Mel1959 (11-21-2021), Squirrelbaby99 (11-21-2021)
Mel1959 (11-21-2021)
How is your Little One doing this morning. Is there still diarrhea and if so; is she expelling "watery" like stool or is this more like semi-formed soft stools or just formed but softer than expected stools? Is there any apparent blood or mucus in her stool or any evidence of parasites. This make a difference as to evaluating possible causes and treatment and fluid requirements. Is she active and still drinking her formula? Are you still offering some of the block? Please post her weight when it is available! I hope you got some sleep last night Squirrelbaby!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel
[QUOTE=SamtheSquirrel2018;1340473]How is your Little One doing this morning. Is there still diarrhea and if so; is she expelling "watery" like stool or is this more like semi-formed soft stools or just formed but softer than expected stools? Is there any apparent blood or mucus in her stool or any evidence of parasites. This make a difference as to evaluating possible causes and treatment and fluid requirements. Is she active and still drinking her formula? Are you still offering some of the block? Please post her weight when it is available! I hope you got some sleep last night Squirrelbaby!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel[/QUOTE
They are formed by softer than expected. There is no blood or mucus and also no evidence of parasite. She is starting tp get more active (climbing and running around the cage)and she is still drinking her formula. Have the blocks in the cage with her and tried soaking them in her formula but she hasn’t been super interested in them today.
SamtheSquirrel2018 (11-21-2021)
Don’t give up on the block. It takes awhile for them to figure out food comes in solid form, too.
SamtheSquirrel2018 (11-21-2021)
I just got the scale and weighed her now and she was 122g. I also just got the diastat and the fox valley formula in the mail so I will start the diastat at her next feeding and then the formula at the feeding after that as it instructs to replace every other feeding with the diastat. Should I be concerned with her weight going down. Maybe she increased so much from the first time I weighed her because I had given her the fluids under the skin.
I think your plan of following the dia-stat is a good one. Stay the course and see how things go. Too many changes isn’t good. Dia-stat has a proven record.
That boost in fluids was a good thing. Three grams is three grams, it's in the right direction.
With dehydration, the body is not getting the nourishment from whats fed/ eaten.
With diarrhea, fluid and nutrients are moving too fast through the gastrointestinal tract for them to be absorbed.
This is what causes the weight loss. Stabilizing hydration, decreasing/ stopping the diarrhea is all going to allow
her body to absorb what is being consumed and she should begin to increase in grams pretty much daily.
You got this...
Step-N-Stone
State Licensed
Wildlife Master Rehabilitator
Please don't be concerned about the weight of 122g. This is only a 4g difference from the weight you obtained yesterday. Recognizing trends is more important than the specific numbers in your daily weighting and there has not been enough time or consistency to say that your Squirrel is losing weight. If she is consistently trending down on her weight over the next 2-3 days or even remaining the same over this same period could be a concern. It may be an issue with nutrition or fluids or both, but again, it is too early to identify any worrisome trend! The difference seen today compared with yesterday may be as you said, due to the SubQ fluids. It may also be due to differences in the scales or difference in times of weighing. There really shouldn't be any difference between scales but sometimes there are. You now have your own scales and can use those consistently. It is essential to make certain that the scales are clean before you set the scales to zero. There can be differences in weight if the Squirrel is moving about on the scales during weighing and it may be best to place a small box that will hold your Squirrel on the scales and the set the tare so the scales indicate zero with the box on them. The scales of course must read zero before you weigh your Squirrel so that so you can accurately read her weight directly from the display. Also, weighing should ideally take place first thing each morning before the first feeding has occurred. This will make for consistency and will also let you recalculate the amount of formula to give with each feeding for that particular day. Please post your daily weights. Another thing to keep in mind is obvious but not everyone truly recognizes that your Squirrel can't gain any more weight than you are giving her with food and water and it will be less because there are normal fluid losses and the loss of some of the original food material through the normal digestive functions. Also some of the food that is absorbed from the gut will be converted chemically to products such as water and carbon dioxide that will lost through urination and breathing. We do of course expect that there will be a relatively consistent upward trend in weight with the daily weighings. I really believe that your Squirrel is doing better and as more stabilization occurs in weighing, fluid intake and nutritional support, it all should be for the best! By the way, what is the latest poop report; soft, watery, normal?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel
Her stool is not watery which is really great. It hasn’t been watery it has just been quite soft. I feel like it is gradually getting more formed and solid. It is still mushy and she often smears it on the wee wee pad after she poops when she walks. I started the dia stat at 6 pm so hopefully I will see further improvement.
SamtheSquirrel2018 (11-21-2021)
Squirrelbaby99 (11-22-2021)
She went back down to 123g today
That's ok for now! Your little Squirrel is becoming quite active as seen in her video which is a good sign in itself but the activity also burns calories. One decrease in weight does not establish a trend. Hopefully her stool is still formed and not watery and that she is making urine and continuing to eat her formula. Have changed to Fox Valley 20/50 yet?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel
Her stool has been completely formed and normal. I started the fox valley 20/50 when I started the dia stat. I was thinking that since her stool is formed that I would stop replacing every other feeding with the dia stat and just stick to the formula. Her urine output has been consistent and normal. She is continuing to eat very well. At her overnight feeding she only had 7mls which was a bit strange since she normally wants more than the 8 mls that I give her. The 7 mls is still in the correct range but it was strange that she didn’t want to keep eating. She did go back to normal at her first feeding this morning and she ate the full 8mls.