RocketsRehab
08-30-2010, 04:14 PM
Hi, I go by the nickname Rae & I'm glad to have found a place like this!!!
I am currently raising my very first Eastern Grey Squirrel, It's definitely a boy so I named him Rocket after the squirrel in Rocky & Bullwinkle... because 2 weeks before my Aunt found him fallen from his nest outside her work, I was joking with my friends being the absolute squirrel fanatic I am; that IF I ever got a real squirrel (since I collect squirrel stuff) & it was a boy I'd have to name him Rocket (as we watched an episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle on netflix haha) Little did I know; that was a bit of clairvoyance on my part.. bc as I said about 2 weeks later (at the most) my Aunt posted on my FB wall that she had found a baby squirrel, tried to find somewhere to take him but wasn't having much luck, so she couldn't think of anyone better to adopt him than me!! <3
I had to do a lot of research because I never actually thought it was a possibility to raise my very own squirrel.. only a dream of mine!? Boy do I wish I had educated myself before hand, but at least the resources were easy enough to come by!! :) So I did my studying, took notes and quickly become a Squirrel Mommy, complete with panic of possible aspiration, sleepless nights, double researching & being thrown off, until finally I took what I had found to make the most sense & decided I just had to be content with going on that & my natural instincts.. because the more information I was reading the more confused I was at what I should or shouldn't be doing, so I think in the long run that was a good choice; I have been much calmer & not so full of anxiety, I know me being freaked out all the time wasn't good for my little tiny baby squirrel so0 I sucked it up and we've been doing great!!!:wahoo
I approximate his age to be around 5 weeks although he has not opened his eyes yet. As of Saturday August 28th I've had him for 3 weeks. His bottom/front teeth were already poking out & grown in within the first week I had him. His top teeth in front are starting to poke through as of a few days ago and he really seems like he's ready to open those eyes.. but not yet.
The first week was hectic, I freaked out over everything, I would listen to him for like an hour after I fed him thinking even though nothing came out of his nose at all, that somehow he was aspirated, I was feeding him JustBorn powdered milk replacement with a bottle at first because my aunt ran & got what she could right then to get him some nutrients. After I took over & had done some research, I decided to go with Esbilac. When I found out that corn isn't really good for them while growing-- I checked the powder seeing as its actually for puppies not squirrels & saw that the 1st two ingredients were corn related in the JustBorn powder, so I ran out to get the Esbilac. I use the liquid form -- (I read about mixing the Esbilac powder with heavy cream, but I did the best that I could afford in the instant of realizing I did not want him to have the other kind anymore.) He seemed to like it better right away, so I stuck with it because I decided switching his diet too much can't be good either.
We got through a point of constipation & a point of diarrhea, and he's still with me 3 weeks later so I must be doing something right!?:thumbsup This past week (3rd week) I was moving from where I was to a new place & his heating pad got unplugged for a little bit of time somehow!?!?!?:nono But he was just fine, I warmed up his "rice-buddy" [rice -i used white- tied up in a sock then heated up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds] & got him warmed back up & he was crawling all over in no time. He did fine with the car-ride too, just slept, the heating pad stayed warm & he had his "rice-buddy" warm too. He was the last thing to be taken out of the old place & the first thing to be brought into the new place to keep him comfortable as possible.
I want him to grow up as healthy & happy as he can being raised by a human. I am planning on raising to release but I'm not making any promises - he is an "only child" & I'm told will be a bit more likely to stick with me since I'm kind of all he has.. I'd love for him to be with me as long as possible but want him to be free if that's what he wants of course.. which I'm also told he will. So "we'll see what happens" is all I'm saying on the subject of release.
He is getting way more active the past few days & eats much better now than in the beginning (it used to take him a bit to get a good suckle on the nipple but now he's a pro) I have been slowly introducing a rodent block to him: yesterday I really showed it to him and he actually nibbled it, I had put it in his incubator with him roughly 4 days ago to get him used to the smell since I read its a bit hard to get them to eat it once you introduce fresh foods. He seemed to like the idea of chewing at it... I figured he was ready when he started nibbling at my fingers instead of suckling on them! & at one point yesterday when checking on him in between feedings he was totally nibbling at it on his own. :wott
I just can't wait for his eyes to open!! I'm getting so impatient haha :dono
So that's our story so far, hope you enjoyed it. & I hope to find many more fun stories here on The Squirrel Board!!! :wave123
I am currently raising my very first Eastern Grey Squirrel, It's definitely a boy so I named him Rocket after the squirrel in Rocky & Bullwinkle... because 2 weeks before my Aunt found him fallen from his nest outside her work, I was joking with my friends being the absolute squirrel fanatic I am; that IF I ever got a real squirrel (since I collect squirrel stuff) & it was a boy I'd have to name him Rocket (as we watched an episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle on netflix haha) Little did I know; that was a bit of clairvoyance on my part.. bc as I said about 2 weeks later (at the most) my Aunt posted on my FB wall that she had found a baby squirrel, tried to find somewhere to take him but wasn't having much luck, so she couldn't think of anyone better to adopt him than me!! <3
I had to do a lot of research because I never actually thought it was a possibility to raise my very own squirrel.. only a dream of mine!? Boy do I wish I had educated myself before hand, but at least the resources were easy enough to come by!! :) So I did my studying, took notes and quickly become a Squirrel Mommy, complete with panic of possible aspiration, sleepless nights, double researching & being thrown off, until finally I took what I had found to make the most sense & decided I just had to be content with going on that & my natural instincts.. because the more information I was reading the more confused I was at what I should or shouldn't be doing, so I think in the long run that was a good choice; I have been much calmer & not so full of anxiety, I know me being freaked out all the time wasn't good for my little tiny baby squirrel so0 I sucked it up and we've been doing great!!!:wahoo
I approximate his age to be around 5 weeks although he has not opened his eyes yet. As of Saturday August 28th I've had him for 3 weeks. His bottom/front teeth were already poking out & grown in within the first week I had him. His top teeth in front are starting to poke through as of a few days ago and he really seems like he's ready to open those eyes.. but not yet.
The first week was hectic, I freaked out over everything, I would listen to him for like an hour after I fed him thinking even though nothing came out of his nose at all, that somehow he was aspirated, I was feeding him JustBorn powdered milk replacement with a bottle at first because my aunt ran & got what she could right then to get him some nutrients. After I took over & had done some research, I decided to go with Esbilac. When I found out that corn isn't really good for them while growing-- I checked the powder seeing as its actually for puppies not squirrels & saw that the 1st two ingredients were corn related in the JustBorn powder, so I ran out to get the Esbilac. I use the liquid form -- (I read about mixing the Esbilac powder with heavy cream, but I did the best that I could afford in the instant of realizing I did not want him to have the other kind anymore.) He seemed to like it better right away, so I stuck with it because I decided switching his diet too much can't be good either.
We got through a point of constipation & a point of diarrhea, and he's still with me 3 weeks later so I must be doing something right!?:thumbsup This past week (3rd week) I was moving from where I was to a new place & his heating pad got unplugged for a little bit of time somehow!?!?!?:nono But he was just fine, I warmed up his "rice-buddy" [rice -i used white- tied up in a sock then heated up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds] & got him warmed back up & he was crawling all over in no time. He did fine with the car-ride too, just slept, the heating pad stayed warm & he had his "rice-buddy" warm too. He was the last thing to be taken out of the old place & the first thing to be brought into the new place to keep him comfortable as possible.
I want him to grow up as healthy & happy as he can being raised by a human. I am planning on raising to release but I'm not making any promises - he is an "only child" & I'm told will be a bit more likely to stick with me since I'm kind of all he has.. I'd love for him to be with me as long as possible but want him to be free if that's what he wants of course.. which I'm also told he will. So "we'll see what happens" is all I'm saying on the subject of release.
He is getting way more active the past few days & eats much better now than in the beginning (it used to take him a bit to get a good suckle on the nipple but now he's a pro) I have been slowly introducing a rodent block to him: yesterday I really showed it to him and he actually nibbled it, I had put it in his incubator with him roughly 4 days ago to get him used to the smell since I read its a bit hard to get them to eat it once you introduce fresh foods. He seemed to like the idea of chewing at it... I figured he was ready when he started nibbling at my fingers instead of suckling on them! & at one point yesterday when checking on him in between feedings he was totally nibbling at it on his own. :wott
I just can't wait for his eyes to open!! I'm getting so impatient haha :dono
So that's our story so far, hope you enjoyed it. & I hope to find many more fun stories here on The Squirrel Board!!! :wave123