7 week old not gaining weight

[nscott@farmersagent.com]

hi, I have a 7 week old CA Ground squirrel that is doing really well. She is happy, thriving (apparently) and very active. Eats FV 20/50 formula 3 cc's 6x a day but seems starving after each feeding and she has slowly lost 7 grams over 2 weeks. I have to wonder if I am underfeeding her? She was 51 grams 2 weeks ago and 44 grams as of yesterday. I am supplementing with the FV Ultraboost per the request of this board. She has the Henry's rodent block in her cage which she nibbles on too. Normal poop and pee. I'm not sure if she is a runt or just normal for this breed but seems a lot smaller than the average squirrel weight at 7 weeks. Thoughts?

[Mel1959]

Feeding 5-7% of their weight is just a guideline. As they get older and are stable with their eating and bowel movements you can GRADUALLY increase the amount you give. If she still wants more after 3ccs let her have 3.5ccs. After she’s been eating that amount for awhile and her bowel movements are still normal and she wants more increase her to 4ccs. At 55gr 5-7% is 2.5-3.6ccs, so you weren’t feeding her as much as she could have within the 5-7% rule.

As for the Ultraboost, I always used a 50/50 mix of Ultraboost to FV. The package says to use 25/75 or as much as 50/50. Maybe increasing the Ultraboost will help, too.