Help baby squirrel is having diarrhea

[stepnstone]

I fed her a small amount of water mixed with a little bit of formula because she would not take just the plain water. She pooped a few small pellets but her belly is still quite full.

I just gave her a few drops of the liquid infant gas x. Hopefully that should help a bit.

Trust your instincts.

https://henryspets.com/5-common-problems/
Bloating. Can occur when a baby squirrel eats too much and/or too often, or from formula intolerance. The stomach should be rounded after feeding, but still soft, like a half-filled water balloon. It should deflate before the next feeding. If stomach feels hard or does not deflate, skip a feeding, hydrate, and decrease the amount of formula at each feeding or increase the amount of time between feedings. Stimulate to potty. Dipping the baby in warm water up to his armpits and gentle massage can also help. A few drops of Gas-X also helps.

The warm water soak has solved the problem with many also.

[Squirrelbaby99]

Trust your instincts.

https://henryspets.com/5-common-problems/
Bloating. Can occur when a baby squirrel eats too much and/or too often, or from formula intolerance. The stomach should be rounded after feeding, but still soft, like a half-filled water balloon. It should deflate before the next feeding. If stomach feels hard or does not deflate, skip a feeding, hydrate, and decrease the amount of formula at each feeding or increase the amount of time between feedings. Stimulate to potty. Dipping the baby in warm water up to his armpits and gentle massage can also help. A few drops of Gas-X also helps.

The warm water soak has solved the problem with many also.

I think her stool also seems quite hard so maybe she is constipated. I gave her a few drops of lactulose to see if that could help move things along.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

How is your Squirrel doing? Were you able to utilize the recommendations from Henry's with any improvement or success?
SamtheSquirrel

[Squirrelbaby99]

How is your Squirrel doing? Were you able to utilize the recommendations from Henry's with any improvement or success?
SamtheSquirrel

I haven’t seen much improvement but she seems ok. I tried the gas x at around 1:30. I also gave her some lactulose. She poops a small amount when I stimulate her ( she does pee and poop on her own though). I tried soaking her in warm water and massaging her belly but haven’t seen a change. I fed her around 5pm and gave her water mixed with a little bit of formula. She had 5mls. The color of her poop has changed from the dark brown color to a light almost pale green color and the pellets seem pretty solid. She gives like 3 small pellets at a time. Should I give more lactulose.

[Squirrelbaby99]

I have stimulated her twice in the past hour and she has produced 6 of the small pellets. That seems like more than her normal amount so I am hoping that this whole things was just constipation caused by switching to formula at every feeding as opposed to the diastat at every other feeding.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

I have stimulated her twice in the past hour and she has produced 6 of the small pellets. That seems like more than her normal amount so I am hoping that this whole things was just constipation caused by switching to formula at every feeding as opposed to the diastat at every other feeding.

That's encouraging! I have never used lactulose for Squirrels. I know that this has been used for pet rats for constipation but this seems to be more bloating than constipation. Others here may have had experience with lactulose and can comment on its use with Squirrels. Does your Squirrel's abdomen still seem swollen or has it returned to normal? If still swollen, is it still soft or is has the skin become tight? Is she still urinating normally. Please verify that you are have been using Fox Valley 20/50 and that it has been mixed 1 part powder to 2 parts warm water. If the abdomen is still bloated it is probably best to hold off on the next feeding of formula but give maybe 2 ml of water instead. Again, as Henry's points out on their website, it is essential that your baby remains hydrated. The best "routine" hydrating fluid is plain water. It can be warmed and this may be more acceptable to your Squirrel and can be offered in small amounts to maintain hydration. You were going to eliminate the nighttime feeding anyway and this will give some hydration through the night but just not the formula. Also, if there is still bloating, I would recommend continuing to soak the baby as Henry's suggests up to her armpits and gently (you should apply only very minimal pressure) massage her belly and do this every 30-60 minutes or so for about 5 minutes at a time through the night and reassess the degree of bloat before and after each "session." If the bloating is now gone and you are going to regular resume feedings, I would recommend using only plain water or very, very dilute formula for the next scheduled feeding.
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Squirrelbaby99]

That's encouraging! I have never used lactulose for Squirrels. I know that this has been used for pet rats for constipation but this seems to be more bloating than constipation. Others here may have had experience with lactulose and can comment on its use with Squirrels. Does your Squirrel's abdomen still seem swollen or has it returned to normal? If still swollen, is it still soft or is has the skin become tight? Is she still urinating normally. Please verify that you are have been using Fox Valley 20/50 and that it has been mixed 1 part powder to 2 parts warm water. If the abdomen is still bloated it is probably best to hold off on the next feeding of formula but give maybe 2 ml of water instead. Again, as Henry's points out on their website, it is essential that your baby remains hydrated. The best "routine" hydrating fluid is plain water. It can be warmed and this may be more acceptable to your Squirrel and can be offered in small amounts to maintain hydration. You were going to eliminate the nighttime feeding anyway and this will give some hydration through the night but just not the formula. Also, if there is still bloating, I would recommend continuing to soak the baby as Henry's suggests up to her armpits and gently (you should apply only very minimal pressure) massage her belly and do this every 30-60 minutes or so for about 5 minutes at a time through the night and reassess the degree of bloat before and after each "session." If the bloating is now gone and you are going to regular resume feedings, I would recommend using only plain water or very, very dilute formula for the next scheduled feeding.
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

I am feeding the fox valley 20/50 formula and am mixing one part formula with two parts water. The only reason I am thinking she is constipated is because I can feel the poop pellets when I very lightly palpate her abdomen and I can feel a lot of poop.