Need help with baby squirrel

[kel1978]

Today my son found a baby squirrel laying at the base of a tree, he appeared to be dead but when he touched him the baby kind of staggered away, I came home an hour later and went to find him , he had moved and when I tried to get him he did a little run but kept falling over . I got him home and gave him a few syringes of water and within a few hours he's perked right up! He appears to be maybe just out of the nest, I'm not sure but he's definatly got spunk in him, he is trying to bite now!! Which is great, I'm happy to see he has life back in him! I have him eating an apple now and he's munching away fine! My question is do you think he's ok to put back now? I don't understand why he was so dehydrated and hungry if he's old enough to be out of the nest! There was no other squirrels any where near as I watched and no mom around at all. Help!!!

[TubeDriver]

Today my son found a baby squirrel laying at the base of a tree, he appeared to be dead but when he touched him the baby kind of staggered away, I came home an hour later and went to find him , he had moved and when I tried to get him he did a little run but kept falling over . I got him home and gave him a few syringes of water and within a few hours he's perked right up! He appears to be maybe just out of the nest, I'm not sure but he's definatly got spunk in him, he is trying to bite now!! Which is great, I'm happy to see he has life back in him! I have him eating an apple now and he's munching away fine! My question is do you think he's ok to put back now? I don't understand why he was so dehydrated and hungry if he's old enough to be out of the nest! There was no other squirrels any where near as I watched and no mom around at all. Help!!!

Thanks for helping him. It would help us a lot if you could post a picture, then we can judge age and condition more accurately. Thanks.

[SammysMom]

It is more likely that something happened to mom and he is out looking for help. I would suggest keeping an eye out for siblings as there are usually more than one in a litter. For now, as asked above, a picture would really help to determine age and what he needs at this point. Listen for a very high pitched sound similar to a bird in the area you found him. Babies have a very loud call for mama when they are in trouble or hungry.

[kel1978]

[kel1978]

He is eating an apple slice that I gave him, I did go looking for others but couldn't find any!! He has certainly perked up a lot in the last hour!!!!!poor little thing!!!! Thanks for any advice given!!!!Ive raised plenty of other abandoned animals but this little guys a first for me!!!!

[SammysMom]

It is hard to tell how big he really is in the pics... Any chance you could put something next to him for perspective? Can of soup or soda, something we all know how big it really is...

[farrelli]

His knuckles also look kind of bare, which is weird. Is he missing other hair? We've gotten a few people from Ontario lately. Where might you be?

Size will determine if he's old enough to go back out and/or what he should be fed if too young.

[Saverywood]

What a cute little face, and are those bare knuckles? Poor darling.
Thank you for being willing to help this little squirrel.

[kel1978]

its hard to get close to him in the cage for a better pic, he lunges for ya!!!! he still fits pretty good into 1 hand, hes happily taking fresh fruit from my hand once I do get him(with a glove and a blanket)and eats it very well, the poor little guy is starving, but I'm only giving him small bits at a time right now! I did give him a maple key but he didn't know what to do with it, so I'm guessing were still onto soft food for the time being!! Also he seems to have fleas, is there anything to treat those with for him? I had given him water in a syringe at first and he took it well but now Im wondering if I could just give him a dish of it? If only they could talk lol

[kel1978]

.....oh and yes, he has bare knuckles lol, not sure what that's all about......hes defiantly a unique little monkey!!!!

[farrelli]

For fleas, you can give him a bath in blue Dawn dish soap or wipe him down with that solution on a sponge.

Is he missing hair elsewhere?

He may still be on mom's milk but looks like he's older, but it's hard to tell. You could go out and get some Kaytee Forti-Diet rodent blocks for mice and rats that are sold in many pet stores, in the US at least. You could also try some yogurt, flavored is OK but not artificially sweetened.

[czarina]

Could really use a picture showing the whole body, next to something for scale to accurately judge age, so they can advise you what to feed,( might possibly still need formula), and how to properly care for one its age.

[Shewhosweptforest]

It looks like, in that second pic, he's sitting next to work gloves (on the right side of him) that would make him pretty small

Thanks for helping this little fellow

Ohhh and

[kel1978]

yep he is next to a work glove, he is pretty small , we have a nest of babies from another momma in our chimney and they came out a week ago, hes not a whole lot smaller then them but defiantly not as fluffy! I'm going to let him walk around a small area and see if he can move properly now, I'm not sure if his feet look normal or not, I'm kinda concerned that maybe he has something else going on with him!!! When I first found him he was stumbling when he tried to run, but he was also severely dehydrated and near death!! He has defiantly got life back in him and happily takes fruit out of our hands now, but yes his paws defiantly look different!!! He is only missing the hair there, the rest of him is just perfect!!!!

[farrelli]

What are you feeding him?

[kel1978]

right now hes eating soft fruit, tried the yogurt and he wouldn't take it, he wont take corn or maple keys either, so I think hes a little young for that yet!! still doing water through a syringe as he wont drink from a bowl. He did take a small piece of whole grain no additives bread and ate that to.Unfortunately due to my son having severe nut allergies we cant have any nuts around for him so I'm really hoping this little guy can go back to nature soon I only take him out to give him water, I really don't want him to become to tame and have problems when I return him to the great outdoors lol. He defiantly still has the fight or flight mechanism as he attacks a gloved hand with force !!! I may go get sunflower seeds and give those a try, he needs to know how to open them and be a squirrel before I feel good about releasing him!!!

[SammysMom]

Your son's nut allergies are a plus for this guy. He is too little for nuts and really probably needs formula. If you have a Petsmart or Petco around, you can get Esbilac Puppy. NOT the goats milk one, regular POWDERED Esbilac Puppy that says "now with probiotics" on the can. The probiotics part is very important. Is he still taking water from your syringe? He definitely needs to be kept hydrated. The formula is somethibn that you need right away if possible. If you can't get the Esbilac, you can get goats milk, full fat yogurt (no artificial sweeteners!) and heavy cream to make formula. Esbilac is easier and better for him though. The recipe for the goats milk formula is 3 parts goats milk, 1 part full fat yogurt and after a day or so you add in 1 part heavy cream. Don't add the cream right away though as it can cause loose stool.