Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 41

Thread: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by cassgrimm View Post

    Please refresh my memory: How much and how often are you feeding? How many total feedings per day? How long does he go between feedings at night?
    Thank you again. You have been so helpful!
    He is on his 33rd formula. But I’ve been very careful with the transition. Making sure it’s not sudden. Mixing 1/3 up to full over the course of a day.
    He eats 3cc (moved him up to 3.5cc this evening) at 6:30am then every 3 to 4 hours. Last feeding is at about 11pm. So average 6 feedings but sometimes it’s 7. The water between feedings has made the schedule a little wonky. He sure does hate being woken up for water. He has a 7 hour stretch at night. His poop has been so much better today. It holds together but still soft.
    Thank you!

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2021
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    61
    Thanked: 49

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    I'm so happy to hear that he is still firming up - even if it is gradual!

    What is his weight today? I know he is significantly smaller than he should be for his age, but he should have gained enough by now and due to consistent formula feedings to have outgrown 3.5cc. They gain quite a lot on the daily after they start getting what they need.

    Too frequent feeding can cause digestion upset - both with loose stools and with lack of nutrition absorption. I'd be interested to know his current weight now that he is about 5 weeks. You may be able to tweak his feeding schedule if his body condition allows it.

    By the way, a lot of us weigh first thing in the morning before their first feeding of the day. With that early morning weigh-in, we are able to get a good dry weight on the little ones and adjust their intake accordingly (5%-7% of their body weight in grams) for the rest of that day. If you're not already, please get in the habit of doing this. At the very least, just ensure that you are weighing at the same time every day and adjust accordingly, though be aware that once you begin the day's feedings and/or hydration sessions, you are no longer getting a dry weight of the baby.

    Edit: Pictures from today would be most helpful, too!

  3. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to cassgrimm:

    margaret! (09-12-2021), Mel1959 (09-12-2021)

  4. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    I will weigh him first thing tomorrow and report back. If he weights similar to what he did yesterday, than 65 grams would mean about 4.5cc of formula. When I know what he is currently weighing, I’d love to know what you think the best schedule would be.
    Stay tuned for tomorrow morning (west coast time)

  5. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    I will weigh him first thing tomorrow and report back. If he weights similar to what he did yesterday, than 65 grams would mean about 4.5cc of formula. When I know what he is currently weighing, I’d love to know what you think the best schedule would be.
    Stay tuned for tomorrow morning (west coast time)
    I am glad to hear that he has gained some weight and that the poop is firming up.

    5% of body weight translates to .05 x 65 g = 3.25 cc of formula
    6% of body weight translates to .06 x 65 g = 3.9 cc of formula
    7% of body weight translates to .07 x 65 g = 4.55 cc of formula

    The hydration is critical to health in and of itself. However, it is also critical to healthy digestion. When food hits the stomach water is drawn from the body to digest the food. So if the squirrel is dehydrated the food will make them more dehydrated and furthermore the food is likely to be only partially digested because there wasn't enough water available in the body to properly digest the food. That is why the hydration must occur in between meals because then there will be more water in the body to digest the next meal more completely, rather than the food passing too quickly through the digestive tract. Also when hydration is given separately it quickly passes into the body to hydrate the cells, because water by itself digests quickly.

    Taking notes will help you keep a close eye on his health. As things improve the degree of dehydration should decrease and there will be less and less need for hydration in between feedings.

    Has he been eating some of the yogurt?

  6. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Rock Monkey from:

    margaret! (09-13-2021)

  7. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Ok ok! He’s 77grams this morning! Dry weight. I’ll weight him each morning to ensure he’s gaining. He did take some yogurt warmed with a splash of formula for taste. He wasn’t really into it. But licked it off the syringe nonetheless. His poop this morning was slightly less firm ��. I fed him 4.5cc (≈6% of body weight). He took 1.5cc of water 2 hours later. Should I feed him every 3 hours today or every 4? 4 hours would result in 4 feedings and 3 hours would get him 5 feedings.
    You all have been so helpful!
    Attached Images Attached Images  

  8. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    So this afternoon, I noticed his tummy is a little big. Not crazy big. But more full and round than it was before. His diarrhea is back. Not as bad. But defiantly wetter. He didn’t want to finish his full 4.5cc just now. I’m going to give him an hour and check on his tummy size.

  9. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    If the first feeding occurs at 6:30 AM then using four hour intervals would result feedings at 10:30, 2:30, 6:30, and 10:30, which is five feedings a day.

    Now that he has gained some weight I think we should try going to feeding every four hours to give his body more time to digest the food, which hopefully should help improve the diarrhea situation.

    What brand and flavor of yogurt did you offer him? The yogurt is also important to getting the diarrhea under control.

    How is he doing on the skin turgor test today?

    If there is still dehydration we want to give him very lightly sweetened water in between meals.

    I am going to attach a document below about squirrel poop issues. Though the attached is in black and white if you do your own web search you should be able to find the original which is in color, which help to diagnose various conditions.

    stoolproblemssquirrels.pdf

    Can you attach a picture of his belly if you think it is bloated?

  10. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Also, just to cover some basics which could also effect the digestion and hydration, is he kept in cardboard box, plastic container or cage?

    Is there a continually on heating pad under half of his container?

    The bloating may mean that he is being given more food than his stomach can handle. If that is the case, going to feedings every four hours should help.

    How is his energy level?

    Is there any change in his trying to suckle on everything?

  11. #29
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Planet Earth
    Posts
    17,915
    Thanked: 13299

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Personally with having diarrhea I would hold him at 5% until he firms up to normal bowels.
    If it persists I recommend the Brat formula mixture:

    3 tablespoons (already) mixed formula 2-1
    1/2 tsp baby rice powered cereal
    1/2 tsp banana baby food.

    The chart below can help you gauge where you are at with feeding.
    You want to always feed by weight @ the 5-7% regardless of age.


    Attached Images Attached Images  
    Last edited by stepnstone; 09-13-2021 at 11:42 PM.
    Step-N-Stone
    State Licensed
    Wildlife Master Rehabilitator


  12. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to stepnstone:

    Bravo (09-15-2021), margaret! (09-14-2021), Rock Monkey (09-15-2021)

  13. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    86g’s today. Dry weight first thing. Is that a normal increase? That’s almost 10 grams gain in one day. His tummy is less bloated this morning. Diarrhea still wet and messy. He’s doing 4cc every 4 hours to see if that helps with digestion. Even though his weight would call for more than 4cc. (Thoughts?)
    Yogurt is proving tricky. I tried Fage 5% plain with a dash of formula milk for flavor. Warmed. He was not into it. What are thoughts on…..

    “ Saccharomyces boulardii, a nonpathogenic yeast strain classified as a probiotic, has proven highly effective in both preventing and treating unbalanced gut flora in humans—as well as in squirrels—and is available online, in pharmacies, and health food stores. The cost of Saccharomyces boulardii varies based on brand name, with one of the most well–known names, Florastor® (Biocodex, Beauvais, France), significantly more expensive than other labels, such as Jarrow (Los Angeles, CA). Saccharomyces boulardii comes in capsule form, does not need refrigeration, and like other probiotics is administered in liquid only twice daily. Rehabilitators open a capsule, sprinkle a few ‘grains’ into warmed formula, and stir to dissolve.”

    I feel like I could do this with 2 feedings a day with great success.
    He’s alert and curious. Loves feeding time. And LOVES to snuggle between feedings. He’s in a box with alternating warm rice socks right now. He’s never without warms. I’m hoping to transition him to the cat carrier with a heating pad if I can get his diarrhea under control. It’s very messy. Thoughts on that arrangement?
    Funny story, we just had a family of squirrels set up shop in our ceiling and it’s pretty noisy. Ugh. I’ll be dealing with that today. Hahah when it rains it pours.

  14. #31
    Join Date
    Aug 2021
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    61
    Thanked: 49

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    I also recommend replacing formula feedings with the following recipe until stools firm up, then slowly re-introducing FV 20/50. I would also keep up with his hydration levels and offer sweetened water accordingly.

    Quote Originally Posted by stepnstone View Post
    Brat formula mixture:

    3 tablespoons prepared formula (2:1, water to powder)
    1/2 tsp baby rice powered cereal
    1/2 tsp banana baby food.
    Babies can and will increase weight rapidly. The amount your describing is normal, especially when caloric intake has been upped. Do not ever continue to feed a baby with a firm stomach. Wait until the belly returns to normal before resuming feeding schedule. Hydration whilst belly is firm is okay.

    Unless he is refusing to eat, I do not see a reason to offer him less than 5% of his body weight in grams.

    I know of rehabbers who use the probiotic capsules. They break one open and use a tiny pinch of the powder. I've never done this, though, so I really can't comment on it.

  15. 2 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to cassgrimm:

    margaret! (09-15-2021), Rock Monkey (09-15-2021)

  16. #32
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    Yogurt is proving tricky. I tried Fage 5% plain with a dash of formula milk for flavor. Warmed. He was not into it. What are thoughts on…..

    He’s in a box with alternating warm rice socks right now. He’s never without warms.
    Cardboard boxes are a paper product and paper can wicks moisture away from the body. So keeping him in a cardboard box may be contributing to his dehydration. As a general rule, cardboard boxes are not recommended.

    He really needs a heating pad under half of his container on moderate heat. Baby squirrels spend their whole day snuggling with their mother. At this age they are dependent on her body heat. A baby which is not sufficiently warm will struggle to fully digest the food that they are being given. This baby is having a hard time and the insufficient heat and cardboard box may be contributing to both problems with dehydration and healthy digestion. Please change both.

    Make sure that the heating pad that you use does not turn off automatically. Use a moderate heat setting.

    Taking care of a baby squirrel is a little complicated and their are good reasons for the assorted collection of best practices.

    I am glad to see that the weight gain is continuing and that the squirrel is moving closer to a normal weight progression.

    Snuggling with you is good. At those times, especially if they are between layers of clothing, they will be getting sufficient heat and a spiritual boost too.

    With the Fage yogurt it seems you are going to need to sweeten it a little. Try adding natural honey or no-sugar-added fruit baby to the yogurt. The Fage isn't quite as rich tasting as the Cabot's, but with some additions you ought to be able to make it palatable. Also, lets try presenting it differently from the formula. He may expect it to taste formula if it is being fed directly with a syringe.

    Try the following: draw up some sweetened yogurt into the syringe, heat it briefly in a cup of warm water, take a dinner plate (I find plastic to be preferable, it isn't cold to the touch.) dispense a handful of drops of yogurt mixture around the perimeter of the plate. The objective is for the squirrel to lick up these drops. If the squirrels stretches out, indicating some difficulty swallowing the amount of the food ingested, (Young squirrels can eat too fast.) stop dispensing the yogurt drops around the perimeter of the plate. They may have had enough or just need a little break. Soon you will know which. This is the reason for only have a couple of drops on the plate at any given time. Keep dispensing a drop or two at a time until they have had enough.

    Continue to hydrate in between feeding if necessary. As long as the diarrhea continues, supplemental hydration will be likely needed.
    Last edited by Rock Monkey; 09-15-2021 at 03:18 PM. Reason: Added information

  17. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Rock Monkey from:

    margaret! (09-15-2021)

  18. #33
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    86g’s today. He’s doing 4cc every 4 hours to see if that helps with digestion. Even though his weight would call for more than 4cc. (Thoughts?)
    Let's try staying at close to 5% until his digestion straightens out.

    .05 x 86 g implies 4.3 cc's of formula per feeding. Hopefully the yogurt is part of that total quantity.

    Are you premixing the formula the night before or just mixing it at feeding time?

    From the baby squirrel care guide:

    Mixing, Feeding and Storing Formula

    When using a powdered formula, ideally, each night you would mix up the amount of formula you will need for the next day. The first day, you can just let the formula sit for a couple of hours, then feed. With powdered formula, use very warm water, stir well. Place in the refrigerator.

    In the morning, stir the formula and draw up enough syringes of cold formula for your first feeding of the day.

    Microwave a coffee mug of water until it is hot (but not boiling). Then dunk the filled syringes in the hot water. They will take around 30 to 60 seconds to heat up.

    Take one syringe out, tilt it to mix the formula within the syringe, and test it on your wrist before feeding.

    If the formula in your syringe gets too cool while feeding, re-dunk it and pull out another syringe.


    Premixed formula is more fully mixed and will be digested more readily.
    Last edited by Rock Monkey; 09-15-2021 at 03:40 PM. Reason: Added information

  19. #34
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    I’m hoping to transition him to the cat carrier with a heating pad if I can get his diarrhea under control. It’s very messy. Thoughts on that arrangement?
    Funny story, we just had a family of squirrels set up shop in our ceiling and it’s pretty noisy. Ugh. I’ll be dealing with that today. Hahah when it rains it pours.
    Regardless of the container, the heating pad is always underneath the container, whatever kind it is. Thus, there is no contact between the squirrel and the heating pad. It is outside of the container. So, whether the squirrel is experiencing diarrhea is not relevant to whether a heat pad is used because the squirrel is unable to poop on the pad directly or indirectly.

    See the picture in the link below.

    https://henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

    If you are washing bedding, use soap without a scent preferably. Squirrels have very sensitive noses. Don't use any amount of bleach. They really don't like that smell.

    Regarding the squirrels in the ceiling. If you remove mom, who will be coming and going, and release her elsewhere her babies will perish. Furthermore, if you release Mom elsewhere her survival chances will also be substantially reduced. So, you have a tricky situation.

    The only successful outcome would be if Mom has a good secondary nest and you are able to move both Mom and babies outside and seal the hole to the attic and then stand guard while Mom carries the babies to the secondary nest.

    Eastern grey squirrels are solitary. If there is a gathering of squirrels it is highly probable that it constitutes a Mom and her babies. Dad plays no role in raising the babies.

    The conservative course of action would be to do nothing until the babies are mature and then you still have to worry about the winter if winter temperatures are cold. Fall babies will often overwinter with Mom if winters are cold.

  20. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Rock Monkey from:

    Mel1959 (09-16-2021)

  21. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    We are almost 72 hours without any wet stool. It’s even getting less yellow. More deep yellow.
    He’s tummy is fuzzy and normal sized. He just started holding his tail up and being playful. Can I put some rodent block in with him now? A water bottle? I didn’t want to introduce anything before I felt like his GI was better. I have still been doing hydration 4x daily between feedings. He’s at 4.5cc every 4 hours and 2 feedings a day contain a very small amount of probiotic powder (Saccharomyces boulardii) in them.
    I can’t remember when they start urinating on their own. Again, it’s been almost 8 years since I did this last.
    Attached Images Attached Images  

  22. Serious fuzzy thank you's to margaret! from:

    Rock Monkey (09-17-2021)

  23. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    We are almost 72 hours without any wet stool. It’s even getting less yellow. More deep yellow.
    He’s tummy is fuzzy and normal sized. He just started holding his tail up and being playful. Can I put some rodent block in with him now? A water bottle? I didn’t want to introduce anything before I felt like his GI was better. I have still been doing hydration 4x daily between feedings. He’s at 4.5cc every 4 hours and 2 feedings a day contain a very small amount of probiotic powder (Saccharomyces boulardii) in them.
    I can’t remember when they start urinating on their own. Again, it’s been almost 8 years since I did this last.
    That's great news on the poop front. It's been a tough battle.

    Barring some extraordinary event, they poop and pee on their own once their eyes open. They will sometimes be sneaky about where they pee because they don't like their pee being cleaned up.

    It's okay to introduce a water bottle. Just make sure it doesn't leak and is positioned so he can't chew on any of the bottle's plastic.

    It's too early for block.

    If he isn't interested in the yogurt you might try giving it by itself as the first food you offer. He will be likely to eat it if he is hungry.

    What is his current weight?

    He is looking much better.

    Does his skin turgor test indicate any dehydration?

  24. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Rock Monkey from:

    margaret! (09-17-2021)

  25. #37
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rock Monkey View Post

    It's too early for block.

    If he isn't interested in the yogurt you might try giving it by itself as the first food you offer. He will be likely to eat it if he is hungry.

    What is his current weight?

    He is looking much better.

    Does his skin turgor test indicate any dehydration?
    He is 98g!! What a solid growth! He takes his hydration so well that I’m incline to keep going for a bit longer even though is turgor is indicating less than 1. I never see his poop and his cage is very clean so I’m assuming his poop is much better and tries out quickly.
    Thank you for all your help!

  26. Serious fuzzy thank you's to margaret! from:

    Rock Monkey (09-20-2021)

  27. #38
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,277
    Thanked: 733

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    Quote Originally Posted by margaret! View Post
    He is 98g!! What a solid growth! He takes his hydration so well that I’m incline to keep going for a bit longer even though is turgor is indicating less than 1. I never see his poop and his cage is very clean so I’m assuming his poop is much better and tries out quickly.
    Thank you for all your help!
    That's double the weight of where he started. That's great. Continued moderate hydration can't hurt, in my opinion.

  28. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Rock Monkey from:

    margaret! (09-22-2021)

  29. #39
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    He’s a trooper. 115g today. He pee just started getting the faintest smell and color to it. Is that an age related thing. Nothing crazy. Just a little. He is so playful and really hungry all the time. I’m bumping him up to 5.5/5.75cc today. And continuing alternating hydration.

  30. #40
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pacific NW
    Posts
    51
    Thanked: 5

    Default Re: new rescue baby squirrel. maybe 3/4 weeks old. diarrhea. eyes opened early.

    He’s 120g today. Can I give him rodent block now? Maybe some little sticks to chew. He really wants to explore more and play. I think he might be older than we all originally thought.

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •