Clicking.. not clicking sounds

[Ashleyw]

I have had this squirrel for a week. Was found covered in lice, barely moving. Very dehydrated. Luckily he made a super good turn around. He's well hydrated was on pedialyte for about 30 hours before I moved him to a 1:4 ratio of water and formula.. slowly decreasing water. He is now on normal formula to water ratio. He's eating squirrel formula from Henry's pets. He eats from a 1ml syringe, (miracle nipple and syringe from Henry's pets) drinks about 3 of em. I put him at around 4 to 5 weeks as his eyes are not quite open yet. But Around 3 Oz. He eats about every 2 to 3 hrs during the day. but every 4 hours at night. His skin condition from the lice is healing well. He's active and a great eater. That being said he aspirated 2x. Not back to back but 2x since I've had him. He is strong enough he sucks the syringe himself but gets really excited the first few seconds getting the nipple. I used a small sucker on his nose after both times. He does have some clicking. But the clicking is always right after his feeding. Never when he's sleeping good. The clicking is definitely coming from his nose mouth. Sounds almost like smacking. He makes clicking noises probably for the first 5 to 10 min after eating, but when he's sleeping good he doesn't click. When he's active, moving around he doesn't click. Sometimes he will twitch and click a few times after that but then he is back to deep sleep and no clicking. Is this pneumonia? Normal sounds for a squirrel that is still trying to get healthy? Should i try to get clavamox? All suggestions and answers are welcomed. Thank you

[Tuff]

I have had this squirrel for a week. Was found covered in lice, barely moving. Very dehydrated. Luckily he made a super good turn around. He's well hydrated was on pedialyte for about 30 hours before I moved him to a 1:4 ratio of water and formula.. slowly decreasing water. He is now on normal formula to water ratio. He's eating squirrel formula from Henry's pets. He eats from a 1ml syringe, (miracle nipple and syringe from Henry's pets) drinks about 3 of em. I put him at around 4 to 5 weeks as his eyes are not quite open yet. But Around 3 Oz. He eats about every 2 to 3 hrs during the day. but every 4 hours at night. His skin condition from the lice is healing well. He's active and a great eater. That being said he aspirated 2x. Not back to back but 2x since I've had him. He is strong enough he sucks the syringe himself but gets really excited the first few seconds getting the nipple. I used a small sucker on his nose after both times. He does have some clicking. But the clicking is always right after his feeding. Never when he's sleeping good. The clicking is definitely coming from his nose mouth. Sounds almost like smacking. He makes clicking noises probably for the first 5 to 10 min after eating, but when he's sleeping good he doesn't click. When he's active, moving around he doesn't click. Sometimes he will twitch and click a few times after that but then he is back to deep sleep and no clicking. Is this pneumonia? Normal sounds for a squirrel that is still trying to get healthy? Should i try to get clavamox? All suggestions and answers are welcomed. Thank you

Hmmm not for sure about that one. How much does he weigh? Clicking is clicking…if you listen to his chest what do you hear. Is the sound coming from his mouth or his rib cage..I thought I may have heard clicking in my Gretel today but she was smacking her lips right after she ate. AP is quick to put them down…they will become uninterested in food also. Batril is the best thing you could use to knock out AP. Someone else would have to dose it, but they would need the weight of your baby.

[Ashleyw]

Hmmm not for sure about that one. How much does he weigh? Clicking is clicking…if you listen to his chest what do you hear. Is the sound coming from his mouth or his rib cage..I thought I may have heard clicking in my Gretel today but she was smacking her lips right after she ate. AP is quick to put them down…they will become uninterested in food also. Batril is the best thing you could use to knock out AP. Someone else would have to dose it, but they would need the weight of your baby.

He weighs about 3oz. Definitely coming from mouth.

[Ashleyw]

He weighs about 3oz. Definitely coming from mouth.

So about 85 grams

[redwuff]

If your boy has been vigorous with eating and now is fussy and does not seem to want to eat, well this also can be a sign of AP. It can also be dehydration. If he is not dehydrated, consider AP. Baytril/Cipro is the best to treat AP . Clavamox is ok if that is what you have. Let us know how he is.

I see that you raised another baby . Beautiful cages.

[cassgrimm]

If he's eating well and his energy levels have not depleted I would probably not worry about the after-feeding clicking in terms of AP. It is always recommended to have AB's on hand in the event that AP develops. That's the worst part about AP - scrambling around trying to find the proper medicine while the little one gets sicker and sicker - they go down hard and fast with AP.

AP clicking is constant, with each breath, even whilst sleeping. Put his ribcage area up to your ear like a phone. Are his breaths heavy? Raspy? If no to all of the above, and considering he's eating and active, I'd say he does not have AP.

When in doubt, it's best to go back to the basics: Is he hydrated? Warm? Being fed properly?

Since he has aspirated recently, I would listen to his breathing regularly for the next while.

[HRT4SQRLS]

One thing that stood out to me in your original post was the feeding schedule and the amounts. An 85g baby at approximately 5 weeks doesn’t need to be fed during the night. Give yourself a break. The daytime feeding of every 2-3 hrs is too frequent. You also mention 3 mL per feeding. That’s not enough.

You should feed the baby every 4hrs and can soon go to 5 hour intervals but work up to it. You also should feed more formula per feeding. A guideline for feeding is 5-7% of the body weight per feeding. At 85g that would be between 4.25 and 5.95 mL per feeding (basically 4-6mL). As they get older they will take more than 7%. The amount needs to be limited in the early days and when they are very young because overfeeding can cause bloat. The increased interval will allow the ‘old’ formula to move out of the stomach before you add ‘new’ formula on top of it. This is also another cause of bloat.

[Ashleyw]

If your boy has been vigorous with eating and now is fussy and does not seem to want to eat, well this also can be a sign of AP. It can also be dehydration. If he is not dehydrated, consider AP. Baytril/Cipro is the best to treat AP . Clavamox is ok if that is what you have. Let us know how he is.

I see that you raised another baby . Beautiful cages.

Thank you. He is very eager to eat. And is still extremely active before feedings. Every 2 days I have been adding a feeding or 2 in with extra water to help keep him hydrated. He's peeing every feeding and pooping every other feeding it seems like. Will get that antibiotic thank you

[Ashleyw]

One thing that stood out to me in your original post was the feeding schedule and the amounts. An 85g baby at approximately 5 weeks doesn’t need to be fed during the night. Give yourself a break. The daytime feeding of every 2-3 hrs is too frequent. You also mention 3 mL per feeding. That’s not enough.

You should feed the baby every 4hrs and can soon go to 5 hour intervals but work up to it. You also should feed more formula per feeding. A guideline for feeding is 5-7% of the body weight per feeding. At 85g that would be between 4.25 and 5.95 mL per feeding (basically 4-6mL). As they get older they will take more than 7%. The amount needs to be limited in the early days and when they are very young because overfeeding can cause bloat. The increased interval will allow the ‘old’ formula to move out of the stomach before you add ‘new’ formula on top of it. This is also another cause of bloat.

I was feeding more often because he isn't eating the 5-7%. After the 3ml he absolutely refuses anymore. The formula stays the same temp so I know the refusal is not due to cold formula. But anytime I try to offer more after the 3ml he grunts and pushes it away.. He was very thin when I got him.. I did not weigh the first few days I've had him due to no scale (just moved) Last night his last feed was at 9pm and this am it was at 4 (when I usually get up) so that will probably be our new schedule. He is on straight fv 20/50 formula 1 part powder 2 part water as instructed. I have tried to go about 4 hours between feedings the last few days but was worried (since he never would eat more than 3ml) that he would not be getting enough. So I went back down to the every 3 hours. Sometimes he would be crawling around and chirping before the 3hrs and when i would pick him up he would be searching so I'd feed him then too. I usually get a very good schedule with all my littles I get. But he was the most dehydrated one and thinnest one I had ever gotten.

[lonipaige]

So, I also had the same question with my Rupert. He was clicking right after eating and it was something he was doing with his mouth. After observing this for the last 3 weeks, I have just think that is what he does. It is almost similar to a purr, because he has a full belly. Someone mentioned smacking their lips and I'd believe that too. Maybe watch for the other signs if AP is a concern. I am no real expert though and just commenting my experience, so someone correct me if I am wrong.

[HRT4SQRLS]

ionipaige, baby squirrels DO purr!

Not all babies purr but the ones that do, it’s the cutest thing in the world

[Mermer9]

Have you watched the videos of guppy breathing? It sounds like you might have a little feeding tantrum baby?