Extreme bloating, probably formula intolerance. HELP

[Sk1307]

About 8 years ago FV 32/40 was turning extremely hard once it got into our pinkies gut. It was like cement and babies were dying everywhere because of a possible change it the formula make up. We put out the alarm and mov ed to Esbilac. Now it seems that many are having the same problem with straight Esbilac.

Duckman came up with a protocol to help flush out the intestines when they harden like what is going on with your baby. He feels that it is important to use plain water, not pedialyte, and stimulate them to pee and poop. You do not want to put any formula in until this bloat/blockage has moved. This is very important!

Gas x is great to use.

So if I give him plain water every hour along with a few drops of gasx, that will help? Also, you asked when his stool was last normal. I actually just got him to poop finally. It’s a thick golden liquid, is this a good sign? Before this however, he hadn’t pooped since 6 am this morning. He was still pooping pretty regularly when the bloating came on.

[SammysMom]

Yes, pooping is a very good sign! Is it possible for you to take a picture of him from the front so that we can get a good look at his stomach? It will help if we might be able to see if his milk line is still there. That means that you are able to see if he is digesting the milk or if it is sitting in his stomach. I am not certain that we will be able to tell, but it can't hurt to try to see if we can tell.

[Sk1307]

Yes, pooping is a very good sign! Is it possible for you to take a picture of him from the front so that we can get a good look at his stomach? It will help if we might be able to see if his milk line is still there. That means that you are able to see if he is digesting the milk or if it is sitting in his stomach. I am not certain that we will be able to tell, but it can't hurt to try to see if we can tell.

https://imgur.com/gallery/9LnJk What do you think about giving him plain water along with the gas x?

[redwuff]

Yay poop is very good! Gas x can be done with water each hour. Make sure you stimulate him very thoroughly after each time he gets fluid.

What is his story? Did he come in cold? How long have you had him? Any problems with pooping and peeing before? Has he had a good appetite so far? When was the last time he had formula?

[Sk1307]

Yay poop is very good! Gas x can be done with water each hour. Make sure you stimulate him very thoroughly after each time he gets fluid.

What is his story? Did he come in cold? How long have you had him? Any problems with pooping and peeing before? Has he had a good appetite so far? When was the last time he had formula?

I found him Saturday evening. Him and his sister had fallen from their nest I assumed. They were at the base of a tree. They had no injuries though. It was probably around 40 degrees, they were freezing. I looked around for others or the mom but I didn’t see anything and the sun was about to set so I don’t think she would have came for them. I was about a half hour from home so I didn’t have the resources with me to set up a warm box to wait for her. They both have been pretty good about going to the bathroom so far (before the bloating for him). He took a while to have an appetite, it took him until about the 5th feeding to be eager to eat. I’m not sure I gave them a long enough hydration period before starting diluted formula. I gave them pedialyte for 3 feedings (8 hour span, 1 was middle of night) before I started them on diluted formula. My female has done fine with the formula so far, normal urine and feces. She’s stayed the same weight since I’ve had her though. Is that normal? Anyway, back to your questions, the last time he had formula was 1 am last night. It was extremely diluted. What do you recommend I do for tonight? Should I give him water throughout the night?

[Chickenlegs]

I have a little boy—similar circumstances. He bloats when you look at him. His sister is fine but bloatboy has issues. I have him on goatsmilk with a little full fat yogurt. Their little bodies shut down and it takes a loooooong time for them to heal from exposure to cold. My boy felt dead. When he blows up, I give him water. He doesn’t get formula till his belly has gone down. Duckman’s protocol saved him.

[Sk1307]

I have a little boy—similar circumstances. He bloats when you look at him. His sister is fine but bloatboy has issues. I have him on goatsmilk with a little full fat yogurt. Their little bodies shut down and it takes a loooooong time for them to heal from exposure to cold. My boy felt dead. When he blows up, I give him water. He doesn’t get formula till his belly has gone down. Duckman’s protocol saved him.

Should I give him water throughout the night? How often did you feed him during the night? I’ve been sleeping from about 1 am to 6 am

[redwuff]

Thanks for answering all those questions. Are your babies on liquid Esbilac or powdered Esbilac. And were you able to get goats milk?

It has been almost 24 hours since your little man has had any nutrition and to be honest, it does not look as if his tummy has gone down much or at all, and I am not sure how to advise you.

Is he willingly taking the water? The question is .... is his belly bloated from gas or is he dealing with a blockage from either formula setting up in his intestines or even his intestines shutting down. Being cold is very hard on these babies.

So if he were mine, my course of action would be to keep trying to get him to poo from stimulation of his genitals and let him rest for tonight without introducing anything else. Give one more gas x and we will all pray.

I am also concerned that the little girl has not gained anything. She should be putting on a few grams by now. Like chickenlegs said, the cold is extremely hard on them.

By the way, thank you for bringing these guys in and working so hard to save them.

[redwuff]

I have to go feed but will check back before I go to bed.

[Nancy in New York]

My female has done fine with the formula so far, normal urine and feces. She’s stayed the same weight since I’ve had her though. Is that normal?

How much does your little girl weigh, and how are you mixing the formula now?
Are you doing 1 part powdered puppy esbilac formula to 2 parts HOT water.
Many mix this up ahead of time and let it sit in the refrig. ~6 hours mixing occasionally,
so it completely dissolves.
How much are you feeding her, and how often?
Is your little girl's tummy as dark as this little boy?
To me his stomach appears really dark.
Was it always this dark?

What kind of container do you have them in, and do you have
a heating pad UNDER the container set on low?

Is this the formula you're feeding?



Here's an excellent guide to Baby Squirrel Care
It's 6 pages long (quick read)
with the next button in the top right hand corner.

https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

[Sk1307]

Thanks for answering all those questions. Are your babies on liquid Esbilac or powdered Esbilac. And were you able to get goats milk?

It has been almost 24 hours since your little man has had any nutrition and to be honest, it does not look as if his tummy has gone down much or at all, and I am not sure how to advise you.

Is he willingly taking the water? The question is .... is his belly bloated from gas or is he dealing with a blockage from either formula setting up in his intestines or even his intestines shutting down. Being cold is very hard on these babies.

So if he were mine, my course of action would be to keep trying to get him to poo from stimulation of his genitals and let him rest for tonight without introducing anything else. Give one more gas x and we will all pray.

I am also concerned that the little girl has not gained anything. She should be putting on a few grams by now. Like chickenlegs said, the cold is extremely hard on them.

By the way, thank you for bringing these guys in and working so hard to save them.

They are on powdered esbilac. I haven’t gotten the goats milk yet, is it in liquid form or the powdered form found in the pet store by the esbilac? His tummy has been going down gradually. I’ll send a picture tomorrow morning. He’s pooped quite a bit and I’ve soaked him quite a few times tonight. His pee has gotten better too, he is peeing in larger amounts now. So far, I’ve given him water for 3 times now (each hour), and I will start up again around 6. His stomach is harder on one side, is that normal? If you look at the picture, you’ll see that side is more blue. It’s his right side. He willingly took the water after a few tries. He wasn’t as eager as he is with the gasx drops or the milk, but I didn’t think much of it. I have been weighing her in ounces, so she might have gained some but not enough to show on the scale. I’ll try to see if I can change the unit of measurement on the scale. Also, he weighed in at 1.2 oz at the peak of the bloating and is now at 1 oz. so it’s showing on the scale that he’s losing it. Should I start introducing formula again tomorrow morning even if he doesn’t lose it completely? Just to get some nutrition and calories in him. And if so, how diluted would you recommend?
Thanks so much for all your help!

[redwuff]

Give me a minute and I will answer your questions

[Sk1307]

How much does your little girl weigh, and how are you mixing the formula now?
Are you doing 1 part powdered puppy esbilac formula to 2 parts HOT water.
Many mix this up ahead of time and let it sit in the refrig. ~6 hours mixing occasionally,
so it completely dissolves.
How much are you feeding her, and how often?
Is your little girl's tummy as dark as this little boy?
To me his stomach appears really dark.
Was it always this dark?

What kind of container do you have them in, and do you have
a heating pad UNDER the container set on low?

Is this the formula you're feeding?



Here's an excellent guide to Baby Squirrel Care
It's 6 pages long (quick read)
with the next button in the top right hand corner.

https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

My scale has measures in ounces, so it’s actually possible she has gained quite a few grams but not enough to measure another tenth of an ounce. I’m going to try to see if I can switch it to grams. I was giving them 2:1 water to esbilac before, but lately I’ve been giving them 3:1 to let them adjust/ keep them hydrated. So it is okay to refrigerate the mixture for up to 6 hours? I’ll start making new milk every 3 feedings tomorrow. I’ve been feeding her about 1 cc every 2-2.5 hours. Her tummy is normal and his used to be like that too. One side of his stomach got really dark blue. Is that normal with bloating? To have discoloration? It’s also harder on that side.
I have them in a good sized cardboard box, with the heaing pad at the bottom on low. I have blankets placed over the heating pad, so they have multiple layers between them and the heater but it keeps them very warm. I lay a thin sheet over it sometimes to keep the heat in. I just checked the formula and it is the correct one.

[redwuff]

Your report sounds very good. Sounds like things are moving through him. Definately give formula tomorrow starting at 75% water and 25% pre-mixed Esbilac that has been mixed up with very hot water (2:1) at least 4 hours ahead of time. Feed that for two feedings, then go to 50/50 as long as his tummy is emptying before you feed again. Stay at 50% for 2-3 feedings, while watching his belly. Try to get the goats milk tomorrow and slowly substitute that for the water. Don't go past 50% Esbilac till he gets very stabilized.

I use whole liquid goats milk that I get from an organic health food market. Others use powdered goats milk and I have not heard any problem from it.

The dark part on his right side of his tummy is his liver. It should not be a problem. It gets a bit pushed out with all the bloat. OK I think I have answered everything. Hope all goes well tonight and you can get back to the business of having easy fun babies.

[redwuff]

Heating pad under, not in bin. Cardboard is very drying, please get them in a steralite or hard plastic bin. Use fleece or old t shirt to use as bedding. You need a non-turn off heating pad under the bin. We often put the bin half on/half off the heating pad but since your babies are a bit compromised I would keep it on the whole heating pad. Just have several layers of fleece so if they get too hot, they will crawl up a layer or two.

Esbilac will last for a good 24 hours made up so you do not have to make it every 6 hours. Extend the feedings out to 3-3.5 hours. That will help him digest formula better. They should be fed 6 times a day at 5% for now.

Work with a 2:1 mixture for the girl if she is not having issues. She needs that for her nutrition needs. You will get the little boy to that in a day or two if every thing works out.

[Nancy in New York]

My scale has measures in ounces, so it’s actually possible she has gained quite a few grams but not enough to measure another tenth of an ounce. I’m going to try to see if I can switch it to grams.

I have them in a good sized cardboard box, with the heaing pad at the bottom on low. I have blankets placed over the heating pad, so they have multiple layers between them and the heater but it keeps them very warm. I lay a thin sheet over it sometimes to keep the heat in. I just checked the formula and it is the correct one.

Most scales have a switch that you can change from oz. to grams.
It's really important to know the weight in grams so you can feed
the proper amount.

Here is a link I posted earlier.
Very informative and only 6 short
pages long.
https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Here's a great photo showing you an example of what
your set up should look like.

[cava]

Here is a great link and photo of how you want their set up to be.

https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

It's six pages and helps the finder with their brand new squirrel. Some of the information won't apply to you. But the way they set up their housing, in the bin, with the heating pad, does apply to you and and your little ones.

Keep up the good work.

PS. I used powdered goat's milk when I had this problem. You can buy it at the grocery store. You must reconstitute it first (mix it into liquid form) before using it in the goat's milk recipe. As always, mix thoroughly.

Also, when making Esbilac, I mixed it in the blender with very hot water, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, then filtered it through cheese cloth screen to get the solids that hadn't dissolved. It's a pain but takes out some of the worry. You can make it once a day, they were just telling you not to reuse formula that you heated up and used for a feeding. That should be tossed after a feeding, never restored and used again.

[redwuff]

Would love to hear how your little dude is doing this morning. A pic of his tummy would be great! Hope all is well.

[Sk1307]

Would love to hear how your little dude is doing this morning. A pic of his tummy would be great! Hope all is well.

Here’s a before and after pic! https://imgur.com/gallery/l5oLZ The first photo was taken yesterday at 10 am and the second was taken today at 7 am.

[redwuff]

Had you taken the pic this morning after feeding him?