Dying baby squirrel

[Qazwer103]

Found a baby squirrel about a week ago. I've been feeding him esbilac. I estimated his age at five to six weeks, and was feeding him five percent of his body weight, six cc every four hours. He was quite skinny, eating well, but didn't seem to be gaining weight. Two days ago I upped the amount to 8cc for one feeding. Afterward his stomach felt tight, so I dropped the amount back to seven cc. The next day he had diahrea and a fever, and was breathing rapidly. He was still active and eating well, but in the evening I stopped feeding him the formula and gave him water. I thought I had fed him too much. I had also added some cream to the formula and wondered if he had a reaction to it.
This morning he is cold and limp. The fever is gone, he is breathing normal but seems to be in shock. I am warming him up now. His backside is quite swollen. What should I do?

[Nancy in New York]

Found a baby squirrel about a week ago. I've been feeding him esbilac. I estimated his age at five to six weeks, and was feeding him five percent of his body weight, six cc every four hours. He was quite skinny, eating well, but didn't seem to be gaining weight. Two days ago I upped the amount to 8cc for one feeding. Afterward his stomach felt tight, so I dropped the amount back to seven cc. The next day he had diahrea and a fever, and was breathing rapidly. He was still active and eating well, but in the evening I stopped feeding him the formula and gave him water. I thought I had fed him too much. I had also added some cream to the formula and wondered if he had a reaction to it.
This morning he is cold and limp. The fever is gone, he is breathing normal but seems to be in shock. I am warming him up now. His backside is quite swollen. What should I do?

Keep him warm and offer some warmed water with a touch of honey.
Also, rub some honey on his gums to see if that brings him around some.
The Esbilac is not the formula to use now. There were many problems and deaths
caused by this last year.
We will address the formula later, after we get him stabilized.
Can you get a picture of him?
What size syringe are you using, and how much does he weigh?
Has he ever aspirated?
Do you have any antibiotics, just in case. All we would need is one pill
and the weight of your little one.
What city are you in? Do you want us to try to find a rehabber?
Prayers for this little soul.

[Qazwer103]

I tried giving him the honey water, but he's not drinking right now. I put honey on his gums, bit so far there is no change.
I noticed when I pick him up he kinda rolls onto his back and stiffens a little bit.
There are no antibiotics in the house, but there is a pharmacy close by.
I was feeding him with a 5cc syring, but it stuck and I was afraid of aspirating, so I changed to an eyedropper. His breathing is clear, he doesn't seem to be aspirated. During feeding he never blew milk out of his nose or coughed or anything.
His weight is 124grams. He still hasn't really gained any weight since I found him.

[Javarat]

If 5% of his body weight is 6ml.. then he weighs 120 grams. 8ml would be 6.6%.. which is not an over feeding.
After they open their eyes they will eat between 6 to 8% per feeding, so 6.6% if a normal amount.. 5% is actually too little.

Examining why he is not gaining weight, how often are you feeding him? He should be getting about 5-6 feedings per day.
Five feedings of 8ml (7% bodyweight) comes out to 40ml per day total. How much has he been getting per day?
My first suspicion of no weight gain would be dehydration. You would also see a lack of appetite, or a reluctance to eat.

You said he had diarrhea... what color was it? (Brown, pink, yellow, white, or clear)

I am concerned about the 'swelling around his back end'. Could you post a picture so we can see what you mean?
I see you posted a picture now.. can we get one of him laying on his back so we can see the tummy and genitals?

You have to get water in him, even if he doesn't want to drink it. Put the syringe in, push a little, take it out and see if he swallows. Repeat.

What does his tummy feel like? Full, empty, soft, hard, etc.

[Javarat]

Another question.. have you seen him putting out pellets of poop?

Search his bedding for signs of pellets. If there are none then he has been having constant diarrhea.

[Qazwer103]

Ive been feeding him six times a day, first at 6cc and then at 7cc. Yesterday I skipped the last feeding and gave him water instead. He has never shown any reluctance to eat, until this morning. I would estimate that he has been getting 35-40ml a day.
His diarrhea was yellow first, now it is partly white.
The area around his anus is swollen and feels hard. His stomach feels soft and empty. He has been going some today, but it has all been diarrhea.

[Qazwer103]

I cleaned his bedding recently. There were lots of pellets. The diahhrea just started yesterday.

[Javarat]

White diarrhea would indicate that he is not digesting the food.
A soft flat stomach is a good symptom at this stage, if he has been putting out pellets up to now.

Concentrate on getting him warm, and getting electrolytes into him (like Pedialyte).
Add a little natural maple syrup to the fluids for dextrose (not artificial syrup).

When I run into white diarrhea... I put them on just water feedings for 12 hours, and then step them back to formula diluted by 50% for 12 hours.
Other rehabbers may suggest other or better methods.

[Javarat]

I note you said he seems 'quite skinny'.
You are calculating how much to feed him based on his (skinny) weight.
It may be that he needs food based on what would be his healthy weight, of around 150 grams, or 10cc per feeding to gain his weight back.
Its very hard to calculate feeding amounts for a malnourished squirrel.. you have to go more by the feel of how full the tummy is than by calculations.
You would feed them until their tummy feels full, and not taught.

[Nancy in New York]

Did you say what this little one weighs?
I would start him on the Goats Milk Formula.
This is only a temporary formula. He will need
to be switched to Fox Valley 20/50.
You can buy it here.
https://www.henryspets.com/fox-valley-formulas/

Hydration is key. He looks spikey in the photo. Even if you have
to do this drop by drop, he needs hydration. Warm it a little before you offer.
If they are dehydrated, they won't eat.

Here's the formula.
TEMPORARY GOAT'S MILK FORMULA:


3 parts goat’s milk
1 part heavy whipping cream*
1 part vanilla yogurt

Formula will last 48 hours in refrigerator.

[Nancy in New York]

I mean no disrespect but this has happened on the board before.
When you say that you are feeding 6 cc's/mls, you mean that you
are feeding 6 whole 1 cc syringes, correct?
Here's a picture of a 1 cc syringe on the left. Is he getting 6 if these at each feeding?


I took in 4 babies a while back that should have been eating 5 cc's at each feeding,
but they were only getting 0.5 He miscalculated.

[HRT4SQRLS]

You have a lot of help here but I wanted to suggest one thing. I don’t like the hard around the anus. You also mention diarrhea so it’s clear the anus isn’t blocked. I would rub a little warm oil (coconut, mineral, vegetable,etc) on the anus to make sure there aren’t pellets inside. I would think the diarrhea would push them out but it would be good to check. It could even be a plug of worms.

[Javarat]

You have a lot of help here but I wanted to suggest one thing. I don’t like the hard around the anus. You also mention diarrhea so it’s clear the anus isn’t blocked. I would rub a little warm oil (coconut, mineral, vegetable,etc) on the anus to make sure there aren’t pellets inside. I would think the diarrhea would push them out but it would be good to check. It could even be a plug of worms.

HRT4QRLS has a good point. If the anus is blocked by pellets or matter, the only thing that would get past it would be fluids, looking like diarrhea. Which would change later to white.
Try submerging his back end in a sink of warm water while rubbing around the anus to work any blockage loose.

[Qazwer103]

I think you may be right about the constipation. It seems like a very serious case. I did what you said with the oil. I worked for awhile but nothing came out. I think I might let him rest a bit, I've been poking at him all morning. Is there anything else I can do if constipation is the case? I've been trying to get liquid into him but he doesn't respond when I put a drop in his mouth. I'm afraid he's going to aspirate.

In response to the feeding amount, I am certain he has been getting full CC's.

Also his breathing changed suddenly to gasping breaths, although his airways still seem to be clear. It doesn't look very good

[HRT4SQRLS]

It might be too late but you need antibiotics. Ask friends or family. All you need is one pill. When using an eye dropper the likelihood of aspiration is huge. Even without clicking I would give antibiotics. If the baby has reached the gasping stage, I agree, it doesn’t look good at all.

[Mel1959]

What happened with this little one?

[Javarat]

In her last post she mentioned that he had started gasping.
Most only last a few minutes or hours after they do that.

[Mel1959]

[Javarat]

I had a case like this a year ago, with an anal swelling and initial diarrhea that turned into white seepage.
Initial suspicion was anal blockage or blockage in the colon, but when I transferred him to Spanky and a vet took an xray... the intestines were totally empty.
Apparently the problem was the stomach not transferring to the intestines. Spanky was trying to hydrate him (so the vet could draw off abdominal fluids) when he passed away.
I did not have Reglan at the time or I would have tried that. I don't know if the abdominal fluids was the cause of the blockage, or a symptom of organ failure. The problem seemed to start before the abdomen swelled up.
This post (with the flat stomach) sounds like the same situation.