Supportive Care for baby with Pneumonia?

[mel_la_fee]

Hi all,

Long story short, after a severe storm a nest of babies was found caught at the edge of a drainage pipe (no idea where the nest started out/if it had drifted down stream, etc.). One of the 4 had already drowned by the time they were found but the other 3 were given to me (I have successfully reared and released grey squirrels before and have the proper nipples, syringes, know which formula to use and how to acclimate them to it, etc.) They are approx. 7 weeks old gauging by their teeth and tails.

With plenty of hydration fluids and care, they all seemed to bounce back within the first 48 hours. That is, with the exception of the runt. By 5 am Monday morning it was clear from everything I have read that he had developed pneumonia (which none of the 8 others I've raised ever got-so this is new for me). It wasn't terribly surprising considering what they'd been through and I had to nurse him all through the morning as the only 'squirrel vet' here did not open till 9, and couldn't see us till 10:30. He made it though and the vet checked all 3, confirmed the diagnosis of pneumonia in the one and slight chest congestion on the left side in one of the others and gave us the usual baytril with dosing instructions.

Now it's been about 36 hours since his vet visit and there are definite signs of improvement- no clicking and an increase in alertness- though I still detect some respiratory distress and expect it to be awhile before he fully recovers. My question is this: what does one do to provide the best supportive care while he's healing? The vet recommended we get him to eat as much formula as he will take, and supplement with hydration solution to keep him from getting dehydrated, but that's not terribly specific, and as it is he will take only a fraction of the fluid his 94 gram body needs at a time-regardless of whether it is formula or hydration solution. This means I have to check on him fairly often just to ward of dehydration (as of now, his pee is not quite as plentiful as that of the others but it comes when stimulated and is very clear and he has pooped at least twice). I hate having to bother him so often when his little body must be so worn out already!

Any advice on humidity levels, feeding schedule, solution vs formula amounts, or anything else would be much appreciated! And thanks for reading. I tried doing a search for this before posting, but everything I found was for babies that *may have pneumonia or which are not being treated yet.

[SammysMom]

It sounds like you are doing great! For additional hydration, try to give juicy fruits and veggies like watermelon and cucumber etc. I will bet that she will turn the corner very soon! Prayers for healing and happiness...

[Rocky1]

As the non-rehab beginner on here, I am going to risk sounding obvious, and say that most creatures recover from pneumonia better when they have a nice warm quite place to get much rest. (I understand that these situations sometimes present a lot of different things to think about, and some people find it helpful to be reminded of the basics. Personally, I would welcome a checklist if I were on the other end.)

FYI, It appears that OP can still use advice about, "humidity levels, feeding schedule, solution vs formula amounts." And possibly additional ideas for the best supportive care.

[mel_la_fee]

As the non-rehab beginner on here, I am going to risk sounding obvious, and say that most creatures recover from pneumonia better when they have a nice warm quite place to get much rest.

Thanks for the response! I have been keeping them all nice and warm in a quiet room with no AC, but it was definitely a challenge to keep things stable that first night. The baby felt a bit feverish (his body temperature was palpably higher than that of his siblings) and while I knew his body needed a source of outside warmth, I also knew I couldn't let him get too hot and that his fever would add considerably to the threat of dehydration. It was quite the balancing act- I think I got a grand total of 2 hours of sleep that night!

As of the most recent feeding, however, he was not just more alert, he was already awake when I went in (before he was always still sleeping) and he was actually rooting around in the t-shirts of their nest for food! I'm offering the regular formula now as he seems to prefer it to both the hydration solution and the diluted formula I was offering him last night, but we're taking it easy on the amount -with the primary focus being on his hydration level- as I don't want to push his body into trying to process too much too soon. Like I said in my original post- I'm sort of having to feel things out as I go along.

He's still making sniffling/sneezing sounds too, so we're not out of the woods yet. If anyone has any other tips- I'd love to hear them! He seems to be turning the corner, but you know how fragile these little guys can be...

[mel_la_fee]

Well, the runt seems to be doing MUCH better. He's a very hungry little thing now with loads of energy, though he still occasionally sniffles.
However, today I had work and my boyfriend reported two strange things after their feeding. The first was that the other little boy threw up. According to his weight, he should be getting about 6.5 cc of formula and my bf claims he gave the little dear only 6. He didn't see the boy throw up or hear any gagging noises. He only saw that there was a puddle of watery white/milk-like fluid in the bottom of the feeding box just after he was fed (my bf can't tell the difference between the 2 boys so after he feeds one baby, he puts it into a separate box lined with a towel where it hangs out until he has fed the other one. We call it the feeding box and it keeps him from accidentally trying to feed one of the boys twice). I asked him if he was sure of which boy it was and he says he's certain because he weighed both of them and the runt is about 16 grams lighter.
I had put some honey dew and watermelon in their carrier that morning, so perhaps he had eaten too much/filled up on fruit and even 6 cc of formula was too much for him? I'm considering just giving him a feeding of glucose solution for the next feeding. Does anyone know if this is necessary? Am I perhaps being a bit too worried?

The second thing that happened is that the runt's stool was tinted red. I didn't see it unfortunately, but that's precisely how my bf described it. He said the pellets were firm and normal looking except that they had a red tint. He didn't think it was blood and he didn't see any other signs of inflammation. He thinks the runt probably ate too much watermelon, but I have a hard time believing that such a watery fruit would change the color of poop like that (although- now that I think of it...it isn't organic, so who's to say the store doesn't add some kind of food coloring to their sliced fruit to make it look more appealing...). The baby is acting normal and as with the other one, I looked him over and beyond still having slight sniffles every once in a while, he appears to be continuing to improve. None of the babies have had loose, runny stools or diarrhea.

Why do these things have to happen when I'm away from home? :sigh: I really wish I had seen both of these issues so I could make a better assessment of the situation. If anyone has advice, let me know. I wasn't planning on taking them back to the vet till after I get paid next week, but if anyone thinks we have a serious issue here, I can always borrow some money to get them re-checked sooner than that.

Thanks!

[mel_la_fee]

Just in case anyone looking here wanted an update- my boyfriend is a bit of a lunatic. The change in stool color was not 'reddish', it was a slightly darker yellow/orange- a fact I attribute to the rat block I had just started placing in there for them to get used to. I also did all the feedings over the weekend and no one got sick or threw up. I almost wonder if what he mistook for vomit was actually spilled formula. In any case, from now on the babies get only exactly the amount I have written out on a piece of paper (even if it makes my boyfriend feel guilty because... "but they seem so hungry!").

Also, the runt is only a runt by about 4 grams now- whereas in the beginning of his illness he weighed ~18 grams less than his siblings- and no more sniffles . Looks like we started getting the baytril into him just in time and he's going to be fine now. SO happy he was able to pull through. There were a few very sleepless nights and a lot of anxiety but our attention paid off. Best of luck to anyone out there who has a sick baby- it can be a harrowing experience- but all any of us can do is try our best!

[HRT4SQRLS]

MLF... I'm happy your babies are doing better. I believe you have this under control!