SNEEZED A tiny BIT OF FORMULA- BAYTRIL ANYONE?

[Splinter]

I AM HAVING A HARD TIME FIGURING OUT WHERE TO BE ABLE TO POST!!?? Hello, I've done quite a bit of research on aspirating and I am always making sure I am feeding him slowly. Right now I am using a 1cc syringe and approx 4cc's of formula approx every 4 hours. with at least one pedialyte or apple juice to keep him hydrated and not constipated. This morning I was feeding him like usual only he sneezed a tiny TINY bit of formula out of his nose. I then took my nose sucker and he sneezed again an even tinier amount like pin needle, then sneezed one more time and it was dry. If he did get a tiny bit of formula in his lungs is it possible that he can sneeze out what tiny bit of formula got in there??? He is approx 4 weeks (eyes closed still) and I've had him for just over 2 weeks. I picked up some "Penicillin Injectable Antobiotic for intramuscular injection only" to use as a backup in case he apirates. I met with another lady based out of Montana who went with me to purchase this antibiotic and she also rescues babies and she said she has used this before and it worked, but she also said its like a 50/50, they will either get it in their system and live or die basically. She seemed somewhat more experienced/educated than me about this stuff as this is my first baby squirrel ever. And she told me what to do and how much to give etc..So my question is do you think this is a good alternative to Baytril as I live in a state where they WILL NOT prescribe Baytril to me. Does anyone know where I can just get some???? I JUST WANT MY BABY SQUIRREL TO LIVE AND I AM A CONSTANT STRESS CASE!!!!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard Splinter

Just because they sneeze a little formula it doesn't mean that they will get aspiration pneumonia. Actually most of the time they don't. Some of these little 'super suckers' want to suck so fast that they are are a challenge to feed. You have to really pull back on the syringe to prevent them from getting too much, too fast.

Let me ask, are you familiar with the O-ring syringes and the Miracle nipple?
They are by far the preferred syringe and nipple. I really do think that the aspiration risk is reduced with the Miracle nipple.

As far as Penicillin, I'm not really on board with that. I know people migrate towards it because it can be purchased locally at some livestock supply stores. It is a VERY narrow spectrum antibiotic and IMO much to narrow to try treating something as serious as aspiration pneumonia. I would say the likelihood of it working is far less than 50%. Unfortunately, if it doesn't work, the baby dies. They never get over aspiration pneumonia without proper antibiotics.

It's always good to have an antibiotic onhand just in case they start clicking. Clicking, loss of appetite and lethargy are the first symptoms of AP. When these symptoms appear you don't have a lot of time to find antibiotics. They will literally die in 12 hrs.
A single Ciprofloxacin would be good insurance to have on hand. You might be able to get one from a friend or family member.

[HRT4SQRLS]

One more thing... discontinue the Pedialyte. You can monitor hydration by using the pinch test of the skin on the shoulders. If they are dehydrated the skin will be slow to go back into place.

Which formula are you using? We feed based on weight. When they are small, we use a guideline of 5-7% of the body weight. Example..., a 100g baby would receive between 5-7 ml per feeding. This mostly applies to small babies. You don't want to overfeed. As they get older they will take more than 7% but it varies from baby to baby.

[Splinter]

THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE!! Yes I purchased the mini miracle nipple with the o-ring and I also purchased off henry's pets a silicone nipple with a 1cc syringe. He is an aggressive eater and wants to eat until he pops. I tend to lean towards the silicone nipple because its easier to control but the miracle nipple is good but since he is used to the silicone I am afraid of him aspirating on the mini nipple since he isnt used to it. Right now I am using the Fox Valley 32/40 and I am in the process of getting the next step up the 20/50. Sometimes I mix FV with Esbilac to make the formula heavier so he will gain weight. He seems skinny to me. And I was using a chart that said 1cc per week old so if its 3weeks old 3cc's and so on. I am purchasing a scale today. When I weighed him 2 weeks ago he was 40grams IDK what he is now. What kind of Cipro do I get? MG? pill or power form? THANKS FOR ANY AND ALL RESPONSES!!!!

[HRT4SQRLS]

I would definitely get the scale. The amount I feed is based on the weight. An amount based on weeks might be way off as babies vary in their weight.

I would go ahead and transition to the FV 20:50 or the Esbilac. I'm glad everything was OK with the FV 32:40 but we have gone away from it for small babies. We had horrible problems with it. The 32:40 would turn like concrete in the GI tract of pinkies. They just couldn't digest it. It would sit there, bloat the baby and the baby would pass so we don't recommend it anymore. I'm glad your baby did OK on it.
The FV 20:50 has more fat than the 32:40 so your baby should gain weight on it.

Any Cipro that you can get is OK. We can break down any tablet so it doesn't matter what the mg is. There is a formula that we use to calculate the dose. We can help with dosing if needed, but I hope it's not needed. The typical tablet that humans take is a 500mg tablet but it really doesn't matter.

[Splinter]

So he doesnt have any clicking sounds and is still active but every so often I hear like a cough. Kinda like a Click but its only so often, not consistent and at random. Is this early onset signs? Should I switch to 20/50?

[HRT4SQRLS]

A random noise or click isn't aspiration pneumonia. They do make little noises with their mouth occasionally. With aspiration pneumonia, the clicking is with every breath.

Actually, I would transition to either powdered puppy Esbilac or the FoxValley 20:50. Some will do 50:50 (Esbilac:FV20:50.) You don't really have to do that though. One or the other is fine. Due to the past problems with FV32:40, I would go ahead and get him off of it even though he has done OK on it.