Anyone near Ottawa, Ontario?

[skarabrae]

The Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is closed down for the year (bawl) and I have 4 baby squirrels (3 or 4 weeks old?) that I've been taking care of for a few days.

They're doing fairly well and I think I'm doing a competent job, but I have three young kids of my own (ages 7,5&3), a home-based daycare, a puppy (12 month old GSD/Rottweiler), a kitten (7 months, DSH) and an adolescent Abyssinian cat (ever had one of those? yeah, it's fun. Heavy sarcasm on the "fun")... so the house is already plenty crazy.

I will take care of these guys as long as I need to. I'm already fairly attached to them... they're pretty awesome.

BUT I would be eternally grateful if anyone knows anyone (who has experience) who would be willing to take them. I'd drive almost anywhere withing a reasonable distance. Kingston, Renfrew, Ottawa, Aylmer/Gatineau, Buckingham, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[Runestonez]

Try this number...rehabber in Kingston...name is DEE.

(number removed)

[skarabrae]

I'm scared to call people who might tattle on me to MNR (ministry of natural resources) for raising them without a license... is Dee likely to do that?

Thanks for the help!

PS. My heart is breaking thinking about giving them away... but whatever's best for them!

[Runestonez]

Dee is good people...tell her Danielle refered you.

[kristieb4]

Hello. I just found a 3 week old east grey squirrel while I was jogging two days ago; a crow was carrying by the tail but luckily, Twitchy made it without any injuries or scratches. Can the woman in Kingston possibly take another squirrel? I live in Montreal but I'm willing to drive to make sure that he gets a good home with other squirrels to play with. Thank you.

[skarabrae]

How old is he? The lady from Kingston only takes squirrels until they're eyes are open... the lady I spoke with (Dee, from the recommendation above) actually lives in Trenton so it's quite far... three hours, at least, from where I live (in Carleton Place).

If he's the same age as mine (5 weeks or so), I can throw him in with my gang.

There's another lady in Gatineau, but she's full at the moment.

There are also a few ladies on here from the Montreal area, but I'm pretty sure one is way more than maxed out. I'll pm a couple people for you and hopefully they can get back to you.

If you have any other questions, I'm a newbie but I'm kind of obsessed right now and I like to think I've acquired enough knowledge to help you out. I'm always near my computer if you want to PM me I'll message you back very quickly.

[kristieb4]

Twitchy seems to be 3 and a half weeks old (grey hair growing but with a pink belly, eyes still closed but his ears have perked up off his head). Yes I've been trying to find someone in Montreal but I know a lot of people are caring for some squirrels who need a lot more attention and it's hard to take another one.

I don't mind waiting till he's a few weeks older for someone to take him. Thank you for the quick response!! It is much appreciated!

Also, I am going to take him off the pedialyte because I can't give it to him for more than 24 hours. I'm going to switch to goat milk until I receive my Fox Valley food. I also have whipping cream and goat milk yogurt. Should I mix these with the goat milk to increase the fat content? I've seen a lot of different things on the internet and I've seen on here that goats milk is a good temporary alternative, I just want to make sure he gets the most fat that I can give him.

Thank you again for all your help!!

BTW your little squirrels are adorable and they look great! When did you introduce them to a rodent block? I haven't seen any teeth on my guy yet but I don't want to miss anything. Thank you again

[Scooterzmom]

Posting these for Kristie. Introducing little, adorable Twitchy... Tada!!!!!!!!! What a sweetheart



P.S. I realize now that he is about a week older than Scooter was when I got him. Scooter had no hair at all... just some coloring that suggested some hair was going to grow there on his head hehehe

[skarabrae]

EEK! Cuteness!

[kristieb4]

Thank you very much for posting the pictures! He was being a squirmy one at the time so it was hard to get a good picture of him

I noticed last night that he has a bit of downy growing on the top of his little belly so he might be closer to 4 weeks old.. ?

Also, what do you think is a good feeding schedule for a 4 week old squirrel? I've seen some websites where they classify it by age or weight (for example, 3 weeks old feed him every 4 hours). Should I ignore the age one and just determine his feeding by weight? Also, how often do you think I should feed the lil guy? Sorry for all the questions, you guys have been very informative and I really appreciate all your help!!!!

[skarabrae]

Mine were exactly that age when I brought them in, and I fed them every three or 3.5 hours. The ramped up from 2cc per feeding to 4-6cc per feeding fairly quickly (like within a few days) and never had any overfeeding poop problems (mushy white poop).

hth!

eta: The last feeding was at 10:30pm and their first feeding was at 6am, so I'd feed on this schedule (give or take 20 mins) - 6am, 9am, 12:30pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10:30pm. I still don't have a scale for them (keep forgetting to get one when I'm at the store! doh!)... it hasn't seemed to matter. I sort of feed them whatever they want until their bellies are full (but not painfully full) and but if I think they're not quite eating enough I'm fairly persistent (within reason).

[CritterMom]

Originally Posted by kristieb4

Twitchy seems to be 3 and a half weeks old (grey hair growing but with a pink belly, eyes still closed but his ears have perked up off his head). Yes I've been trying to find someone in Montreal but I know a lot of people are caring for some squirrels who need a lot more attention and it's hard to take another one.

I don't mind waiting till he's a few weeks older for someone to take him. Thank you for the quick response!! It is much appreciated!

Also, I am going to take him off the pedialyte because I can't give it to him for more than 24 hours. I'm going to switch to goat milk until I receive my Fox Valley food. I also have whipping cream and goat milk yogurt. Should I mix these with the goat milk to increase the fat content? I've seen a lot of different things on the internet and I've seen on here that goats milk is a good temporary alternative, I just want to make sure he gets the most fat that I can give him.

Thank you again for all your help!!

BTW your little squirrels are adorable and they look great! When did you introduce them to a rodent block? I haven't seen any teeth on my guy yet but I don't want to miss anything. Thank you again

3 parts goats milk
1 part yogurt
1 part heavy cream

I would dilute the mix with water at first - additional hydration and then over the course of several feedings reduce the water a bit each time until he is eating the full strength recipe above.