WE ARE HERE!

[TheLadyBrooke]

Okay... My name is Brooke and this is sort of a joint account for myself and my awesome boyfriend Ryan. =P

We found a baby squirrel in my back yard the other day and have since become practically obsessed with the little dude. He's amazing. My mother dubbed him "George" and sadly this name has stuck. He's about 5 weeks old, I'm guessing. Currently we are wanting to find a way to keep him as a pet and have been looking into what kinds of food he needs to stay healthy, cages for him to stay in, and activities and play times. Any and all advice we could be given would be appreciated!

Oh, guess I should add in a bit about ourselves... Haha. We live in a little farming town on the Indiana/Kentucky border. We both work and I go to college; he's a college hopeful. I'm 20, 21 in a few weeks, and he's 22, 23 in December. Sadly we are both still bound in our parents' households.

Basic personalities...
Ryan -> :rotfl
Brooke -> :nono

<3 Brooke & Ryan

[Anne]

:Welcome :wave123 You have found the right place to learn all about squirrels! Look a round at all the different information. Ask any questions that you may have, we are here to learn, help, and share knowledge about squirrels.
Pictures of your baby are requested (required ?) and you will need to feed us a steady supply.:D :jump
Enjoy your time at home with your parents-it's over all to quickly!:tilt

[astra]

Welcome, George, Brooke & Ryan,:Welcome

This is the right place - tons of info and tons of people with tons of experience ;-).
Just one thing - even though you decided to keep him as a pet, please keep in mind that he might decide otherwise. So, please raise him so that just in case he decides to be wild, he'll be able to. The squirrel makes this decision, not the human. Actually, you will realize that he will be making many decisions, and you will have to comply.;-)

that's just what squirrels do :Squirrel :)

[TheLadyBrooke]

I have some pictures. =)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs335.ash2/61512_439595058936_506493936_5123220_1152532_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs651.snc4/61181_439595123936_506493936_5123222_3046502_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs331.ash2/61181_439595128936_506493936_5123223_3044165_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs671.snc4/61181_439595133936_506493936_5123224_5876626_n.jpg

And yeah we've noticed already that he has a very decisive attitude when it comes to what he wants. Such as right now... I want to go to bed and he wants to nest in my jacket pocket. That last photo is him asleep in one of the big pockets on my scrub top before going to work this morning. Almost forgot he was in there and walked out the door with him! Hahah.

[RiverRock]

He is so sweet.
Please keep in mind he is a wild animal and he belongs in the trees with other squirrels..He is not a pet he is a wild animal. And he WILL eventually bite you so be ready for that, squirrels are not trainable like dogs and cats can be..they are independant and have a mind of their own...please dont deprive him of being a happy healthy FREE squirrel.
But for now you will need to learn all you can on how to properly care for him while he is a baby. When he hits about 12 weeks he will likely start to 'wild up'. Fox valley squirrel formula is the best you can give them and it has everything they need in it. Puppy and kitten formulas are not good for them. He also needs to be able to stay warm so nice soft blankets and a heat pad if he needs it. Others here can give you much more info then me:)

[lilidukes]

:Welcome :Welcome what a handsome baby boy, enjoy they grow up so fast :osnap TBS is the best place to get advice and help. If your going to take him to work with you don't forget the Fox Valley:tilt

[TheLadyBrooke]

Currently we are keeping him in a large cat carrier that we had in the house. There are some towels in there and anytime I put him in I change out the waterbottle we're using to keep him warm. It's just a basic water bottle that I put hot water in and lay the towel over and around it. He curls up against it and falls asleep almost immediately. He loves it. He also loves my pockets if he can get into them.

Fox Valley formula? I'll look into it. =) He is drinking some kitten formula at the moment but seems to be more interested in banana slices. He goes insane when I give him a piece and he makes a mess with it everywhere. Gets himself covered in banana goop and then crawls into my hair. =P

[RiverRock]

Kitten formula is NOT good for him, you can make a home made formula for now until you get the fox valley formula he needs. I know there are some here that have the recipe for the home made formula so hopfully some one will post it. It is made with goats milk. Please make that untill you got the fox valley formula so that your squirrel will get what he needs and not ned up with metabolic bone disease and digestive/intestinal problems common to kitten and puppy formulas.

[TheLadyBrooke]

I got the kitten formula because a friend of mine raised a baby squirrel [found him much younger than the one we have found] and he did great on the stuff. =/

I thought it'd be okay. I'll see about getting something different.

[Skul]

:wave123 Brooke.
Discovering George after getting to work would have been quite the surprise.:rotfl

When you get a chance, browse through the nutritian forum for some ideas
to suppliment the little guys diet till you can get a better replacement.
Most of us use Fox Valley 32/40 for squirrels George's age.
Please consider it, if possible.:)

(Can't blame you for trying the kitten formula. We've just found it's not the best.)

[lilidukes]

Hi Brooke you might want to replace the towels with fleece so no little toe nails get hurt. I did a water bottle heated like that with my Ella I just dropped it in a tube sock and tied a knot. As she got bigger she would do the pancake on it:D

[TheLadyBrooke]

Here's a little video of him from last night. http://www.facebook.com/v/439930483936

[TheLadyBrooke]

How do you edit a post on here...?

I won't be able to buy any Fox Valley formula until I get paid on Friday and then I'll have to wait for it to get here. Will he be okay on the kitten formula until then?