Baby not urinating

[Melon13]

Hello. I found a baby squirrel about 6 hrs ago. No rehabs were open. I have been giving him Pedialyte. I tried stimulating him to urinate but nothing yet. Is there anything I can do? He does seem like he could be dehydrated.

[Melon13]

Update : no pee but we had poop

[CritterMom]

Please keep him warm and continue rehydrating him. It takes a while - his body is sucking all of the moisture up and there isn't anything for him to pee out yet.

[Melon13]

Please keep him warm and continue rehydrating him. It takes a while - his body is sucking all of the moisture up and there isn't anything for him to pee out yet.

Will do. I got a few tiny drops out just a bit ago. Will update. Thank you so much.

[CritterMom]

Have you read this?: https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/ It is 6 pages - the advance to next page is at the top.

Do You have formula? You really need to use Esbilac POWDERED puppy formula which is available online and at large chain pet shops like Petco, as well as most Tractor Supplies. Don't use the liquid, don't use other brands, don't get talked into kitten formula, etc.

[Melon13]

Have you read this?: https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/ It is 6 pages - the advance to next page is at the top.

Do You have formula? You really need to use Esbilac POWDERED puppy formula which is available online and at large chain pet shops like Petco, as well as most Tractor Supplies. Don't use the liquid, don't use other brands, don't get talked into kitten formula, etc.

I got the Esbalic puppy formula powder last night but didn’t want to administer it yet bc he seemed so dehydrated. I’ve just been giving Pedialyte. He did have very tiny drops of pee around 130 ish. But small. I also ordered Fox Valley. When is a good time to transition to the powder? He’s been taking the hydration like a champ. He’s been taking about 2.5 cc every hour

[CritterMom]

His condition will tell you that. How is his hydration? If you pinch a bit of skin on his back and pull it up and let go, does it snap back fairly quickly or does it slowly go back down?

[Melon13]

His condition will tell you that. How is his hydration? If you pinch a bit of skin on his back and pull it up and let go, does it snap back fairly quickly or does it slowly go back down?

It is bouncing back quicker than yesterday but still a bit slow. His stool seems a bit loose. Is it recommended to mix the hydration fluid and milk? I see different opinions.

[CritterMom]

No, don't mix them.

See if he is willing to take water only in the place of the Pedialyte. There is a lot of sugar and salt in pedialyte, which is needed to balance the electrolytes, but you don't want to continue it over the long term. Sugar may be what is causing the loose stool - it pulls water from everything which is why your sugar bowl becomes a solid clump when it is humid. I would do hydration with plain water for another couple of hours and then start with some watered down formula. Instead of mixing 2 parts water to 1 part powder, do 3 water to 1 powder. If you don't have formula already mixed up, make some now. It needs to rest for several hours in the refrigerator so the milk powder is completely absorbed or there will be digestive issues.

Store the can of Esbilac in the FREEZER and do the same with the Fox Valley when it comes. The dry powder will go rancid at room temperature, something they don't bother to mention on the label. It does not need to warm up before it is mixed.

Do you have a 1ml syringe to feed with? And please read the link I provided, it has info on how to hold the baby and syringe to feed them. Aspiration is a big issue if you do this wrong and it can be deadly. So far you appear to have read a lot and are doing things right, and that little article at the link will keep you on the right track.

[Melon13]

No, don't mix them.

See if he is willing to take water only in the place of the Pedialyte. There is a lot of sugar and salt in pedialyte, which is needed to balance the electrolytes, but you don't want to continue it over the long term. Sugar may be what is causing the loose stool - it pulls water from everything which is why your sugar bowl becomes a solid clump when it is humid. I would do hydration with plain water for another couple of hours and then start with some watered down formula. Instead of mixing 2 parts water to 1 part powder, do 3 water to 1 powder. If you don't have formula already mixed up, make some now. It needs to rest for several hours in the refrigerator so the milk powder is completely absorbed or there will be digestive issues.

Store the can of Esbilac in the FREEZER and do the same with the Fox Valley when it comes. The dry powder will go rancid at room temperature, something they don't bother to mention on the label. It does not need to warm up before it is mixed.

Do you have a 1ml syringe to feed with? And please read the link I provided, it has info on how to hold the baby and syringe to feed them. Aspiration is a big issue if you do this wrong and it can be deadly. So far you appear to have read a lot and are doing things right, and that little article at the link will keep you on the right track.

Thank you so much. Just mixed some up and put the powder in the freezer. I will switch to water. I did read that link and am printing it out now. Can’t thank you enough! I had bigger syringes here but I ordered some that will be here tonight. Had trouble finding them in stores.

[CritterMom]

Thank you so much. Just mixed some up and put the powder in the freezer. I will switch to water. I did read that link and am printing it out now. Can’t thank you enough! I had bigger syringes here but I ordered some that will be here tonight. Had trouble finding them in stores.

If they are standard 1ml syringes, you need to be very careful with them. The kind they use for injections are intended to be used one time and discarded, so the black rubber tip on the plunger is rubber, which quickly degrades which will cause it to not move smoothly in the barrel - it catches then lets go and squirts a bunch out. You can help this by pulling the entire thing out of the barrel and rubbing some vegetable oil on the black tip, then push it in and out of the barrel a couple times so it leaves a residue on the plastic.

Next time you order something, buy O-ring syringes. The black thing you see at the tip is a ring of silicone that is permanently attached to the plunger. The silicone is MUCH better than rubber - it moves smoothly and you won't be accidentally aspirating your baby. I have 10 year old syringes that work perfectly - there are no more numbers on the barrel because they got rubbed off ages ago but they still work perfectly.

If you look at pictures of them, it looks like the regular syringe has a great big plunger and the o-ring has a tiny little narrow one.

You will want to get some nipples, too. They dramatically simplify things because they feel natural to the baby and they respond by eating better.