Week old baby- need help

[JaxFL227]

Hi, we found 2 pinkies probably only a day or 2 old after hurricane Helene. We brought them home on 9/27, rehydrated them and then made the goat milk formula the next day. They have been doing well and gaining weight up until last evening. They have slowly lost interest in eating, not as active, and there is now a clicking sound coming from one and their breathing seems labored. I fear they may have aspiration pneumonia. Please help.

[squirrelfriend]

Do you have them on heat? If you have one heating pad for your back put it on low and under one side of the container they are in.

[JaxFL227]

Do you have them on heat? If you have one heating pad for your back put it on low and under one side of the container they are in.

Hello,

Thank you for the response. I apologize for lack of details. I have them in a plastic container with a fleece blanket inside. I have a heating pad under the outside of the container on low heat, only halfway under it. I hear the faintest of what I think is a clicking noise when they breathe. They are actually doing much better today. Is it possible that the aspiration can resolve on its own? They have no other signs other than the tiniest click noise when I hold them up to my ear. They are eating, sleeping, squeaking and going to the bathroom normally today. The have gained a little bit of weight after eating today. I can always attach a picture if that is helpful. Thank you so much.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hello,

Thank you for the response. I apologize for lack of details. I have them in a plastic container with a fleece blanket inside. I have a heating pad under the outside of the container on low heat, only halfway under it. I hear the faintest of what I think is a clicking noise when they breathe. They are actually doing much better today. Is it possible that the aspiration can resolve on its own? They have no other signs other than the tiniest click noise when I hold them up to my ear. They are eating, sleeping, squeaking and going to the bathroom normally today. The have gained a little bit of weight after eating today. I can always attach a picture if that is helpful. Thank you so much.

Hi JaxFL227 and thanks for recuing these Baby Squirrels and thank you for finding The Squirrel Board (TSB)! How are your babies doing now?

Do you have any experience raising baby Squirrels, especially the pinkies? Is appears that you have some information on their care because what you are describing for care sounds appropriate. There is much more involved however and one option, especially with you living in Florida is to locate a Squirrel Rehabber to care over care of your Squirrels. There are many in Florida. That being said, if your intentions are to raise these babies, it can certainly be done and you can do it BUT this requires knowledge of the specifics involved in their care. Fortunately, there is a very good and concise Guide for Baby Squirrel Care that Henry's Pets has available on their website. Here is a link to this Guide which is only 6 pages long and my suggestion right now would be to focus on the first 3 pages and get as up to speed on the general care of these babies and once all of this is understood and put into practice, you can go back and review the rest of the Guide. If you have no baby Squirrel experience (and really even if you do), IT IS ESSENTIAL that you follow the guidelines for Henrys because time is of the essence and these Guidelines are based upon the experiences of many rehabbers over many years. There is one issue though that needs to be revised in the Guide and I want to point that out to you. There is a recommendation for using Fox Valley 32/40 Formula as an option for these small babies and based upon some very serious problems with resultant fatalities associated with this particular formula when used in neonates; I would recommend simply NOT using FV 32/40 at all. The remainder of the Guidelines are really quite good! Also, you mentioned that the babies are "eating, sleeping, squeaking and going to the bathroom normally" and that is great to hear because that is everything that they should be doing at this age!! It is essential to stimulate the genital regions of your babies to ensure that they do poop and pee so you must be doing that but please look carefully at the Guide anyway for that information also and for all aspects of baby Squirrel care. Here is the Link; https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Please post in detail what formula you are using or is it the Homemade Goats Milk Formula (HGMF) that you already mentioned, how often your babies are being fed and how you have been calculating the amount of formula you are giving. It is also essential that you use a syringe withOUT a needle and preferably with a specialized small baby animal nipple such as a Miracle Nipple but a "naked" syringe can work. Also, if you are already using the HGMF recipe from Henry (or from here on The Squirrel Board, I would recommend NOT using any egg!

In regard to Aspiration and Aspiration Pneumonia; these are two different thing although there is obviously an association! Aspirations are where some formula (or what ever is being fed) inadvertently enters the breathing tubes or even gets into the lungs. An aspiration pneumonia is where an infection in the lungs occurs that is associated with the aspirated material. I am not trying to make light of aspiration as in fact; all reasonable precautions MUST be taken to help prevent aspirations BUT, not all aspirations result in a pneumonia and in reality, most aspirations of formula do NOT result in a pneumonia but again, this fact should not in any way be an excuse to lower your guard and again, all reasonable means must be utilized to prevent aspirations! Limiting the syringe size to 1ml or less, using a syringe with an o-ring seal on the plunger and feeding these tiny babies drop by drop and pausing after each drop or after a couple of drops to ensure your Squirrels have swallowed their formula along with having total control of the syringe plunger will all help prevent aspirations!

There are other very serious problems that can occur from an aspiration besides a pneumonia and one of those is that the aspirated material can prevent adequate air exchange in the lungs and the animal can even die from asphyxiation! Aspiration are common however and most do lot lead to serious problems. IF your Squirrels are doing all those thing mentioned, I doubt very much that they have a pneumonia or have any significant respiratory issues from what may have been an aspiration and I would not suggest the use of antibiotics at this time, again assuming these babies are behaving "normally!" I would suggest that you check for availability of antibiotics that you may have or family or friends may have that you could use if necessary and keep those in "reserve" just incase they may be needed in the future. Please list these in your thread so we will know what is available.

Photos of your Baby Squirrels would be great!

Please keep on with the updates about your Squirrels!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[JaxFL227]

Hi JaxFL227 and thanks for recuing these Baby Squirrels and thank you for finding The Squirrel Board (TSB)! How are your babies doing now?

Do you have any experience raising baby Squirrels, especially the pinkies? Is appears that you have some information on their care because what you are describing for care sounds appropriate. There is much more involved however and one option, especially with you living in Florida is to locate a Squirrel Rehabber to care over care of your Squirrels. There are many in Florida. That being said, if your intentions are to raise these babies, it can certainly be done and you can do it BUT this requires knowledge of the specifics involved in their care. Fortunately, there is a very good and concise Guide for Baby Squirrel Care that Henry's Pets has available on their website. Here is a link to this Guide which is only 6 pages long and my suggestion right now would be to focus on the first 3 pages and get as up to speed on the general care of these babies and once all of this is understood and put into practice, you can go back and review the rest of the Guide. If you have no baby Squirrel experience (and really even if you do), IT IS ESSENTIAL that you follow the guidelines for Henrys because time is of the essence and these Guidelines are based upon the experiences of many rehabbers over many years. There is one issue though that needs to be revised in the Guide and I want to point that out to you. There is a recommendation for using Fox Valley 32/40 Formula as an option for these small babies and based upon some very serious problems with resultant fatalities associated with this particular formula when used in neonates; I would recommend simply NOT using FV 32/40 at all. The remainder of the Guidelines are really quite good! Also, you mentioned that the babies are "eating, sleeping, squeaking and going to the bathroom normally" and that is great to hear because that is everything that they should be doing at this age!! It is essential to stimulate the genital regions of your babies to ensure that they do poop and pee so you must be doing that but please look carefully at the Guide anyway for that information also and for all aspects of baby Squirrel care. Here is the Link; https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Please post in detail what formula you are using or is it the Homemade Goats Milk Formula (HGMF) that you already mentioned, how often your babies are being fed and how you have been calculating the amount of formula you are giving. It is also essential that you use a syringe withOUT a needle and preferably with a specialized small baby animal nipple such as a Miracle Nipple but a "naked" syringe can work. Also, if you are already using the HGMF recipe from Henry (or from here on The Squirrel Board, I would recommend NOT using any egg!

In regard to Aspiration and Aspiration Pneumonia; these are two different thing although there is obviously an association! Aspirations are where some formula (or what ever is being fed) inadvertently enters the breathing tubes or even gets into the lungs. An aspiration pneumonia is where an infection in the lungs occurs that is associated with the aspirated material. I am not trying to make light of aspiration as in fact; all reasonable precautions MUST be taken to help prevent aspirations BUT, not all aspirations result in a pneumonia and in reality, most aspirations of formula do NOT result in a pneumonia but again, this fact should not in any way be an excuse to lower your guard and again, all reasonable means must be utilized to prevent aspirations! Limiting the syringe size to 1ml or less, using a syringe with an o-ring seal on the plunger and feeding these tiny babies drop by drop and pausing after each drop or after a couple of drops to ensure your Squirrels have swallowed their formula along with having total control of the syringe plunger will all help prevent aspirations!

There are other very serious problems that can occur from an aspiration besides a pneumonia and one of those is that the aspirated material can prevent adequate air exchange in the lungs and the animal can even die from asphyxiation! Aspiration are common however and most do lot lead to serious problems. IF your Squirrels are doing all those thing mentioned, I doubt very much that they have a pneumonia or have any significant respiratory issues from what may have been an aspiration and I would not suggest the use of antibiotics at this time, again assuming these babies are behaving "normally!" I would suggest that you check for availability of antibiotics that you may have or family or friends may have that you could use if necessary and keep those in "reserve" just incase they may be needed in the future. Please list these in your thread so we will know what is available.

Photos of your Baby Squirrels would be great!

Please keep on with the updates about your Squirrels!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

Hi!

Thank you so much for the detailed response. The babies seem to be doing well. They are still eating, sleeping and going potty. At this time, I don't see much cause for concern with them. I have never raised baby squirrels. We have rescued some before, but passed them on to a rehabber after a few days. Our intention, this time, was to raise them, but I also want them to have the best possible chance at survival, so if you don't think that would happen with me, then I can pass them on. All that to say, I have read Henry's guide (prior to joining this board). The formula that I am feeding them is the goat milk formula directly from Henry's page. I did put a small amount of egg in there as it called for, but just made a new batch today with no egg per your recommendation. Will the egg hurt them? I am feeding them every 2 to 3 hours, but after about 11pm, I only feed them once at 330am and then again when I wake up about 730am. I am stimulating them to go potty before every feeding and then about 30ish minutes after they eat. They seem to be going poop on their own pretty well. Lots of it all over them and the blanket when I check on them or pick them up to potty them. I am using a 1ML syringe with an o-ring seal and a latex nipple over the top. I will admit that I was trying out different syringes, with and without the nipple, which could have been why they were not showing interest when I thought they were sick and not eating much? I heat the formula by heating water in a coffee mug and sticking the syringes in the hot water. I am feeding them based off Henry's schedule and the 7% rule. I have a kitchen scale where i weigh them before and after every feeding. They weigh between 10 and 11 grams are getting approx. .75cc at every feeding. This method has been working well and they take right to the nipple now.

Here are some other questions I have. For clarification, if I do not use the FV 32/40, do I switch to the FV 20/50 at 4 weeks? They are pink, so I can see their tummies after they eat. Should their tummy be empty or close to empty when it's time for the next feeding? Right now, one of the babies has a pretty full looking tummy. I am afraid to bloat them. It's belly is "flat", but still pretty white inside. As long as they are taking all the formula at every feeding, do I need to give them any hydration liquid (water with sugar/honey)? Should I feed them "naked" or in a soft blanket? I have been feeding them in a small rag/blanket, but was not sure that matters.

I do have doxycycline hyclate 100mg on hand.

I will post a few pictures below this message. Thank you again for all of your help! =)

[JaxFL227]

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi!

Thank you so much for the detailed response. The babies seem to be doing well. They are still eating, sleeping and going potty. At this time, I don't see much cause for concern with them. I have never raised baby squirrels. We have rescued some before, but passed them on to a rehabber after a few days. Our intention, this time, was to raise them, but I also want them to have the best possible chance at survival, so if you don't think that would happen with me, then I can pass them on. All that to say, I have read Henry's guide (prior to joining this board). The formula that I am feeding them is the goat milk formula directly from Henry's page. I did put a small amount of egg in there as it called for, but just made a new batch today with no egg per your recommendation. Will the egg hurt them? I am feeding them every 2 to 3 hours, but after about 11pm, I only feed them once at 330am and then again when I wake up about 730am. I am stimulating them to go potty before every feeding and then about 30ish minutes after they eat. They seem to be going poop on their own pretty well. Lots of it all over them and the blanket when I check on them or pick them up to potty them. I am using a 1ML syringe with an o-ring seal and a latex nipple over the top. I will admit that I was trying out different syringes, with and without the nipple, which could have been why they were not showing interest when I thought they were sick and not eating much? I heat the formula by heating water in a coffee mug and sticking the syringes in the hot water. I am feeding them based off Henry's schedule and the 7% rule. I have a kitchen scale where i weigh them before and after every feeding. They weigh between 10 and 11 grams are getting approx. .75cc at every feeding. This method has been working well and they take right to the nipple now.

Here are some other questions I have. For clarification, if I do not use the FV 32/40, do I switch to the FV 20/50 at 4 weeks? They are pink, so I can see their tummies after they eat. Should their tummy be empty or close to empty when it's time for the next feeding? Right now, one of the babies has a pretty full looking tummy. I am afraid to bloat them. It's belly is "flat", but still pretty white inside. As long as they are taking all the formula at every feeding, do I need to give them any hydration liquid (water with sugar/honey)? Should I feed them "naked" or in a soft blanket? I have been feeding them in a small rag/blanket, but was not sure that matters.

I do have doxycycline hyclate 100mg on hand.

I will post a few pictures below this message. Thank you again for all of your help! =)

Thanks for your response, JaxFL227!

I would suggest transitioning to Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer POWDER (NOT the liquid with the same name) no later than 10 days of age. This is available at most major Pet Stores such as PetSmart and even at Tractor Supply! At 3.5-4 weeks you should transition the babies to Fox Valley 20/50 OR you can do what a number of us do (including myself) and that is transition to a half and half mixture of Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer and FV 20/50. Each should be mixed separately in their customary 1 part powder to 2 parts very warm water and then they can be mixed together (half each by volume) before feeding. This is more complicated to some degree than simply transitioning to FV 20/50 alone at 3.5-4 weeks and if you wanted to just use the FV 20/50, it would be fine!

The white area in the abdomen is called the milk line and you can hold the baby upright and see where the milk line is located. It should be highest immediately after feeding and this should be regressed by the next feeding. There are some important issues and steps to storing and mixing the powdered formulas that are to some extent, neglected by the manufacturer's instructions and the following will cover much of that;

Esbilac and Fox Valley formulas (and all powdered formulas for that matter) should be kept in the freezer except when mixing new formula in order to help prevent spoilage! Also, any formula that you mix should be kept in the refrigerator and disposed of within 24 hours (NO exceptions)!

There is common misunderstanding of how powdered formulas should be prepared and many have made the assumption that formula can be mixed by using room temperature or even cold water, stirring this a few times and then feeding it to the Squirrel! This is NOT so and the manufacturers neglect being very clear as to how all powdered formulas must be mixed! While doing a "quick-mix," the formula does appear to be completely suspended in the water and ready to go this is NOT the case at all!

A very common cause of soft stool or diarrhea in warm and well hydrated babies (the order of things is that the baby must be warmed before rehydrating and must be rehydrated before being fed) is the use of a "quick mix" of their formula! Even though it appears that the powder is thoroughly mixed, there are really many tiny particles of the the formula that are still suspended in the water and not completely dissolved! The powder should be mixed with very hot water! I use heated bottle water as the base for all my formula mixing and try for a temperature near 170 degrees F just to put a number to it but somewhere between hot tap water which is usually around 120-140 degrees and well below boiling will be fine!

Mix only the amount of Formula you need for the next 24 hour period and be prepared to dispose of any extra mixed formula as ALL mixed liquid Formula must NEVER be kept more than 24 hours under any circumstances!

The formula should be hand mixed only but mixed thoroughly, THEN; instead of giving it to the Squirrel, put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and preferably 6-8 hours (or overnight) to allow the particles of the powdered formula to become fully dissolved in the water. Before each feeding, the formula should be thoroughly hand mixed again and then pulled up in a 1cc syringe preferably with an o-ring plunger. Next, heat a cup of water to around 102-105 degrees F using a thermometer to ensure accuracy and place the syringe into this warm arm water just prior to feeding. This will warm the formula in approximately 30 seconds and you can squirt a drop on the back of your hand just to double check if you want but it should be quite warm (again102-105 F) as the babies prefer it that way, then gently rock the syringe back and forth a few times as a final mixing and to fully distribute the heat and then feed it to your Squirrel!

Following this practice is of extreme importance because a Baby Squirrel (or any baby mammal) is obviously immature and their digestive systems are also immature to at least some extent! The very young babies do not have fully functional digestive capabilities and what happens is that any undissolved particles of powdered formula will move through the stomach without any initial digestion by gastric acid and then enter the small intestine where further opportunity for some digestion is compromised by immaturity as some the enzymes ordinarily present in the small intestine of an older or adult Squirrel are optimally functional in the baby! The undigested formula can then exert what is called an osmotic effect and water is drawn into the intestine and soft or worse yet, diarrhea can result! Further, the undigested formula can foster growth of bacteria in the gut and cause inflammatory changes in the intestine and potentially even an infection! As some of the formula is not digested, general nutrition will also suffer! What can also occur is just the opposite of quick passage of stool and the Squirrel can become bloated from significantly unmixed formula!

One last thing to mention and that is NEVER mix anything into the formula; no Calcium, no other supplements, no Pedialyte---NOTHING but powdered formula and plain fresh water!

As far as whether or not to feed the while being held or in a blanket, this is done both ways. My preference is to ensure that my hands are clean but free of soap or any chemicals or foreign substances that may result in an allergic or irritative reaction and hold the baby in my hand and have the surroundings comfortable. I always feel that my hands are warmer than the fabric blanket and I an more concerned about a baby slipping from a blanket than I am about slipping out of my hand BUT I hold them only an inch or two above the padding in the bin anyway so if they slip, they will not be injured. Also, holding them just above the bin will help keep them warm during feeding as there is heat retained inside the bin from the heating pad and this heat tends to rise!

The Doxycycline is a very good antibiotic but there are some potential problems with its use in neonates. If there is an eventual problem that suggests the necessity for antibiotics, the risks versus benefits will need to be evaluated. If you have other antibiotics, please mention those. Right now, of course, the antibiotics are simply a contingency and should be kept in reserve!

As long as your Squirrels are warm and eating and peeing and show no signs of dehydration, it should not be necessary to provide extra water as properly mixed formula provides for all nutritional and hydration needs. Mother Squirrel has only milk to offer her babies and they do well with this! That being said, an occasional 'extra" bit of warm water is ok and it becomes essential to recognize ant sign of impending dehydration and correct this immediately.

Please continue the updates.

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel