carry the disease. his only symptoms were the bloating, diarrhea and excessive urination. he did seem a little irritable, but i assumed it was because he was bloated. also, he was not afraid of water, and just this morning he tried to get pedialyte from his bottle. i just want to to be able to put their fears to rest. thank you so much for all of your time and advice.

[hazel]

I'm very sorry to hear about little Humphrey's passing. I'm sorry you've lost your friend.


Picture Humphreyas he was a month ago. He would have had to survive an attack by a rabid predator in order for him to have rabies. Please tell your parents not to waste another moment worrying about it.

R.I.P. Humphrey :Love_Icon