Hello from my zoo

[OKGIRL1103]

Just a hello. I have four babies right now. One boy- muenster and three girls- gizzabell, bingo, and woodchuck. They are 5still weeks old. Muenster started opening his eyes today. They are thriving and getting cuter everyday! I have lots of questions. I posted:thankyou them on a separate thread. I got them days after they were born. If it has four legs, I will raise it!

[Rhapsody]

HELLO - :wave123
and .......................... WELCOME to TSB

[Skul]

Where did she go?

[OKGIRL1103]

If you are asking where the mother went, she was killed by my friends dog.

[Skul]

NO, I was wonder where you went.:rotfl
Hadn't heard from you the past couple days.
As you may have noticed, we tend to thrive on photos.
Now I have to go chase down your other thread.:D

[OKGIRL1103]

Haha. Im here. I can't remember what thread I commend on. Lol. I was waiting on a response to my other thread. I can't figure out how to upload pictures.

[Skul]

:rotfl You have to start a thread in order to post some pix.
You haven't yet.
You can still put them in this one. Details in a minute.
Some areas are held back for a short time for new members.
Kind of a safety thing.
Hope you understand.

Now, the pix thing.
If possible, resize to around 1000dpi or less. (side to side).
I use 800 just to make it easy for folks still on dial-up.
If you know how to compress the file to 100k or less, that's a plus.
When you have one, scroll down in the reply area (where I'm at now), and you will see "manage attachments".
Click on that, and you get a new window.
Click on browse, go pick and click on the file//files you want.
When finished, hit upload, and wait. (It'll tell you when done)
Come back to reply page, click on the paperclip looking thing at the top, hit attach.
There they are, ready to go.
You can insert text between the files as listed.
Give it a shot. You'll get the hang of it in short order.

[OKGIRL1103]

152950152952]152951[/ATTACH]
let's see if these work

[Skul]

Let me rephrase that.
1000 pixels or less. :rotfl
Nice pix of the little one.
Actual file size is a bit large, so see if you can cut that down a bit.
Saves you time in uploading.
For a cell phone, that takes pretty nice photos.
Motorola, right?

When you do attach the pix, make sure the numbers are not next to each other in the msg.
It takes a couple times before you get the hang of it.

[OKGIRL1103]

Haha I have no idea how to resize pictures on my phone. Yes its a motorala DROID.

[Rescue04]

i just could not take those huge pics...i resized them so everyone can see the cute squirrels....they are adorable!!

[vickyjhnsn]

How adorable. I love when they just open their eyes. My favorite age.

Is this your first batch. I'm sort of new on this board too and lately, since mine are thinning out, I've been spending more time here looking around and just enjoying this board. I'm sure you don't have that much time on your hands with four babies. They look nice and healthy. You are doing good. Its not easy to keep these guys plump and healthy. A lot of work. They are so easy to love though. Good luck with them.

[OKGIRL1103]

This is my first batch. They are doing wonderful.!

When do I introduce water either in a hanging bottle or in a bowl? They are eating 10-12ccs of formula each feeding. Is that right for about 6wks? They will gnaw on their block but only if I hold it.

[vickyjhnsn]

This is my first batch. They are doing wonderful.!

When do I introduce water either in a hanging bottle or in a bowl? They are eating 10-12ccs of formula each feeding. Is that right for about 6wks? They will gnaw on their block but only if I hold it.


It seems to me like a lot. How often are you feeding them? It usually goes by age. 6 weeks, 6 cc's every four hours. Then when they get older they start to exceed their age in cc's. How is their poop. They should have a solid poop not runny or soft. That is how you know you are over feeding. Over feeding is very common. What sort of formula are you giving them? I use the Fox Valley and would swear by it.

Here is a link that I followed and it worked well for me as far as feeding them. Great schedule and I have it hanging in their room. As far as the water, I hang it as soon as they open their eyes. They don't get it right away. It takes them a while to figure out what it is and how to use it. In the meantime they are getting their formula so they are good. You can put some warm water in the syringe if you think they are dehydrated in between feedings but not too much. If they are really dehydrated, use the pedialyte recipe on this site instead of a feeding.

Here is the link: http://www.squirreltales.org/#Section-G

[OKGIRL1103]

They are actually closer to 7 wks. Im feeding esbilac. I read the controversy but they are doing just fine. They are pooping and peeing on their own (ALL OVER THE PLACE!)but im still making them potty after they eat. They are doing great on it. I feed them every 4 hours or so. They are hungry when I put them back in their cage. How do I show the how to use the water bottle? They started playing today and have gotten crazier as the day goes on.

[vickyjhnsn]

If their poops are solid and hard then they should be fine. The Fox Valley is thicker than the puppy formula and it takes longer for them to digest it so that is why I feed them carefully and I'm more concerned about overfeeding. I'm not sure about the puppy formula so that might be fine. I heard this and know first hand, it takes a good 5 - 10 minutes for them to realize their belly is full. They will act like they are starving because they don't know they are full yet. After a few minutes they stop that. I see mine do it every time I feed them. They will also overeat, they are babies and don't realize. Like I said if their poop is solid and pellet looking, you are ok and they are fine. I know with the Fox Valley their poop should be a mustard color, I'm not sure about what you are feeding them. I started my first one out with puppy formula and it was not mustard, I think it was brown and when I switched I thought there was something wrong and freaked out and everyone here calmed me down.

When you feed them watch their belly's to make sure they don't get bloated. That could turn in to a huge problem. If you research it on here there are pictures showing bloated bellys. I found messaging and patting gently helps a great deal. They also love the affection and their massage.

I've heard so many different things about the esbilac so I stay away from it. The fox Valley was designed specifically for squirrels and is the closest thing to their mother's milk out there. You can switch them but you have to order it online and you have to wean them. It seems like mine got chunky and healthier when I switched him over. Everyone on this board swears by it. You can get it at Chris's Squirrel (http://squirrelsandmore.com/) and Henry's Healthy pets (http://henryspets.com/). I notice at Chris's you can get it in bulk so you don't have to order all the time. Both stores are great and I order from both, the owners of both of them are so sweet and helpful. I love the Henry's Healthy Blocks and that is what I give mine. Even the big guys out side are eating those still and I will never stop putting it out for them. It is high in calcium and they seem to really like them. As long as I know they are eating them I feel comfortable about them staying healthy.

You can start introducing veggies when they start eating their blocks. I was able to tell they were actually eating their blocks with ever one of them by the color of their poop. It started showing brown and black.

The site I sent you said to introduce them with alvacados. Be careful with alvacados. They love them and they are a good starter food but the other day my Jill sucked hers in and started choking. Scared the death out of me. She is eight weeks old and just kept choking for what seems like an eternity. I pulled her out of her cage and turned her upside down and patted her back and stomach and about 20 second later she spit it out and started breathing. what a panic moment for both of us. I crush it up now and they lick it off my fingers. I'd rather be nipped then have them chock again. Just use them as treats, they are high in sugar.

That link I posted for you is a good source of what veggies to start them off on. You can get a lot of great ideas from this site too. At about eight to nine weeks they say to go down to three times a day and feed them as much formula as they want but to watch their poop. Make sure they are eating other things though, like the blocks first and veggies before you reduce their feedings. I am feeding mine about every five to six hours and have increased their amounts to nine cc's a day and so far so good. They also eat a variety of veggies. The second you see soft stool, space out their formula and feed them less until it hardens up. Usually takes one feeding to get it back to normal for me and I've only had it happen once.

Don't sweat the water bottle, they are getting hydrated by their formula. They will figure it out soon enough. My first three had it down by nine weeks. Once one does it they all get curious and watch and copy. If you really feel like they are thirsty offer them a cc in between feedings. Even if it just makes you feel better, it can't hurt. Just watch their poop. You can tap on the tip of the water bottle when they are watching and show them water comes out but that has not worked for me with Jack and Jill yet and they are eight weeks. If they stay in their cage they WILL figure it out. They are too curious of creatures to not figure it out and they put everything in their mouths just like a human baby. The most important thing is to pay close attention to their poop and bloating.

Sounds like you have it down though. Your doing a great job. You sound like a really good Mommy to sweat all this. Really caring and concerned. They are lucky to have you. :)

Edit: Don't give them a bowl of water. They WILL inhale it and sneeze. At their age, I'd worry about aspiration. Stick to the rabbit water bottles. Walmart sells a really good one. Someone on this board told me they have the best ones and I did buy a couple at a pet store and a couple at Walmart and Walmart's is the best, and a bit cheaper.

[Skul]

Avocatos are fine. We've never had a issue with them.
The problem may have been more to do with age, than the avocato.
Please, no corn or sunflower seeds. These should only be a rare treat.
The green beans are fine, but, might I suggest snow peas, too.
Freeze dried chicken is another item ours love.
Asparagus is also good, as well as a piece of fresh mushroom.
With the water bottle, you might get one without the ball in the end of the tube.

[vickyjhnsn]

Thanks Skull. I stick with what we usually have and eat ourselves. That includes celery, bell peppers, broccoli spears, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, string beans, and occasionally as treats, alvacados, strawberries, and apples (like ever other day or every third day and only one of the treats per day) and of course, every day they get two Henry Blocks each and I cut them in two for them.

Jill was the first one to ever choke on the alvacados and yeah, she was trying to suck it in like her formula. She has never done that before but again, scared the heck out of me. Probably once in a lifetime thing. I guess they can choke on anything. You would think at seven weeks, this would not be an issue. It is probably important to add, it has been a week and she is fine. I was a little worried about her after that but she is acting fine and doing great.

I've never fed any of my squirrels corn, I was told not to and I don't give them nuts or seeds at this point. I have, with the older three, gone out and picked up acorns and gave them one or two a day as a treat a couple of weeks before they went outside. I don't see the need to give them nuts at this age, they will have plenty of them when they get older and they are not that good for them.

I hope this gives you some more ideas OKGirl with variations of food. Skul, I will look for the snow peas but sadly, I don't know what they are :) I'm not a big veggie person myself. Anything else you feed them? I am also looking for something to spice it up for them and give them some variation. They will be here all winter and I'll still be feeding the older ones outside all winter. I'd love more ideas.

[OKGIRL1103]

Thank you guys for all the information. it is very helpful. Sorry i did not respond earlier. I am out of town and the babies are with a friend. They are doing very well I hear, and from the pictures they are gettign sooo big!!! I miss them so much, and when I was packing them up to go I almost had a panic attack. They had more luggage than I did. I have fixed their cage with a hammock and a soft tree that I found. It has a soft, warm hole they can play and sleep in. I will be picking them up Monday, and I can't wait.
You said you didn't know what snow peas are.... they will be witht the fresh produce in the cooler. they look like flat green beans and are shaped like a half moon. they are very good. My friends told me that they were messing with the water bottle, so maybe they have figured it out. Also they love cat and dog toys that jingle. they will play with them all night.
Jumping off for tonight. Maybe I will figure out how to resize my pictures and upload some new ones this week.
thanks again
okgirl1103

[vickyjhnsn]

a soft tree that I found. It has a soft, warm hole they can play and sleep in.

What is a soft tree? Is that something you bought or found outside like a real tree? I will keep an eye out for those kind of peas at the grocery store but honesty, I've never seen them where I shop. I looked last time for anything that looked like green beans and nothing. Maybe I should try other stores and see if they have them.

Thanks for the information and enjoy your reunion with your babies. I just got in two more babies I have to add in to the nursery. This makes four with Chip in and out. I was just getting relaxed and enjoying my free time after the three left. You fall in love with them so quickly though. They stole my heart in the three days I've had them. :crazy

Vicky

[OKGIRL1103]

I totally understand falling in love. I loved mine before I could get home. I found the tree at a pet store. Its a "plush" stump looking thing that hangs. It has a hole hollers out for them to get in. Waiting for my babies right now. My friend said they are lo img their tree. It was actually made for birds. But I thought they needed it. Every squirrel needs their tree. I will try to posts pic.