WARNING DO NOT FEED Fox Valley 32/40

[Mel1959]

This sucks! . Why was a 6 week old still on Esbilac 32:40?

[island rehabber]

She had it in house already. Didn't think it would be a big deal.....

[Samthesquiirrel]

I was wondering if the 20/50 is okay for baby squirrels? I saw another thing on esbilac being bad for them now so I’m trying to figure out what formula to use.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yes, FoxValley 20:50 is recommended for baby squirrels.
How old are your babies? If they are 3weeks or less there is a goat milk recipe that we can direct you to.

Please DO NOT USE ESBILAC!!! The warnings you have read about are true.

[Mommasika]

I would like to have the goat milk recipe on hand just in case. I just received my order from Henry’s and got the 32/40. I shall be emailing and asking if I can return for an exchange of another bag of the 20/50.

Mommasika

[HRT4SQRLS]

Homemade Goat Milk Formula Plus (HGMF+):
3 tablespoons goat milk
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
½ egg yolk

[BehrleJay]

Thank you, Nancy. Having four pinkies right now, and watching their little bodies digest Esbilac just fine, thank you very much, reminded me of the horrors we all experienced with FV 32/40 a few seasons ago.

I believe we all became complacent or just frustrated at the fact that neither FV's owner nor a few others in the wildlife nutrition field seemed to take the problem seriously. Good rehabbers second-guess themselves; many of us thought it was our fault st first, not the formula. But it was SO many babies, and SO many good rehabbers, that there is no longer any doubt in my mind......
IT WAS THE FORMULA.

Has anyone had this issue with 20/50? I'm having a similar issue now with 2 seven week olds. Thriving since I've had them but suddenly after about 2 weeks they seem bloated (2 of the litter, 1 first, 24 hours later another) stool is darker and harder and they're just lazy and not feeling well. I'm rehydrating now with a honey/pedialyte mix along with just water as they'll drink it. I cannot figure out what went wrong, they were PERFECT and then it's like someone flipped a switch.

[Spanky]

I have heard of no issues with the FV 20/50. They are not clicking (Aspiration Pneumonia) are they?

[BehrleJay]

I have heard of no issues with the FV 20/50. They are not clicking (Aspiration Pneumonia) are they?

No clicking, I've been listening every chance I get just to be sure.

[Mel1959]

Don’t give pedialyte for longer than 24 hrs. After that time switch to plain sweetened water.

Give a drop of infant GasX for the bloat.

[BehrleJay]

Don’t give pedialyte for longer than 24 hrs. After that time switch to plain sweetened water.

Give a drop of infant GasX for the bloat.

Oh I wondered if Gax X was safe! Thank you so much!!

[Danie]

I know this thread is several years old, but I’m unsure of how to proceed with 2 babies who are 2 weeks, 2 days old. I’ve had them 5 days, they are doing well on the goat’s milk, full fat yogurt, heavy whipping cream, egg yolk recipe. Should I transition them to FV 32/40 now and then FV 20/50 when they reach 4 weeks? Or is it safe to keep them on the goats milk formula for a couple weeks?

[Charley Chuckles]

This is what is recommended.
I just bought the Foxvalley ultra boost to have on hand just in case.
Hope this helps 👍

0-2 weeks: 1 part Ultra Boost to 3 parts Esbilac
2 weeks to eyes open: 1 parts Ultra Boost to 2 parts Esbilac
Eyes open to weaning: 2 parts Fox Valley 20/50 to one part UB*

*Heavy whipping cream can be used while waiting for the Ultra Boost to arrive

[island rehabber]

I'm the cheerleader here for Esbilac and Ultra Boost 3:1 for babies 2 wks old and under, having had great success with my last 3 season's pinkies. HOWEVER, if your combination is working well for your babies, stick with it and transition to Esbilac-UltraBoost 2:1 at 4 weeks old. The GM combo gives many babies diarrhea, but certainly not all, so if yours are ok stick with it and transition later. Just my .02 !!

[Danie]

Thanks! The GM formula has not caused diarrhea, thankfully. I think I may just keep them on it for a few days since I’ll be beginning the transition to FV 20/50 in just a little over a week. Their finder held them for 3 days before reaching out to me. After 72 hours on vanilla ensure, they were very bloated and had diarrhea (weighing 17 and 19 grams at ~10 days old.) They’re now up to 30/32 grams at ~2 weeks, 4 days. No more bloat or diarrhea, thankfully.

[Garden71]

Last year we used 32/40 with UB and didn't have any problems. The only reason why we used 32/40 was because the esbilac we bought was all clumps and didn't mix well. We used it for 2 weeks then transitioned over to 20/50.

[capdncrunchd]

Hello, it seems that this thread has gone quiet. I wanted to check to see if FV 32/40 is still a problem for anyone. We’ve been only rehabbing since about 2020, but have been using FV 32/40 since the start (as do the other rehabbers at our rescue. On the other had, we had been advised not to use esbilac as their formula has apparently changed over the last 2-3 years and it has causes issues with squirrels.

[island rehabber]

Sadly, fellow rehabbers and I also found that the so-called new Esbilac, the one with the brown, black and white puppy on the front versus the old formula with the white puppy, is not good with baby squirrels. I had the same issue with clumping and then babies having not diarrhea but very mushy stringy poop. After losing over one dozen pinkies in a season back in 2015 I can't bring myself to use 32/40 ever again, but that might just be me. I would like to hear back from others like yourself who are using it without a problem but I would still be very careful using it with neonates and squirrels less than 2 weeks old.