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Thread: Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

  1. #1
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    Default Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

    WARNING GROSS PICTURES

    We just took in a baby ground squirrel (has eyes open, fully furred, top and bottom teeth well in, likes to chew). Weight 50 grams (Formula we use is Ebsilac puppy powder)

    Sunday night she came to us. Lethargic, dehydrated.

    Monday noticed wound on her lower lip and snotty nose (making lots of squeaks like in pain and noise with breathing) - took her to vet who thought might be bordetella. On .002 of Septra and Baytril 2x a day for 14 days. Grinding jaw a lot like in pain.

    Tuesday - diarrhea all over, not feeling well. Stayed with watered down formula and hydration in between feedings. Added a touch of digestible aloe gel in the formula feedings. Add acidophilus to the formula. Added a drop of Metacam in the mornings for pain.

    late Wednesday - no more diarrhea, solid balls of poop again. Energy and appetite way up. Did smaller feedings, closer together, mostly watered down. No more jaw grinding or painful squeaks! Offered her a small antler, stick, and small pieces of Henry's block, monkey block, radicchio (purple), blueberry since she seemed to want to chew/eat more solid things.

    Thursday - did a couple feedings at full strength 2:1 formula and the second feeding like that she took down 2ccs and then pretty quickly vomited up the milk. Went back to watered down feedings and did much better. Still offered small solid bites like above (very small)

    Friday - up to 75% formula and 25% water and did great. Stopped the Aloe, continued the Metacam (once in the morning) Still offered small solid bites like above.

    Saturday - went back to full 2:1 formula and on 3rd feeding of that after taking 2ccs pretty quickly vomited up the milk. This time with red spots and a little green and brown. Again, none of the solids are green, the brown spots could be Henry's block, but she had a small blueberry and a teeny piece of peach (from our tree) but that's not red…

    Really it's been up and down with this little one, mostly up for the past several days. But the vomiting concerns me, but I'm okay if she just needs more watered down formula (maybe the full strength is too heavy?) However, I am concerned about the red in the milk vomit just now. I know blood usually looks really dark like black when vomited, but…. we don't know what happened to her before we took her in as far as injuries. I was able to scoop up a glob of the red on a q-tip, so it's kinda smushy-solid?

    The good news is after she vomits, a minute or two later, her energy is up, wants to climb around explore and chew on solid stuff (sleeves, watches, fingers), but does not want to have anymore milk (naturally).

    I'm adding pictures and any advice would be very helpful.

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

    You seem to have some experience with little ones, but I still have a couple basic questions.

    First, you say you are mixing the full strength formula at 2 to 1. That IS 2 parts water and 1 parts powder, right, and not the other way around?

    Second, how are you storing the formula? I mean the powder, before you turn it into formula. Formula powder goes rancid in it's dry state pretty quickly once the can is opened. You want to keep the powder in the freezer.

    Also, antibiotics can be hard on gut flora. I would suggest giving some probiotics. You want to give them with as much time as possible between the probiotic and the antibiotic - if you give meds morning and night, give the probiotics at noon. You can use the probiotic capsules they sell for humans - open one and give just a tiny pinch. I know the esbilac has probiotics in it, but most of them are killed when the formula is heated.

  3. Serious fuzzy thank you's to CritterMom from:

    squirrel_peanut (07-13-2019)

  4. #3
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    Default Re: Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    You seem to have some experience with little ones, but I still have a couple basic questions.

    First, you say you are mixing the full strength formula at 2 to 1. That IS 2 parts water and 1 parts powder, right, and not the other way around?
    Yes, 1 powder to 2 water.

    Second, how are you storing the formula? I mean the powder, before you turn it into formula. Formula powder goes rancid in it's dry state pretty quickly once the can is opened. You want to keep the powder in the freezer.
    Yep always keep it in the freezer

    Also, antibiotics can be hard on gut flora. I would suggest giving some probiotics. You want to give them with as much time as possible between the probiotic and the antibiotic - if you give meds morning and night, give the probiotics at noon. You can use the probiotic capsules they sell for humans - open one and give just a tiny pinch. I know the esbilac has probiotics in it, but most of them are killed when the formula is heated.
    We have added the good refrigerated kind of acidophilus to the formula as well, but we can add a pinch of probiotics at noon. Thanks!

    The Red doesn't strike you as something familiar and truly awful? I just always like to check with you all as we have experience (a little over a year I think), but this is our first grounder and never really had any issues with vomiting in the past with any of our rehabbed tree squirrels. We have stopped all solid foods for the weekend until we know she is tolerating the formula well (staying hydrated, etc) in case her stomach (with the antibiotics and everything) is just too sensitive right now.

    By the way, she is 60 grams now (50 on intake last Sunday) and even though she has had fluctuations all week, I am really happy that she is doing so well. I just have a really good worst-case-scenario imagination

    Thank you and let me know if those gross vomit CSI pictures spark any other ideas. I really really appreciate it!

  5. #4
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    Default Re: Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

    The red looks sort of like radicchio - didn't you say you were feeding that?

  6. #5
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    Default Re: Baby Ground Squirrel vomiting milk with Red and green

    Quote Originally Posted by CritterMom View Post
    The red looks sort of like radicchio - didn't you say you were feeding that?
    Yes, thank you! I think that was it. She has been doing much better. Seems to just need to go very slow with the watered down formula. Thank you so much!

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