NORTHERN OHIO 5 WEEK OLD BABY NEEDS ANTIBIOTIC

[Violet_the_squirrel]

Hi, we need some assistance...
7 days ago we found a dead squirrel in my mom's yard, 2 days later a baby was found in the corner of her garage. Her eyes were closed still. I quickly googled what I needed and sent my mother to the store for puppy formula while I cared for the baby. My daughter named her Violet. She was sucking it down and instantly perked up! Her eyes opened 24 hours after she came to us. 2 days later I learned that the liquid puppy formula was life threatening if continued so I quickly went and got puppy powdered formula to feed her while waiting for my shipment of squirrel formula from fox valley.
Violet has been sucking down her food and whenever it would come out of her nose I would clean her up, but we're having a problem finding a rehabber to help with any type of assistance here. I was mixing the formula and a homemade Pedialyte and learned that wasn't good either. Her stool has gone from hard and dark, to soft and white, sometimes watery. Her pee isn't nearly as stinky as it was in the beginning. Her tails bushier, she's put some weight on too.
My shipment came in yesterday from fox valley so I started her on Day One DIA STAT stool consistentcy and then the next feeding was Day One 20/50 formula. I've alternated between both and tried giving her some Pedialyte last night but she really wasn't interested.
We need to get her an antibiotic asap. I'm not sure if the noise she makes when eating is normal or not and every squirrel person I've come in contact with on the internet tells me I need an antibiotic no matter what BUT the problem is 1) NOONE will return my call from my area 2) it's illegal to possess a squirrel in the state of Ohio and I am not licensed to Foster. I do not want to give her up tho. I'm invested in her now and she comes to me as if I was her mama.
I have old rags and such in a box she burrows in a hat in the rags.the box is half on a heated pad and there's a clock ticking in the box.
PLEASE HELP ME!!!! Thank you

[Mel1959]

Hold her up to your ear like a phone. Do you hear any clicking as she breathes?

Contact family and friends for leftover antibiotics, even if outdated. Even leftover prescriptions from pets. You only need one pill. Ideally it would be nice if you could find Baytril (animal)/Ciproflaxin (human) or Clavamox (animal)/ Augmentin (human). But if you can find something else let us know what it is and we can tell you if it will work. We will need the strength of the medicine and a weight on your girl.

I neglected to ask what the powdered puppy formula is? It must be powdered puppy Esbilac, with the white puppy on the front of the can. Although the manufacturer makes other puppy formulas it is not the same.

[Violet_the_squirrel]

Hold her up to your ear like a phone. Do you hear any clicking as she breathes?

Contact family and friends for leftover antibiotics, even if outdated. Even leftover prescriptions from pets. You only need one pill. Ideally it would be nice if you could find Baytril (animal)/Ciproflaxin (human) or Clavamox (animal)/ Augmentin (human). But if you can find something else let us know what it is and we can tell you if it will work. We will need the strength of the medicine and a weight on your girl.

I neglected to ask what the powdered puppy formula is? It must be powdered puppy Esbilac, with the white puppy on the front of the can. Although the manufacturer makes other puppy formulas it is not the same.

Hi mel1959. I'm not sure how much she weighs. Based off of me holding various household items with the weight on it and holding her, I'd say she's about 9oz. The powdered puppy formula is the step 2 with the white dog on front. I have left over 500mg amoxicillin. She has been taking to the 2 items I got from fox valley well. Last night the formula came out her nose and I put my mouth over her nose and quickly sucked. I've been feeding her a 10ml syringe of formula every 3-5 hours. I switch between the DAY ONE DIA STAT and the DAY ONE 20/50 FORMULA. I've introduced some veggies and nuts here and there. She LOVES avocados and unshelled walnuts. She's becoming more and more active. She completed a short jump to me yesterday (after a failed attempt). I have some twigs from the yard for her to teeth on. I take her outside here and there and let her feel the grass... I think she thinks she's a human. Thank you in advance!!!

[Mel1959]

It has been several days since you have posted about your concerns with your baby. What is the status of her health right now? You posted on 4/19 that you were concerned about aspiration pneumonia. Obviously your baby didn’t have ap or I don’t think it would have survived this long. The amoxicillin is not a preferred drug, but I think it could be used in a pinch. Right now if she’s not clicking I don’t think antibiotics are in order.

If your little one is not dehydrated or doesn’t have diarrhea, then I don’t think the dia-stat is necessary. You should just be feeding the FV 20/50. If you don’t know how much she weighs how do you know you’re feeding her the correct amount? We use a rule of thumb to feed 5-7% of their weight at each feeding. If she is 9 oz that would equal 255gr which seems like too much for an 8 week old squirrel. They sell digital scales at wal mart, bed bath and beyond for about $20. You need to invest in one so you know that you’re feeding the correct amount.

A 10ml syringe is much too big to feed her with. Too much volume comes out at a time. This is no doubt why she had formula come out her nose last night. Even babies drinking from a 3ml syringe will have formula come out their nose when they get excited about eating. Are you feeding with a miracle nipple on the end of the syringe? Henry’s Healthy Pets has 3ml syringes and miracle nipples that make feeding much easier. They are a good investment.

The first solid food you want to offer is a good quality rodent block. Rodent block is the foundation for keeping a squirrel healthy and preventing metabolic bone disease. At this point since you have already offered food items, especially nuts, the only block you will probably be able to get her to eat is from Henry’s Healthy Pets. In my experience, the picky formula block and hazelnut blocks are preferred over the high protein block. You will have to provide a block for your girl to remain healthy. Veggies alone won’t do it. Hold back on nuts. At this age it’s like giving a toddler ice cream and then expecting them to eat a bowl of spinach.

I wrote a lot, so let me condense what I wrote into what I think you should do moving forward:

1. Purchase a scale. You will absolutely need a valid weight if you ever have to have meds dosed. Weighing daily also tells you how much to feed at each feeding.

2. Stop the Dia-stat. It’s not used as a food source and only needed if there is loose stool.

3. Place an order with Henry’s for some block, 3ml syringes and regular sized miracle nipples. They ship everything for one flat fee.

4. Stop feeding any nuts. At this point she needs to learn to eat block. After she’s eating that really well then you can add in some healthy veggie choices like kale, bok choy, arugula, radicchio, broccoli, cauliflower etc. Initially you should hold off on the sweet well-liked veggies like sweet potato, butternut and acorn squashes, sugar snap peas. These are usually accepted well but not as good for them.....again the ice cream before spinach analogy. Avocado is good, but all things in moderation is my motto.

I hope I haven’t completely confused you. It’s obvious that you love her a lot and want her to be healthy. So do I.

[Violet_the_squirrel]

It has been several days since you have posted about your concerns with your baby. What is the status of her health right now? You posted on 4/19 that you were concerned about aspiration pneumonia. Obviously your baby didn’t have ap or I don’t think it would have survived this long. The amoxicillin is not a preferred drug, but I think it could be used in a pinch. Right now if she’s not clicking I don’t think antibiotics are in order.

If your little one is not dehydrated or doesn’t have diarrhea, then I don’t think the dia-stat is necessary. You should just be feeding the FV 20/50. If you don’t know how much she weighs how do you know you’re feeding her the correct amount? We use a rule of thumb to feed 5-7% of their weight at each feeding. If she is 9 oz that would equal 255gr which seems like too much for an 8 week old squirrel. They sell digital scales at wal mart, bed bath and beyond for about $20. You need to invest in one so you know that you’re feeding the correct amount.

A 10ml syringe is much too big to feed her with. Too much volume comes out at a time. This is no doubt why she had formula come out her nose last night. Even babies drinking from a 3ml syringe will have formula come out their nose when they get excited about eating. Are you feeding with a miracle nipple on the end of the syringe? Henry’s Healthy Pets has 3ml syringes and miracle nipples that make feeding much easier. They are a good investment.

The first solid food you want to offer is a good quality rodent block. Rodent block is the foundation for keeping a squirrel healthy and preventing metabolic bone disease. At this point since you have already offered food items, especially nuts, the only block you will probably be able to get her to eat is from Henry’s Healthy Pets. In my experience, the picky formula block and hazelnut blocks are preferred over the high protein block. You will have to provide a block for your girl to remain healthy. Veggies alone won’t do it. Hold back on nuts. At this age it’s like giving a toddler ice cream and then expecting them to eat a bowl of spinach.

I wrote a lot, so let me condense what I wrote into what I think you should do moving forward:

1. Purchase a scale. You will absolutely need a valid weight if you ever have to have meds dosed. Weighing daily also tells you how much to feed at each feeding.

2. Stop the Dia-stat. It’s not used as a food source and only needed if there is loose stool.

3. Place an order with Henry’s for some block, 3ml syringes and regular sized miracle nipples. They ship everything for one flat fee.

4. Stop feeding any nuts. At this point she needs to learn to eat block. After she’s eating that really well then you can add in some healthy veggie choices like kale, bok choy, arugula, radicchio, broccoli, cauliflower etc. Initially you should hold off on the sweet well-liked veggies like sweet potato, butternut and acorn squashes, sugar snap peas. These are usually accepted well but not as good for them.....again the ice cream before spinach analogy. Avocado is good, but all things in moderation is my motto.

I hope I haven’t completely confused you. It’s obvious that you love her a lot and want her to be healthy. So do I.

Thank you so much! I will stop the dia STAT. I have an order of the picky rodent block on the way as of 3 days ago so hopefully today it will come. I have been using the miracle nipples and I will start using the 3mg syringe that came with it. I will invest in a scale asap. Little baby is sleeping burrowed in the sun as we speak. Ive only introduced nuts 1 time. I will hold on that. Thank you for your help. I heard clicking this morning when she ate also. Not sure if it's her lungs or the feeding. Sorry it takes a minute to get back, I'm not used to this page yet and still learning my way around.