squirlnewb
09-09-2008, 02:44 PM
Hello all, I'll start off by saying that I'm totally new to raising squirrels and have no prior experience until now. Here's a little background on our situation:
Last Friday (Sept. 5th), my fiance stumbled across a baby squirrel just next to our driveway. It's eyes were closed and it was stumbling around as if it had an injured back leg. Not knowing what to do, we left it there and went inside to read up about what to do. We put it in a drawer with towels and hot water bottles to keep it warm. We left it there for 3 hours waiting for it's mother to come pick it up, it didn't. It was getting dark outside and there were a few cats lingering around the area so we decided to take it inside for the night and try reuiniting it with it's mother in the morning. We did some more research and once the baby was warm we fed hydrated it using a water, sugar and salt mixture (couldn't find pedialyte in our area) every 2 hours until morning. We put it back out at sunrise and waited another few hours and there was no sign of the mother or any other squirrel activity, so we brought it back inside again. I went back out a few hours later to see if I could see any sign of the mother, instead I found 2 more baby squirrels (one larger with it's eyes open and a smaller one with it's eyes still closed). We brought them inside and warmed them and hydrated them. We then assumed that something must have happened to the mother and gave up trying to reunite them and tried to focus on researching what to do to keep them alive.
We live in Montreal, Canada, you'd figure with the abundant wildlife around here that finding a rehabilitator would be easy. HAH! We spent all day Saturday and Sunday on the phone with various vets, animal shelters and wildlife foundations all leads point back to one number which ends in a message stating that the mailbox is full and to call back later. A few rodent shelters said that they don't accept squirrels and if we brought them in, they would be euthanized. So, basically, we are unable to offer them the best chance of survival by locating a rehabilitator and came here seeking advice so we can hopefully offer them the second best chance of survival.
We estimate that they are 5 weeks old (because of the eyes openning). We've had them for 4 days now and all 3 of them have now openned their eyes and are gaining weight, their urine is clear and their feces are soft brown pellets. The one with the seemingly injured leg is still walking crooked but is able to climb and walk. He just leans to one side when he does it.
We've been researching and absorbing information non stop since we found these little guys, however, many of the information we found is contradicting and has left us with a few questions. Any help and guidance would be appreciated with the following issues:
FOOD:
-----
We've looked everywhere for Esbilac powder, but were only able to find the liquid. We've read that powders are more nutritional. We ended up buying some Mamalac puppy milk replacement powder from the vet and the squirrels love it.
1) Are all powdered puppy milk replacements essentially the same, or should we just go with the Esbilac liquit formula?
2) We've read that many places suggest adding whipping cream to the mix, but many places say not to use any milk products whatsoever. Is it bad to not be fattening up the formula with whipping cream?
3) My biggest concern is that I'm not feeding them the proper amounts. Some places say 3-4 cc's and others are saying 20 ml (20cc?) per feeding for a 5 week old squirrel. There seems to be a big difference. I've been feeding them out of a a 1cc syringe and am up to 3-5 shots for each squirrel. Is this too little or too much? They always seem to want more but their stomachs get a little large, so I cut them off after 5. They seem to be maintaining their weight really well and are active after feeding.
4) Another concern is the frequency of the feedings. Both me and my fiance work full time and are unable to feed them between 8:30am and 6pm. We have read many places that we could leave them the night without feeding them at this age. What we have done is offset their schedule. We are feeding them @ 6pm, 11pm, 3am and 8am. Basically making as if the period between 8am and 6pm would be night time. Can this negatively affect the squirrels if we want to eventually release them? How will they react once we transfer them to an outdoor cage and night time comes 12 hours too soon?
5) We have been giving them a little dish with cut up apples and bananas. They seem to enjoy licking them and trying to chew them. Is there any problems with this?
6) Should we be feeding them water in addition to their food, or provide them with a water dish or bottle? Currently they are only living off of formula.
7) Solid food looks like it will be an issue. Being in Canada, I am unable to locate any Zupreem primate chow or Rodent block. Can anyone recommend a place that can ship these items to Canada fairly quickly? Squirrelstore.com is on Vacation until the end of the week and would like to be sure I have the proper materials to get them started on dry food.
8) We have read that you can replace Zupreem Primate Chow with Science Diet for puppys. Does anyone have any experience with this, is this a good idea?
9) Since I can't find any rodent block anywhere, I have placed a small dish with Guinea Pig feed in their box. I know guinea pig feed is not good for them, however, since they aren't actually eating it yet, I'm leaving it in so they can use it to teeth on. Should I remove the dish all together, or can I leave it in until we find a suitable replacement? Can anyone recommend a suitable replacement, other than rodent block? Is ferret pellets ok?
HOMING:
-------
1) Currently, they are in a cardboard box about 2 feet cubed. I have just finished building them a larger cage 4ftx4ftx2ft high. I have also just found this forum with cage examples that are all about 4 feet high and am cursing a little bit. haha. Is this going to be a problem if they only have 2 feet of vertical space and 4 feet of lateral space? Should I build a taller cage?
2) What is the best kind of bedding for squirrels? Currently, the cardboard box is lined with paper towels and 2 warm bottles of water. For the larger cage, we bought some enviromentally friendly bedding, torn up newspapers and some more paper towels. Is this ok? Or are there any better products?
3) When should I transfer them from the cardboard box to their new larger cage? We tried to put them in the larger cage last night and the immediately started climbing the mesh. My concern is that they are still young and may fall and hurt themselves. Is this nothing to worry about since the cage is only 2 feet high? The little one climbed to the top of the cage and got stuck in the corner and started screaming (chirping). Should I just keep them in the cardboard box for now?
RELEASE:
--------
Our goal is to eventually release the squirrels in our backyard. We already have 3 cats and we believe that squirrels should be wild.
1) Can I use the same indoor cage to slowly release them outdoors? Or will I need a new taller cage for this?
2) Since we have 3 squirrels will I have to build 3 seperate nest boxes or are they able to share one to get started? If I need 3 seperate boxes, can I place them all in the same tree to be released or will I need to set them in different trees?
3) Many sites are saying that the squirrels need to be released after 12 weeks. Some places are saying 18 weeks. Since they seem to be a late litter, will I be able to release them before winter? What is involved in keeping an overly mature squirrel indoors until spring? (I believe they are eastern greys).
Anyways, that's all I can think of for now. Sorry about this extremely long post, as I said, I've never done anything like this before and would have them die on me and later find out I could have prevented it. Here are some pictures of the little guys the day after we found them. I'll try to post more pictures tonight so you can see their progress. Thanks again for reading and thanks in advance for any help and advice. In the mean time, I will keep researching. lol... my brain is starting to hurt.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/1feed.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/1sleep.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3feed.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3sleep.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3sq.jpg
Last Friday (Sept. 5th), my fiance stumbled across a baby squirrel just next to our driveway. It's eyes were closed and it was stumbling around as if it had an injured back leg. Not knowing what to do, we left it there and went inside to read up about what to do. We put it in a drawer with towels and hot water bottles to keep it warm. We left it there for 3 hours waiting for it's mother to come pick it up, it didn't. It was getting dark outside and there were a few cats lingering around the area so we decided to take it inside for the night and try reuiniting it with it's mother in the morning. We did some more research and once the baby was warm we fed hydrated it using a water, sugar and salt mixture (couldn't find pedialyte in our area) every 2 hours until morning. We put it back out at sunrise and waited another few hours and there was no sign of the mother or any other squirrel activity, so we brought it back inside again. I went back out a few hours later to see if I could see any sign of the mother, instead I found 2 more baby squirrels (one larger with it's eyes open and a smaller one with it's eyes still closed). We brought them inside and warmed them and hydrated them. We then assumed that something must have happened to the mother and gave up trying to reunite them and tried to focus on researching what to do to keep them alive.
We live in Montreal, Canada, you'd figure with the abundant wildlife around here that finding a rehabilitator would be easy. HAH! We spent all day Saturday and Sunday on the phone with various vets, animal shelters and wildlife foundations all leads point back to one number which ends in a message stating that the mailbox is full and to call back later. A few rodent shelters said that they don't accept squirrels and if we brought them in, they would be euthanized. So, basically, we are unable to offer them the best chance of survival by locating a rehabilitator and came here seeking advice so we can hopefully offer them the second best chance of survival.
We estimate that they are 5 weeks old (because of the eyes openning). We've had them for 4 days now and all 3 of them have now openned their eyes and are gaining weight, their urine is clear and their feces are soft brown pellets. The one with the seemingly injured leg is still walking crooked but is able to climb and walk. He just leans to one side when he does it.
We've been researching and absorbing information non stop since we found these little guys, however, many of the information we found is contradicting and has left us with a few questions. Any help and guidance would be appreciated with the following issues:
FOOD:
-----
We've looked everywhere for Esbilac powder, but were only able to find the liquid. We've read that powders are more nutritional. We ended up buying some Mamalac puppy milk replacement powder from the vet and the squirrels love it.
1) Are all powdered puppy milk replacements essentially the same, or should we just go with the Esbilac liquit formula?
2) We've read that many places suggest adding whipping cream to the mix, but many places say not to use any milk products whatsoever. Is it bad to not be fattening up the formula with whipping cream?
3) My biggest concern is that I'm not feeding them the proper amounts. Some places say 3-4 cc's and others are saying 20 ml (20cc?) per feeding for a 5 week old squirrel. There seems to be a big difference. I've been feeding them out of a a 1cc syringe and am up to 3-5 shots for each squirrel. Is this too little or too much? They always seem to want more but their stomachs get a little large, so I cut them off after 5. They seem to be maintaining their weight really well and are active after feeding.
4) Another concern is the frequency of the feedings. Both me and my fiance work full time and are unable to feed them between 8:30am and 6pm. We have read many places that we could leave them the night without feeding them at this age. What we have done is offset their schedule. We are feeding them @ 6pm, 11pm, 3am and 8am. Basically making as if the period between 8am and 6pm would be night time. Can this negatively affect the squirrels if we want to eventually release them? How will they react once we transfer them to an outdoor cage and night time comes 12 hours too soon?
5) We have been giving them a little dish with cut up apples and bananas. They seem to enjoy licking them and trying to chew them. Is there any problems with this?
6) Should we be feeding them water in addition to their food, or provide them with a water dish or bottle? Currently they are only living off of formula.
7) Solid food looks like it will be an issue. Being in Canada, I am unable to locate any Zupreem primate chow or Rodent block. Can anyone recommend a place that can ship these items to Canada fairly quickly? Squirrelstore.com is on Vacation until the end of the week and would like to be sure I have the proper materials to get them started on dry food.
8) We have read that you can replace Zupreem Primate Chow with Science Diet for puppys. Does anyone have any experience with this, is this a good idea?
9) Since I can't find any rodent block anywhere, I have placed a small dish with Guinea Pig feed in their box. I know guinea pig feed is not good for them, however, since they aren't actually eating it yet, I'm leaving it in so they can use it to teeth on. Should I remove the dish all together, or can I leave it in until we find a suitable replacement? Can anyone recommend a suitable replacement, other than rodent block? Is ferret pellets ok?
HOMING:
-------
1) Currently, they are in a cardboard box about 2 feet cubed. I have just finished building them a larger cage 4ftx4ftx2ft high. I have also just found this forum with cage examples that are all about 4 feet high and am cursing a little bit. haha. Is this going to be a problem if they only have 2 feet of vertical space and 4 feet of lateral space? Should I build a taller cage?
2) What is the best kind of bedding for squirrels? Currently, the cardboard box is lined with paper towels and 2 warm bottles of water. For the larger cage, we bought some enviromentally friendly bedding, torn up newspapers and some more paper towels. Is this ok? Or are there any better products?
3) When should I transfer them from the cardboard box to their new larger cage? We tried to put them in the larger cage last night and the immediately started climbing the mesh. My concern is that they are still young and may fall and hurt themselves. Is this nothing to worry about since the cage is only 2 feet high? The little one climbed to the top of the cage and got stuck in the corner and started screaming (chirping). Should I just keep them in the cardboard box for now?
RELEASE:
--------
Our goal is to eventually release the squirrels in our backyard. We already have 3 cats and we believe that squirrels should be wild.
1) Can I use the same indoor cage to slowly release them outdoors? Or will I need a new taller cage for this?
2) Since we have 3 squirrels will I have to build 3 seperate nest boxes or are they able to share one to get started? If I need 3 seperate boxes, can I place them all in the same tree to be released or will I need to set them in different trees?
3) Many sites are saying that the squirrels need to be released after 12 weeks. Some places are saying 18 weeks. Since they seem to be a late litter, will I be able to release them before winter? What is involved in keeping an overly mature squirrel indoors until spring? (I believe they are eastern greys).
Anyways, that's all I can think of for now. Sorry about this extremely long post, as I said, I've never done anything like this before and would have them die on me and later find out I could have prevented it. Here are some pictures of the little guys the day after we found them. I'll try to post more pictures tonight so you can see their progress. Thanks again for reading and thanks in advance for any help and advice. In the mean time, I will keep researching. lol... my brain is starting to hurt.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/1feed.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/1sleep.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3feed.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3sleep.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/oierpunk/3sq.jpg