Eyes opened too soon??

[bird]

Hubert here just started getting fur. Hes gotta be around two or three weeks old. Which is very soon in my opinion for eyes to be open. From what I've seen the eyes usually will open at around five weeks or so. So my question here is: What does that mean for Hubert's eyes? Will he be blind? Eyes are clean and clear, appearing healthy. Even when his eyes were closed he was EXTREMELY active. Not sure if maybe because he is more "wild" his eyes opened sooner than what I'm use to. I've read that hand reared squirrels tend to open their eyes later than parent reared squirrels. Any comments or advice is appreciated! Thanks so much!

[Spanky]

Hubert does look little and young for eyes open (yes, they will typically open around 5 weeks old).

How much does Hubert weigh?

Eyes opening early usually is related to something like trauma, stress and often because of diet. We find that 90% of issues we see are related to diet and some simple changes can turn things around.

Please tell about how long ago Hubert was found and under what circumstances, what he has been being fed along with how much and how often and I am sure we'll be able to solve this riddle together!

Hubert sure is a cutie!

[bird]

Hes such a cutie. Thanks for the reply. We have had Hubert for about two weeks now. He did have a cold last week and one of his eyes slowly opened and became fully opened yesterday. Today the other one was open completely. He was getting fed every hour then became every 1 and a half and now hes getting fed pretty much every two hours. He has been receiving warmed puppy formula from the can. The Esbilac brand. I am co parenting him. I have a friend who found him she is his primary care giver, but when she is at work I take him and right now she is gone for the next four days so he has been with me. She has been weighing him so I'll have to get back to you on his weight.

[bird]

I forgot to mention how hubert was found! He really is such a fighter. So he was found about two weeks ago after a very bad storm. My friends parents found him, assumed he was dead. They put him in a plastic bag and in the trash. They told my friend about it when she returned home and she immediately went to go investigate. Found he was still alive and took him to this exotic pet store to talk to them to see if they would help him. She ended up caring for him and he became constipated for two days so we put the smallest amount of coconut oil in some of his feedings. He then started pooping everything out! He had made a pretty bad mess of himself at one point so I washed only his lower half in warm water and IMMEDIATELY dried him and got him back on the heating pad. She said as soon as she got home he was sneezing and wheezing so she took him to this pet store AGAIN and they told her how horrible I was for bathing him and to not wash him or get any water on him. So my friend didnt wash him AT ALL. So now that he in my care the the next few days. I have been cleaning off caked formula and poop off of his body. His skin is raw and irritated from the waste sitting on him. I clean with warm q tips. Try to be as gentle as I can and dry and than I spray the irritated area with Vetericyn. I have been doing only parts of his body at a time because its EXTREMELY uncomfortable for him.

[bird]

these are his recent weights

[Spanky]

Ugh! Washing him in warm water was the right thing to do. We often recommend warm water soaks up to their armpits and massages to help get poop moving in constipated ones. Of course, the water temp needs to be "gold" as in Goldilocks... not too hot, not too cold. And drying him well and keeping him warm until completely dry is necessary. Not water in ears or eyes (avoid the head all together when bathing). Having said that, normally squirrels should not need a bath.

Please share with us his diet, what he has been getting fed, how much and how often?

[redwuff]

these are his recent weights

7/29 - 22.12g
8/2 - 28.6g
8/6 - 30.4 g
8/7 - 30.8 g
8/8 - 31.6 g



I just want to point out that in these 10 days he gained 8.6 g. Usually squirrels this age gain 3 to 5 grams per day. He should weigh almost 3 times that amt.

[Nancy in New York]

. He was getting fed every hour then became every 1 and a half and now hes getting fed pretty much every two hours. He has been receiving warmed puppy formula from the can. The Esbilac brand..

This is the wrong formula, sorry. This most likely is the problem with his poops.
You will need to get the Powdered Puppy Esbilac.

[Nancy in New York]

I'm moving your thread to the emergency section, to get more eyes on it.

[TubeDriver]

He might be older than his weight suggests. If he was malnourished, he might look younger and be undersized but perhaps he really is close to 5-6 weeks old? Cute little guy, he should catch up with proper formula and care!

[bird]

This is the wrong formula, sorry. This his problem with his poops.
You will need to get the Powdered Puppy Esbilac.

I have personally always used the powder but like I said I'm co parenting and my friend wanted to use the canned for the convenience. But too bad for her then. I'm going to get the correct formula right now. THANK YOU SO MUCH <3<3 I never knew there was a difference personally. I always just got the big ol thing because its cheaper and they consume so much.

[Spanky]

It is terrible that they sell the powdered and liquid versions under the same brand name despite that they are very different. A lot of folks get "tricked" and buy the liquid for convenience.

There will be a huge improvement once the formula is changed.

Feeding every 2 hours seems too often for this guy.. I am thinking every 3 hours, but he needs to be fed around the click for a while (longer).

How much has he been eating every 2 hours?

[Nancy in New York]

I have personally always used the powder but like I said I'm co parenting and my friend wanted to use the canned for the convenience. But too bad for her then. I'm going to get the correct formula right now. THANK YOU SO MUCH <3<3 I never knew there was a difference personally. I always just got the big ol thing because its cheaper and they consume so much.

Another member just explained the liquid vs powder Esbilac in another thread.
I'm reposting here.

Yes, I would absolutely switch.

This is a protein issue. The canned liquid is not just the powdered stuff mixed up and canned. It is made with a type of protein called casein - and the powdered is made with whey protein isolate. Casein is much harder to digest and can actually shut the digestive process down. The food doesn't pass through the system and out the other end, and begins to putrify inside the body, killing the squirrel. They bloat up from the gasses escaping the rotting formula and die. Will it happen to EVERY baby? No - some are tougher than others - but why take the chance? Add to this the fact that while NONE of the Esbilac is cheap, you will spend WAY more buying the canned than you will the powdered.