Hi from Dayle

[KaitlynG]

Hello Everyone,

We recently adopted an orphaned grey squirrel named Dayle, she (I think) is about 6 weeks old, super healthy, super active and loves her new cage. We are very new to squirrel raising and have a lot of questions. Look forward to learning some new things.203654

[astra]

Welcome!:Welcome

Dayle looks like a precious little baby that she is.

Please do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have.

Some of the most important questions have to do with nutrition.
There is so much conflicting and misleading information around that it is easy for the "new" squirrel parents :) to get confused.

What formula is Dayle eating?
-Fox Valley is the formula for squirrels
Make sure you never wean her but let her wean herself. The longer she stays on Fox Valley the better it is for her health.

Does she have a quality squirrel/rodent block with her to nibble as her first solid food?
--make sure that her first solid food is a quality rodent block. She won't eat it at first, will play with it, nibble, and even pee on it, but eventually, she will start.
It's important not to give her any other solids, especially, treats until she has solid firm block-eating habits.
When she decides to wean herself off formula, block will become the foundation of her diet. But if she is introduced to treats and other things before, that may ruin her taste buds and turn her into a picky eater.

There is a Squirrel Nutrition forum on this site - very, very informative.

What is her story?
How did she come to you?
Any more pics? ;)

[farrelli]

:Welcome to TSB! There's a few of us from MA here.

Indeed, as Astra said, nutrition is absolutely key to a healthy, happy squirrel. Though FV should be her primary food right now, here's the link to a proper diet:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39275

[KaitlynG]

We saved Dayle and her sibling from the middle of a busy street and they ended up following us into our yard. After hours of waiting for their mother, Dayle's sibling (who was much larger and seemed healthier) abandoned Dayle. We could not stand to leave her so we adopted her.

Dayle is eating mostly solid foods, but occasionally drinks a mixture of milk and whipping cream in a puppy’s nursing bottle (She adores this mostly before bed) and will drink water. She eats unsalted peanuts, almonds, and is starting to nibble off a block food (Kaytee Forti-diet). She is eating a lot of different organic baby foods but also eats bananas, apples, pears, pumpkin, pine nuts, and several other foods.

We recently bought a coconut and thought we could give her some of the milk, and the meat, we also wanted to use the shell as a toy house. We aren’t totally sure how safe this is. Thoughts?

We will continue to keep you guys updated on Dayle’s development. Thanks for all the feedback.

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[farrelli]

Cows milk? If so, please, not a drop more. It causes all kinds of horrible problems, developmental and otherwise. For the time being, please go out and get some goat's milk and make this temp formula:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29903

You can get GM at many grocery stores. Fresh is best, but they also often offer canned next to the evaporated milk.

Then order some Fox Valley. You should also oder some Henry's squirrel blocks. Both can be obtained from:

http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

Also, no more peanuts. They too are bad and at best an very occasional treat. You will see that in the chart I linked to earlier.

I've got to go for now but others will chime in. There's lots to learn here and I'm glad that you made it.

[farrelli]

I've got a few more minutes, so here's a few other things.

She should be mostly on formula at this age. It sets them up well for the future, and they shouldn't be weaned. They should take it as long as they want it. (She may want it more when it's a better formula.)

Don't feed by bottle. Use a 1cc or 3 cc syringe which can be gotten at any drug store, often for free. You may want to get some from Henry's when you order the FV. The o-ring type last longer than the drug store ones.

Have proper feeding technique, which can be seen at the following:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=115

Bad technique can lead to pneumonia which kills quickly. If you ever hear clicking, you need to tell us immediately and have access to antibiotics.

The type of block you're feeding now is OK, and you can keep with it, but Henry's makes ones specifically for squirrels.

Pine nuts are also terrible for her. Calcium is critical to squirrel health and human raised squirrels have an unnatural diet which can lead to MDB (a systemic loss of calcium which will cause paralysis, seizures and death). It's the most common emergency around here from parents who come in after feeding an incorrect diet. Certain foods are good for the calcium balance, some not. Peanuts are bad, pine nuts and corn are horrible. You can see the calcium/phosphorous balance of different foods at the following link. You're looking for 2:1. calcium to phosphorous.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15397

Gotta go again. She's adorable. Just stick around and ask all kinds of questions. Unfortunately your thread here isn't getting much attention right now because it's in a place that most people don't routinely check, especially during baby season when there are so many emergencies and things to do.

[KaitlynG]

Ok, thank you for the advice, I will get on these changes ASAP :thankyou

[Skul]

First steps are important.
You're willing to work at doing better, and that's a major plus. :thumbsup

[Shewhosweptforest]

:Welcome Dayle:Love_Icon she is so precious and thank you for saving her:bowdown and double thank you for taking the advice on nutrition :) it makes all the difference in the world as I have learned for myself through this forum:thankyou

I love the pic of her eating the baby food....or maybe wearing it :jump too cute :crazy

More pics are ALWAYS appreciated:thumbsup

Edit: ohh I almost forgot :thinking we have members in Costa Rica who feed their squirrels coconut milk...I'm not sure about our babies tho :dono

[farrelli]

I'm happy to help. There's still tons to know. Please keep us up to date. It might seem strange, but we really worry about all these guys who come here for help. When threads don't get updated, we start to fear the worst.

[MJS]

:Welcome TO TSB!!! AS THOSE BEFORE HAVE POSTED, NUTRITION IS PRIORITY # 1, 2 AND 3 FOR HUMAN KEPT SQUIRRELS. PROPER FEEDING TECHNIQUE IS VITAL ALSO. I HAVE TWO BABIES ALMOST 10 WEEKS OLD WHO ARE ON FOX VALLEY FORMULA AND HENRY'S BLOCK ONLY (UNTIL THEY LEARN TO EAT IT INSTEAD OF SHREDDING IT :shakehead )...AFTER THAT I WILL BEGIN TO INTRODUCE HEALTHY VEGGIES FROM THE NUTRITION CHART (PROVIDED THEY EAT THEIR BLOCKS.) I WILL KEEP THEM ON FORMULA FOR AS LONG AS THEY WILL TAKE IT, EVEN IN A BOWL IF POSSIBLE. I STILL FEED THEM BY 3CC SYRINGE NOW, SIX SYRINGES EACH AT THEIR MORNING FEEDING. THEY ARE BOTH HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND EXTREMELY ALERT AND ACTIVE.

GREAT JOB IN SAVING YOUR LITTLE GIRL!!! :bowdown SHE'S A CUTIE!!! :D

[Shewhosweptforest]

:wave123 Dayle and KaitlynG:Love_Icon Hope all is going smoothly:grouphug

[KaitlynG]

Hi everyone! Dayle is doing great, she is growing big and strong and is a total ham for the camera :) Here are some new pics!

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[Unikorngrrl]

Hiya Dayle!! You're a precious little hot mess!! :wave123

[Squirrelly Hunziker]

OMG! I am so in love with you, Dale! I really wish I would have joined this site sooner, BTW. It is so tough trying to figure it out on your own. Not to mention, there is so much conflicting info online about what to feed and not to feed. AND that is really the most important thing to know. Even before I "joined" this feed today, I had it bookmarked and it has gotten me so many answers that I struggled to find. I am here for you too, even if I am a newbie at this too, I have actually JUST went through the same thing and might be able to help you? Dale is too freakin cute! :bowdown I thought my squirrelly was a boy for quite awhile, btw.... :shakehead but it turns out I was wrong. lol.

[newsquirrelmommy]

Love all your pics Dale, but that sleeping in hand one is just absolutely precious:Love_Icon

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 Kaitlyn
:Welcome to TSB
Dayle is adorable. I love your pictures. My favorite is Dayle asleep leaning her back into the hands.

How is the diet change going? They usually aren't too happy about changing to a healthy diet. Mama has to be tough ... you know ... tough love. :Love_Icon

[WhistlingPete]

Cute pictures!! I like the passed-out-on-her-back picture. I love when Petey sleeps with his little paws just sticking in the airs. It just seems so cute and silly!

[KaitlynG]

I know it has been awhile, didn't want anyone to worry about Dayle. She is as much a hellian as we expected, but we love her. I started a new thread with more recent photos http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?41360-Dayle&highlight=

Thank you for all the help raising our happy healthy girl :)