dehydrated?

[Luke]

We got a baby squirrel that was outside all night during the rain. So i went and bought some esbalic puppy milk stuff.

http://www.soleyhosting.gotdns.com/Luke/IMG/Rocky.JPG

We named it rocky but found out its a girl so now its Roxan. I have been feeding it watered down esbalic, after i pour the refridgerated esbalic and water into the bottle i let it sit for a while to get to room temperature and i try to feed her every 3 hours. I tried this turgor test thing and sometimes the wrinkle gos down fast and sometimes slowly, depending on her position. Sometimes she is wrinkly on her own depending how she is laying down. I dont know what to do. I can't get pedialyte unless i REALLY need it becasue were having big money problems. Same reason we cant drive far to a wildlife rehab center. So recently i havce tryed every 30 minutes to give her some homemade electrolyte solution (room temperature) and she isnt very enthusiastic about drinking it. But she does crawl around here box and try to climb around your hand when you hold her. What do i do? Should i stop the electrolyte and put her back on esbalic? Since the picture we have moved her to a bigger container. I can try to take any pictures if it would help you guys.

EDIT: Also, i have been keeping the heatpad under her box and she stays on the warm half. She feels warm when i pick her up and stays warm in your hands while you try and feed. I have been thinking about making a rice buddy, what do you think?

[island rehabber]

number one PRIORITY: unless you are certain the mother squirrel is dead, bring the baby back to where you found it. Place it in a soft cloth or T-shirt, in a box, and place a plastic bag or glove filled with hot water in the box with it for warmth. WAIT FOR THE MOTHER TO RETURN....this is the best chance the baby has.
If you are going to feed the baby Esbilac, it should be VERY WARM to HOT. NOT LUKE WARM or room temperature.
If the mother does not return, please PM me with your location and I will find you names of wildlife rehabbers -- some of them may meet you half way or even pick up the baby. It is essential that a pinky squirrel like this be raised by someone who has experience in successfully caring for pinky squirrels. . PLEASE...:peace

[Luke]

Thanks for the reply, how long should i leave it out where it was found? We found it by our fence, under a tree that has a squirrels nest in it. We saw a grown squirrel sitting on top of the fence making noises but it didnt get on the ground with the baby. Also, what about snakes,bird, and cats, they wont eat or hurt it?

[island rehabber]

Thanks for the reply, how long should i leave it out where it was found? We found it by our fence, under a tree that has a squirrels nest in it. We saw a grown squirrel sitting on top of the fence making noises but it didnt get on the ground with the baby. Also, what about snakes,bird, and cats, they wont eat or hurt it?

OK, now we're talking -- you can see the nest and that squirrel was most likely Mamma. Best thing is to get a ladder and place the baby in the nest! Second best thing is to wait for mamma to come get the baby from under that tree. She won't come near with you around, but if you hide and keep watch she most likely will come and get it. Of course you must be aware of cats, dogs, etc in the meantime and keep them away. The couple of hours you might spend doing this is well worth it compared to the hours you would have to put in to care for this baby -- and we can never do it as well as Mom!

[Secret Squirrel]

I might be too late if the baby and mom are alerady toghther!!! I just got on line...were having bombastic thunderstorms:raining !!!!

A small wickerbasket fastened to the tree trunk about 10 feet high is a good quick way to present the baby to the momma. Check the baby every 3 hours to see if momma has retrived the baby. Keep a heat source with the baby and change it out regulary, T-shirts or fleece is good to snuggle the baby in. A momther squirrel will not accept a cold baby. Bring in the baby if it rains or it's getting dark. The mother will not get the baby during the dark hours. Try again the next morning if needed.
I hope all is well with the reuniting process.
Sounds like you need lots of help. IR is on the ball and I know she will do her best to get you the best help possibel. Pinkys are very delicate and need special attention for the beginner squirrel lover! We have seen too many die here at TSB for one reason or another. It's sad and we all hurt when a baby goes down. :shakehead
I hope for the best for you and baby Pink!

[Momma Squirrel]

Luke how is Roxane, any luck reuniting her with momma? Need an update if you have time.

[Luke]

Roxy seems to be doing good so far. No luck getting her back with mom squirrel. Anyway i put up a webserver so i can host my own pictures of her, i will consider putting them on imageshack because some people tell me they load too slow from my personal server.

www.lukes-squirrel.gotdns.com

The first four images are recent and the last two are old photos we took soon after we took her in. She grew some golden hairs and her tail is starting to get puffed :P

I will add labels below each image if i get some time later on. I will try to take some pictures every few days and put them on there for you. If anyone has trouble loading the page let me know and i will host the images on the forum or imageshack. Any advice on caring for her? Can you tell how old she is? She had a rice buddy for a while but i was playing with it in the yard and it got stuck in a tree :P And when can we start trying to give her monkey chow? We just bought another carton of puppy formula. Ill try to keep you posted. :tilt

[Momma Squirrel]

She is just precious, thanks for the update and pictures :thumbsup You are doing a great job.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

signs she is ready to eat food: is she chewing on her cage? ect..I dont think anytime soon according to pictures..just my opinion. She looks about the size of mine. 4 weeks. Mine eat every 2-3hours how about yours?
I wish I could give you my pedialite I got it for my tiny one,and he only needed a small amt.
Are you using the powdered Espilac? Thats the best. Good luck with the baby. By the way heres a ton of info in case you didnt see the link.
http://www.squirreltales.org/
keep the pictures comin we love em!

[Luke]

Well she is in a lego tub with a t-shirt in the bottom so i dont think she could chew on the cage. She does like to nibble at my fingers though. She has two teeth on the bottom. Maybe i will take you some more pictures :P

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

another thing you can add is heavy whipping creme, the little measuring spoon that came with your dry formula..add 1 whipping creme to the formula
soit would be 1 scoop formula 2 scoops water 1/2 scoop whipping creme.
She will fatten up nicely.

How often does she eat?

[Luke]

One of Roxy's eyes started to open yesterday :rotfl Only one though, and its only opened a little bit, we saw somthing shiny in her eye, and we looked closer and she opened it a bit more it was her eye :) I read someone else put a drop of water on each eye and they opened up, should i try that? She is very active and can hold onto your hand with only one claw. She crawls around her cage alot, we will probably get a bigger cage (a bird vage) this weekend. Should we keep the heat pad on even during these hot days? Sometimes its high 90s up to 100 some degrees. Also, you can check my web page every few days i will add new pics every few days for you guys. :tilt

[Secret Squirrel]

FYI.....let Roxie eyes open on their own. In the wild mom takes care of the babies bye feeding and grooming and protection.
Nature has a perfect balance so do yourself a favor by letting the eyes open naturally. Also their eyes sight has to adjust slowly as the eye opens slowly. There is no need to rush the natural progress of things.
For the heating pad....make sure she has plenty of room to crawl off in case she gets warm. I put half of the heating pad under the cage so there is the other half of the cage so she can cool down in.
Good luck with your questions and hope my suggestions helped.:peace

[Momma Squirrel]

Luke that is great news about Roxy, I know you are so excited but SS is right, patience is best. We will need new photos after the eyes open. So exciting to see so many babies doing so well and getting ready to open their eyes.

[GhosTS]

Its great news that she is opening her eyes.That IS a big step.Let her open her eyes herself.Their eyes are so sensitive.They must be opened slowly, between 1-3 days.If not they can go blind.They are so fragile.When their eyes are opened you can take away the heating pad.Specially on hot days.They can control their own heat at 5 weeks.But keep a close watch whether she will get cold.Its not an exact science.Things can change.

[Luke]

Alright cool, i didnt mess with here eyes like you said and they seem just about fully opened on both sides today :) Ill be glad when we can get the new cage so we can hang things from the ceiling and have her climb them :D Thanks for the advice, ill try to take some new pics today :thumbsup

[Luke]

Okay, i added five, :eek: thats right, FIVE brand new pictures, i added dates to all of them and put them in order of when they were taken. You can see her eyes open in the new ones :) If you have any speed problems let me know ill host the images on imageshack or the board. And I added a link back to the squirrel boards for you a day or two ago :P