Age Question Red Squirrels

[Jace]

I have two baby reds, both are about 64 grams, no diarrhea, eating very well. Their eyes are open and they have both upper and lower incisors and are well furred. I'll try and get photos up soon. The little male had/has a broken hind leg ( tibia ) but my vet says there is nothing he can do; But the leg has improved almost a hundred fold. From dragging limp to holding it up and now he's using his toes. So Excited! But anyway I was wondering if you could give me an estimate on there age?


Jace

[Rhapsody]

With all you are saying about the eyes being opening and both sets of teeth being in -
I am going to say that your little one is at least 8 weeks old, but I am holding off on
any further opinion until I see the PIC!! :)

[sid'smommy]

probably 5-6 weeks according to weight... how long have you had them ? Were eyes open when you got them? What are they eating ? Its hard to say without pics, could be older and malnourished... can you post pics ?

[Rhapsody]

probably 5-6 weeks according to weight...Never go on weight only to decide age, this may vary depending how long the orphan baby squirrel has been away from mom and food.
--always look at the animals physical development when deciding. (eyes open, fully furred, both sets of incisors)

Edited: (added)

How to Determine Age of a Squirrel:
http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/how-to-determine-the-age-of-a-baby-squirrel?___store=default

[Jace]

They nibble at rodent blocks and raw shelled sunflower seeds, I've had them maybe a week? They seem to eat about 5 to 8 cc at a feeding, but occasionaly the female turns her nose up at anything more than 4. I'll play with the temp, position, tip and nada.

[Rhapsody]

They nibble at rodent blocks and raw shelled sunflower seeds, I've had them maybe a week?
What is their basic diet? Here is a link to a healthy squirrel diet.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?39275-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels-(Revised-2-13)

[Jace]

Mainly the goat milk formula and the rodent blocks, I'm hesitant to give them to many other things until there really eating the blocks. Occasionally I let them lick a little peanut butter or have a few raw sunflower seeds, but they're really just playing with it at this stage. I talked to a local rehabber about taking them but she was only willing to take the girl she said that the boy would have a poor chance at release because of his leg and that he should be put down, So I refused to give her either of them. I actually gave her a phony name when I called because my vet warned me that squirrels are not a priority with her and that they would probably be put down, He said they had a better chance with me.

[Rhapsody]

Mainly the goat milk formula and the rodent blocks, I'm hesitant to give them to many other things until there really eating the blocks. Very good decision...... I always give my squirrels a few weeks to get to know and like their hhb blocks well enough to eat them every day before I introduce healthy vegetables to them. Only time will tell if your little boy will be able to be released or not, will you be able to keep him if he becomes a NR squirrel? I have one NR squirrel that has been with me since he was about 2 weeks old, he is 3 years old now, and I am in love with Marven and will care for him the rest of his precious life. :Love_Icon

[Jace]

If my little man winds up a NR then he'll be staying with me, My mum had a pet squirrel when she was about my age. Her boyfriend at the time was tearing down an old house and found a nest of six pink newborns in the roof, at the end of shift when their mother hadn't come back for them he brought them home to my mom and she raised four Grey/Black squirrels to adulthood. One went nuts and tore her hands and arms apart so they sent it for rabies testing and well in those days the test required a brain biopsy the other one that died just went to a few days after they we're brought home. But of the four that survived three just one day went into the wild and Jesse stayed with Mum. She actually lived to be quite old even for a pet squirrel my Mum said. Of course by the time they were old enough to be on there own my mum had moved from Ontario to B.C. with them. So she's been a big help with my little ones.

[Jace]

Here are some kind of crappy pics I took with my phone, I'll put some better ones up tomorrow.21408121408221408321408421408521408621408 7214088214089214090 The pictures are all out of order but the one with the red coffee can is the first pic we took.
( Ps the peanut butter was my mums idea)

[Rhapsody]

Yes, I would place them to be around 7-8 weeks old..... prob closer to 8 weeks.
They are cuties..... :grin

[Jace]

Is 64 grams a good weight for them then? I know that the next four to six weeks is the important part of release but the vet recommended keeping them over winter then letting them go in spring, particularly my boy because of his weak leg. What's your opinion? I'm in the middle of building what seems to be a very big cage for two such tiny squirrels, 6.5 x 5 x 3, and if they're gonna be staying over I want to see about maybe making it even bigger.

[Rhapsody]

64 gram is small for them...... but seeing that you have only had them for a week and they were prob away from mom for a while, I would give it a week or two to get their weight back up --avocado's are a favorite among squirrels and good for putting weight on, try feeding them some --no pit or peels they are poisons.

And yes, I agree --you should over Winter the babies, as it will be to cold for them to leave by the time they reach 4 months old and they will not have any food stored up for the winter...... a cage the size of 6 x 4 x 3 feet should be good to over Winter them in since you are building it.

_______


Healthy Baby Squirrel Weight -

Based on --Wild Mammal Babies 2nd Edition


Birth ---: between 15 & 25 grams

1 weeks: between 25 & 60 grams

2 weeks: between 60 & 70 grams

3 weeks: between 70 & 80 grams

4 weeks: between 80 & 120 grams

5 weeks: between 120 & 150 grams

6 weeks: between 150 & 250 grams

7-8 weeks: 250 grams and greater


*weight may vary depending how long the orphan baby squirrel has been away from mom and food.

[Jace]

Oh my god! They should be almost 4x bigger than they are now, I didn't think it was that bad I mean they're not bony or anything just lean little streaks of lightening. Baby Boy had improved so much since I found him I didn't realize they were still so far behind, I mean when I found him I was pretty sure he was dead. He was laying about four inches away from another baby that was dead and I'm ashamed to admit it that I kind of poked him with a stick to check; We weren't sure what had been killing the squirrels so if he had been sick I didn't want to get it on my hands then transfer it to my dog :(. And when his sister just charged right at us making this angry cricket noise I was sure they we're rabid, at least till I read on here that when there desperate they don't care what you are so long as you have a pulse. I mean she must have been really desperate because Hunter isn't a small dog, He's a GSD cross and comes halfway up my hip. But he was the one who found them I didn't even see them till Hunter just stopped and started whining, when I looked he was standing right over the boy and the dead one and he wasn't budging. The reason we'd been looking in the first place was because he'd found a dead adult, probably the mom, she didn't have any marks on her so we were worried someone had set out poison and I was trying to find it. Never did :( Next thing I know I'm a mom to two squirrels. :eek

[CrazySquirrelLady]

they are WAY too little for seeds and nuts, they will CHOKE!

no grapes either! choking hazards. momma would never give them this food so little.

blocks only PLEASE!

p.s. You live in Canada and you are going to have to keep them inside with you this winter, do not let go they have no Momma and they will die cuz they ain't got time to get nuts stockpiled for the winter. and it is too cold and they will freeze without their Momma to keep them all warm in the nest.


they are soooo cute. lucky u

[astra]

64 gram is small for them...... but seeing that you have only had them for a week and they were prob away from mom for a while, I would give it a week or two to get their weight back up --avocado's are a favorite among squirrels and good for putting weight on, try feeding them some --no pit or peels they are poisons.

And yes, I agree --you should over Winter the babies, as it will be to cold for them to leave by the time they reach 4 months old and they will not have any food stored up for the winter...... a cage the size of 6 x 4 x 3 feet should be good to over Winter them in since you are building it.

_______


Healthy Baby Squirrel Weight -

Based on --Wild Mammal Babies 2nd Edition


Birth ---: between 15 & 25 grams

1 weeks: between 25 & 60 grams

2 weeks: between 60 & 70 grams

3 weeks: between 70 & 80 grams

4 weeks: between 80 & 120 grams

5 weeks: between 120 & 150 grams

6 weeks: between 150 & 250 grams

7-8 weeks: 250 grams and greater


*weight may vary depending how long the orphan baby squirrel has been away from mom and food.
Is this a weight chart for Eastern Grey squirrels?
Because it sounds like for the greys.

American Red squirrels are much smaller.

[sid'smommy]

Full grown, these guys are only slightly bigger than a chipmunk... They dont look like they are underweight to me, not terribly anyway.

[Rhapsody]

Full grown, these guys are only slightly bigger than a chipmunk... They dont look like they are underweight to me, not terribly anyway.Thanks for the INFO --I did not know that. :tilt
What would the weight of a full grown Red Squirrel?

[Rhapsody]

Ok I did my research and I am now more knowledgeable of Red Squirrels.

______

The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in) and a mass of 250 to 340 g (8.8 to 12 oz).
It is not sexually dimorphic, as males and females are the same size. The red squirrel is somewhat smaller than the eastern grey squirrel which has a head-and-body
length of 25 to 30 cm (9.5 to 12 in) and weighs between 400 and 800 g (14 oz to 1.8 lb).

The eastern grey squirrel can easily digest acorns, while the red squirrel cannot.

The eastern grey squirrel carries a disease, the squirrel parapoxvirus (squirrel pox), that does not appear to affect their health but will often kill the red squirrel. :(

[farrelli]

Seeds and nuts should be limited in a squirrel's diet because they block calcium absorption. And no peanuts as they are phosphorous bombs. Please review the nutritional thread.

And what kind of blocks are you giving? Canadian members often have difficulty getting a quality block. The ones with a lot of corn and/or seeds are crap.

[Jace]

They look like beige pellets about 1x.5 inches? They were the only ones our pet store had, although that doesn't mean much. He really should be shut down, fairly sure the only reason he hasn't is because he's our only pet shop and we need him, much as it pains me to admit it. Where I live if you want something specific you better be prepared to order it and then wait three months.

[farrelli]

They sound like crap. Got a name? Can you list the ingredients? Here's a thread with links to other threads for getting blocks in Canada.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?41946-I-need-a-source-for-rat-block-in-Canada

[Jace]

They probably are, The pet stores' crap so why not the product. I don't actually have a name for them they just came in a little Tupperware container.

Here are some pictures I took today just so everyone can get a better idea of there size and age. They're in a 20 gal aquarium right now, the vet said to try and keep my boy from moving around to much HA, His sister freaked when I tried to put her in a bigger bird cage by herself so they're both in there for now.

21416321416421416521416621416721416821416921417021 4171214172

[farrelli]

Very cute. Those aren't cedar chips are they? Those are bad for respiration.

You'll have to get on getting some quality blocks soon. If we have someone near you perhaps they can point you to a local store. In the GTA perhaps?

[sid'smommy]

^^^ agree! Cedar chips are actually toxic to squirrels... Some people actually use them to repel squirrels from attics and gardens. In a glass aquarium, the fumes can linger around longer. change that ASAP :eek .. Your babies look just like my Bonnie and Clyde when I got them... so flippin cute!

[Jace]

Here's the rest. All I know is that with Squirrel Blocks-Growth Formula from Henry's I'd wind up paying more in shipping than in squirrel food. I'm located way up north in Alberta so I doubt there's anything even kinda local.

214173214174214175214176214177214178214179

[farrelli]

Have you called Henry's? Their rates are much lower if you call than order online. I think it's still flat rate internationally, so you could just order a lot and freeze them. Really, I cannot stress enough the importance of diet. If you absolutely cant afford them, tell us and perhaps we can find another way. We even have recipes to make your own, but you will need to order the vitamin pack.

So how about that bedding? Fleece and t-shirts are best. Towels have loops which can snag toes and hurt them.

[Jace]

Actually they're Aspen chips. I've got mild OCD and I tend to research things to death, so I know pretty much everything else is toxic.

[Jace]

So how about that bedding? Fleece and t-shirts are best. Towels have loops which can snag toes and hurt them.

If your asking about what's in their nest than its an old cotton t-shirt, that and any chips they've pulled in. ;)

PS: Just got a new camera, caught a case of the shutter bug. lol

[Jace]

So I tried my little guys with some avocado this morning after their formula and they loved it!