Introducing solid food

[Squirrel-lover]

I am really frustrated with my little boy. He doesn't eat ANY solid food. I tried to soak the rodent blocks with formula, he just licked the formula . The other time, he just shreded the block but did not eat it. I mushed the block in yogourt las night, he did not touch it. He is not willing to drink water from the bottle as well. I think he is 7 weeks old..

[CritterMom]

He is just a baby! Mama keeps them in the nest until they are 10+ weeks old - that means a wild baby doesn't SEE solid food or water until then. Give that little baby all the formula he wants. Leave the water bottle, he will find it in time. If you want to put a squirrel block in for him to mess with, that would be good, but bear in mind he will teethe on it and hug it and pee on it mostly for a while...then he will crumble it, and finally he will start actually consuming it. But he needs formula now.

[Squirrel-lover]

Thanks critter mom. I think I am just so obsessed with him. After all I :Love_Icon him:)

[CritterMom]

We tend to push these babies. He WILL be out and about and exploring before he would be in the wild - mama squirrel doesn't put up with ANY nonsense from young upstarts! A couple years ago I had what I now know to be about a 7 week old baby climb down from the nest hole in the maple right off my back porch and come over to investigate me while I worked in the yard. I did not touch him because mama was SCREAMING at both of us in the tree. Finally she came down, ran over and hit him so hard he rolled about five feet! She then stomped over, grabbed him, hauled him up the tree and stuffed him back in (and came out and bellowed at me for a good half hour). Bet he didn't stray again!!

Here is a tip: give him formula to drink as long as he is willing to, long after he is eating solid food if you can. It is near perfect nutrition. We have lots of people here with non releasables that have formula regularly as adults.