Re: Questions from a first timer
Originally Posted by
Jessecara321
So my mother in law found a baby squirrel on Tuesday a week ago and I claimed the responsibility of taking care of him Thursday night. I'm assuming he's about 4 weeks old because of the dark hair on his legs and the little white hairs on his tummy.
He was brought to the spca for a check up on Wednesday and they said he wasn't injured or seemed to have any problems besides being dehydrated and they told us to give him Gatorade for the electralights.
I did a bunch of research on the Internet and he wasn't responding well to a skin pull test but he honestly didn't look very dehydrated. He had energy to move around on his own and was gladly drinking the Gatorade and seemed quite happy.
On Friday I decided to get him into formula and slowly introduced it to his diet which he was quite happy about.
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In the future no Gatorade, use Pedalyte or we can tell you how to make a homemade solution.
The dyes in the Gatorade are not good for squirrels.
That's the back story and here are my questions:
The Internet says to use powdered Esbilac puppy formula. In Montreal they only sell Esbilac at the vets and one vet didn't have any and the second vet I went to only had canned liquid Esbilac.
Is it bad that I'm feeding him the liquid? Should I pick up a different formula that is powder? I asked the vet to order the powder for when the can in finished and they agreed but is that too long to wait?
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The canned formula is never recommended. It can cause digestive upset, leads to diarrhea and does not contain the nutrients a squirrels needs.
The Esbilac with the pre and pro biotics is what's recommended and it should say with Whey protein in the ingredients.
I believe Royal Canin is (sometimes) used in your area but would have to have someone confer as to type. I will try and direct other Canada members to this forum to better assist you.
A lot of people have been saying don't give the squirrel cows milk but almost everywhere says to had a small amount of heavy cream. So I'm not sure what to do there either. I have been using the heavy cream but will stop if that's not good.
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I assume your speaking of heavy whipping cream? It does sound conflicting but the heavy whipping cream is ok to use, never cow's milk.
My sencomd question: am I feeding him too much? I've read some places to feed a baby that is 3-5 weeks 3 cc every 2 hours and other places say feed them 1 cc but not really in a specific time span.
I feed him every hour (unless im sleeping and then I feed him every 4 hours) and each time he eats a different amount. Sometimes he wants 1 cc and sometimes he wants 3 even tho I fed him an hour before. When he eats 3 cc or 2cc I tend to wait an extra half hour before feeding him again and sometimes I wait 2 hours if he looks like he's content sleeping.
Is it possible to over feed him and should I slow down? Or should I continue feeding him as much as he wants? (Never more than 3cc)
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Wow! I almost don't know where to start, that information you got is totally whacked! Squirrels are fed according to their body weight. They should be fed between 5-7% of their body weight. Having a scale that weighs in grams and knowing the weight of your baby is extreamly important and highly essential.
There is no way a 3 week old and 5 week old would be requiring the same amounts neither would they require to be fed every 2 hours. If your baby is 4 weeks old 3cc's is under feeding while feeding every two hours would be over feeding.
For example, if your baby was weighing 50 grams, 5% of his body weight would be 4 cc's of formula every feeding. 7% would be 5.6 cc's of formula. And yes, it is possible to over feed and the ensuing results from over feeding are never good.
And my last question is how often should he be pooping? I've been stimulating him after he eats and he often has a lot of clear pee but only once has he gone number 2 while I've been stimulating him. He does go on his own tho and has pooped on us and in his little nest but I'm worried that he doesn't poop enough. It also sometimes comes out hard and other times comes out in a more liquid which makes me concerned. Any thoughts and suggestions on how to fix this?
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Your concerns are valid, it's due to the formula you are currently feeding and the misinformation on how you should be feeding him you have been going by.
I'm sorry for the long post and any answers would be appreciated.
Since this is my first time taking full care of a baby animal and first time ever being in contact with a squirrel I'm overly worried. I just want what's best for him and I want to keep him healthy.
No apology necessary, we also want to keep him healthy and provide you with all the information you will need to do just that.
Is this a grey or Red squirrel that you are inquiring about?
Can you post a picture so we may better assess his age and condition?
Last edited by stepnstone; 08-09-2016 at 06:43 AM.
Step-N-Stone
State Licensed
Wildlife Master Rehabilitator
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