New here with Little Chease-It to thank you

[Straick]

So you know, the other day(last Wednesday) I went down in the basement to check the sump pumps, and lo and behold, a small red squirrel was laying on the floor(we have squirrels in the walls, but they don't bother us). Poor thing, was cold and scared. Brought him upstairs with me, and got him warmed up(no heating blanket, so got inventive and used my chest pocket instead). Next stop, Pet Smart for kitten milk substitute and a dropper to feed him with. Temporary home until I get the bigger one ready(which I NEED to do ASAP) is a 20 gallon aquarium(all I had at the moment).
He's so cute, but I am worried if I made a mistake letting him sleep in my pocket so much this past week. He actually does the little kid fighting to stay awake now until I put him near my pocket.
My best guess at his age is 5 to 6 weeks. Hoping to be able to release him once he's old enough, but for the moment, I'm going to let him decide.

[SammysMom]

First things first. Kitten milk is a no-no. Diet is very important for his overall well being. Below is some very general information and for more specific questions, ask away and someone here will help you!:Welcome
Baby Squirrel Information


1) Is the baby uninjured? Is mom still around? and if so, warm the baby and place in a safe spot where mom can reunite if possible. Mom will not take a cold baby!
2) Okay, so you couldn’t reunite with mom. Start by warming the baby in a plastic container full of fleece or tee shirt material. (Not towels as the loops catch little claws and can cause injury) Place the container half on a heating pad that is set on low. It needs to be a heating pad that does not have an automatic shut-off. It needs to be half on and half off so that the baby can get off of the heat if it gets too hot.
3) Check to see if the baby is dehydrated. You can do this by gently picking up the skin on the back of the baby’s shoulders. If the skin goes right back down it is not dehydrated. If the skin remains “tented” for a time, you will need to rehydrate with Pedialyte or homemade Pedialyte.

Hydrate them right away (use a 1cc syringe and go slow)........ give some homemade pedialyte every hour for six to eight hours and then you can start start feeding them some formula made from goats milk (if they are thoroughly hydrated).
Pedialyte for no more than 24 hours!!! Too much sodium!!


Homemade Pedialyte
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt (teaspoon)
1 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)

Feed slowly with a 1cc syringe - head UP tail DOWN
Keep warm at all time – If no heating pad available fill bottle with hot water (cover bottle with sock) or fill a sock with dry rice or beans and microwave. Be sure to squish the rice or beans around to be sure there are no hot spots that might burn the babies.

____________
4) Once rehydrated begin to feed Fox Valley formula which can be ordered from http://foxvalleynutrition.com or while waiting for that to arrive use recipe below. As a general rule you will feed 5 - 7% of their body weight per feeding

Homemade Goats Milk Recipe -

1 cup Goats Milk * (if can - dilute)
1/3 cup Full Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1/3 cup Heavy Cream (frig section)

(lasts 72 hours in frig)
5) This information is really just meant to get you through until you can get the baby or babies to an experienced rehabber. If you are here on The Squirrel Board, you have access to all of the information you could ever need about squirrels. Most importantly there is generally someone here who can help to find you someone who can take the babies and prepare them for life in the trees. The trees are where they are meant to be and people here know how to get them safely there!

[island rehabber]

:goodpost

The best thing for this baby is for it to be raised with other reds, so that he can learn that he is a squirrel and all the skills he'll need to be a survivor. If you plan to raise him yourself, you should read this thread if you haven't yet:

http://www.thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24135

You don't list what state you live in, but unless you're in Florida or West Virginia it is probably illegal to keep a squirrel where you live. Weigh all these things carefully in your mind before passing up the opportunity to pass him along to a qualified rehabber.

In the meantime, sammysMom is absolutely correct about the kitten milk: it's not good for him. Too much protein, not enough fat.
Please let us know how we can help. We can find someone for you who can take him, or we can walk you thru everything you'll need to DIY. It's a big commitment. We are only concerned with what's best for the squirrel, so we'll help any way we can.

[flyer girl]

:wave123 and:Welcome to TSB and good luck with the new baby..

[Straick]

Thanks for the advice on the formula. Ordered it up today, only to catch someone trying out a rodent block(had this on had for live catch traps that I use to relocate mice to about a mile away) 5 minutes later.
I will be honest, with the number of red squirrels around here, I'm surprised that this is the first one I've found. If I had the choice, I would have reunited him with his mom, but that wasn't an option.
Funniest thing, after cleaning his nest box out(daily, after the rest of the cage), he'll go in and rearrange it as he sees fit, no matter how hard I try to put his clean fleece strips in the same way.

One concern I have, is completely barring cats from the room he's in enough to help him see them as a predator? The other one is that their are a lot of hawks around lately, which has me pondering special precautions for a soft release.

P.S. Chease-It says yawn and stop rearranging my nest.

[stosh2010]

One concern I have, is completely barring cats from the room he's in enough to help him see them as a predator? The other one is that their are a lot of hawks around lately, which has me pondering special precautions for a soft release.

.W-E-L-C-O-M-E to T.S.B.
Glad to Have YOU Aboard

>>> from Rama Rota & Cruiser & LUNA...& Oscuro & Claro & ...Seis & ...RamaMama and Stosh

LINKs to my Costa Rican Squirrel CREW are at the bottom of this post---Come Visit
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We "LIVE FOR " photos.here on TSB....do you have some to share??
I will post them for you here-- until you figure out our system... e'mail to
stosh@jpcfl.com
Please type your THREAD name in the e-mail message line...thanks

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Please NO cats ever--and No Dogs....in contact with your young friend...
There is a real danger of attack--even the tamest pets can turn on a squirrel.
ALSO--your squirrel should never feel it's OK to interact with dogs or cats...
In the wild--that is a Death sentence.

[Unikorngrrl]

:wave123 AND :Welcome AND Good luck!!

[Straick]

Quick update for you all. Little Chease-It is doing excellent. Got the Fox Valley and he is LOVING it, as well as his other chewables.
It's taking longer than expected to squirrel resist(is there a cage out there that is squirrel proof from day one?) the one cage, so moved him to a temporary made from 2x4's and 1/4 inch hardware cloth(that, with an addition in the height department, can be used for soft release). Pictures will be coming once I find the charger for the camera(on hold till squirrel resisting is done, the camera can wait, Chease-It can't).

Little side story for you all. Found a baby raccoon trapped in a wall this afternoon. He's already with a wildlife rehabilitaror. Now, to patch a nice, waist high, hole in the wall. Is it just me, or do animals somehow know who to get into trouble around?