Baby squirrel (4-5 weeks) with 24 hours of no bowel movement - please help! worried!

[Falkor]

I have had the baby squirrel in my care for 6 days now and have had about 24 hours of no pooping. I had recently added heavy whipping cream to his formula to increase the fat for better digestion, but it may have made him constipated. He's peeing fine and I gave him about 2 cc's of Pedialyte for his last feeding. He's so much better than he was when we found him and I'm so worried about him now! He feel from a tree and has some bruising on his tummy, but his legs are working and the bruising has gotten better (does not seem to be bleeding internally).

The local rehabbers are not responsive and the wildlife vet is full due to storming - please help!

I'm feeding him (got recipe from another thread on TSB)

1 part PetAg PetLac formula (similar to Esbilac Puppy)
4 parts water (recommended 2, but a little too thick for him - will continue to decrease this)
.5 part heavy whipping cream
.25 parts vanilla yogurt

I give him rehydration fluids between his feedings when I can as well, but may be I need to be doing this more?

I have checked for clicking sounds and his breathing is not fatigued and he is not lethargic, so I am not worried about respiratory infections/pneumonia (I was worried after he ate too quickly yesterday and shot formula out his nose).

My only (very big) concern now is that I cannot get him to poop when I stimulate with warm cotton after feedings. I am afraid to keep feeding him his normal 3 cc's of formula without him having another bowel movement. I have him in a cardboard box with a soft pillowcase that is halfway on a heating pad set to low. Anything else I can do to help him poo?

Can I give him a drop of vegetable oil with his formula? Pedialyte?

Thank you!

[CritterMom]

You MUST stop using the Pet Lac. It may be manufactured by the same company but it is NOT like Esbilac and you are the 3rd person on here in the past week with this problem. Go buy some POWDERED Esbilac for puppies - and only that - not the liquid, not the goat's milk - POWDERED for Puppies. You will be feeding that mixed at the rate of 2 parts water to 1 part formula powder. Don't add anything else to it for now.

You need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. You are trying to push the Pet Lac OUT of his system and water is the only way you are going to do that. Please don't wait until he is bloated - we *just* made it with one of the other babies.

Don't feed ONE MORE drop of the Pet Lac. It is cheaper because of the protein source they are using. Unfortunately, while it is cheap, it is also indigestible.

Edit: Also...4 parts water to 1 part powder? What does the label say? Puppy formulas are usually mixed 2:1 not 4:1. Even with the stuff you are adding in, there isn't much in the way of solids there (which is what you poop!)

[stepnstone]

You MUST stop using the Pet Lac. It may be manufactured by the same company but it is NOT like Esbilac and you are the 3rd person on here in the past week with this problem. Go buy some POWDERED Esbilac for puppies - and only that - not the liquid, not the goat's milk - POWDERED for Puppies. You will be feeding that mixed at the rate of 2 parts water to 1 part formula powder. Don't add anything else to it for now.

You need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. You are trying to push the Pet Lac OUT of his system and water is the only way you are going to do that. Please don't wait until he is bloated - we *just* made it with one of the other babies.

Don't feed ONE MORE drop of the Pet Lac. It is cheaper because of the protein source they are using. Unfortunately, while it is cheap, it is also indigestible.

Edit: Also...4 parts water to 1 part powder? What does the label say? Puppy formulas are usually mixed 2:1 not 4:1. Even with the stuff you are adding in, there isn't much in the way of solids there (which is what you poop!)

[Falkor]

Thank you for the information! I just came home to him and he has pooped a lot! Could this be from adding the heavy cream lately? I just gave him about 3cc's of hydrating fluid and am headed to the store right away to get some Esbilac Puppy Powder.

I did not purchase the PetLac because of price- it was all the feed store had. Should I still expect a normal poo schedule or will it take some time for his body to get use to digesting the new formula (asking for my own sanity)? The poop today is the best and most normal I've seen it, but it was not until I added the cream and yogurt to the PetLac to increase the fat... Confirming what you said about PetLac not being digestible.

I will ask about dosage (in cc's) for a 73 gram squirrel in a new thread.

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you for the information! I just came home to him and he has pooped a lot! Could this be from adding the heavy cream lately? I just gave him about 3cc's of hydrating fluid and am headed to the store right away to get some Esbilac Puppy Powder.

I did not purchase the PetLac because of price- it was all the feed store had. Should I still expect a normal poo schedule or will it take some time for his body to get use to digesting the new formula (asking for my own sanity)? The poop today is the best and most normal I've seen it, but it was not until I added the cream and yogurt to the PetLac to increase the fat... Confirming what you said about PetLac not being digestible.

I will ask about dosage (in cc's) for a 73 gram squirrel in a new thread.

Rule of thumb for feeding is 5-7% of their body weight. (3.7 - 5 mLs/cc's) per feeding.

His may take a little time to adjust to the new formula, so don't be alarmed right now
about the poop. Hydration is good between feedings as you want all that "cement"
out of his system.

If you keep all of his information here, that would work best rather than starting a new (unless it's an emergency)
thread so I hope I answered your questions about the amount to feed.

[Falkor]

Thank you very much! Thats exactly the amount of formula he eats before he stops wanting it (4-4.5 cc's), so I guess he's naturally eating the perfect amount! I will continue to hydrate between feeding to get that PetLac out of his system.

He sure didn't have any trouble switching formula- he loves it! Here's a little picture!

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you very much! Thats exactly the amount of formula he eats before he stops wanting it (4-4.5 cc's), so I guess he's naturally eating the perfect amount! I will continue to hydrate between feeding to get that PetLac out of his system.

He sure didn't have any trouble switching formula- he loves it! Here's a little picture!

Oh you are perfect..........as is your little darling!