Craigslist rescue

[Littlefoot]

Today on craigslist I saw an ad for a flyer. I called and asked if was really a flyer or a glider. It was a flyer. The woman told me it was a northern flyer, thats what the pet store she took it too said. She only wanted $20 for it and just by talking on the phone with her I knew she had no idea how to take care of a flyer. And I was right. I called my dad who happened to be going through the same town she lived in and he went and picked it up. I was told it's a 7 week old female. They had her in a 10 gallon tank with cedar bedding, a stick, and food bowls. Nothing else. They were feeding her rabbit food.

I believe this is a southern flyer. What I need to know is if she should still be on formula or not. Chances are the people she got her from weren't feeding formula. I have formula in the freezer so if she needs it, I have it. I'm going to give her some anyway. I just got home so I'll take some pictures, get her proper food and water and a nest box then post the pictures. She's a little thing.

[island rehabber]

Thank God you rescued her. I'm betting she does need to be on formula for at least another two or three weeks -- let's see if the flyer folks agree with me. Another week with that woman and she'd be dead. :shakehead

[4skwerlz]

Oh thank God you saw that ad.... please keep us posted.

[pappy1264]

Yes, she needs to be on formula (as long as she will take it...Jett will still take it from a syringe....but also drinks it from a bowl.) Good save....pics, please!

[stepnstone]

:thumbsup Great save!

[Littlefoot]

I got her to take some formula. About 1.5 cc's. Pics coming in a minute. Can anyone tell me if it's a girl? I think so but I want to make sure.

[Littlefoot]

The tank pic is exactly what it looked like when I got it. She's now in my shirt. I don't want to put her with my other females yet so I'm going to use this tank for a couple days until I get my small cage back. I don't want to use cedar, or is it ok? Also, she's squinty cause she kept blinking from the flash of my camera

[2ndHandRanchRescue]

OMG - that Craigs list is something else. Wish they had a 'google alert' for postings! Good save - that warms my heart!!! PS as a tree squirrel person and never seeing a flying squirrel - I think men should pray to be a flying squirrel in their next lives and hope to arrive at a rescuers house. I see a lot of bra riding for these guys - I think is adorable. A critter that cuddles down in your clothing is so cool!

[Littlefoot]

She's eaten another 1 cc. I'm going to wait awhile before trying more. Don't want to give her too much at once if she hasn't really been fed in awhile.



I think men should pray to be a flying squirrel in their next lives and hope to arrive at a rescuers house. I see a lot of bra riding for these guys - I think is adorable. A critter that cuddles down in your clothing is so cool!

:rotfl My Littlefoot won't hold still long enough to put him in my shirt. I used to be able to keep him in a sweatshirt pocket but he got over that pretty quick. I would take him to school with me and no one would know. Now he will only go in my shirt if he's had a seizure. Then he practically dives in there and won't come out for hours.

[4skwerlz]

No cedar. No wood shavings at all. Shaving releases the volatile oils in the wood, which cause respiratory irritation.

She doesn't look too bad, just scared. Warm, dark, and quiet is always good at first, but our flyer folks will help you the most.

Your love for this little one is your best ally. :grouphug

[Littlefoot]

I forgot to say I weighed her. She's 20g.

[UDoWhat]

No cedar. No wood shavings at all. Shaving releases the volatile oils in the wood, which cause respiratory irritation.

She doesn't look too bad, just scared. Warm, dark, and quiet is always good at first, but our flyer folks will help you the most.

Your love for this little one is your best ally. :grouphug
I 2nd the motion on the shavings. I haven't had flyers for 2 years but I know shavings can be bad for flyers ,or other squirrels. I would say use fleece or t-shirt, etc. She is so cute. I'm sure the flyer people will look in soon.

Marty, Licensed Maryland Master Wildlife Rehabilitator Edit: She is little still. Keep formula going for sure.

[Jackie in Tampa]

she is precious..
Great ideas and support, maybe offer a heat source...:thumbsup

She will need a tall cage asap...and a pouch filled with several cotton balls.
Because their tongues are so small, few use a water bottle but a shallow bowl is good, you already know that though!

If you can get her to take FV from a syringe, that's great..
otherwise mix some in with yogurt and she may like it that way better...
and of course some type of block, I like HHBs {so do my flyers}, but any quaility rat block...

I can't wait to see pics of her in her new home...with lots of love and playthings...
thank you for rescueing her...have you named her yet?

[Littlefoot]

I haven't named her yet. She's eating the FV just fine. Her appetite definately increased. This morning she ate a good 3 cc's before she stopped attacking the syringe to get more. She's also eating some veggies but I'm not sure if she touched the HHB I put in there. I have her in a small wire cage right now. When she's bigger I want to put her in with my other female in their big cage. She's a little skittish right now but mostly really sweet.

Can anyone tell me if she's really a girl? I put a pic up and I think those are girl parts but I want to make sure.

[MiriamS]

Oh Littlefoot! :bowdown for rescuing this little girl. I can't believe flyers are sold in pet stores, as if they require no more care than a hamster. What an amazing thing you saw the post on Craigslist and grabbed her up.

She actually looks pretty healthy to me and I'm so happy to hear she's eating her Fox Valley. She does look like a girl but someone else can verify since it took my little Chippy a few months before his boy parts became apparent. Are you trying to figure out a name? I like the idea of having a set of flyers named after The Land Before Time characters. Or there's always Bigfoot! :rotfl

More important is how you're housing her right now. She's probably the happiest in your shirt/bra and that photo is hysterical with the baby paws going every which way. The tank is fine now that she's so small but I would discard all of the cedar shavings and fill the bottom with fleece, pure cotton, tissues, a sweatshirt that smells like you or even better would be some sort of pouch or soft hidey toy. To feel most safe and comfortable, she'll want to be able to bury into a nest rather than just sitting out in the open.

Can't wait to watch her grow up! :multi

[TinyPaws]

She's adorable!!! Soglad you found her in time...Hugs & Hearts

[pappy1264]

Yes, get out the pink blankies...lol She does look very good and sounds like she is eating very good. She is a cutie pie, great save! Get the cedar out......toxic to small animals! I used fleece, and then newpapers underneath.

[Mrs Skul]

Little foot
BE CARFUL!!
If it is a Northern. There is something that is deadly to them both. Can't remember what it is. :thinking "I think A Parasite."
The Southern carries Something that will Kill the Northern, or it is the other way round.:dono .
I have not read the whole thread. NO Time. The Northern will be bigger then the Southern. Also the belly hair will be darker grayish to the belly skin.
I will check with muffin Squirrel
All so Please take the CEDEAR Chips out of the Aquarium. This is very bad for flyers and other small animals. Just use an old T-shire or some fleece. I looked at the picture. I really think it is a Southern Flyer. Good Luck. Now I need to feed and then I will come and finish reading. :D

:alright.gif GREAT RESQU LITTLEFOOT.:bowdown
:Love_Icon She is a cutiePie.
Please keep her quarantined from your other little one for a week or so.:thumbsup3
If you have some FoxVally.
1TBS Yogurt
1/2TBS of FoxVally
I would start he on some mixed in with Vanilla Yogurt.
I will check back later and see how she is doing.
Great save!

[Littlefoot]

I took the cedar chips out soon after I took the tank pic. She's now in a small wire cage with a next box, a shirt, and a couple toys. Definately more active. I went to put her back into the cage and she got away from me. I eventually caught her but she bit me.

Any ideas on how to feed her without taking her out of the cage? It's easier to do during the daytime when she's sleepy but at night I don't want to scare her by having to grab her up all the time. She is eating some solid foods so thats good.

I'm thinking about naming her Error. I like unusual names.

[island rehabber]

Littlefoot, do what I do with every rehab squirrel once they are in a cage: feed thru the bars. Much better than grabbing and holding and risking escapes. I feed mine even thru the very narrowly-spaced bars of my two-story "rat cage".

[MiriamS]

Littlefoot, regarding the feeding question, is your goal to release her or keep her with your other flyers? If you're going to release, Island Rehabber nailed it with the suggestion to feed through the bars.

If you plan to keep her, pick her up and hold her as much as possible, even if she bites you! I neglected to do this and now I can't really hold my flyers. It's much more fun when you can hold your sweetiepie and also important in case she gets sick and you need to medicate her.

Great job with the cage renovation. :thumbsup

[Littlefoot]

I'm fairly certain she was captive bred so I don't think releasing her into the wild would be good.

How can I keep her from getting away from me when she's out of the cage? I don't want her to get away from me and run and hide somewhere I can't get to her.

She ate all of her solid food last night along with the formula. She's a little piggy.

When would be a good time to introduce her to my other girls? I'd like to have all three of them in the same cage.

[veganhead1]

Hi Littlefoot,
I'm new to the forum so nice to meet you. I think it's great that you rescued the baby, she/he is adorable.

I don't know anything about squirrels, which is what led me to the forum-to learn about them. But, from what I've seen, it doesn't matter if flyers are captive bred because they have the instinct to care for themselves when they are about 84 days old. So, since they have this instinct, it seems you should be able to release them in a few weeks. As the others have said, the flyer experts will know for sure.

I hope you are able to release her, seems that animals need to be free if at all possible. They need so much exercise and they want to govern themselves so I really hope the flyer people on the forum say she should be able to be released.

Good luck and you are a wonderful person for helping the cutie.

[MiriamS]

How can I keep her from getting away from me when she's out of the cage? I don't want her to get away from me and run and hide somewhere I can't get to her.
I bought one of those baby tents but found it less useful than taking mine into the bathroom, where couldn't get too lost. Just make sure the toilet lid is down. Is she sleeping in your shirt during the day?

Someone more knowledgeable will have to answer your question about age to introduce to your other girls.

[TinyPaws]

She needs time to bond with you..See if you can get her to stay in your bra or inside your shirt during the day while she sleeps..She will get use to your scent and sounds...Oh and...more pictures please...

[Littlefoot]

I try to put her in my shirt as much as i can during the day. She's usually fine for about 10 mins then starts squirming and trying to get out so I put her back in her back then try again later. I put a shirt in her cage that should smell like me so that should help.

Error has a huge appetite. I'm not sure how much formula she should be eating but today she ate about 10cc's along with most of her solid food. Should I be feeding her more? She definitely knows what the syringe is for. Tonight she like attacked it trying to eat and i had a hard time prying it away from her to refill it. I tried to get a picture of her sitting holding the syringe like a bottle but my camera wasn't in reach but it was really cute.

I'll post some more pictures and weigh her again tomorrow.

[Littlefoot]

I had a little scare today. Last night Error got out of her cage. Somehow the door got stuck open just enough for her to get out. I looked everywhere and finally found her after I stopped and asked myself "If I was a squirrel...where would I hide?" I found her in the first place I looked after that which was a sombrero that was hanging in the corner on the wall.

Also, I just weighed her and she weighs 40g so she's gained 20g since I've had her. Is this a good weight gain?

[MiriamS]

:wahoo I'm so glad you found her! Did you read my recent story about Cocoa escaping? All flyers give their humans such heart attacks on numerous occasions. The trick is to trick them first and make sure you know where their favorite spots are. So leave that sombrero there for next time and maybe add a nut for good measure :D

And um, yes I would imagine 20g in a week might be record weight gain! :thumbsup

[Littlefoot]

I just read your post about Cocoa. I was thinking basically the same stuff. I took her to my moms with me for the weekend and put her in the extra room so the cats wouldn't mess with her. All I could think was...ok she has to still be in this room somewhere or the cats would of let me know by now she was out. First thing, look for poos. Theres some on the bed...under the bed? No. In the blankets/sheets? No. Think higher...curtains? No. Up here? No. There? No. hmmm.....sombrero?....yes!

I was so relieved. She could have gone anywhere. There was a small hole in the wall, bags of clothes, boxes, etc she could have hid away in.

If anyone wants to move this to the flyer section feel free.

[pappy1264]

search on amazon for the Genji sport tent. It is a pop up tent and works great!!!! I would sit with her during the day while she is kind of sleepy, let her explore, but she probably will get bored and come back to sleep in your shirt. You can take toys in at night, too. Never leave unattended, even for a minute, as they can chew through the mesh (but if you are there, she shouldn't). Bring pouches for her to run into if she gets scared, and treats. You can also sew loops into the top to hang things from, as well.

[MiriamS]

Pappy that's a great idea that will improve bonding and security.

Littlefoot, it's got to be one of the worst scariest feelings in the world (of pets). I would have been freaking out about the cats. When I travel and take the flyers with me, first thing I do is "flyerproof" wherever we are, though it's difficult to do so 100%. Next time I would plug the hole in the wall just to be safe.

PM island rehabber and she can move your thread. Or just start a new one for all of your flyers.

[Skul]

The little girl was mal-nuorished when you got her.
Her weight gain sort of points that way.
Her current weight is on par for a five to five and a half week flyer.
I suspect she's probably older, and will gain more weight rather quickly.
To help with bonding, you might place her in a closable bag inside the shirt, while she's with you.

[Littlefoot]

I'm not worried about my cat that lives with me. She's grown up around all kinds of critters and usually has no interest in them. Plus she has no feet or teeth so even if she did catch one, they could easily get away and probably do more damage to her. Littlefoot and Momma Kitty actually play together and chase each other around. It's pretty cute.

She does pretty well in my shirt during the day, except for peeing on me nearly every time. I could do without that lol. At night is a different story. She does not want to be touched and most of the time bites if I try to pick her up. I don't think it's aggressive bites but more defensive. They barely break the skin or draw blood.

I'll look for those tents. I want to be able to have her out in the open without actually being out in the open until we know each other better.

I was told Error was 7 weeks old when I got her. So if thats true she would be 8 weeks old now. How much should an 8 week old flyer weigh?

[MiriamS]

I will let Skul answer the technical questions because he's way more experienced with flyer age and weight. You may have trained Littlefoot to use YOU as the potty. I accidentally did this with my flyers and now I'm trying to re-train them, which is not easy. Read Jester's thread for some more info on potty-training.

You can probably find a tent on eBay. Look for "tanning tent" or "baby tent/cabana" and they shouldn't be more than $20. Or PM Legomom and see if she still uses the one I sent her. It was great until they were bonded and then I was done with it. I also sometimes made "tents" with sheets or fleece blankets and take the flyers under there. They'd feel protected and more able to explore but were still running back to my shirt for security.

[Littlefoot]

It's not Littlefoot that's peeing it's Error. Usually within 10 mins of feeding or putting her in my shirt.

[Littlefoot]

A couple pictures I took tonight. I love how Error holds the syringe like a bottle. I wish she wouldn't blink but the pictures are blurry if I turn the flash off.

[MiriamS]

It's not Littlefoot that's peeing it's Error. Usually within 10 mins of feeding or putting her in my shirt.
I meant Error, who looks SQadorable in those pics. Good job! :bowdown

[Littlefoot]

Error is doing great so far. She's more friendly toward me. She will sometimes hop up onto my hand and doesn't run into the corner anymore when I put my hand into the cage. I know its just going to take some time. I keep switching shirts i put into the cage so she has my smell around her all the time. I could do without her peeing on me every time I hold her though. Any advice on how to stop this?

P.S. Error is a little escape artist. The other night I got up to get a drink and I heard some scratching noises so I turned the light on and she was climbing on the curtains. I got her back no problem but I have no idea how she got out. I checked and double checked the cage but no doors were open or anything. So I zip tied the smaller doors shut just in case she somehow found out a way to open them.

[Littlefoot]

I've noticed Error has been doing some strange behaviors. I'm not sure what to think of them or how to fix it. First, she's been running/jumping in circles around her cage almost nonstop every night. She kinda jumps from the side to the top to her box and repeat. I figured this was a sign of stress, kind of like pacing in other animals. I've put her in one of my big cages and she still goes in circles except its more dangerous. Last night I watched her slip and faceplant into a feed dish. She also chews, alot more than my other flyers. I noticed this since the day I got her. Almost everything in her cage has been chewed on. She holds her body kind of funny. Like her back ankles are too close together or pointed inward. She's not very graceful, I've seen her fall from jumping a short distance. The last few days I've noticed her grooming in a weird way. I thought by now she would outgrow the greasy looking stage but her fur is still somewhat greasy looking. She will be doing something then suddenly stop and grab her tail or run her hands over her face very quickly. It sometimes looks like shes itching herself.

So now I'm all worried and have these questions going through my mind:

Do I have another MBD flyer?
Does she have mites?
How do I treat mites?
Do my other flyers have mites?
Are her teeth overgrown?
What is she stressed about?
How can I fix whatever is stressing her?
Could her growth have been stunted from malnutrition?

Anyone have ideas? Or am I overthinking this and just have a strange little girl on my hands?

[Littlefoot]

I took a picture of her teeth. They look huge but then I looked at Littlefoot's teeth and they looked similar. Are they normal?

[Jackie in Tampa]

she may be chewing alot due to long lowers...
I would offer her a big variety to chew...several types of branches, cuttle bone, antler pc, chicken bones{cleaned} pine cones, nuts in the shell, magnolia cones, seashells etc...
I cannot tell how overgrown they are from the picture. Does she hold her mouth funny? Does she completely close it ever?
If she can close her mouth tight, they are probably ok. Pics are hard to really tell from. Maybe use a pencil across her mouth and take the pic to help expose the teeth better.
can you get a qtip behind her uppers and a pen light to ck for redness or puncture behind her upper incisors on the roof of her mouth?
sometimes if there is a puncture with infection, you can smell it...foul breath.
I cannot really tell if they just need tipped {the lowers} or if chewing will help correct it alone.
I know flyers have tiny mouths and your mission isn't going to be easy, they hate us in their mouths...good luck.

again, it's hard to tell from this pic...ugh.

edit, one more thing...upper incisors are stationary, they lowers move independantly side to side and back and forth...
just so you don't freak out thinking they will fall out!

[Littlefoot]

She can close her mouth normally and I've never seen any blood or anything but I'll try to take better pictures when I can get someone to help me. She has plenty of things to chew on like a pinecone, a part of an antler, in shell nuts and apple tree sticks. She chews on these alot along with anything else wooden in her cage.