Please help quick - found three baby fly. squirrels today

[Nuts over Squirrels]

Today my husband was cutting trees in our yard and found a nest of flying squirrels. There were three in it. My sons caught them and we now have them in a cricket container. They were still in the nest so I know they are babies but I have no idea how old. They have all their hair, top and bottom teeth and look like they would be in some serious training to be on their own. At this point what do we feed them and can they be tamed? Please respond quickly, I'm afraid they may be hungry and I won't know exactly what to do. We have pecans. Acorns. But do they need milk and would they be willing to take a bottle at this age? They are very active, agressive, very fast.
Thanks,
Nuts over Squirrels!

[Critter_Queen]

Did you try to reunite the babies with the mother? Many times a mother will come back for her young and move them someplace safe, even when the nest is torn down. I would suggest putting them back outside near where you found them and leave them alone (but keep watch from a good distance in case of predators) and see if Momma comes for them. If she doesn't come by sunset, it's safe to assume she won't.

It's hard to determine the age of the fliers without a picture...can you post one?

They may need formula depending on their age. The correct formula is Esbilac puppy formula...the powdered kind. You can buy this at the vet's office. Mix the esbilac with VERY warm water - 1 part esbilac to 2 parts water. Test it on your wrist like baby formula to test the temp. If it feels nice and warm but not hot, it's the right temp. Also, bottles are not good to use as it makes it easy for the squirrel to inhale the formula. Try to find some 1 and 3 cc syringes and nipples that will fit on the syringe tip if you can. Sometimes the bottle nipples can be worked to fit the 3 cc syringes too...

Hopefully someone flier savvy will come and help you out. I've only rehabbed tree squirrels, so I don't know much about the fliers.

Good luck!

[Gabe]

CQ is right, try to get them back to their mother. Remember first and foremost we have to do what is right for them, not what is most fun for us. The mother is very bonded to her babies and is searching frantically for them. When we take them away, it is as though we are Social Services and have decided that just because WE cut the tree down, the mother is unfit for raising her own babies.
If she has not returned, bring them in overnight, warm them, feed them and put them back out in the morning.
Thanks for giving them a second chance at life.

[muffinsquirrel]

By all means, try to get them back with their mother - she is what they really need right now. If the momma doesn't come back for them, you need to find a rehabber that can take care of them. If they are pretty much staying in the nest you have for them, then they need to be on Esbilac Puppy Replacement Formula. (Get the powdered kind.) They will probably need to be fed every 4 or 5 hours. Use a syringe to feed them, because it is easier to controll the amount of food you are putting in their mouth. If you feed them too fast, there is a risk they will get it in their lungs and get pneumonia and, without vet care, die. Each time, after you feed them, you need to take a warm, damp ball of cotton or kleenex or other soft material and, very gently and lightly, pat or rub their genitalia to make them pee and poop. You can try putting a few small (nickle or quarter sized) pieces of peeled apple in the cage for them, and they may also show some intrest in pieces of pecans. Keep them warm tonight - put their cage or box half on-half off a heating pad set on low. Use fleece or old t-shirts for bedding. Do not use towels or anything that their toes could get caught in.

Good luck with them - they are the sweetest critters in the world! If you need any help, feel free to email or PM me.

muffinsquirrel

[thundersquirrel]

hey nuts over squirrels :wave123

what everyone has said is true. try to get momma back. just don't leave them out for the night; that means death. before you feed them, make sure they're hydrated. before you hydrate them, make sure they are warm.

warmth is the most important thing you can give them for now (make sure they have access to heat and access to not-heat). hydration can be given either as warm water or warm pedialyte (non-flavored is probably best). once they are warm and hydrated, you can offer them formula.

as far as taming them, i wouldn't try it if i were you. these squirrels have each other and seem old enough to understand what freedom is. if it was only one squirrel, and a very young one, you might be able to tame it, but when they're together they have a sense of "i am a squirrel and you are a human". at their age you'd have to really break their spirits to make them tame. and even then, i doubt they'd let you hold them and snuggle and such, and they could still have some temperment issues. :poke

while they may be adorable and helpless, i suggest you find a licensed rehabber to take them if the mother does not come back. caring for squirrels is difficult business. even as a trained rehabber, many of the squirrels i care for die. if you really want a flyer as a pet, there are breeders around the country that we can help you contact. :thumbsup

pictures would help. make a photo shoot out of it. :D

[Somebody's Mother]

i hope you sign back on to check the posts here. i hope the babies are doing okay. i saw that you are in south carolina also. there are a couple of us on here that live in south carolina. i have just gotten a flyer this past weekend. but i was reading up on them on here and on another board before i got mine. they are really not good little pets for kids. they are very small and accidents do happen.
please, if the mom has not returned for them look for a rehabber in your area. and follow the advice of the people on this forum. get ebsilac and keep them warm and make sure they get calcium.
hope we here back from you.....

[Squirlgirl]

:wave123 ! Just wanted to add that flying squirrels are considerably smaller than regular squirrels. If they are fast and aggressive, they may be well old enough. They are also nocturnal and colony animals, as bats are.
You may have disturbed a "home", not a nest of babies. Young Flyers stay with their Mom, for about 20 weeks and through the winter,if need be. I hope that you come back and let us know how everything went. :)
Oh, to try to tame them now, would be fruitless. Agression will not be happy caged.:thumbsup

[Nuts over Squirrels]

Oh gosh, thank you everyone! I'm a computer idiot evidently, I've been trying to log in for over an hour and finally got it. I didn't mention yesterday that I'm very sick with a sinus/cold/fever something. So far the babies were warm last night and still alive this morning. I have the number to the keepers of the wild (wildlife rehab) Is that who I should call? My boys want to keep them but I'm almost sure they are too old to tame anyway. I was able to pick up one with a glove on a minute ago and he/she wasn't happy. I put a syringe of water up too it's mouth and it drank like it was really thirsty.....but here's where I messed up.........I quickly put it back in the cage because it was wriggling out of my grip. NOw, it's running wildly around the cage and I can't open it to give the other two water who are quietly nestled under the hay. Is anyone here in South Carolina close enough to want to take these three????? I'm an hour west of Charleston, SC My husband is out to get the formula from the vet.
Thanks, Lynn

[Nuts over Squirrels]

I forgot to mention that our dogs were going for them full blast when my boys got to them. If I put them out there for the mom, they will run away wildly I think. I can tie the dogs up for a while but would the mom find the babies if they run every which way??
Thanks some more, Lynn
:thankyou

[Squirlgirl]

Hi there! Is there anyway that you can get a picture? It
would be a huge help. Thank you for caring for them. Oh, also, they sleep during the day. Did you try to reunite them?

[Squirlgirl]

:jump Looks like we are typing at the same time...hehehe!

[Nuts over Squirrels]

Squirrelgirl, I just read your post, I think you are right. I believe we must have disturbed a "home" instead of babies because my oldest son (12) said the mom was only a tad bigger than the three little ones. Do you think they will survive if I just put them back outside???
LYnn

[Nuts over Squirrels]

I wish I had a digital camera!! I don't know of anyway to get a pic for you.
I know that would really be a big help.
LYnn

[Nuts over Squirrels]

email me privately if you can. please. I just tried to answer you but a pop up blocker blocked it, I think.
Lynn

[Squirlgirl]

:wave123 ALL!!!
I just spoke to Lynn. Her 3 Flyers sound as if they are truly old enough. This is how I know....she caught one to syringe feed it. Imagine holding a soda can, now squeeze (wish I could see you all do this...hehehe!). The Flyers head and arms were above her first finger and its bottom by her pinky, with legs and tail hanging down. Her hand in 3 1/2 inches wide. In my town, that is an adult. Maybe they grow 'em bigger in SC?:dono
She has the perfect place to put their cage, this evening, to release them and allow them to return, if need be. She will keep food and water inside.
Sounds good to me, Lynn!:thumbsup

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Squirlgirl thanks for helping in that siguation!

[Nuts over Squirrels]

:thankyou to everyone for your help. Thanks esp. to SquirlGirl who called me and talked me thru this. We took some pictures before putting them outside to see if they will go free. Two were gone when the boys just went to check. One is still in the box under the hay. They have all had water and were strong and raring to go so I think they will be fine. There is food and water in the box if they need it. I'll keep you posted on anything else, I have a feeling we'll not ever see those critters again though. :-)
Thanks again, Lynn

[Somebody's Mother]

i hope you aren't going to be a stranger to our board. all squirrel lovers are welcome. thank you ever so much for caring!

[Nuts over Squirrels]

Hello all! Okay, All day today the three flyers are nowhere to be seen. They left the box last night and to my knowledge have not returned. I'm gonna keep checking the box but I think they've found their way and I'll probably not see them again. Anyway, I appreciate everyones help and now I have one more question......looking up flying squirrels on the internet then finding these three were definately releasable we ran across several links to sugar gliders and my 10 year old is asking if he can get one of these as a pet. Does anyone know if this is a good idea?? I know nothing about them except that our local pet store has had them for sale in the past and they are very cute. Please tell me what you think?
Thanks,
Nuts over Squirrels!
(not a good name for someone who had all these questions, hugh?? Thing is as a child I had many squirrels for pets, but my dad & mom were the ones who actually knew how to "take care" of them. I also had a bobcat and a racoon. Once about 4 years old we either had a wounded hawk or owl, can't remember but whatever it was.....it ate my kitten. Gross! My kids think all that is exciting....looking back I think it's scarry!)

[Somebody's Mother]

here's a good link for you. it compares flyers with sugar gliders
http://www.katiedid.net/

interesting that a flyer is a rodent and a sugar glider is a marsupial.

[darrakm]

I think you would do better, if you decided after research to get a glider, if you could find a private breeder. That way you are more likely to get one that has been hand raised.

[Suggiemom]

I know this post is an older post, but I wanted to say HI DARRA and to put my two cents in regarding gliders......And gliders in pet stores.....most gliders in pet stores are living in inhumane conditions and supporting them by purchasing a glider from them just encourages that type of behavior.

I live in SC too and actually just rescued one over the holidays from a Spartanburg pet store. Not sure where you are, but that store was turned over to USDA for pulling joeys at 4 weeks out of pouch....4 weeks too soon!

I run a glider rescue home in Duncan, SC and if you're still interested in a glider, you can pm me. I may have some available when you're ready and if not, I can usually get them.