Abbott Clinicare liquid, good? bad? ugly?

[MisoSquirrely]

First time poster!

I am caring for two small squirrels, approx. 8-10 weeks old, bushy tailed but small.

I currently have them on approx. 8cc of Abbott Clinicare canine/feline milk replacement, as per a local vets recommendation.

It seems like most people recommend Fox Valley or Esbilac and I wanted to see what the consensus was about this Clinicare liquid.

I have googled since Sunday, when I bought the liquid, and I cant find any mention of it being used for squirrels.

The squirrels seem to love it and there are no problems I can see so far, infact they seem to be thriving.

I should add that they are both eating veggies and drinking water on their own, broccoli, carrots, some walnuts (not much), peas and cucumbers, they LOVE cucumbers.

Does anyone here have anything to tell me about Clinicare? Did the local vet make a mistake? Is this not good nutrition for a small squirrel?

P.S. for anyone wondering I plan to support these little guys for another month or so, until they are ready to go it alone, they are not to become pets.

[MisoSquirrely]

Anyone???

[Anne]

Never heard of it before. However, I see that's for both cats and dogs, therefore it maybe OK for now. Other than that, we see squirrels raised on kitten milk replacement and they DO NOT do well.

[stepnstone]

First time poster!
I am caring for two small squirrels, approx. 8-10 weeks old, bushy tailed but small.
I currently have them on approx. 8cc of Abbott , as per a local vets recommendation.
It seems like most people recommend Fox Valley or Esbilac and I wanted to see what the consensus was about this Clinicare liquid.
I have googled since Sunday, when I bought the liquid, and I cant find any mention of it being used for squirrels.
The squirrels seem to love it and there are no problems I can see so far, infact they seem to be thriving.
I should add that they are both eating veggies and drinking water on their own, broccoli, carrots, some walnuts (not much), peas and cucumbers, they LOVE cucumbers.
Does anyone here have anything to tell me about Clinicare? Did the local vet make a mistake? Is this not good nutrition for a small squirrel?
P.S. for anyone wondering I plan to support these little guys for another month or so, until they are ready to go it alone, they are not to become pets.

I'm not really sure what is available to your area but even with Esbilac the liquid formula is not recommended.
The ingredients and percentage analysis of the Clinicare really leaves me to question it's use.
Below is a comparison of the Clinicare liquid vs. Esbilac powered puppy formula.

Clinicare canine/feline milk replacement:
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude protein, min 8.2%
Crude fat, min 5.1%
Crude fiber, max 0.10%
Moisture, max 81.0%
Ash, max 1.7%
Calcium, min 0.14%
Phosphorus, min 0.12%
Potassium, min 0.16%
Sodium, min 0.08%
Chloride, min 0.10%
Magnesium, min 0.01%
INGREDIENTS: WATER, CASEIN, CORN MALTODEXTRIN, SOYBEAN OIL, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CANOLA OIL, TURKEY FLAVOR, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM CITRATE, LECITHIN, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, FISH OIL, L-ARGININE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM SULFATE, TAURINE, MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE, CITRIC ACID, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC SULFATE, FERROUS SULFATE, ASCORBIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE, DL-ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, THIAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, DEXTROSE, FOLIC ACID, POTASSIUM IODIDE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, BIOTIN, AND SODIUM SELENATE.


Esbilac puppy formula -powdered
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (min) 33.0%
Crude Fat, (min) 40.0%
Crude Fiber, (max) 0.0%
Moisture, (max) 5.0%
Ash, (max) 7.75%
The calorie content (ME) is 0.90 cal/mL (calculated) when powder is reconstituted 1:2
INGREDIENTS: Vegetable oil, casein, whey protein concentrate, dried skimmed milk, butter fat, monocalcium phosphate, egg yolk, calcium carbonate, L-arginine, DL-methionine, sodium silico aluminate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, lecithin, monopotassium phosphate, magnesium carbonate, ferrous sulfate, salt, dipotassium phosphate, calcium pantothenate, ascorbic acid, niacin supplement, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, folic acid, vitamin E supplement, silicon dioxide, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, manganese sulfate, vitamin D3 supplement, copper sulfate, potassium citrate, potassium iodide, biotin.

[MisoSquirrely]

Ok, what do you recommend?

I went out and bought a bottle of Esbilac but your mentioning that it might not be best either.

[stepnstone]

Ok, what do you recommend?

I went out and bought a bottle of Esbilac but your mentioning that it might not be best either.

The liquid Esbilac is not recommended and there has been problems with it's use.
If you can obtain the powder Esbilac, below the one on the right is what you would look for...

[MisoSquirrely]

Ok, I went out and bought the powder (the the prebiotic tagline at the top)

What dose do you recommend?

Do I mix it with warm water 1:1 ?

[Nancy in New York]

Ok, I went out and bought the powder (the the prebiotic tagline at the top)

What dose do you recommend?

Do I mix it with warm water 1:1 ?

NO, you mix l part powdered esbilac with 2 parts warm water.
We typically let it sit for a few hours in the refrig so that everything
dissolves better. Mix it up before putting it into the syringe after you let it sit.
Can you post a picture of your little one?
What is the weight and how often have you been feeding?

[MisoSquirrely]

Ok, thats what it says on the container, just wanted to be sure.

The little one is a little over 91 grams, the bigger one is 106 grams.

[MisoSquirrely]

P.S. I checked on both of them and noticed the little guy has very loose, drippy, messy stool, not quite liquid but I am keeping an eye on it.

[stepnstone]

Ok, thats what it says on the container, just wanted to be sure.
The little one is a little over 91 grams, the bigger one is 106 grams.

Great!
You want to be feeding between 5-7% of their body weight each feeding.
91gms - 4.5 -6.3 cc's / 106gms - 5.3 - 7.4 cc's
Never feed a cold baby, warm (very warm) their formula.

I do see you have started them on solids without mention of a rodent block.
A good quality rodent block should be the first solid food introduced and they
should have been eating it well before other solid foods are introduced.
For "captives" rodent block is extreamly important and the most essential for
their nutritional balance.

[Nancy in New York]

P.S. I checked on both of them and noticed the little guy has very loose, drippy, messy stool, not quite liquid but I am keeping an eye on it.

That may be from the new formula.

[stepnstone]

P.S. I checked on both of them and noticed the little guy has very loose, drippy, messy stool, not quite liquid but I am keeping an eye on it.

I'm only surprised you haven't seen this sooner being on a liquid formula,
it is one of the problems one can expect. However... the change in formula
can also bring this on. Since they were taking a liquid I personally do not
suggest "transitioning" to the new powder formula as we usually suggest by
blending the two. Rather then doing that I would suggest a couple feedings
of hydration to flush out their system from the old formula, give a couple feedings
mixing powder formula 1 part powder, 3 parts water for a couple feedings then go
back to 1 part powder, 2 parts water.