Baby Squirrels Eating Eachother

[Squirrel0124]

I have had 4 baby squirrels for the last 10 days. I found them after cutting down a large Boxelder tree. The mother left and after placing them close to the same tree they were still there 2 days later and had not been found. They needed my help so I have been taking care of them and they are getting so much better and stronger. They Drink water mixed with organic gerber vegetable food, and fruits, and they love this. They are about 6 weeks old now and also eat almonds, strawberries, and watermelon. They love to sleep next to a warm bottle of water, and they have sticks and blocks to climb on. about 5 days ago they started eating each other. They eat all the hair around their ears and sides of their head around the ear area. It appears they are only eating the hair and there hasn't been any flesh wounds or bleeding, but they sure eat the hair all they way to the skin. Their is only one squirrel that has not been eaten on, yet I never see him doing the eating. I tried to separate them, 2 in one cage and 2 in another, but it seems that the ones that are eaten on are still eating on eachother. They eat plenty of times a day and get a lot of love and attention. I am considering using 4 separate cages but not sure if this is even a good idea. Should they even be separated? Why are they eating off eachother? I thought maybe it was leftover food on their hair so I gave them all baths but still they keep eathing. They are red squirrels also. Please if you have any help as to why they are doing this and how to get them to stop I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[Rhapsody]

I am thinking your guys have either mites or mange...... and they are not eating on each other.
What you can do atm is wash them in Dawn dish soap and change their bedding.
Then upload some pics for us to see what their condition looks like

We treat mites & mange with 1 drop of kitten Revolution per squirrel.

[Rhapsody]

Here are a few pics of squirrels I rehabbed that developed mange with mites.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/B%20T%20S/BambiMange002.jpg


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/B%20T%20S/TinyTimMange009.jpg


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/B%20T%20S/TinyTimMange008.jpg


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/B%20T%20S/TinyTimMange012.jpg

[stepnstone]

I have had 4 baby squirrels for the last 10 days. I found them after cutting down a large Boxelder tree. The mother left and after placing them close to the same tree they were still there 2 days later and had not been found. They needed my help so I have been taking care of them and they are getting so much better and stronger. They Drink water mixed with organic gerber vegetable food, and fruits, and they love this. They are about 6 weeks old now and also eat almonds, strawberries, and watermelon. They love to sleep next to a warm bottle of water, and they have sticks and blocks to climb on. about 5 days ago they started eating each other. They eat all the hair around their ears and sides of their head around the ear area. It appears they are only eating the hair and there hasn't been any flesh wounds or bleeding, but they sure eat the hair all they way to the skin. Their is only one squirrel that has not been eaten on, yet I never see him doing the eating. I tried to separate them, 2 in one cage and 2 in another, but it seems that the ones that are eaten on are still eating on eachother. They eat plenty of times a day and get a lot of love and attention. I am considering using 4 separate cages but not sure if this is even a good idea. Should they even be separated? Why are they eating off eachother? I thought maybe it was leftover food on their hair so I gave them all baths but still they keep eathing. They are red squirrels also. Please if you have any help as to why they are doing this and how to get them to stop I would appreciate it. Thanks

Not convinced this is the hair loss/eating problem but it is an important observation that needs to be addressed. These babies would still be on mother's milk and need to be on a good formula, they are not getting anywhere near the nutrition they need. Fruit is just a filler and really has no nutritional value, they will also need to be introduced to a good rodent block which would be their first solid food. Nuts should be limited to a treat and only after they are eating block.
Please go to our forums on nutrition, educate yourself as to their nutritional needs and get them on the foods they need. Their survival will depend on it!

We here at TSB strongly recommend Fox Valley formulas but there is also a substantial temporary Goat's milk formula that can be easily acquired and made from home.

[island rehabber]

:goodpost I agree -- they are nutritionally deprived, especially of PROTEIN. They are not getting much of it.....they need formula until at least 10 wks of age, usually more.

[Anne]

Squirrel0124, what you are seeing is a vitamin deficiency. They need you to read the nutrition section and chane their diets.
If you have any knowledge of horses, foals will eat their mothers tails to skin when they aren't getting enough vitamins and minerals.

[Squirrel0124]

Thank you for the replies! I will look into all these suggestions and load some pictures up soon. I do see them eating on each other or at least it appears that way. I hear them chewing the hair at times. I did notice 2 really tiny bugs on my skin yesterday that appeared after holding them. Thanks again and I will update soon.

[Wonkawillie]

they are sucking on each other as they would still be nursing from the mother for another 4 weeks!
These babies need special squirrel formula or they will be in trouble quickly.
orphan siblings often do this if they are hungry and not getting to suckle

[Squirrel0124]

Here are some pictures of one of the squirrels.

[daniellenc]

Have you ordered the Fox Valley or made up the goats milk formula with yogurt and whipping cream yet?? I would hate to see MBD set in along with the mange they have now. What did the bugs look like you found on you?? Some mites are able to infect humans as well so definitely get them in to determine what kind of mite they have, change bedding daily, and vacuum your house especially well. You may have a wildlife sanctuary near that would look at them or someone here that is close.

[Squirrel0124]

Yes to both. I ordered the fox valley 20/50 mix today and the last three days they have been eating the goats milk recipe about every 4 hours. Are you sure it is mange? They are constantly eating the hair on each other. Would the squirrels eat each others hair if they had mites? They lay there and just bite at each others hair. Also what is the type of revolution that I should get? Does anyone have a link to the one I should buy? Do I need a prescription for Revolution? I have personally never seen any bugs ever on the squirrels. I work outside all day everyday, and the time I found the tiny bug on me was about 2 minutes after I had finished playing with them outside. It could have just been a bug from outside too, it's hard to know for sure. The bug was very tiny but for sure large enough to see. It looked reddish or brown and similar to a beetle but much smaller and tiny legs. But again I have never seen any bugs ever on any of the squirrels. I just want to explore all possibilities since the hair is being chewed on. Please note that within the first 3 days of finding them that the had all their hair. I started seeing them eat at each others hair multiple times a day and it's only gotten worse. It has been to hot in our garage so the day it got to hot I moved them inside in a large kennel. They love it in the house and they love sleeping next to a warm water bottle I put in the cage. I have now had to move the squirrel that is in the picture into a separate cage because the other squirrels all pick on him and wont stop eating at his hair. Why would they eat at his hair? Do they sense the mites if there are any? Is it possible that their aren't any mites and they just are eating each other for a different reason?

[daniellenc]

Squirrels aren't cannibalistic to my knowledge and as they aren't technically eating each other and only the hair mange/mites is usually the source- in the wild the mother would groom them off as well but mange itself causes hair loss at least in demodex mange. What you may be seeing as them grooming each other with the hair loss mange related and not them actually eating each other's hair which is something else to consider.

I want someone to chime in on Ivomec or ivomectrin because you can order ivomec from amazon with the active ingredient being ivomectrin. That is what most vets use to treat demodex but I am new to squirrels myself and while it is used in rats which are rodents I am not sure at all about squirrels:(

[Squirrel0124]

Thank you daniellenc for the update and information. I appreciate your help, and yes, I would love to have others chime in to confirm daniellencs reply and thoughts on Ivomec or ivomectrin.

[Rhapsody]

The medicine people are not online at the moment....... try sending "Jackie in Tampa" a PM and see what she has to say.

[Squirrel0124]

Thanks! How do I get a hold of Jackie in Tampa? Is she on the Squirrel Board somewhere? Is she an expert on squirrels and mange?

[Rhapsody]

Thanks! How do I get a hold of Jackie in Tampa? Is she on the Squirrel Board somewhere? Is she an expert on squirrels and mange?
Jackie is on TSB --you can look her name up in the Member List up top and send her a PM...... I just saw online a few minutes ago.
Jackie is an expert in many things squirrel related, included mange and medications..... she has been treating squirrels close to twenty years and she is licensed.

[Squirrel0124]

I would also love to know how to clean up the little guys with a bath and help treat and prevent any parasites if there are any. I bought a puppy shampoo for them called bio spot and I want to know if this is safe to wash them in to eliminate any potential pest problems. I don't want to use until I know it is safe. It kills flees ticks and lice it contains Active Ingredients:
Methoprene 0.10%
Pyrethrins 0.15%
Piperonyl 1.50%
Other ingredients: 99.39%

I was told by one member on the squirrel board that:
"As for the shampoo, I would not use it! Pyrethrins can be very dangerous for such little animals. If you need something to help with fleas then revolution is your best option. Just a drop will do."

I have been told by many different members to use this shampoo and don't use that shampoo, and I am getting confused on what to use and what not to.

[island rehabber]

A mild solution of Dawn and warm water will take care of most pests: fleas, lice, etc. If the babies have mange they will need Revolution. Be sure you are cleaning all the formula off them every time you feed, since baby squirrels DO tend to get everything everywhere. They could be slurping the leftover formula from each other's fur.

[Rhapsody]

A mild solution of Dawn and warm water will take care of most pests: fleas, lice, etc. If the babies have mange they will need Revolution. Be sure you are cleaning all the formula off them every time you feed, since baby squirrels DO tend to get everything everywhere. They could be slurping the leftover formula from each other's fur. IR is another good one here...... listen to what she is saying. :thumbsup :thumbsup

And if you look above you will see that I suggested the Dawn dish as a wash for your squirrel as the first post to your question.
.... its what most of us use on TSB, then kitten Revolution if some thing stronger is required..... the safety of our squirrels comes first.

[Jackie in Tampa]

yes, IR and Rhap are right on..:thumbsup