Feeding Schedule

[squirrely20]

Good morning everyone! Rocky is doing really well, can't believe how big and active he has gotten. We are about in need of a new dwelling again. :) I do have a couple of questions (again) though. He is about 8 1/2 weeks old now and I was wondering if someone could kind of give me a sample feeding schedule. I will tell ya kinda what I am already doing. I work every other day, so one day his morning formula is between 5-5:30 a.m. The other days it will be between 6-7:30 at the latest. When I am getting his formula ready, I put his fruit/veggies/rodent block in his bowl and that goes in his box when we are done with the formula. Now... he is still on 4 feedings a day cause I worry about him getting hungry. He likes broccoli and green beans, he got tired of apples, still likes his occasional grape, and he likes watermelon. (hope it's okay, but I bought frozen veggies...That way he can have some variety when he gets tired of something. I try one veggie at a time for a few days before introducing anything new. Today we are trying a carrot!) He does chew on the rodent block, but he hides alot of stuff and I am not sure if he is eating that or just shredding it all over the box. :thinking I know he is supposed to be down to atleast 3 feedings now. I weighed him a couple of days ago and he is still gaining weight really well. :thumbsup He still loves his formula. He does like to be out of the box alot now, I don't let him go far because I have dogs, and while they have never tried to mess with him, one never knows. About how old till he can kind of run around outside the cage (without the dogs around of course), I just worry cause he is so small, and it's a big house. I don't wanna lose him. :) So, anyway, if someone could kind of give me a guideline to go by, like a day in the life of your own squirrel this age, that would be great. I don't wanna overfeed, but don't wanna underfeed either. Thanks so much in advance!:thankyou I have new pics I will post soon also, it's been a few days.

[squirrely20]

Thanks Gamma! :thankyou You had given me those guidelines... that is what I have been trying to follow. I get stuck on "all he wants". So if I cut the formula feedings to 3 times a day, about how much will he be taking do you think? I have been replacing the fruit/veggies throughout the day as he eats and/or hides them. :rotfl Right now he takes formula 4 times a day, every 5 hours, about 13cc. We tried a hamster cage, he was scared when I put him in it, I only put him there long enough to clean his box. As we speak he is trying to pop the lid off of the box. Yesterday, I opened the lid to get his rice bag (yes, he still likes that in there, I just don't keep it heated all the time), and he took a leap from the bottom of his box up onto my chest. Talk about startled! :jump Today, we tried a small dog cage, but he can fit out through some of the bars yet. I saw a nice ferret cage I think he would like, but they are expensive so we thought about building one. I have done a TSB search and can find pictures, but not the specific kind of materials they are made out of? (the wire part) I think we are gonna need to do something fast! :rotfl He really wants out of there!

[squirrely20]

:thankyou Okay, we are back in the hamster cage, he climbed around pretty wildly for awhile, although he did not pee all over himself this time. I put a kleenex box it there with some of his fleece, and he is now in there taking a nice break. :D He has his food and his sticks and his kleenex he likes to use in his sleeping box and to hide his food. LOL. :rotfl I am thinking my plan for today is this: I fed him at about 7:30-8:00. (13cc) I will feed him as much as he wants again at 2... then again at 8 or 9 because I am going to be gone this evening anyways. We will see how he does with just the 3 feedings then, if he seems like he doesn't like that, we can go back to 4 tomorrow. Does that sound like an okay plan? I work tomorrow, so we will be up about 5 am, so he would be going 9 hours at the most overnight? Wow, that seems like a long time?? :dono Does this sound okay?? Thanks again for all your help, just want to make sure I do this right! :)

[squirrely20]

And yes, I remember the light! :thumbsup :)

[acomer]

yeah i was going to ask the same thing.. my little girl is im guessing around 4 weeks, she has full fur but her eyes arent open yet.. they look like they are going to open at any moment. im feeding her the puppies milk about every 3-4 hours.. and pedialyte once of twice in between.. the thing is her stools arent hard at all and i didnt know if this was normal.. its kinda of an orange color and is runny.. but she is going almost every feeding.. if not every other feeding. shes also eating very fast i think, so i ordered some nipples from chris's site.. which im hoping will help with that.... i also didnt know when to start introducing foods to her, im guessing its sometime after she opens her eyes..?? and when do i stop using the heating pad in her bed?? i only have it on half the cage .. but i wasnt sure how long she needs it for. any help appreciated.. oh also.. should i be feeding her during the night? i dont want her to get dehydrated.. so ive been feeding her atleast twice during the night..

[susanw]

Ha, Ha, you sound just like me when I got my first squirrel! He will survive the night, just make sure there is food in his dish if he gets hungry. :jump

[pamela lee]

My Peanut Too is 8 1/2 weeks old. He weights 242 grams and gets 15cc's of formula 3 times a day. This is a picture of his breakfast and dinner. I do not give my squirrels fruit unless it is something they will find in the wild. I move them into a ferret cage once they are 8 weeks old. They stay there until they are 14 weeks old then they move out to the release cage. Hope this helps.

[pamela lee]

yeah i was going to ask the same thing.. my little girl is im guessing around 4 weeks, she has full fur but her eyes arent open yet.. they look like they are going to open at any moment. im feeding her the puppies milk about every 3-4 hours.. and pedialyte once of twice in between.. the thing is her stools arent hard at all and i didnt know if this was normal.. its kinda of an orange color and is runny.. but she is going almost every feeding.. if not every other feeding. shes also eating very fast i think, so i ordered some nipples from chris's site.. which im hoping will help with that.... i also didnt know when to start introducing foods to her, im guessing its sometime after she opens her eyes..?? and when do i stop using the heating pad in her bed?? i only have it on half the cage .. but i wasnt sure how long she needs it for. any help appreciated.. oh also.. should i be feeding her during the night? i dont want her to get dehydrated.. so ive been feeding her atleast twice during the night..
acomer, I start putting Rodent block in their container as soon as their eyes open, so they can learn to like it and teeth on it. I usually leave the heating pad in for a week or so after their eyes open, even longer if they seem to still like it.

[acomer]

thanks pam!

[island rehabber]

squirrely20 you asked about the 'wire part' of building your own cage? Home Depot sells something called Hardware Cloth. It's not cloth, it's wire mesh. It usually comes in several varieties and is fairly cheap -- great for making cages. This is just one common type:

[susanw]

Acomer, just wanted to make sure you knew my response was to Squirrely20. We must of been writing at the same time.

[squirrely20]

My Peanut Too is 8 1/2 weeks old. He weights 242 grams and gets 15cc's of formula 3 times a day. This is a picture of his breakfast and dinner. I do not give my squirrels fruit unless it is something they will find in the wild. I move them into a ferret cage once they are 8 weeks old. They stay there until they are 14 weeks old then they move out to the release cage. Hope this helps.


Wow! That looks like a lot of good food! :) Thanks so much! So, you put that much in twice a day? Do you leave it in throughout the day? I take Rocky's bowl out at night, should I be leaving it there? He still has his rodent block he has hidden all over though! :rotfl He had a good day, playing and getting used to the new cage. He is now doing about 18-19cc of formula 3 times a day. He was 240 grams a few days ago. I willl weigh him again tonight, he seems to be getting quite a belly on him! :thankyou

[squirrely20]

squirrely20 you asked about the 'wire part' of building your own cage? Home Depot sells something called Hardware Cloth. It's not cloth, it's wire mesh. It usually comes in several varieties and is fairly cheap -- great for making cages. This is just one common type:

:thankyou :thankyou That is exactly what I was wanting to know! It will help tremendously knowing what it is called!:) Is there a specific size or anything you recommend? I figure since he has to be here through the winter :) he needs something good to hang out in.

New question, I take Rocky to work with me every day, have since I found him. Problem, I think he might be getting tired of the ride. :tilt I have about a 45 minute drive time there and 45 minutes home. How long do you think it might be before he can be left in the cage at home through the day? I really don't want to leave him, it will be tough the first time. I have been trying to leave him a little bit longer each time I go anywhere. I worry so bad when I am not here! :crazy So, I am fine with taking him with me forever but I think he is not. LOL :)