Baby not pooping consistently

[Annasquirrel]

Hi everyone,

I have a female that seems to be around 6-7 weeks. Mom was hit by a car and babies started coming down looking for help. I found her brother on Friday at work (took him to a wildlife rehab place--did not seem to be good there though). This one was found on Saturday afternoon by another person who kept her overnight and gave her to me Sunday morning. I am not sure how long they wait before coming out of the nest and we were not sure when the momma was hit. This girl is smaller, thinner, less confident than the little male that I found on Friday. I am thinking it had been a while since she had eaten, because the little male was SO hungry when I picked him up, trying to nurse on the tips of my gloves.

Saturday she had three eye droppers of milk and whipping cream that her original finder gave her (I think they are one cc each). Sunday morning she had one dropper before he gave her to me. In her box, she had a small, rice grain shape poop. After some googling, I then went to the pet store and bought Esbilac but bought the liquid kind, which I later learned was not good. She had a total of 6cc. That night, another two small poops.

I read a lot that night (thanks Squirrel Board!) and went back to buy the powdered with probiotic Esbilac, and she has been on that since Monday morning. (I also ordered the squirrel blocks and 4 week plus squirrel formula from Henry's, and it will be here Thursday). I mixed it one part formula to three parts water. Yesterday she ate around 9 cc every four hours during the day--this was all she would eat. Today, she ate 9 cc at 8:30 and at 2:30 (she was offered food at 7 and at noon, but only ate a couple cc's at those feedings).

She has not pooped yesterday or today. She pees normally, a good amount, around each feeding. Her demeanor is good--she is alert and plays during her wakeful times. Her belly is not bloated or distended.

Any advice?

Thank you for your help!

[CritterMom]

It usually takes them some time before they abandon the nest after mama disappears, so she was likely very much in need of food. It takes a while before the body catches up and starts to actually produce any waste. She is old enough to be pooping on her own but you can also still stimulate her before and after feeding. Given that she is not a teeny baby, make her formula full strength, which for esbilac is 1 part formula powder to TWO parts water, not 3. Once the formula is full strength she will be getting more milk solids and should start pooping a little more regularly.

DON'T take her to the place you took the other one. It sounds like a real hack place. Hopefully one of our members can help you out with that situation because no, a baby that age shouldn't be released.

[Sommer]

Of course, watch for any other signs of distress; but they really can make you unnecessarily stress for a few days while they're getting caught up and regulated. Monitor her closely and if all is well give her time. If she seems a little backed up there are also things you can do to help but I've had them make me think "this is impossible" and then one day its all normal with no other issues. 🙏❤️

[Annasquirrel]

Thank you so much for your responses! I will correct the formula and wait it out a bit. My squirrel formula (and the squirrel blocks) from Henry's comes tomorrow, so I can start mixing with the old and getting her on the best possible milk.

I agree...sadly the rehab place I took squirrel one to seems a mess (I think you are referencing my other post). I felt terrible afterward and definitely have lost some sleep over that bad decision. I feel like we humans are responsible for the animals that we find or that find us, whether they are wild or pets or otherwise crossing our paths for some reason. I hate that I did not act in his best interest using the information I had at that time. He just seemed so hungry and I had no idea what to feed him but knew that there was a rehab place close by, so I tried to get him there asap. I surely hope someone sees my other post and can help him by picking him up. I told them I had the sibling, asked if my vet friend could pick him up, but they said they could only release him to another FL licensed rehabber. I am happy to pay fuel, make a donation, whatever is needed to get him to a better situation.

This little one, I think, will be okay with us until release. She has a more fragile and fearful feel to her than he had, but she is very sweet and playful during her wake times. She likes being curled in a little ball and cuddled up. The first one, the male, was very calm and confident. I wish I had known better than to take him there.

[Mel1959]

I’m going to send you a private message with a contact that might have a resource to retrieve your baby’s sibling. Private messages are accessed from the top of the page under “notifications”.

Edit: message sent.

[Annasquirrel]

Hi again!

Baby Anna is still not pooping.

Her appetite improved Wednesday, and she was taking 12cc per feeding and wanted food every four hours that day, but she stopped eating around 3:30 that afternoon.

Her squirrel formula arrived Thursday afternoon and we started a 75% Esbilac/25% squirrel through her 1:30 Friday feeding. Then, I mixed 50/50 which she had until her 4:00 feeding today, when we transitioned to the squirrel formula only. She eats 12-14 oz at 7, 10:30, and 1:30, and then will take a couple of ounces at 4:30 and doesn't want anything after that time. She also gets one squirrel block per day, which she happily shreds and eats maybe half.

I wear her in my top during the day, where she sleeps, and I feed her when she seems hungry and offer food every three hours (which seems to be her preferred interval for the moment).

After feedings, we tried stimulating her, but she only pees. We play with her after feedings in the morning and evening for a half hour or so. She seems to be gaining weight, she is bright and alert, with more wakeful times as each day goes by, and her tummy still feels normal although today for the first time it felt "full" to touch after she had her formula.

I think she was without food for quite a while and was very thin and slow to eat the expected quantity of food at each feeding--she really only started taking the recommended quantity at each feeding a few days ago, and she does not take four full feedings per day yet.

Should I do something to help the pooping process along?

[Spanky]

How much does she weigh? Can you post a picture?

At 6 - 7 weeks old she should be going on her own... are there poos in her bin?

[Annasquirrel]

How much does she weigh? Can you post a picture?

At 6 - 7 weeks old she should be going on her own... are there poos in her bin?

[Annasquirrel]

[Annasquirrel]

She is 5 ounces. Thank you!

[Mel1959]

So she’s approximately 141gr. You should change your scale to read grams instead of ounces, it’ll be easier to compute the amount of formula she’s to take at each feeding. It’s recommended they eat 5-7% of their weight in formula at each feeding. So 141gr x 5%=7.05 and 141gr x 7%=9.87. So the baby should eat between 7-10ml at each feeding.

Is your Esbilac the powdered Esbilac? Is your Fox Valley the 20/50 formulation? Have you tried giving some plain, or slightly sweetened, water in between a feeding?

It sounds as though your transition might have been too fast. Here’s my recommendation. If your Esbilac is powdered and your Fox Valley is the 20/50 version then I wouldn’t transition completely. There isn’t any reason you can’t use a 50/50 combination of the two. Try backing up and offering plain Esbilac again for several feedings. See if she produces more stool. Then for several feedings add 25% FV and work up to 50% FV. If she does well with this then just continue mixing the formula 50/50.

Fox Valley is a richer formula and doesn’t digest as quickly. She may be able to go longer between feedings. At her age she should be going around 4 hrs between feedings.

[Annasquirrel]

Thank you!

The Fox Valley is 20/50 Day One. I have the powdered Esbilac with probiotics.

We will try some water between feedings and go back to a 50/50 mix. She has had three feedings today, 7, 10:30 and 2:30. the first two were 12 ml and the third was 10ml.

She had a couple of small poops in her box this morning (from overnight) and nothing since.

Today has been a very active day where she was interested in running around and felt confident enough to explore the room. She has spent hours today playing instead of her usual shorter times.

[Annasquirrel]

She is doing great now with her pooping schedule! It's truly amazing how much she has grown and changed in the past week and a half. Thank you for all of your help!

[Mel1959]