Baby found in Dallas area

[island rehabber]

Is he pooping regularly, and enough each time? The blackness around his genital area can be stool in the lower bowel. (These little guys are almost transparent at this age .) Poop from his mamma's milk may still be in his bowel and that will be very very dark -- later on his poop should be olive green or gold once he's on formula.

[Kkenley]

So if his pads turn grey.... he is a melanistic? Or normal Foxer?
He's doing super well today. I'm feeling very optimistic.... I was a little worried about him yesterday.

Normal squirrel species for Dallas would be a Fox Squirrel, and they can be melanistic in color. Black foxers are far more rare than black grey squirrels, but it's possible. If his little pads turn grey/black, he's definitely a foxer. Either way, he's adorable!!

[Kkenley]

He was giving me a bit of trouble with pooping for a couple of feedings but now he is back to going regularly and they are a nice golden yellow formed clumps of tiny pellets. I've noticed that the black I was seeing seems to be gone now.... so that may have been what it was.

[Nancy in New York]

He was giving me a bit of trouble with pooping for a couple of feedings but now he is back to going regularly and they are a nice golden yellow formed clumps of tiny pellets. I've noticed that the black I was seeing seems to be gone now.... so that may have been what it was.

I was just going to post that in the photo above, his anal area looked a little swollen.
The dark poop is from Mom's milk and/or dehydration.
Are you saying the tummy looks lighter in color?

[Kkenley]

Yes. Tummy has lost the dark spots and he has been pooping what looks like the picture in the guide that someone gave me a link to for 12 hours after introduction of formula.

I was just going to post that in the photo above, his anal area looked a little swollen.
The dark poop is from Mom's milk and/or dehydration.
Are you saying the tummy looks lighter in color?

[Kkenley]

Island Rehabber...... so
If his pads turn black he is a normal foxer? Or a melanistic foxer? I'm confused. Lol

So if his pads turn grey.... he is a melanistic? Or normal Foxer?
He's doing super well today. I'm feeling very optimistic.... I was a little worried about him yesterday.

[Kkenley]

Today the baby had some dry skin.... what do I need to do?

[Chickenlegs]

Nutrition should take care of that--maybe a humidifier if the house is dry. Could try a little coconut oil.

[island rehabber]

So if his pads turn grey.... he is a melanistic? Or normal Foxer?
He's doing super well today. I'm feeling very optimistic.... I was a little worried about him yesterday.

If his pads turn grey he is a melanistic (black) fox squirrel (Sciurus niger). If they don't he is a melanistic Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensus).

[Nancy in New York]

Today the baby had some dry skin.... what do I need to do?

You can put a small piece of damp sponge in a glass baby food
jar with a lid (holes drilled in). Put that on the side with the
heating pad. When it warms it releases moisture and helps
with the dry skin. Make sure to dampen the sponge daily.

[Kkenley]

My little guy is doing great!! He now happily takes his formula and is taking his 1 1/2 cc of formula every 2 hours. He weighs 30 grams on my new scale. He has a nice pink tummy with no dark spots under his skin any more.... going potty great. The dry skin seems to have resolved on its own thankfully.

His sparse fur is starting to appear along the top of his head..... barely peeking out. It sure does look black! I still can't believe he is apparently going to be melanistic?!?! I've never seen one before. excited to see what he turns into!
Is it ok to start stretching his feedings out to 3 hours apart during the middle of the night? Or should I continue with every 2?

Also
I want to be prepared so I need to locate a source for food when it is weaning time. What is yalls recommendation for the best food? And any place to order it online invade I can't source it locally?

[Nancy in New York]

My little guy is doing great!! He now happily takes his formula and is taking his 1 1/2 cc of formula every 2 hours. He weighs 30 grams on my new scale. He has a nice pink tummy with no dark spots under his skin any more.... going potty great. The dry skin seems to have resolved on its own thankfully.

His sparse fur is starting to appear along the top of his head..... barely peeking out. It sure does look black! I still can't believe he is apparently going to be melanistic?!?! I've never seen one before. excited to see what he turns into!
Is it ok to start stretching his feedings out to 3 hours apart during the middle of the night? Or should I continue with every 2?

Also
I want to be prepared so I need to locate a source for food when it is weaning time. What is yalls recommendation for the best food? And any place to order it online invade I can't source it locally?

Yes you can go to 3 hours during the night.
Glad he's doing so well.
Many of us start them on blocks from Henry's.
I always get the picky blocks because I KNOW they eat them,
but many also like to start them with the high protein ones.
http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/
Also with Henry's it's $5.99 flat rate shipping regardless what you buy,
I typically stock up on blocks and freeze them. Remember with Henry's
there are no preservatives in the blocks, so you need to freeze or if you store them in
your refrig, no longer than a month.

Keep him on formula as long as he'll take it.
We have a couple of members currently on the board whose 6 month
old squirrels are still taking formula. (along with other foods of course)
You have a long time to go before you worry about food,
but it's great that you're thinking ahead!

[Kkenley]

Update on Scrat..... the kids named him after the squirrel on ice age.
He is 40 grams now.... I'm still feeding every 2 hours from 7am until 11 am. Middle of the night I switch to 3 hours. So he gets 11 feedings a day. I shoo for 2cc. Sometimes he won't take all of it. He potties like a champ. All is going well. Still having some dry flakey skin off and on. I think I need to get a humidifier for the room.

His fuzz is starting to come in.... dark grey on top of his head and he has a little white/yellow patch on his chin. His pads of his feet are turning more grey. His tail looks like it's growing in dark grey/black fuzz.

Any suggestions or changes I need to make are welcome!! Thank you guys for the help so far! I couldn't have done I without y'all!

[island rehabber]

What a gorgeous lil blinkie you have there . I'm so intrigued as to whether he is a black foxer or a black grey. At any rate, you can begin to stretch out the feedings a bit during the day; 11 is quite a number of feedings and it's ok to work your way down to 7-8 at this point. He will take a little more at each one as you stretch them out - gradually, though! He looks great.

[Kkenley]

Thank you! I assumed the reason he wasn't taking 2cc was because of the frequent feedings and I figured his caloric needs were being met so I wasn't stressing too bad. I've been watching to see if I notice mom or any squirrels around and haven't seen any signs of anyone. My curiosity has me trying to see if I can spot any that are similar to his color hanging around. Lol

What a gorgeous lil blinkie you have there . I'm so intrigued as to whether he is a black foxer or a black grey. At any rate, you can begin to stretch out the feedings a bit during the day; 11 is quite a number of feedings and it's ok to work your way down to 7-8 at this point. He will take a little more at each one as you stretch them out - gradually, though! He looks great.

[island rehabber]

Thank you! I assumed the reason he wasn't taking 2cc was because of the frequent feedings and I figured his caloric needs were being met so I wasn't stressing too bad. I've been watching to see if I notice mom or any squirrels around and haven't seen any signs of anyone. My curiosity has me trying to see if I can spot any that are similar to his color hanging around. Lol

His mamma could very well be a grey Grey Squirrel, or an orange/tan Fox Squirrel. The melanistic gene doesn't require that both parents be melanistic in order for the babies to be. I have rehabbed litters over the years who were two greys and a black -- or even four blacks and one grey!