What kind of box are you keeping him in? You said you have a heating pad in the box. It's not under the box. Could he be overheating?
What kind of box are you keeping him in? You said you have a heating pad in the box. It's not under the box. Could he be overheating?
Would you consider tide pods mild soap.? Bc that’s what I use., no fabric softener. Or would it be better to use like a baby detergent I also got that.?
And I can post pics when I get to work in the morning., my phone won’t let me upload them to the site., and I don’t have access to a computer here. But I will get them up first thing in the morning.!
cava (10-30-2017)
When I’m at work he stays in like those fancy storage cube boxes that people use for the cube shelves. So it’s cloth., at the very bottom of it., is the heating pad., and then a towel that allows like 3 inches between the two., and then there is him in his pouch which I keep in a mesh laundry like bag like you would use for delicates., so he can’t escape. Which he is mostly always in his pouch. Every now and then I catch him under the pouch closer to the heating pad. And when I say pouch I mean like the cozy pouches you can get off of Henry’s healthy pets., or any sugar glider caging accessories. Then I cover the entire box with a towel bc it’s super cold at work.
I always thought flyers needed more protein in their diet? Hair loss can be attributed to inadequate protein. Is he eating anything that contains additional protein? Have you tried chicken, eggs or cheese? There’s a product at petco that is called Pure Bites. It’s dehydrated chicken. I know other folks that have flyers feed them this. I feed it to my dwarf squirrel. You might try some of these things.
I’m not sure if he’s big enough or old enough to treat with kitten Revolution for possible mites. The folks that have flyer experience would have to tell you whether that’s a possibility.
I also know that Benadryl has been used for possible allergic reactions. But once again, I have no idea about the dosage or if it would be safe for your little guy. The itching definitely sounds like a possible cause for hair loss, too.
Coconut oil is safe to apply to his skin. It also has anti fungal properties.
I’m sorry I couldn’t offer more definitive help. I’ve never had a flyer but my dwarf had significant hair loss until I changed his diet.
I’ve had him for 5 weeks now so I’m not really sure on age other then his eyes opened on the 22nd of Sept., and he currently weighs 18 grams. He eats Esbilac formula with probiotics every 5 hours. It also has Ultra Boost in it for weight gain now. He is just now trying other foods. He still mainly wants formula. He won’t eat the hi protein blocks from HHP. But he will eat like a half of a 1/4 of the picky eaters formula from HHP. He also won’t touch a mealworm or cricket. I haven’t offered him much of anything else yet though bc I want him to eat his blocks first.
I submitted his diet and weight/age so If anyone needs to know that might have a tip. If the idodine don’t help by day 4 I’ll try coconut oil. I’ll order the pure bites right now.! I’m willing to try anything.
cava (10-30-2017)
Do you think he's stressed? Something to consider.
I think I'd use the baby detergent to be safe. Did you wash the pouch when you got it. He spends so much time in there and if it was brand new it may need a washing.
Do you keep him zipped in it while in the box or you said he can go under it, so you keep it open? It sounds like the pouch is the thing that touches him the most. If he has something against him all of the time, I wonder if it's wearing his fur off? Could you try another set up, may be a donut of blanket he could go into or on top of. I'd also put the heating pad under, not in, the box. And, if in the pouch, where does he potty in between feedings?
It may be worth getting a bin and drilling holes in it for travel. Here's the one I used when mine were pinkies. I drilled holes all around and in the lid and put the heating pad half under it while at work, so the babies could be on it (usually they were) or away from it if too hot. It was super convenient and it's petite and escape proof.
Mel1959 (10-31-2017), RobynRoberts (10-30-2017)
Try wax worms. Petco has them in a small refrigerator in the reptile section. Open the cup and make sure they are white and alive. If you find a lot of black ones ask the workers to make you up a cup of live ones.
You can buy them at Rainbow Worms once you know he likes them.
Make some Boo Balls also. Thay are faily easy to make.
Could he possibly be getting dried out from not enough air circulation?
That weight seems too small for a 5 week old.
Some recipes call for full fat yogurt and heavy whipping cream.
Need to find the recipe on here. That will help him gain more weight.
I’m gonna ditch the box and get a small tub like the one above today and see if that helps for when he is at work with me.
I ordered pure bites chicken last night for him to try and he also liked his shredded cheese I offered him his morning.
I did read about putting a moist rag in the tub with them to keep there skin from drying out. I will try that also.
And he is older then 5 weeks. He is underweight., but since I’ve had him he has done nothing but gained over a gram each week. He has ultra boost mixed in his formula to help with the weight gain., it is suppose to be the better alternative to the heavy whipping cream and yogurt.
I’ll have to see what a boo ball is never heard of them
And he dedficates and urinates outside of his pouch from what I can tell., when I wash all of his bedding I never find any feces in the pouch
cava (10-31-2017)
Here are the pics of his current set up.
The tote he is in from 5:30pm - 6:40am. The pouch is under the towel you see pictured, i just do that to heat the pouch up before I put him in the tote for the night so he isnt cold waiting for it to warm up. Then I remove it after.
The box which he is in from 6:40am to 5:30pm, at the bottom is big towel that allows about 3inches, from the bottom of the box, where i keep the heating pad, then on top of that towel is a thin towel, then the zipper bag which he is in (it stays zipped because the box doesnt have a lid to keep him from escaping. In the bag is another towel on the bottom then his pouch. He has free roam in the bag and get under the towel or his pouch etc. then I keep a towel on top of one half of the bag in case he gets cold, then I cover the box with a towel.
But like I said I am going to ditch the box and get a small traveling tote at lunch today to see if that helps. But he really likes his pouches.
With the traveling tote i plan on putting half the heating pad under it and getting like a cheap throw blanket or baby blanket and keeping his pouch in there, and drilling holes in the top.
cava (10-31-2017)
Did you mention how often and how much you are feeding him. I forget. And you are using the ultraboost mixed into what formula? Thanks.
I think he'll be happy to have lots of space to walk around in his new bin!
He weighs 18 grams so I feed him anywhere from .9-1cc of Esbiliac formula mixed with the suggested ratio of ultra boost. Every 5 hours. He is also trying some solid foods.
And yes I think he will too.! I fixed his new tote up last night so he is gonna be ready to go this morning.
Stores like Ross put their super soft baby blankets on clearance all the time. You can pick one up for about $3 or $4.
cava (11-01-2017), LR (11-01-2017), RobynRoberts (11-01-2017)
So one of the vets I work for her and I took all afternoon to figure out how much kitten revolution for Beeline. I got that on him today. Also started putting coconut oil on him once a day starting today.
I got the pure bites chicken breast and he won’t even look at them.! I’m running out of ideas for protein.! He is soooo picky. If he is on formula and Ultraboost and eating little bits of picky eaters HHP blocks is he getting enough protein for Now.? My next is scrambled eggs to try. I can’t get wax worms till the weekend.
LR (11-01-2017)
Robyn, I received your message. Sorry for the delay. I need to read your thread and I'll get back with you.
LR (11-01-2017)
A new born Flyer weighs 3 grams
4 days ---- 5g
7 days ---- 7g
9 days ---- 7-8g
12 days -- 10-11g
14 days -- 11-13g
17 days -- 12-13g
19 days -- 15-16g
21 days -- 16-19g
28 days -- eyes open
30 days -- 25-26g
31 days -- 27-28g
35 days -- 30-31g
38 days -- 32-34g
41 days -- 34-37g
50 days -- 41-52g (note the large variation now)
52 days -- 43-53g
Robyn, this is a chart that shows what a baby flyer should weigh.
I'm sure you're aware that Beeline is EXTREMELY underweight. He is less that half the weight that he should weigh. This is a failure to thrive baby. I feel certain that the hair loss is nutritional. You're not doing anything wrong. Actually, you're doing great but this baby is not thriving.
I'm going to call Anne right now. She is a flyer expert and see if she has suggestion for Beeline. I'm almost wondering if a formula change is needed. I know that diarrhea was a problem a few weeks ago and we sure don't what a return of that BUT it sure appears that he isn't absorbing any nutrients.
Yes I’m aware he gains a little over a ounce a week right now.
I look forward to hearing from you.!!
I’m skeptical on formula changes due to almost losing him twice which is why I haven’t tried to return to FV or goats milk.
LR (11-01-2017)
If nutritional should I go back to more frequent feedings.?
Sitting with him tonight., he ate at 6pm his stomach is gurgling a bunch., is that normal.? I’ve noticed it a little before but not like tonight.
LR (11-01-2017)
Robyn, I just got off the phone with Anne. She is going to come to your thread and read the history. She has raised a lot of flyers and has a lot of experience with them. She has had failure to thrive babies. She has also had babies that had the temperature drop and near death events like Beeline had.
I'm just curious, can you see a milk line after feeding? It's easy to see when they are young but it's harder to see as they get older. My only suggestion would be to move the feedings a little closer. Of course we don't want the diarrhea to return. If I remember correctly you were feeding every 5 hours. I would try every 4 hrs to get a little more nutrition onboard.
Anne will be here when she can and hopefully can offer some helpful ideas. I haven't had a failure to thrive baby. I have an adult male that probably was a failure to thrive baby but I didn't get him until he was 1.5 years old. By then he had mostly settled out but he is still extremely small. He is 7 years old and only weighs 56g. Even by flyer standards that's pretty small for an adult male.