Hi!

[OlafsMom]

Greetings!

I'm a middle-aged woman from the Midwestern US, and I am soooo happy to have found this forum! Am attempting to care for an infant squirrel slingshotted out of his nest at my place of employment a week ago during some extremely strong winds. His mother declined to retrieve him (or his sibling, who was, sadly, deceased) by the time I left work, so I brought him home since it was dusk and I just couldn't leave him there to die in the cold and dark.

Sadly, our only area wildlife rehab closed a couple weeks before the little guy fell to earth, and the DNR will euthanize him if he's turned over to them, so I am trying to keep him alive until I can find another rehab or he's old enough to try and reaclimate to outdoors. Have been working with a few folks--one of whom used to work at the rehab center--who have been able to give me some very good information about feeding and care, but no one is in a position to take him.

Worked for a veterinarian, and have raised orphaned kittens before, but this squirrel thing is a first for me and I'm sure glad to have found you folks! It sure can't hurt to have as much information as possible, right?

Nice to meet you! :wott

[tyrose]

Glad you are here! Hang tight, someone with more experience than Iwill be on soon. Are the baby's eyes opened yet? Are you keeping him warm and hydrated? :Welcome You will love this board, lots of wonderful people with amazing knowledge!

[tyrose]

If you are wanting to find someone to take him for you... I can contact someone on the board who should be able to find someone in your area.

[Chickenlegs]

Oh thank you thank you for saving that baby. I'm not a rehabber (yet) but there are so many here who will help you with your sweetie. I bet they'll want as complete a history as you can give including what you're feeding him. :Welcome :Welcome :Welcome When it comes to squirrels--THIS IS THE PLACE!!!

[island rehabber]

hi and welcome, Olaf'smom!
Can we start with a few questions? It will help us to give you the right info as quickly as possible:

How old is the baby? Fully furred? Pinky?
Eyes open or closed?
What have you been feeding him? How are poops/pee?
What part of the midwest are you in? (The name Olaf makes me think Minnesota :D) You can send that to me in a private message so that I can try to find a rehabber for you.

[Pointy Tale]

:Welcome OlafsMom you're in the right place! :thankyou sooo much for saving this little one... did you name him Olaf? I Love it! :Love_Icon Any pictures you can share? I'm not a rehabber, but if I can help you in any way, please let me know. :grouphug

[OlafsMom]

hi and welcome, Olaf'smom!
Can we start with a few questions? It will help us to give you the right info as quickly as possible:

How old is the baby? Fully furred? Pinky?
Eyes open or closed?
What have you been feeding him? How are poops/pee?
What part of the midwest are you in? (The name Olaf makes me think Minnesota :D) You can send that to me in a private message so that I can try to find a rehabber for you.



Thank you! Nice to meetchya!

I'm not sure how old the little dude is--he was pink with grey shadowing on his head and top half when I found him; this has turned progressively darker over the last week, and late Monday I noticed this is becoming very fine dark hair--still sort of a "halo" effect rather than anything long enough to look like fur at this point. He sleeps sometimes all curled up like an egg--when I first found him, he was about the size of a medium grade egg. Now he's the size of a large grade egg. Does that help?

Eyes are still closed, but the lids are very well defined the last few days. Ears are still tight to head, but seem to be standing away from the head at the very tips.

He's getting Esbilac (canned) about every 3-3.5 hours. Am feeding him with an eyedropper, but being very careful not to let him suck on it--he gets drops on his tongue or just inside his mouth. Will be adding some vanilla yogurt to his formula tonight for probiotics. He was getting about 1.75 ccs, but was cut back to .5 - .75 ccs because of bloating today. I'm afraid I've been feeding him too much.

His urine is pretty colorless, actually. He doesn't go every time he eats, though. Every other or so, usually. He poops pretty well--loose stool (mustard colored) but not liquid--several times a day.

He did have an episode of bloat today; poor little guy. Treated it by warm cotton on the belly, and gently rubbing the tummy until he passed some gas and stool. REALLY want that never to happen to him again--I could tell he was extremely uncomfortable, and I feel rotten that it happened.

Olaf is actually the name of our youngest cat. :) I call the squirrel Little Brother right now--he'll get a much more personalized name once I'm not so scared something is going to happen to him...

I'll PM you, for sure--THANK YOU!!!

[OlafsMom]

Hi, Tyrose, Chickenlegs, island rehabber and Pointy Tale!

It sure is nice to meet you all, and thanks for such a nice welcome!!

This squirrelly thing is brand new to me; I've always loved and cared for animals--my parents (while very realistic about life and death) raised us not to walk away from something suffering or in danger. But I am soooo out of my element with "Little Brother" squirrel--it's kind of scary!!!

So I'm very, very grateful to have found this forum and you fine people!!!

Thank you very, very much!

OlafsMom

[4skwerlz]

:Welcome and THANK YOU for rescuing "little dude." You won't find better help than here on TSB. Sounds like you're doing good! Feeding slowly is so important! :thumbsup

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Hi, There..welcome..to TSB!
Looking forward to seeing some pictures :flash ..of this little one..ASAP..:D
Nice to have a NEW..MEMBER!:Welcome
Rachel & Bean (my, inside 3 1/2 yr old Boy)

[island rehabber]

He sounds like he's about 2 weeks old; I have two that are 3 weeks now :D.
OK...OlafsMom I think you should make a coiuple of decisions here. If you are going to try and raise him yourself, there are many things you need to change immediately:

get online and order Fox Valley Day One formula for Squirrels, 32/40 www.foxvalleynutrition.com.
Get yourself some 1-cc O-ring syringes -- fox valley may have them in stock, or go to www.squirrelsandmore.com and order the 1cc's as well as the long silicone nipple attachments.
Without these crucial feeding implements you are in great danger of aspirating Little Brother, or having him get diarrhea from the Esbilac. (Pet Ag changed its formulae last year and it is no longer recommended for squirrels here on TSB.)

OR: if all this is overwhelming, not to mention the many weeks' worth of stuff we're going to dump on you soon, we can try and find an experienced rehabber for you. :):peace

[OlafsMom]

He sounds like he's about 2 weeks old; I have two that are 3 weeks now :D.
OK...OlafsMom I think you should make a coiuple of decisions here. If you are going to try and raise him yourself, there are many things you need to change immediately:

get online and order Fox Valley Day One formula for Squirrels, 32/40 www.foxvalleynutrition.com.
Get yourself some 1-cc O-ring syringes -- fox valley may have them in stock, or go to www.squirrelsandmore.com and order the 1cc's as well as the long silicone nipple attachments.
Without these crucial feeding implements you are in great danger of aspirating Little Brother, or having him get diarrhea from the Esbilac. (Pet Ag changed its formulae last year and it is no longer recommended for squirrels here on TSB.)

OR: if all this is overwhelming, not to mention the many weeks' worth of stuff we're going to dump on you soon, we can try and find an experienced rehabber for you. :):peace


Just PMed you. :thankyou

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome :wave123

[Momma Squirrel]

Just wanted to say HI and you have come to the right place for help. Thank you so much in taking this little one in.

Look forward to seeing pictures and hearing all about your experiences together. Did I metnion pictures :poke :D

[Kelly Brady]

Hello Olafs Mom... :Welcome

[tyrose]

Just checking in,how is Olaf tonight?

[Ultra Peepi]

:Welcome hi and thanks for caring for this little one! you are definitely in the best company you could want here at TSB.

[OlafsMom]

Howdy--

Little Brother was turned over to a wonderful squirrel rehabber on Friday afternoon; I went to feed him before she arrived, and before I did, noticed for the first time (and I listened to his lungs every single time I handled him) some congestion in his breathing, which I told her about.

She called us the next day to let us know Little Brother had passed away at about 8PM Friday night. She said his breathing became steadily more labored, and then he passed away.

I'm pretty sick about it. He grew on us so fast, and I really, really thought he was over the worst because he was growing and so strong. The rehabber (who did all she could) suggested that because he was waaay younger than I guessed, perhaps he just didn't receive enough colostrum from his mom to fight off what could have been a passing "bug". (I am told it is unlikely this was an aspiration because of the sudden onset and demise, and the fact that I'd been positively paranoid of letting him feed too quickly all along; perhaps this is to make me feel better, or perhaps it's the truth. Either way, it still sucks.) For now we take some comfort in the fact that at least he didn't die alone under that tree in the dark, and we hope he understood that he was very much cared for.

I wanted to share this not to bum everyone out, but because I feel you became a part of Little Brother's short life--I want to thank you all for the support and information I received here, which made me a wiser squirrel fostermom for Little Brother, and in case I ever cross paths with another little orphan. You are all incredible people for taking in and caring for these little guys, and I have been honored to be in your company even for this short while.

Thank you very, very much--

OlafsMom and family

[Ultra Peepi]

:grouphug I am so very sorry to hear about Little Brother. You did a great thing by helping that little one, so feel good about that please.:Love_Icon

[island rehabber]

I am so very sorry he didn't make it.....:(
Sometimes when a very young baby squirrel is outside in cold or wet weather for a length of time, its little body begins to break down. Cold is deadly for these little ones, because normally they would never be out from under their mom's warm body for many many weeks. They can't thermoregulate themselves. Even though we may rescue them and they seem to be doing ok, the damage has been done. I had a very similar experience with two babies removed from an airconditioner nest last month; the well-meaning finder left them overnight outside "for mom to find them"...she never did, and both died within 2 days.

Bless you for all you did to save this baby, and please stay with us when if you can! Once you've been touched by a squirrel, you're one of us. :grouphug