Pregnant Female Douglas pine squirrel

[Marty]

I have two seven month old douglas pine squirrels that are brother and sister. It Appears The female is ready to have babies. I had just got the male fixed two weeks ago. I was told it would be unusual if the female had young in captivity. Has anyone left the male and female together when the young are born? Can this be done with out problems? Does the breed of squirrel make any difference or if their related?

second question on feeding Is Zupreem ferret food along with a mix of nuts fruits and vegetables as good as using rat blocks I have heard about?

[farrelli]

I don;t think that keeping the father in there would be great for a number of reasons, but I'll wait for others chime in. The fact that he's fixed may mitigate it a little, but I think that when they're very young, it would be a bad idea.

As to the diet, ferrets are carnivores and sqs are vegetarians so that diet sounds terrible. Too much protein harms the organs. Here is the proper diet thread:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

And Henry's blocks are the gold standard:

Failing that, Kaytee Forti-Diet seems to be popular. Often people on a budget will feed one Henry's block a day to each squirrel and supplement it with the Kaytee.

WHat are you going to do with the babies?

[Rhapsody]

I would separate the two squirrels as momma squirrels have nothing to do with other squirrels or the dad
after she has her babies..... and we dont want a fight to break out or the babies to be hurt or eaten.

As far as healthy blocks to feed mom I would suggest HHB or HT --both can be ordered online:
the babies can start eating these blocks around 8 weeks old.

HHB blocks:
http://www.henryspets.com/

HT - Harlan Teklad blocks:
http://www.ebay.com/

[Marty]

I don;t think that keeping the father in there would be great for a number of reasons, but I'll wait for others chime in. The fact that he's fixed may mitigate it a little, but I think that when they're very young, it would be a bad idea.

As to the diet, ferrets are carnivores and sqs are vegetarians so that diet sounds terrible. Too much protein harms the organs. Here is the proper diet thread:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

And Henry's blocks are the gold standard:

Failing that, Kaytee Forti-Diet seems to be popular. Often people on a budget will feed one Henry's block a day to each squirrel and supplement it with the Kaytee.

WHat are you going to do with the babies? I am not sure yet since there are a lot of unknowns yet, like survival and how many. I will keep you posted if all goes well.

[Fireweed]

I agree...separate them. Mama squirrels will run the males and even the fathers off if they even come anywhere near the babies/nest. So if she's stuck with him in the same cage/room, she'll be stressed and that could result in disaster.

Please have all the supplies you need on hand in case she rejects her babies or any of them need extra help. You'll need 1cc syringes, formula, heating pad, to name a few things.

[Anne]

I have no experience with Douglas Pine squirrels, but male grey squirrels will kill babies. Many think that it is like with male lions who kill cubs to drive the female back into heat. I would think just having the male in the same cage would be terribly stressful for the momma squirrel.