Hello again!

[amh]

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/418277_10100191203720117_1152016474_n.jpgHello, I am back on here with another baby squirrel. I was actually on here a few weeks ago with a baby bunny who I'm very excited to say has thrived. I do believe he was old enough to be on his own but someone had to interfere with nature and scoop him up. Anyways, I had a squirrel(Amadeus) a couple years ago I raised and released. I just acquired another baby from a friend who works at a local animal hospital. He appears to be around 5 weeks old? Right now he is warming up and I have purchased all the ingredients for the goat's milk replacement formula to give him while I wait to order something else. I believe it was the fox valley that is recommended? I will try to attach a picture.

[Milo's Mom]

Has the baby had any hydration?

You should not feed a dehydrated baby.

What kind of info did your friend give you with the baby?

Yes, we do recommend Fox Valley formula for squirrels.

[amh]

Yes! Thank you, I forgot about the hydration! Pedialyte, correct? No information as of yet, I picked him up at the animal hospital. She works at a very busy office for small animals (dogs and cats) and people are unfortunately dropping off wild animals constantly :(

[Milo's Mom]

Yes! Thank you, I forgot about the hydration! Pedialyte, correct? No information as of yet, I picked him up at the animal hospital. She works at a very busy office for small animals (dogs and cats) and people are unfortunately dropping off wild animals constantly :(

Pedialyte or you can make the homemade hydration fluid.

1 quart warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Do not give hydration for more than 24 hours.

Keep in fridge when not using. When feeding it make sure it is very warm...105 degrees would be perfect.

[amh]

Already in the check out lane with the pedialyte when I checked the message. I'm going to try that. I haven't handled him too much but he looks fairly hydrated thus far, no tenting but I figured it can't hurt? He is a squirmy little guy, moving all around the box I have him in temporarily

[Milo's Mom]

Pedialyte is fine...homemade is just cheaper.

Also, if and when you get the chance, as you know, towels with loops (like the one in your pics) are not good. Little toes and nails can get caught and twisted. Fleece or old t-shirts are better.

[amh]

Replaced the towel with an old t-shirt and he gobbled down the pedialyte. Being that he is so little I have tried to stimulate him to urinate but no luck, perhaps he is drier than I thought. Any ideas?

[amh]

Just wanted to post an update on my little guy, Oliver. I'm guessing he is around 8 or 9 weeks now and is busy busy. He is doing great, he just started jumping from place to place. Still not 100% interested in his blocks yet, I think he prefers to shred them rather than eat them, but I will keep pushing them. Thanks again for being such a great resource!
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/564558_10100216043745507_1871918554_n.jpg

[rainrshine]

He looks to be the same age as the baby I have now and I guessed it to be 3-4 as the upper teeth are not coming through and the eyes don't look like they are ready to open. Of course, the baby you have there looks in much better shape that my little one but he is thriving and doing better by the hour.

How much does this one weigh? My baby is only 52 grams but he has a lot of catching up to do! Keep us posted and as I'm rusty on doing this again we can help with ideas. I know someone mentioned about using a rubbermaid tote rather than a cardboard box. I switched from the cardboard and noticed his skin wasn't as dry afterwards. Also, Walgreens gave me a 1 cc syringe, all I had to do was ask the pharmacist.

Mine hated the hard plastic of the syringe so when I discovered the nipple from the pet ag nursing bottle fit over the tip of a 3cc syringe we were both in heaven! He thinks it's a pacifier. I bought the bottles just for the nipples until mine arrive that I ordered and threw the bottles in the trash. Just an idea.

I just noticed that you did this more recent than I have with great success! Congrats and Oliver is too cute!

[amh]

Checked out your previous post, what a cutie! Sounds like you've had your hands full. Oliver is now probably around 165g, although he is almost impossible to weigh because he won't sit still for longer than a nano second. He was 51 grams when I first got him and I estimated him to be around 4 or 5 weeks? His upper teeth just came in within the last couple weeks, so I'm guessing yours is is probably around the same age as Oliver when I got him. He didn't like the syringe as much when he was younger, I actually took the tips of angiocaths (one of the advantages of working at a hospital) and attached to the end of my syringe so that it was smaller for his little mouth. He eats out of a 3cc syringe now without the tip and has no trouble. Just give your guy a couple weeks and he will be holding the syringe on his own and trying to feed himself! I'm currently using a small dog carrier because he is definitely too active to stay in a box or container without a lid. I need to get something larger until I introduce him to the outside hutch, but figured the dog carrier was an inexpensive fix for now. Best of luck with your little one, it is amazing how fast they grow.

[rainrshine]

Thanks for the idea of the angiocaths; my husband works at the hospital. They didnt have any of the slip tip syringes so pop trimmed them up for me but then I discovered about the nipples on the ag nurser. This has truly been a learning curve for me. I raised two babies years ago but I found them soon as they fell so they were still in good shape. This little guy was near death when I got him and as you can see from the pics the cloth they were laying on was all covered in poo from diarrhea and were ice cold. They were squirming a lot but it was because they were seeking warmth.

I thought 50 grams was small for this age myself. It's to be expected though considering he was without food for several days and then it had to be slowly introduced because of the complications. I am starting to feel confident that this little fella will pull through though. He is grabbing the syringe and rooting and nuzzling for food now. He wasn't doing that before.

I think it's time to give him a good name! I'm gonna have a vote for the name on Facebook Sunday. Keep us posted on the baby and thanks for the idea!

Oliver looks like he could cause trouble in that pic! Eyes wide open looking to see what he can get into!