Advice needed for a squirrel

[Mani]

Hello,

I live in Tehran, Iran and last week I was in this pet shop curious to see what animals they sold as pets. And I found this cute lonely squirrel in a cage. I don't know about legal aspects of keeping squirrels as pets in my country and i don't care because my country has rather harsh settings over animals. Recently they even announced keeping hamsters illegal!!! So that's why i don't want to contact a zoo or something to get advice and i found your site and i know you guys really are experts and I'm asking your help.
So this cute squirrel, the guy at the pet shop told me he is 3 months old. (I'm not sure if that's true, personnaly i don't trust in what he told, he just wanted to sell the poor squirrel) and he told me he will become a good pet etc, if i remove his food after the fourth day and give him the food myself. but i thought it would be cruel so i never did it, and put food and everything in his cage and having noticed that he becomes motionless everytime he sees someone in his vicinity i even covered his cage so he won't see me, and i have been feeding him nuts and apple as the guy at the shop told me. Now i'm so depressed because i see he is so scared and i have no idea what breed he is and if he should be released or not, and as almost no squirrels live here where i live i don't know if i should even do that. I just want to make him happy but i don't know why, most of the time he is in his cage doing nothing and it's just sad, i can't stand it. I feel so guilty for having to keep him in cage but i don't know what else to do?
Can anyone help me please?

I'm looking

[pappy1264]

Could you possible post a pic? Nuts and apples are not a complete diet for ANY squirrel (but knowing the type you have would help to better direct on a diet). Try to get some greens to offer, mushrooms, blueberries, cucumber (if you go to the nutrition section, you can find the chart for how to feed a squirrel. Again, different squirrels will have different requirements, but it is a good place to start from.) How big is his cage? Does he have a nest box to go into? Some fleece to hide under and snuggle in? Most love to have a stuffed animal to snuggle and beat up on...:D Rodent block (made for rats) is another thing you can/should give (although many are resistent to eat them. There is a member that makes HHB's which is a block to be used as a supplement to their diet, which is described in the nutrition section, again.)

[astra]

:Welcome
Yes, what pappy said - Nutirion forum with tons of info. And pics, of course.

I completely understand how depressed you can get watching a poor animal being so terrified and not playful... poor little thing might have been traumatized by whatever s/he had to experience at that shop...:shakehead

But they are very resilient and with much love and care they can spring back, literally.

There is a thread here, a story about a similar situation:
a person (in Riyadh - KSA) rescued/bought a squirrel from a pet shop, too. At first, the little thing wasn't really interested in food or anything else, was scared and apathetic.
But eventually, with much patience, love and care she bonded and now is a precious lively thing.
Here is the link to that thread: Mia's World (the squirrel's name is Mia): http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17941

So, don't despair - you will be able to turn him/her around and s/he will bond with you, but it will take time and patience and love.But it's wonderful that such a sensitive and caring person like you got him. :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou :grouphug

So, just read the Nutrition section and post his/her pictures. And we'll go from there.

[Mani]

I'm so glad to read this replies and also very fast, thank you people ^^ I'm so glad that.. i mean i just love him he's so cute, even the thought that he might one day become friendly is so lovely that i just can't wait to see that day. It's late here now, but i will take a picture from him whenever possible and post it here so you can see him. he is brown, it's all i can say for now. He is asleep now, also i will give him cucumbers and i will check the nutrition section as you instructed,
thank you so much again for the help

[Mani]

I just saw a picture of Mia and read that she is a persian, and given that the squirrel here is exactly like Mia and I have bought it in Iran I think he is a persian too ^^

[Mani]

ok i need to post one last reply before i sleep, i'm just so happy i have found this site ^^, the first thing he sneezes a lot, so i have turned off my air condition system in my bedroom as he seems to have a cold. and although it's very hot but i don't mind, also, he is so scared to be caught, i tried (I know i shouldn't have) and he runs away to other parts of the cage, but so far he lets me caress him, he doesn't like it if i caress him on his back but he doesn't mind me caress him on the head, he closes his eyes and stands still and doesn't run away. I do a few times a day. Also yesterday, I listened to my dad (again i shouldn't have) and let him out of the cage and into the bedroom. And then he would just run away and it was so hard to make him go back to his cage, as he would go hide behind the bookshelf, under the bed etc. But sometimes we all get so depressed to see him bored that we think the only solution is to let him out, but again he is not playfull he just runs away and stands motionelss in a corner and out of sight. :(

[JLM27]

Hi Mani. You need to quick pay attention to his health before you try to tame him. He should not be sneezing or sniffing. You should lean close (through the bars, of course) and listen if he is making a "clicking" sound. This is very important because it might be that he has pneumonia, which is life-threatening.

Also, can yu tell us something about yourself? How old are you (about how old)? Do you have access to the pet store where you can get pet rat food? He will need calcium supplements. Here we use digestive tablets called "Tums", but I don't know if you can get them in Iran. I'm pretty sure the chemist will know what is the substitute. They are for stomach indigestion and they have calcium powder in them in a form that animals can digest. You would crush them and put them on his food. Just concentrate on these questions right now and we will get to taming later.

[Mani]

Hi JLM27
I'm 27 years old male living in tehran. I live with my family and this squirrel is the second animal that lives with us, the first is a cute albino bunny that i bought a month ago (we have to buy her so much lettuce, she loves them but she pees a lot...-.-), yes now that you mention i think he does make sneezing and clicking sounds sometimes. I have acces to vet clinics, tomorrow is friday and holiday here but saturday i can bring him to a vet clinic to get him diagnosed.

[Mani]

oh my god, i think you're right and he is suffering from pheumonia, what should i do until saturday? I know a neighbor who is a vet but it's kinda impolite to ask him to help me here in his non-work hours (he onces helped me with my sick duck babies and i don't want to bother him again like that). Is there anything i can do for him myself in the meantime?

[astra]

if he is clicking and sneezing, that's serious, so you might want to re-post your question in the Emergency forum - will get faster attention from experiences rehabbers.

The thing with pneumonia is that it's time-sensitive. They need ABs right away, or they start declining fast, or reach a point of no return, you know.
So, he needs meds.
I am not a rehabber, so I won't suggest any meds.
but I will re-post your question for you in the Emergency - keep checking here and where I will re-post for you.

Someone will be here with suggestions about the meds soon.
THere are even some human meds that can be used, but again - I don't know how to dose.

So, keep checking here and in the Emergency - in the thread I'll post for you.

Until he gets used to you, it might not be a good idea to let him out, at least for the first few days.

[Jackie in Tampa]

Enrofloxacin, Baytril, Ciprofloxacin, Baycip, Ciloxan, Ciflox, Cipro, Cipro XR, Cipro XL, Ciproxin, Prociflor




Bactrim, SulfaTrim, Bethaprim, Cotrim, Septra, SULFAMETHOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM

Can you get any of these medications? They are very common
anti biotics, most are for humans. I have tried to list as many brand names as I could find. These will help respitory infections.

If you can find any anti biotics, let us know and we will tell you if they are safe for squirrels.{sqs} They need to be fresh, not expired if possible.

What type bedding do you have him/her in?
I recommend T shirts, no wood shavings. If he is breathing dust, that will make him sneeze too.


I also agree with JLM, your squirrel needs rat blocks as the main staple in his diet. He will also need a variety of vegetables.

Do you have plain calcium tablets for people? They need to be pure, without any other vitamins. Cacium carbonate or calcium citrate will work well.
If you do have Tums Brand antacid, that's perfect.:thumbsup

Have you seen him drink water?
Will he eat a grape?
Have you checked him for dehydration.
Have you ever held him?
Can you post a pic?
sorry for all the questions, it will help us to help you.


Thank you for helping both the bunny and the squirrel, we need pics.

Usually it is best to acclimate them to you very slow. Giving them time to understand you are not a threat. Since he is not feeling well, you may have to handle him to treat him.
Calm, dark and quiet is always best for frightened or sick animals and covering part of the cage will help him feel secure. Put extra tshirts so he can hide under them.

Welcome to TSB, we love squirrels:Welcome :wave123

[CritterMom]

OK, don't panic. We need you to give us a good description of what your squirrel is doing, taking this into consideration:

Squirrels sniff everything, and often blow through their nose - a little "pffft" sound - I think they clear the scents out that way before they sniff some more - they have remarkable senses of smell.

Pneumonia is a clicking sound that can be heard with every breath. The squirrel would likely also be lethargic.

Pneumonia would be more likely in a nursing baby - they can aspirate the formula and get aspiration pneumonia. That is certainly not the case here.

Can you give us a good, accurate description of what you are seeing? Some human meds like ciprofloxacin can be used with animals if this becomes necessary. Don't panic, but do give us as much info about what she is doing as you can.

[island rehabber]

hello mani and :Welcome!
You have gotten great advice here from some of our best so let me just say I am so happy you rescued that little squirrel! We all know and love Mia, and have followed her story for so long....Persian squirrels are absolutely beautiful animals.
Critter Mom is right that sometimes squirrels will make a "pfft!" sound when they are exploring and smelling new things. But if you feel he is actually sneezing or coughing you will want to give him one of those antibiotics that Jackie in Tampa suggested. We are here to help you if the vet can prescribe them for you. Not all veterinarians are familiar with squirrels, as they mostly study domestic animal medicine.
You've done a wonderful thing, taking this beautiful squirrel out of that pet shop. :bowdown

[4skwerlz]

About the sneezing.... Do not use any kind of wood chips in his cage; they can cause respiratory problems. Use soft old cloth, like old t-shirts, or a fleecy type material for the bottom of the cage. When dirty, you can wash them.

Bless you for rescuing this poor little squirrel.:Love_Icon

[Mani]

Hello and thank you so much for your kind replies, I am going to reread your posts more carefully now and check what anti-biotics we have at home, but in the meantime i added 2 photos one is from Panbeh (it is farsi for cotton), and the other is from the squirrel boy (he has no name yet). Also I used attachments to add photos from my computer as i don't know any websites right now that can upload photos. I hope it works

[Mani]

Pappy1264 I added cucumber to his diet this morning but right now i don't have mushrooms, i will go buy some tomorrow, and blueberries can't be found here in markets. The cage is the cage the seller gave me, he put the squirrel in the cage himself and gave me the cage, it's not very big, i think that it is actually a bird cage and not suited for a squirrel, but right now i don't have anything better. I have an empty hamster cage at home but i don't think it's good because it's not tall at all although it's wider than this one. He doesn't have a nest box and i don't know for now where to get that from. I tried putting a mug in there to see if he would go inside (as our hamster used to do) but he doesn't. so i removed it. I have some hay as well but i don't know if i should put that in his cage.
Dear Astra, yes you're right now that i think about it, and given that the pet shop was in a crowded park in the city center the poor thing must have been terrified being there. Also thank you for linking to Mia's post, last night i read a lot in that thread and it made me happy to see her pictures and i hope that her wounds are healed by now.
JLM27 I do have access to pet store, and i'm going there tomorrow i hope. Also when you say pet rat food, is it the food for hamsters? if so yes i think i can buy that as i have bought it before. but in the past when i wanted to buy them for our hamster, the seller told us that it's only vitamins and should be given to the hamster once a day and not be its main diet, so we gave vegetables and nuts to our hamsters as his main diet. As for calcium supplements i have to check that with the pet shop tomorrow(i won't go to where i bought the squirrel, i will go to a good pet shop where they don't keep animals and just sell their medication and food etc and the guy here is very nice and kind hopefully)
Dear Jackie, the anti biotics you mentioned are all non-existent here. i am going to make a list of what i have here ( I hope i have some) later today when i have searched our meds at home. as for bedding, as you can see in the picture it's amost nothing but i added a piece of white underwear so sometimes he uses it when he is sleeping. also i found LiquiCalcium 6 Plus. I think it's the calcium supplement that you mentioned but i'm not sure. Yes this morning i saw the most adorable scene of my recent life ^^ he thought noone was watching him so he started to eat nuts and then apples and then he went and drank from the water bottle, he is so cute and funny ^^As for grape i just added some to his food i will post later if i see him eat any. As for dehydration, how do i check him? I'd appreciate it if you instruct me. As for holding him no, like I said when we had let him out 2 days ago, i tried holding him but he would get scared and run away. in fact he would be scared if i tried to hold him but he was find as long as his claws were clinging to the cage bars. I think he is scared to come to my hand just like he thinks i might harm him or eat him :(... Also last night i removed the cover as I didn't know if the covering thing has been a good idea, but after reading your post i am going to put the cover again on the cage so he feels more secure.
Dear crittermom, i just uploaded 2 photos one of the mrs bunny and the other from mr squirrel xD but i am thinking of uploading a video on youtube or something so you can here his sneezing sounds yourself (or maybe i'm wrong and he's not sneezing, I don't know) I will try to do it soon
Again thanks a lot to all of you for helping us here ^^

[CritterMom]

I have a bunch of ideas for habitat for him - I am the crazy cage-building person here.

He needs the largest, TALLEST cage you can manage. It literally cannot be too large - and he will need out time eventually, too. You want the smallest bar spacing possible - 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch is best but large bird aviary cages with 1/2 inch bars will work well.

Until you can attend to proper caging, move the cage he is in UP. You want him to be at least up near the eye level of the people in the room. Up is safety to squirrels, down on the ground is very scary feeling - vulnerable. Cover the top of that cage and I would also cover the back and one side. Being out in the open with 360 degree view is NOT a normal situation for a squirrel - they like cover. You can accomplish some of this by just putting it in a corner in the room. For a temporary nest box, just get a small cardboard box and cut a hole in it. Try to attach it to the top of the cage so it is not on the ground. Stuff some cut up pieces of t-shirt into it for him to make a nest out of. Bring in some branches from outside (I would rinse them off well). Put some pieces of paper towel or tissues (nothing with any scents or anything in it) in the cage - they will use them to add to their little beds. He needs to feel safe and have places to hide in there, and he needs to be up high so everyone doesn't look like ten foot monsters. Once he starts to feel SAFE and comfortable in his little home, he will start to get curious about the humans and THEN you can begin to forge a friendship. Stick with us. We will help.:thumbsup

[scoobysnack]

From the bottom of my heart I thank you for saving this poor scared little baby.

[Mani]

I brought him to a vet clinic, and he gave us 3 antibiotic pills ( iforgot to ask for the name), and he asked me to put each in 100 cc of water and put it as his water source in his cage. That's what i did, but so far he hasn't touched it, of if he has i haven't see it yet. also, i put an empty box (in which i had put some hay, that is used for hamster bedding and nutrition etc) in the cage and eversince he has gone inside that box and now i can't even see him, but it's ok if that's what he likes for now. but what worries me is that he doesn't come out of the box at all. he only comes out to eat food and goes back inside. and so far i hope that he poos outside the box (but that's what squirrels do by instinct? they don't pee in their home nest i hope?.

[JakesLittlePrincess]

Thank you for saving the little one! :Welcome to TSB!

[astra]

I brought him to a vet clinic, and he gave us 3 antibiotic pills ( iforgot to ask for the name), and he asked me to put each in 100 cc of water and put it as his water source in his cage. That's what i did, but so far he hasn't touched it, of if he has i haven't see it yet. also, i put an empty box (in which i had put some hay, that is used for hamster bedding and nutrition etc) in the cage and eversince he has gone inside that box and now i can't even see him, but it's ok if that's what he likes for now. but what worries me is that he doesn't come out of the box at all. he only comes out to eat food and goes back inside. and so far i hope that he poos outside the box (but that's what squirrels do by instinct? they don't pee in their home nest i hope?.

is there a way you could find out what the meds are?...
if he is not taking them, you have to administer them to him manually, i.e., you have to syringe or otherwise give them to him.
if he does have pneumonia, but doesn't get meds, he will die.

Squirrels don't eat hay, and their nutrition is different from the hamster nutrition - our Nutrition forum, that Pappy mentioned before, explains the nutritional needs for squirrels and safe foods.
You might not have all of the foods suggested where you are, but I am sure, with the help of this board we could figure out what it is you have and what substitutes can be made.:)

If you could give him some old t-shirts, fleece and anything that is not loopy (because fabrics that have loops in them, like towels for instance, are dangerous because squirrel nails get caught up in them and torn), that will be best.

It's natural for him to be hiding - he is scared and needs to feel safe in a covered something.

have you listened closely as was suggested?... - please re-read what CritterMom and Island Rehabber shared and give us a detailed description of what you hear and see in terms of sneezing/clicking/etc.

Will be looking for more info.:thumbsup

[CritterMom]

It will take him some time to come around to you. Please try some of my ideas regarding his cage - he needs places to hide and peek out at you guys so he can size you up and start deciding you aren't bad.

Jusr be patient and let him come around at his pace. I would provide lots of hiding places, big piles of soft t-shirts (polarfleece material is great for this) he cab hide under and sleep in. Also, get him a couple stuffed toys. Squirrels love to play with stuffed toys! Buy soft ones his size or a little bigger and try to get at east a couple. You WILL see him beat them up one day - it is so sweet.

Just be very patient. I would sit in the room and talk to him without trying to touch him - you can even read a book or magazine aloud. Just to get him used to your voice, and it will start making him interested in you.

Patience.

[muffinsquirrel]

You WILL see him beat them up one day - it is so sweet.

:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl This is one of my favorite sentences of all time! And the scary thing is that I understand and agree with it completely!

muffinsquirrel

[Mani]

So far I noticed that he has in fact consumed the water a bit, so I hope it has some effects on him. Also I just checked the nutrition forums and realised that I should put carrots as his diet instead of apples (Am I right?). So I just put some carrots near him, and wonderfully he started eating. Also I just recalled the vet and asked him if i should bring the squirrel so he injects the anti biotics because so far he has consumed very little of that water and i still hear the couphing/sneezing sound from him. He asked me if the squirrel is eating or not and i told him yes, especially in the morning and at night when noone is around he starts eating. So he said no need to worry, and i should wait, maybe it's a sign of allergy.