1 very sick baby, 2 sisters. Need help!

A client of mine brought four 5 week old squirrels into my work 5 days ago. I am a vet technician so I do have access to a lot more options than most people. I have been feeding them esbilac on a 1/3 to 1 cup water ratio. 2 days ago I did have a scare with 2 of them acting very lethargic and diarrhea, so I started them on probiotics 2-3 times daily and SQ fluids given .5cc's at a time as needed. I lost 1 baby boy this morning and have another who is very close to dying. I have cut back the formula and added more water to try and get rid of the diarrhea. They are kept warm with a heating pad with no problems. Feeding 3-5cc's every 3-5 hours including through the night with a 1cc syringe. I have given sick baby a fair amount of SQ fluids as emergency protocol and also a very small amount of syrup. The other 2 babies are doing well but if I do lose this one I want to make sure to take preventative measures with the other 2. I do have access to Clavamox liquid 62.5mg from my work if this is recommended at all. I am also willing to start them on the special squirrel food if needed. Thanks for any help.

You must get these babies off Esbilac formula immediately to stop the diarrhea. Esbilac is no longer recommended for wildlife because it causes diarrhea and in some cases death. Most of the rehabbers here on TSB use Fox Valley Animal Nutrition. The 32/40 formula for eyes closed babies and the 20/50 formula for eyes open babies. It can be order online or over the phone and he will rush ship it for you.

You can use the following formula for a few days until you get the Fox Valley:

Jackie's Goat Milk Recipe
1 cup goats milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dannon all natural vanilla yogurt

Mix well and keep in a covered plastic or glass container in the refrigerator. Replace after 48 hours.

Also any antibiotics in the cillin family are not recommended for squirrels. SMZ/TMP ( Bactrim, Sulfatrim) or Baytril are recommended.

I do have access to Baytril... 22.7mg if I remember correctly. I will suspend the esbilac immediately. Have just read a lot of the posts saying the same thing. Unfortunately I did not realize they had changed the formula. I will be picking up pedialyte and ingredients for the temporary formula within the next hour to start them on a re hydration regime (not that they are necessarily dehydrated, but looking for prevention measures). thanks

also, have ordered the FV formula.

if not clicking...why would you give ABs?
diarreha calls for rehydration and dilute formula, not ABs which will strip gut flora and that's already an issue...
just keep them orally hydrated and warm! feed diluted GMilk formula..or hydration formula until FV is overnighted...
I Love Lucy is right,no cillans/claxamox for sqs.
Hope the three can hang in there..
Esbilac:shakehead rrrrrrrrrrr!
If you think diarreha from another cause, maybe cocchidia or such, have vet do a fecal...
good luck!
I can help dose the 22.7 if needed...we'll need a weight in grams...if ABs are needed...for cocchidia, I use SMZ-TMP, for giardia I use metronidazole/flagyl.

I have metronidazole tabs at work as well, and smz. but i wont worry about the abs till i do a fecal. will attempt to get sample tonight. Little boy died this afternoon :-( and I cannot tell you how upset I am to hear about esbilac being so detrimental. Especially since my boss (Vet) recommended it (as im sure she didnt know the formula had change) along with about 20 websites. grrrr. the 2 girls are doing well so far, starting them on the recipe i love lucy gave tonight and ordered the FVN. should be here by friday. also started them on hydration regime and pedialyte this afternoon. *crossing my fingers* just so upset about the esbilac...I have always used it for my baby sqs in the past (4-6 years ago) with no issues. thanks for the help

Giardia and/or coccidia shed intermittently in the stool so you should take a sample from several bowel movements from both squirrels. They can be mixed in one container.

just a quick update: both girls are doing wonderfully since I put them on the goats milk recipe. Thanks so much! Solid formed poops, clear urine. Well hydrated, and both have their eyes open now. Received the FVN today and starting them on it this evening. Thanks everyone for their help!

Transition slowly - mix the formulas together for a while to get them used to the change.

I see alot of people posting about the two formula mixes, we have not lost one to date on esbilac. Our whole team still uses it, we have had to use the goat milk on occation for new babies when we have nothing in the house. I'm not sure what happened or changed, but it has not affected us yet. we use 1cup water w/ 1/2 cup esbilac & 1/2 cup whipping cream. We mix the water and esbilac first, them mix in the cream slowly. We let it set 4 hours in the fridge before using.