3 week old possible dehydration??

[Lexshae]

Hi everyone, I made a post a couple days ago about my almost 3 week old baby not wanting to really latch on the nipple. She was doing better after a feeding .9 ml of warm water honey mixture and ate and latched almost normal for a day and a half or so. Most feedings were 1.5 ml to 1.8. But now she's back to really struggling with latching. I ordered new Henry’s nipples that will be here tomorrow in hopes that she will like them better.

I'm wondering if its possible she could still be slightly dehydrated since hydration is what helped before? And maybe that's why she is striggling to latch? I tried the skin pinch test but It's difficult to tell cause she doesn't hold still.
Her poor skin has been pretty dry. I feel horrible cause when we first got her I had her in a cardboard box until I read that that causes dry skin. I moved her into a plastic container as soon as I found out. Her setup is a large plastic container with fleece bedding and pieces of jersey material to burrow into. Also a little glass cup with saturated cotton balls in the container on the other side of the bedding. The container is halfway on a heating pad set on low.

Her skin the last couple days seems to have little pieces flaking off in tiny little dandruff looking pieces. It used to be her back that was so dry but that looks much better and it's been her poor little head between her ears. We put some pure aloe on the dry areas a couple days ago since that what I saw people recommend and it seemed to help a little.

She has been keeping the steady 2 gram gain a day. Except for after her really rough day a few days ago she only gained 1 gram. But went from 35 grams 2 days ago to 38 grams last night. She had a really good feeding of 1.8 ml yesterday, but now is back to only 1 ml to 1.2 or 3. She has been doing lots of clear pee before and after each feeding and really good solid but soft poos after most feedings and sometimes before.

I am going to try and attach some photos of her so you can see her dry skin and also maybe someone will be able to tell me if she looks ok? Or if she might need some extra hydration?

Here is my original post about the situation two days ago:
I took in a rescue baby squirrel a little over two weeks ago. She was likely only a day or two old when I took her so she is roughly 18-19 days old. I hydrated her before feeding her formula and since starting on formula we haven't had any issues with her eating. She figured out how to latch very quickly and did so for almost 2 weeks. I am feeding her Esbilac with a 1 ml syringe and small, long nipple. She weighs about 34 grams and with good feedings will take 1.5 ml. She has been going potty consistently and seems healthy. But the last few days, feeding her has really been a struggle. When she started struggling, she wouldn't latch right away. She would kind of chew on and spit out the nipple, take a little break, and then latch fine. But last night and today she will not latch at all. She just gums the nipple and spits it out. Sometimes after spitting the nipple out, she will start to suckle with her tongue on the roof of her mouth but won't with the nipple. There have been a few feedings like this where she'll only eat .5-.7 ml because she gets tired and disinterested. I'm kind of at a loss because even if I'm able to get enough formula in her, it takes a long time to feed her and she and the milk cool down. Is this just a phase or could it be caused by another problem? Do baby squirrels go through teething at this age? I appreciate you taking the time to read this! Any insight or advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Mel1959]

I’m sorry no one has responded to your initial post. She most certainly can be dehydrated. There is no harm in offering some warm water sweetened with a little sugar, honey or maple syrup to encourage her to take it. Provide the hydration in between her normal feedings and NOT in place of a feeding. A dehydrated squirrel doesn’t eat as well so making sure she’s hydrated is a good thing. We recommend feeding 5-7% of their weight at each feeding. So if she currently weighs 38gr she should be consuming 1.9-2.6ml at each feeding. (38 x 5%=1.9 and 38 x 7%=2.66). She seems like she is underweight for her age. She should be fed every 2.5-3 hrs and that includes through the night for a total of 6-8 feedings a day. Teething will happen in the next couple of weeks. Eyes open at approximately 5 weeks.

Her lack of interest could be because the formula is too cold. Squirrels like their formula very warm, but not hot enough to burn them. You can purchase an electric mug warmer and set a cup filled with hot water on it and warm the filled syringes with the nipples attached in it. Check to be sure it’s not too hot before you feed.

I forgot to ask. Are you feeding powdered Esbilac? And you have a heating pad set to low and placed under one half of the bin she’s in? A plastic bin is best for these guys. Cardboard boxes will draw moisture out of them and cause dehydration and shouldn’t be used.

[Lexshae]

I’m sorry no one has responded to your initial post. She most certainly can be dehydrated. There is no harm in offering some warm water sweetened with a little sugar, honey or maple syrup to encourage her to take it. Provide the hydration in between her normal feedings and NOT in place of a feeding. A dehydrated squirrel doesn’t eat as well so making sure she’s hydrated is a good thing. We recommend feeding 5-7% of their weight at each feeding. So if she currently weighs 38gr she should be consuming 1.9-2.6ml at each feeding. (38 x 5%=1.9 and 38 x 7%=2.66). She seems like she is underweight for her age. She should be fed every 2.5-3 hrs and that includes through the night for a total of 6-8 feedings a day. Teething will happen in the next couple of weeks. Eyes open at approximately 5 weeks.

Her lack of interest could be because the formula is too cold. Squirrels like their formula very warm, but not hot enough to burn them. You can purchase an electric mug warmer and set a cup filled with hot water on it and warm the filled syringes with the nipples attached in it. Check to be sure it’s not too hot before you feed.

I forgot to ask. Are you feeding powdered Esbilac? And you have a heating pad set to low and placed under one half of the bin she’s in? A plastic bin is best for these guys. Cardboard boxes will draw moisture out of them and cause dehydration and shouldn’t be used.

Thank you so much for the reply! Yes we are feeding powdered Esbilac. She is in a plastic bin set halfway on a heating pad set on low.
So for the hydration between feedings, how much of the warm honey water should she have?
We've been making sure the formula is very warm but not too hot. She finally took 1.9 ml this morning, but then the next feeding was only 1.4. She'll get a really good latch and suction going, but then will unlatch and just kinda chew/gum the nipple. She's active and alert during feeding time, but decides she's done sometimes too soon. We have been feeding her every 3 hours, 2.5 if she has a smaller feeding. We have been doing 4 hours through the night as I saw recommended by a rehabber online, but I will bump it up to 3 hours. She's been getting 7 feedings a day.
She has been having really nice solid golden poos the last couple weeks, but after her couple of larger feedings today her poo got much softer. Same goldish color, not watery or liquidy, but not solid. So now that's worrying me. Just now she ate 1.7 ml and peed a lot but did a tiny little runny-ish poo.😣 what's the best way to help get her poo back to how it was?
Thank you again so much for the help. It's very much appreciated!

[Mel1959]

The loose stool can be caused by over feeding. It may resolve itself on its own as she gets used to the larger amount of food, so long as it doesn’t get looser. Keep her at the 5% amount for a little while to see how the stool does. It sounds like she’s eating enough at mealtime. Sometimes they fluctuate in the amount they’ll eat at each feeding….as well as their desire and ability to latch onto the nipple. As they get older they usually get more enthusiastic about eating. Not eating well at each feeding can be a sign that she’s ready to have her feedings spaced a little further apart, too. What you’re striving for is consistent weight gain and desire to eat. Her belly can only accommodate the 5-7% of her weight in volume so limiting her water intake to that amount would be best. She won’t require hydration between every feeding but it can be given periodically.

As for the loose stool. A drop or two of Pepto Bismal or Immodium should help. It can be given every few hours. Be advised that Pepto will turn the stool dark as it passes through. If stool gets significantly looser the best product I’ve found is Fox Valley DiaStat. It must be purchased online but works great at firming stool.

If her skin still seems dry you can rub a little food grade coconut oil on it. She may have gotten slightly sunburned depending on where you found her.

Please let us know how she continues to do and if you need any more help.

[Lexshae]

The loose stool can be caused by over feeding. It may resolve itself on its own as she gets used to the larger amount of food, so long as it doesn’t get looser. Keep her at the 5% amount for a little while to see how the stool does. It sounds like she’s eating enough at mealtime. Sometimes they fluctuate in the amount they’ll eat at each feeding….as well as their desire and ability to latch onto the nipple. As they get older they usually get more enthusiastic about eating. Not eating well at each feeding can be a sign that she’s ready to have her feedings spaced a little further apart, too. What you’re striving for is consistent weight gain and desire to eat. Her belly can only accommodate the 5-7% of her weight in volume so limiting her water intake to that amount would be best. She won’t require hydration between every feeding but it can be given periodically.

As for the loose stool. A drop or two of Pepto Bismal or Immodium should help. It can be given every few hours. Be advised that Pepto will turn the stool dark as it passes through. If stool gets significantly looser the best product I’ve found is Fox Valley DiaStat. It must be purchased online but works great at firming stool.

If her skin still seems dry you can rub a little food grade coconut oil on it. She may have gotten slightly sunburned depending on where you found her.

Please let us know how she continues to do and if you need any more help.

Thank you! Her stool did firm up again luckily, though she only pooped twice today. Not as regular as she was a couple days ago. Still peeing a lot at each feeding.
She had a few really nice full feelings today, but then still some on the smaller side. I weighed her tonight and she is up to 44 grams.
The new nipples I ordered came in the mail today but I haven't tried them yet. It almost seems like the tips of them are too short and small? They are Henry’s easy grip nipples in size small. Im wondering if it will be even harder for her to latch onto these ones. I didn't realize there were different sizes of this brand of nipple. Should I have gotten the medium size with the longer tip instead? Or do you think these would these be a good size for her? Or is there a different type/brand that would be even better?
Thank you so much again for your time and knowledge!