HELP WITH RESCUE BABY!

[aschilling3]

HI ALL,

PLEASE HELP!

Yesterday late afternoon found a baby ( Fox? Grey?) in my driveway that appears to have fallen out of the nest approx 20+ from ground that was positioned directly above my drive. We live in the south but expected a very cold night, combined with the fact that I also spotted one of our resident red hawks flying in that area of our property at the same time. I decided against leaving him out there in the hopes his mother would grab him because A. Was not sure if she was even alive. B. It was about an hour before dark. C. Red Hawk circling. I found another one around the same time last year that I fostered and released after about 5 months after allowing him to play all day outside in his "tree fort" and returning him inside at night. I would check on him throughout the day and he would come find me or I would find him right before dark every day. He may or may not have become a victim of the Hawk because after a few months of our "routine" he just disappeared. I felt that he would be one that would visit periodically because he was not your average squirrel. Since then I've adopted two flying squirrels, and they recently had a baby ( he is approx 3 months old). I have the premixed Esbilac puppy formula on hand as my flyers love it as a treat but I'm concerned now after reading the post regarding the issues experienced with that. Archie ( I've decided on a name for the new baby) has diarrhea as of this morning, I've mixed up the recipe for Pedialite and mixed it 1 to 1 with the formula for most recent feeding after contacting my local vet. I'm not sure if this will fix the issue but I do not have access to goats milk and the alternate shown ( Fox Valley Day One) is showing to be for "eyes open" babies and Archie's are not open yet. He appears to be roughly 3-4 weeks old? Has fur, but eyes closed. Please advise! I have been feeding him 3 CC's per feeding using Miracle nipple in mini size ( all I had available) but he is sucking so well, faster than I am pushing that he's creating air pockets and also appears to be hungry after. The last feeding he did urinate after stimulation so I'm assuming ( please correct me if I'm wrong just going off of "mom" information) that he isn't super dehydrated yet despite the diarrhea from earlier? Also, does anyone have any idea if my female flyer would potentially accept/ foster Archie? She is an incredibly wonderful mother, and clearly could not feed him but do you think they could possibly accept him as a potential playmate etc. at least short term? My female is the clearly defined "Boss", the male is VERY gentle and sweet, and their son is shy. I've not completely bonded with the son as I wanted my female to be the "mother". He is fine with me but we do not have the same relationship as I do with my pair that I hand fed as babies etc.

[Mel1959]

Did you try this morning to reunite? It’s not unheard of for a mom to come back in the morning and retrieve babies. I’d definitely try that. Put the baby in a box with low sides and lots of fleece. If it’s cold out be sure the baby doesn’t chill. Mom won’t take a cold baby. Sit at a slight distance and watch so the hawk doesn’t come near.

Don’t mix formula with Pedialite. They’re two separate offerings. Do you know how old your can of Esbilac is? Does it say Made in the USA or Crafted in the USA? IMO this baby can be on FV 20/50 but I realize that will take several days to arrive. In the meantime if your Esbilac is the new stuff I wouldn’t recommend it for the young squirrel and you probably shouldn’t be using it for your flyers either. You would need to get the goats milk formula items and feed that till Fox Valley arrives.

I don’t know if a mom flyer will take in another species baby. Maybe others do.

[SquirrelMom47]

HI ALL,

PLEASE HELP!

Yesterday late afternoon found a baby ( Fox? Grey?) in my driveway that appears to have fallen out of the nest approx 20+ from ground that was positioned directly above my drive. We live in the south but expected a very cold night, combined with the fact that I also spotted one of our resident red hawks flying in that area of our property at the same time. I decided against leaving him out there in the hopes his mother would grab him because A. Was not sure if she was even alive. B. It was about an hour before dark. C. Red Hawk circling. I found another one around the same time last year that I fostered and released after about 5 months after allowing him to play all day outside in his "tree fort" and returning him inside at night. I would check on him throughout the day and he would come find me or I would find him right before dark every day. He may or may not have become a victim of the Hawk because after a few months of our "routine" he just disappeared. I felt that he would be one that would visit periodically because he was not your average squirrel. Since then I've adopted two flying squirrels, and they recently had a baby ( he is approx 3 months old). I have the premixed Esbilac puppy formula on hand as my flyers love it as a treat but I'm concerned now after reading the post regarding the issues experienced with that. Archie ( I've decided on a name for the new baby) has diarrhea as of this morning, I've mixed up the recipe for Pedialite and mixed it 1 to 1 with the formula for most recent feeding after contacting my local vet. I'm not sure if this will fix the issue but I do not have access to goats milk and the alternate shown ( Fox Valley Day One) is showing to be for "eyes open" babies and Archie's are not open yet. He appears to be roughly 3-4 weeks old? Has fur, but eyes closed. Please advise! I have been feeding him 3 CC's per feeding using Miracle nipple in mini size ( all I had available) but he is sucking so well, faster than I am pushing that he's creating air pockets and also appears to be hungry after. The last feeding he did urinate after stimulation so I'm assuming ( please correct me if I'm wrong just going off of "mom" information) that he isn't super dehydrated yet despite the diarrhea from earlier? Also, does anyone have any idea if my female flyer would potentially accept/ foster Archie? She is an incredibly wonderful mother, and clearly could not feed him but do you think they could possibly accept him as a potential playmate etc. at least short term? My female is the clearly defined "Boss", the male is VERY gentle and sweet, and their son is shy. I've not completely bonded with the son as I wanted my female to be the "mother". He is fine with me but we do not have the same relationship as I do with my pair that I hand fed as babies etc.

Fellow Louisiana Squirrel Mom here! Not sure if I'm doing this right I'm new to this forum lol. He's beautiful. First thing is NEVER mix Pedialyte in with Formula. You can do Pedialyte in between formula feedings but the 2 should never be mixed together. Also the premixed esbilac is crap I would trash it. You can either use Fox Valley 20/50 which is for eyes open babies or Esbilac goats milk. Diastat from fox valley is great for diarrhea. I've also used some baby cereal and some banana baby food in with formula to help. Pumpkin also helps at times. As far as being buddies every squirrel is different and you never know. I would try it as safely as possible with you there to interfere should something happen. If I missed any other questions I apologize I'm learning how all this works lol.
I'm here if you need any help. Nice to meet a fellow Louisiana resident squirrel mom!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Do not put this baby with your flyers. That won’t work. Your flyer will not accept him.
Order the FoxValley 20:50 ASAP. I used it for a 3 week old and had excellent results. In light of the Esbilac nightmare we will no doubt be using FV 20:50 earlier than normal. Most will NEVER use Esbilac again. Your flyers will it love it as well.

Here is a link with baby care information. You can order the FV from them. I would get a regular Miracle nipple and O-ring syringes (1 and 3cc) if you don’t already have them.
https://www.henryspets.com/1-caring-...baby-squirrel/

[aschilling3]

Thank you guys, I have ordered both the Diastat and the 20/50. The 20x50 should be here in two days from Amazon and the Diastat in 2-3 depending on their ship date from Henry's. I have the 3 CC syringes but only the mini and long nipples in the Miracle so had already ordered the regular ones this morning for him.

Can he have 1.5 CC of Pedialite and 1.5 CC of formula at same feeding but not mixed, or does it need to be staggered between feedings? Also, I have not been able to completely research the Esbilac situation but for last feeding I cut the pre-made with water in case it was also too strong as is. I'm asking my vet if they have anything to carry me over until the other arrives.

Also, the suggested "use by" date on my cans of formula is 7/2021 so I'm assuming they are the "newer" batch?
This is awful, and I can only assume it is due to the formula even though my flyers ( their treat is about 1.5 CC each once a day or every other day) have not had any stool issues from this batch.

Is it a common issue for them to have diarhea at first even if not on this bad batch of formula or would you guys say it is absolutely the problem?

[stepnstone]

I have seen at least twice you mention "pre_mixed" esbilac??
if you are using the (pre-mixed) liquid instead of the powdered that is the reason for the diarrhea.
We never use the canned formula even before there was a problem with esbilac, it is not the same
as the powered formula.

[Mel1959]

The problem with the Esbilac is that the calcium phosphate is not able to be absorbed. Baby squirrels were developing MBD while still only on formula. Others had issues with diarrhea and other intestinal problems.

Here is the recipe for the Homemade Goat Milk Formula (GMF)*: 3 tablespoons goat milk, 3 tablespoons plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and one-half egg yolk.

You can use it till your Fox Valley arrives.

I don’t think you answered whether your Esbilac can says “Made” or “Crafted”.

[Mel1959]

Never mind about the Esbilac. I totally missed that you’re using the pre-mixed stuff. That is why he has diarrhea.

[Javarat]

From the picture he looks about 4.5 weeks old. Which puts him around 80 grams.
It sounds like you are feeding him 3ccs (3ml) per feeding.. but how often are you feeding him? If it is more frequently than 3 hours it might be the cause of the diarrhea.

I have seen babies sometimes 'dump' all of their mother milk when introduced to formula. That would appear as black or dark brown poop.. I don't see you mentioning what color poop he has?

Get an accurate reading of his weight in grams, so you can calculate how much to feed him. Feeding him until he stops results in diarrhea about 50% of the time, as they eat too much.

Basically, with eyes closed and fur you want to feed every three hours during the day, and four at night. If his weight is around 80 he would be eating 4ml (4cc) per feeding.

[stepnstone]

Pre-mixed, liquid canned Esbilac causes diarrhea among other issues, regardless of how fed.

[Javarat]

Pre-mixed, liquid canned Esbilac causes diarrhea among other issues, regardless of how fed.

True. I just want to get a complete idea of how often and how much is being fed, so the diarrhea does not continue after the squirrel is moved to Fox Valley 20/50.

[aschilling3]

Thank you guys very much! I'm getting some of the powdered now and will switch over to other when it arrives tomorrow! Aside from me feeling awful about his stomach he seems to be doing very well. I really appreciate all of the help!