Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 21

Thread: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little block

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little block

    Any tips on how to get my 2 10 week olds to drink water? I put in a water bottle which they drank out of a few times the first week I had it in their cage and now they ignore it. I have checked and it is working properly. I've offered water from a food bowl as well and so far nothing. They have also cut themselves back to 3 (sometimes only 2) formula feedings a day (5-10% of their body weight). I also tried a little formula in a food bowl. They were eating HHB ok but they were barely eating a half a block each even with a very thin spread of coconut oil or nut butter. I tried crumbling some in yogurt but that must have tasted like poison to them! lol I've tried Harlan-Tekland which they ate right up for a day or two and now they are ignored. I may order Mazuri today. So I guess I have several questions...

    1. How to get them to drink water.
    2. I would rather them eat HHB so is it ok to start introducing baby food now? I was thinking I could dip them in baby food or crumble them up in baby food.
    3. Is it ok to introduce fresh veggies now even though they aren't eating much block?

    Also, Bones, my almost 8 week old (in 2 days) is drinking formula about 4 times a day, eating his HHB like a champ (I cut 1 into 6 pieces and feed throughout the day), BUT not drinking water that I have seen. He seems very interested in trying other foods (he munched on a tiny piece of carrot while we were eating and wanted more) plus, to my shame, he climbed on the window seal from our chair. The chair is tall enough where I don't see the window seal so I often forget to vacuum it (I won't now!). I heard crunching and he was munching on part of a dead bug (we don't use any kind of toxic sprays in our house). It looked to be a flying bug that my husband often calls male flies. Looks sort of like a wasp or something but no stinger. I got him at around 5 weeks and he is much more mature or "street smart" than the 2 I've had since 2 days old. Sooo....

    1. How to encourage Bones to drink water.
    2. Is it ok to start feeding him fresh veggies regularly?

    3. WHY is Rose now munching on a Harlan-Tekland block after I just complained about them ignoring them? I have the answer to that one! She is a butt.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Oh! They DO come to me various times during the day for a "drink" of formula. I've finally learned to recognize it and only heat up a little formula...so this is the time when I think they would go for some water if they drank water. I guess formula is better for them right now? They do have to be released sometime in the next century lol (not that I mind taking care of them at all!)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    City Island, Bronx, NY
    Posts
    51,452
    Thanked: 17932

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    So all three of your squirrels are rejecting water..... I would try a different type of water, to test whether it's some strange odor in the water you're giving them. (Years ago we had our water so over-chlorinated here that people were saying their pets wouldn't touch it.) Just try bottled water once or twice and see if they go for it.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  4. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to island rehabber:

    JoanP (05-18-2017), rangergirl (06-16-2017)

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by island rehabber View Post
    So all three of your squirrels are rejecting water..... I would try a different type of water, to test whether it's some strange odor in the water you're giving them. (Years ago we had our water so over-chlorinated here that people were saying their pets wouldn't touch it.) Just try bottled water once or twice and see if they go for it.
    Great idea! We filter our water (heavy duty-filters out heavy metals and flouride) and the filter adds a bit of minerals to the water. I will try plain bottled water today!

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    876
    Thanked: 1057

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Just another thought, I've only raised squirrels once, and I was so concerned that they weren't drinking water I offered. But this is what I learned from my experience.

    So long as mine were drinking any formula, they really weren't interested in water. My squirrels were on formula by their choice for a very long time. Obviously they went from 4x a day, to 3x a day, to 2x a day, to 1x a day. It wasn't until after they were barely taking formula, or even off of it that their need/want for water began, and then, they drank it regularly.

    Mine were fed spring water from a local mountain source.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by Lighten-Up View Post
    Just another thought, I've only raised squirrels once, and I was so concerned that they weren't drinking water I offered. But this is what I learned from my experience.

    So long as mine were drinking any formula, they really weren't interested in water. My squirrels were on formula by their choice for a very long time. Obviously they went from 4x a day, to 3x a day, to 2x a day, to 1x a day. It wasn't until after they were barely taking formula, or even off of it that their need/want for water began, and then, they drank it regularly.

    Mine were fed spring water from a local mountain source.
    That makes me feel better! Thanks for your insight!

  8. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to ScrappyDo:

    JoanP (05-18-2017), Lighten-Up (04-23-2017)

  9. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Been doing a bit of research about the blocks and I am going to make boo balls with HHBs, powdered Esbilac, a probiotic and baby food with some chopped veggies mixed in there and give them the equivalent in HB...for instance, if I use 6 HHB and the mixture makes 12 balls then I will give them 2-4 boo balls a day (if they will eat them) and give them access to formula, water, and harlan-tekland blocks. They prefer their blocks cold, so I just gave them an ice cube and they nibbled some of it! I guess I'll have to get creative if I feel they need more fluids!

    If the boo ball idea isn't ok for their main diet (I will of course offer them fresh veggies daily) please let me know!

    I said to heck with it today and gave them a plate of broccoli (they loved it), brussel sprouts (no way), green beans (they have been nibbled on) and a tiny slice of sweet potato (nibbled). I will be getting them some appropriate greens to add tomorrow. So far so good!

  10. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    876
    Thanked: 1057

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    You're not giving any nuts right? Because if you give them nuts, they won't eat block.

    I'm assuming that they are only on formula and you are just beginning to give them block and a few veggies. If this is true, than one reason they might not be eating much block might be simply because they are getting most of their nutrient requirement through the formula, and they only need to nibble a little for fun on the HHB.

    If this is true, than as they naturally start eating less formula, and of course do start some veggies, they will much more desire the HHB; because their natural instincts will cause them to eat more block; if you are not giving nuts.

    In the beginning, mine only nibbled on the blocks. Much to my dismay, they often shredded them more than eat them. However, as they lessened their formula, they began to eat more block regularly, and I was of course introducing veggies, only one at a time. I chose to not give nuts for a very long time. I wanted to make sure they were very much dependent on the block as their mainstay, before I added nuts. For me, this worked well, and once they were mostly off formula, they stopped shredding their blocks and they began really eating them.

    Note: at one point that they were now eating nuts, they stopped eating the block. I had to stop giving the nuts until they resumed two blocks a day. I explained this to them, and I feel really sure that they understood this, for they resumed eating the block immediately.

  11. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Lighten-Up:

    island rehabber (04-23-2017), JoanP (05-18-2017), rangergirl (06-16-2017)

  12. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by Lighten-Up View Post
    You're not giving any nuts right? Because if you give them nuts, they won't eat block.

    I'm assuming that they are only on formula and you are just beginning to give them block and a few veggies. If this is true, than one reason they might not be eating much block might be simply because they are getting most of their nutrient requirement through the formula, and they only need to nibble a little for fun on the HHB.

    If this is true, than as they naturally start eating less formula, and of course do start some veggies, they will much more desire the HHB; because their natural instincts will cause them to eat more block; if you are not giving nuts.

    In the beginning, mine only nibbled on the blocks. Much to my dismay, they often shredded them more than eat them. However, as they lessened their formula, they began to eat more block regularly, and I was of course introducing veggies, only one at a time. I chose to not give nuts for a very long time. I wanted to make sure they were very much dependent on the block as their mainstay, before I added nuts. For me, this worked well, and once they were mostly off formula, they stopped shredding their blocks and they began really eating them.

    Note: at one point that they were now eating nuts, they stopped eating the block. I had to stop giving the nuts until they resumed two blocks a day. I explained this to them, and I feel really sure that they understood this, for they resumed eating the block immediately.
    They haven't had nuts except for what is in the HHB. They haven't taken a full meal of formula since 11:30 last night and it's 4:30 pm here. They have taken a cc or two here and there today. They did seem to consume more on their HHB and tekland blocks today and they really enjoyed the broccoli (everything else was ignored or barely nibbled). I'll just make their boo balls with formula so at least I know they are getting their blocks AND some nutrition from the formula. I'll still offer formula from the syringe as well until they refuse to take it and if I can ever get them to drink out of a dish I will offer formula in that as well. I think I'm probably freaking out over nothing. lol They are still gaining weight every day so they must be eating more than I realize. If they even make eye contact for 2 seconds I'm trying to shove a syring in their mouth. And I guess they will drink water when they quit drinking formula like you said. I am about to mix up some boo balls with coconut yogurt and formula since I don't have any baby food on hand right now. Even my 7-8 week old is trying to wean himself a bit! He's only eaten 2 full meals today but he eats his block (and now broccoli) like a champ so I am definitely not as worried about that tough guy! He will probably eat a full meal of formula before bed, so I think he is good. I will closely monitor weights and try something else if this doesn't work. Thank you for all your help! Sometimes it takes me asking a question to get my mind in gear and to focus on what I've read on this very helpful board!

  13. Serious fuzzy thank you's to ScrappyDo from:

    JoanP (05-23-2017)

  14. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    876
    Thanked: 1057

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by ScrappyDo View Post
    They haven't had nuts except for what is in the HHB.
    Great, thanks for clarifying.


    Quote Originally Posted by ScrappyDo View Post
    I think I'm probably freaking out over nothing. lol They are still gaining weight every day so they must be eating more than I realize. If they even make eye contact for 2 seconds I'm trying to shove a syring in their mouth. And I guess they will drink water when they quit drinking formula like you said.
    If it's any consolation, I freaked out over lot's of nothings they entire way through raising my first two. I did get several good laughs at myself along the way. The good side is that you are very attentive to wanting to catch things in the early stages, that is a very important virtue, the downside is the stress and worry that may result...

    I never gave mine any baby food. I think that's a personal choice.

    Best to your and your crew!

  15. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Lighten-Up from:

    JoanP (05-23-2017)

  16. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    East Coast, USA!
    Posts
    20,090
    Thanked: 12516

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    They are peeing fine? I thought my two 11-12 week olds were not drinking but I FINALLY saw one drinking from their bowl! Only seen this once. They have both bowls and a water bottle.
    See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!

    Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.

    "Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
    -Grateful Dead

  17. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by Lighten-Up View Post
    Great, thanks for clarifying.




    If it's any consolation, I freaked out over lot's of nothings they entire way through raising my first two. I did get several good laughs at myself along the way. The good side is that you are very attentive to wanting to catch things in the early stages, that is a very important virtue, the downside is the stress and worry that may result...

    I never gave mine any baby food. I think that's a personal choice.

    Best to your and your crew!
    Haha! That makes me feel better! Thanks for your help!

  18. Serious fuzzy thank you's to ScrappyDo from:

    Lighten-Up (04-24-2017)

  19. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by TubeDriver View Post
    They are peeing fine? I thought my two 11-12 week olds were not drinking but I FINALLY saw one drinking from their bowl! Only seen this once. They have both bowls and a water bottle.
    They are peeing fine! I can't tell the color because all three are "litter" trained and they either go in a little container with dirt in their cage or their big dirt dig box under their cat tree. Perhaps they are being sneaky! lol They have a water bottle and a few food and water bowls. I did give them an ice cube and a frozen formula cube yesterday and they loved it! I'll get fluid in them one way or another! Thanks for your help!

  20. Serious fuzzy thank you's to ScrappyDo from:

    JoanP (05-23-2017)

  21. #14
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Eastern U.S.A.
    Posts
    64
    Thanked: 70

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by Lighten-Up View Post
    You're not giving any nuts right? Because if you give them nuts, they won't eat block.

    I'm assuming that they are only on formula and you are just beginning to give them block and a few veggies. If this is true, than one reason they might not be eating much block might be simply because they are getting most of their nutrient requirement through the formula, and they only need to nibble a little for fun on the HHB.

    If this is true, than as they naturally start eating less formula, and of course do start some veggies, they will much more desire the HHB; because their natural instincts will cause them to eat more block; if you are not giving nuts.

    In the beginning, mine only nibbled on the blocks. Much to my dismay, they often shredded them more than eat them. However, as they lessened their formula, they began to eat more block regularly, and I was of course introducing veggies, only one at a time. I chose to not give nuts for a very long time. I wanted to make sure they were very much dependent on the block as their mainstay, before I added nuts. For me, this worked well, and once they were mostly off formula, they stopped shredding their blocks and they began really eating them.

    Note: at one point that they were now eating nuts, they stopped eating the block. I had to stop giving the nuts until they resumed two blocks a day. I explained this to them, and I feel really sure that they understood this, for they resumed eating the block immediately.
    I too have explained the need to eat theHH blocks to my baby, but my singleton just won't eat it! He will gladly play at eating a bit....so long as I hold it for him. Will not drink water from hanging glass water bottle or from small dish. I realize he's getting enough water from the formula now. He is about 8 weeks old.

  22. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    299
    Thanked: 212

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by JoanP View Post
    I too have explained the need to eat theHH blocks to my baby, but my singleton just won't eat it! He will gladly play at eating a bit....so long as I hold it for him. Will not drink water from hanging glass water bottle or from small dish. I realize he's getting enough water from the formula now. He is about 8 weeks old.
    I know how you feel! I am certainly no expert but perhaps I jumped the gun! They are older now and drinking fine out of their water bottles, shallow dishes and if I have a glass of water handy they let me know when they are thirsty! I responded to one of your posts about not eating HHB. Mine wouldn't either! Boo balls were such a great blessing to me and my rescues! Message me if you need extra help! But again, I'm no expert! It's just worked fantastically with my 3! 😀

  23. Serious fuzzy thank you's to ScrappyDo from:

    JoanP (05-23-2017)

  24. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    876
    Thanked: 1057

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Quote Originally Posted by JoanP View Post
    I too have explained the need to eat theHH blocks to my baby, but my singleton just won't eat it! He will gladly play at eating a bit....so long as I hold it for him. Will not drink water from hanging glass water bottle or from small dish. I realize he's getting enough water from the formula now. He is about 8 weeks old.
    Just a clarification on what I said, in case it would matter; when I explained the need to eat the HHB's to my girls, that was long after they had been eating block. It was when they had decided that they would rather wait to eat the nuts that would come later and thus not eat block, that I explained that if they did not eat block, absolutely no nuts would be forthcoming from me. And they ate the block.

    I had to wait a long time for my girls to actually eat the block and not shred it. At that time, I wasn't really expecting them to eat it, or trying to tell them emphatically to eat it, I was just hoping that they would. Once I knew that they would eat the block, and they stopped, that was when I think the vocal explanation helped.

    I do think that when they are on formula, they are getting protein from that, and thus their need for block is not great. Once the lessen the formula, most seek out the protein that is in the block, and thus begin actually eating block and not playing with it. This is my hypothesis, anyway from watching it all happen.

  25. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Lighten-Up:

    JoanP (05-23-2017), Mel1959 (05-22-2017)

  26. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Elizabethtown, ON
    Posts
    33
    Thanked: 27

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    So my two 11 week old little boys don't seem to drink any water during the day when I'm not home. When I get home, I hold the water bottle (instead of it hanging on the cage) and they fight each other to drink from it. WTH??? They take about 15cc of formula once a day, before bed, but I noticed today they aren't peeing very much. Now I'm worried!

  27. #18
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Jupiter, FL
    Posts
    31,376
    Thanked: 13302

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Maybe if you give them a VERY shallow bowl with a few clean stones in it so they can't dunk their whole faces into it, they would prefer it.
    Squirrels, squirrels and more squirrels....
    Prayers for the people who make this a better world...
    savesquirrels@sbcglobal.net



  28. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Southeast US
    Posts
    2,021
    Thanked: 3621

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    I very rarely EVER see my guy drink water. It worried me at first because I wasn't sure he was drinking but his pee was always fine. He'll be 1 next month and I think I've seen him drink water 3 times.

    “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ― John Bunyan



    Sammy's TSB Thread Marvin and Charlie's TSB Thread Sadie's TSB Thread

  29. #20
    Hannahamae05 Guest

    Default Re: My 2 10 weeks old not drinking water, only Esbilac 3 times a day, very little blo

    Hello, I am new to threads and forums. Can someone direct me
    On how to make a new thread? I have a baby squirrel I believe he is 7-8 weeks old. I know nothing about squirrels and need direction in how to take care of him until he's old enough to go off on his own...

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •