Not going to the toilet

[Angel34]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I'm from Manchester, uk, I joined the board because i found a baby squirrel yesterday in my backyard & i was hoping you could give me some advice, I checked her over for injuries & she has none, but next doors cat was sat next to her when I found her so I don't actually know where she came from but I put her at the bottom of the garden in an open box to give mum a chance of finding her & left her for about 4 hours with a hot water bottle but to no avail, since then iv been feeding her powdered puppy milk with a dropper every 4 hours but shes also eating solids (I think shes around 5/6 week old) iv tried her with raisins, carrot, broccoli, hazelnuts, apple & cauliflower but theres a problem, shes just not going pee or poop at all, iv tried her every time I feed her but she just wont go, iv even tried bathing her lower half in warm water but nothing is happening, can anyone suggest anything I can give her to help or anything I can do? Tia

[RockyPops]

Thanks for helping your baby!

Lots of info on this site and lots of help available so KEEP CHECKING BACK OFTEN!

Do you have a heating pad? Baby must be kept warm.

What brand of formula are you feeding?

Baby needs hydration.

If she was cat caught she may need antibiotics.

Her weight will be needed for med dosing.

And please keep us posted on her progress.

Edit:
I wouldn't worry too much about pooping right now. Hydration and peeing are first.

[Angel34]

Thanks for replying so quickly,
I'm using esbilac puppy formula & she weighs 5.6oz, not sure if that's normal or not for her age?

I dont have a heating pad but I have a hoodie that iv been wearing that has a fleece pouch on the front, iv been carrying her around in that through the day then putting her in a shoebox at night with a woolen hat & warm beanbag I heat in the microwave

[RockyPops]

Do you reheat the beanbag over night so she stays warm? Warmth is critical until they get a little body fat.
And make sure it's not hot enough to burn her.

Can you get fox valley 20/50 formula. There have been major problems with the Esbilac formula. This needs to be done now! There is a recipe on this site for temporary goats milk, yogurt, heavy whipping cream that can be used until you can get the fv 20/50.

If she's taking formula she should be peeing.

Are you feeding 5-7% of her weight at each feeding? 5.6 oz. = 159 grams +-.
159 x 5% = 7.95 cc's of formula per feeding minimum.
Feeding 4x a day.

I think I'm right on the math here. Someone will check in and verify.

I'm sorry but I'm not an expert but many on this board are.

And again, keep us posted and keep checking back as more people will read and respond.

[Mel1959]

In the UK you can get a product called Royal Canin Baby Dog. Can you get out to the stores? If so get a can of that and feed that to your baby. As was said, Esbilac has had some serious problems with their formula. Babies have gotten metabolic bone disease along with broken bones and the formula has not digested properly and the babies have died. There was never a recall by the manufacturer so there is still faulty product on the shelves. It’s not worth the risk to use it. Royal Canin is a better formula anyway.

Fox Valley 20/50 is another good formula choice, but it must be ordered online.

Keep the baby warm and if possible transfer her to a large plastic bin instead of the shoebox. Cardboard is very drying to their skin.

Here is a link to another formula, but it is only for short term use.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...**************

Here’s the link for baby squirrel care. It’s 6 pages long. https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...rrel-Care-Link

Sometimes if the baby has been away from mom for a little bit they don’t have enough food in their systems to produce poop. Keep stimulating her.

[Angel34]

Yeah I'm keeping the beanbag warm through the night, unfortunately I can't get out to the stores due to being in self isolation, but I will order what food I can get online straight away & make up the homemade formula you mentioned

Last night we had a breakthrough, she had a big pee in her box on her own, should I keep stimulating her even though shes done it on her own?

I'll change her box too

I'm giving her the right amount of formula for her body weight but like I said, I will change it, I'm so glad I found this group as iv been so worried about caring for her right.

[Angel34]

My baby is peeing on her own, without any help, she did it again today, but still no poops, I'm still stimulating her though, I'm getting a little worried now as shes eaten more solids today too, along with her milk, is there anything I can give her to help her as its been 3 days now

[Mel1959]

There’s a few things you might try to encourage her to poop. First try holding her up to her armpits in some warm water. Gently massage her belly in a downward motion. Do this for a little while then dry her very well so she doesn’t get chilled. The other thing you could try is rubbing a little olive oil, coconut oil or vegetable oil around the outside of her rectum. You can also offer her a little diluted apple juice.

Check the bedding to be sure she hasn’t gone in her bedding. Hopefully she will go soon.

[Angel34]

UPDATE: baby had big poops earlier without any help, I'm so happy & she has put half an oz on since Sunday

Thanks for everyones help & advice, I really appreciate it

[Chirps]

[Jewelzbird]

Great work!!!

[RockyPops]

Good job Mom!