What are these Babies?

[Rhapsody]

OK my fellow animals lovers I need help in the ID of these babies I am about
to get so I can make sure I am feeding them right. Of course the people that
are about to bring them to me said they had found some cute baby squirrels
and could not let them die (they had already named them) -- ppl :poke :eek

I am thinking tree rats maybe that fell during last night storm --what do you think?

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Baby_zpsd25f1d50.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Baby_zpsd25f1d50.jpg.html)

[SammysMom]

Do they have thumbs?

[Rhapsody]

Do they have thumbs?
I dont know yet..... thats just a pic that was sent to me.
They are on their way over to my house now. :tilt

[pappy1264]

yeah, they do look like rat pups (did they feed them, I see a milk line?)

[Rhapsody]

yeah, they do look like rat pups (did they feed them, I see a milk line?)
No - they have not been feed, the person is at work and found them on the ground when they went outside.

[island rehabber]

I'm gonna say pinky squirrels. They don't have the pointy rat faces.

[SammysMom]

I'm gonna say pinky squirrels. They don't have the pointy rat faces.

I thought they looked just like my babies did when I got them. Hence the thumbs question...:grin3

[Rhapsody]

I'm gonna say pinky squirrels. They don't have the pointy rat faces. Let me go look at my pinkie squirrel pics --its been a while since I've had pinkies. brb

[Rhapsody]

Ok - I see what you are saying with the pointy nose...... Scooter (the large field mouse)
when he was a baby has the pointy nose --it is not round what so ever, where as the
pinkie pics I have are round and the babies have tails with out hair due to their young
age...... WOW!! -many sleepless night are coming my way this month. :eek




http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Rat_Scooter/007_zps6a3bd0ce.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Rat_Scooter/007_zps6a3bd0ce.jpg.html)


Pinkie Squirrels
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Nina%20Kipper%20Elvira%20Gilbert/Pinkies073111.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Nina%20Kipper%20Elvira%20Gilbert/Pinkies073111.jpg.html)

[island rehabber]

And that's the problem with rehabbing squirrels down south: all pinkies, all the time! :eek I steel myself in the months of March, April, July and August....but I know that the other eight months will not have me trying to survive on two hours' sleep a night. :grin2

[stepnstone]

I'm gonna say pinky squirrels. They don't have the pointy rat faces.

That was my vote too! :thumbsup

[Rhapsody]

OK - that first pic above was close up, therefore, made the babies look way bigger
than they actually are. These 5 little precious babies are no more than 1.5 inches
long and do have pointy noses --I am thinking baby rats or field mice here.


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/other%20Animals/004_zps3dbb617f.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/other%20Animals/004_zps3dbb617f.jpg.html)


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/other%20Animals/003_zps91bc85ae.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/other%20Animals/003_zps91bc85ae.jpg.html)


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/other%20Animals/002_zpsee62c321.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/other%20Animals/002_zpsee62c321.jpg.html)

[Rhapsody]

FYI --a single baby does not register on my digital scale, but they weight 20 grams together (5)

[UDoWhat]

That is pretty tiny even for Florida day old, pinky squirrels but.... I think they are pinky squirrels too. :Love_Icon Oh my, I hope I do not see teenie, tiny ones for at least another 6 weeks. Oh please.... at least that long!!!!!!! :eek

[MsOakley]

Me thinks they're pinks (of the squirrel variety).

[Rhapsody]

Do they have thumbs?
Meaning Squirrels have thumbs and Rat/Mice dont?

[Duckman]

I count 4 toes and can't see the inside of the paw, but based on this, they are Pinkies. If they had 5 toes on their front, they would be rats. If you can get a good shot of the front paw, I think we could put this to rest.

[Duckman]

Meaning Squirrels have thumbs and Rat/Mice dont?

Rats do not hold their food like a squirrel does, so it has 5 claws on the front paw. A Pinkie has 4 claws and a thumb. :grin3

[island rehabber]

I see four toes on the hind feet, not 5......that and their 5gram weight has made me re-think this....baby ratties :grin2

[Rhapsody]

I checked ---these little one do have 4 claws and 1 thumb, but are only 4 grams each, 1.5 in long and nails are clear.
So.... with that they are going to hold their food when they are grown, but I have never seen a baby squirrel this small
in my life, therefore, I am thinking they are some thing else. Do chipmunks come this far down into Central Florida?

Chipmunk Babies:
http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/chipmunk/babies.htm

[pappy1264]

Oh my, I think you are right Rhapsody, they do look like pinkie chippies!!! They will be so much fun, I am actually jealous!

[LeilaNami]

I checked ---these little one do have 4 claws and 1 thumb, but are only 4 grams each, 1.5 in long and nails are clear.
So.... with that they are going to hold their food when they are grown, but I have never seen a baby squirrel this small
in my life, therefore, I am thinking they are some thing else. Do chipmunks come this far down into Central Florida?

Chipmunk Babies:
http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/chipmunk/babies.htm

There aren't any chipmunks whose natural range extends into central Florida. The eastern chipmunk is in the panhandle but that should be all you've got. That doesn't mean that you can't have a chipmunk because the wildlife biology students around here are always publishing new county records for animals never before found in the area in question. Are you sure what you're seeing is thumb and not a 5th claw? They look like rats to me (or maybe a vole?)

[rocky63]

What do you have down there for ground squirrels? Anything like red squirrels since they are so small?:Squirrel

[SammysMom]

I think that their tails are too long for voles...:dono

[crazy4squirrels]

The comparison picture you posted of the pinkie squirrels were the ones that I met and gave to you to raise. They were only maybe three days old because they had umbilical stubs. Look at the toe nails on the squirrel pinkies...much longer even at that stage...I say baby rats of some kind.

[LeilaNami]

I think that their tails are too long for voles...:dono

Eh...maybe. They look the same to me as pinkies unless I'm missing something. :dono Anyway, here's a list of the 23 rodents that should be in Florida with a general description of their range. It's not perfect (because it's Wikipedia) and may or may not account for all invasive rodent species but it might give you an idea.

(Scroll down to Rodentia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Florida

[Rhapsody]

These are not voles (i have seen those before) and C4S these little babies are 2-3x times smaller
than the pinkie squirrels you gave me to raise, These little guys are no more than a week old and
only weight 5 grams at best...... and they do not have the dark nails like most baby squirrel do.

While Chipmunks are not usually down this far (Central Florida) I did some reading and they are have
been coming farther South and people are being asked to report their siting and where they are being
seen at........ so one can only hope.

Here is a pic of the Chippie that is making its way into Florida --the Eastern Chipmunk.
*a small reddish brown chipmunk*


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/ChipmunkFl_zpsdc6140f2.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/ChipmunkFl_zpsdc6140f2.jpg.html)

[Shewhosweptforest]

I'm hoping for Chippies:thumbsup Whatever they are...they are adorable :grouphug It will be fun to wait and see :grin3

[Rhapsody]

Here are pics of their little hands (paws) --you can clearly see they have a thumb, and
I might say baby squirrel if they were not soooooo darn tiny (5 grams - 1.5 in long)

:thinking:dono:thinking



http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/other%20Animals/005_zps7478972b.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/other%20Animals/005_zps7478972b.jpg.html)


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/other%20Animals/001_zpsb2cedba1.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/other%20Animals/001_zpsb2cedba1.jpg.html)

[crazy4squirrels]

I believe you misread my post. I said if you compare the pictures they are NOT squirrels but most likely some kind of rat or field mouse because of the nail comparison.

[sqrlmum]

OK my fellow animals lovers I need help in the ID of these babies I am about
to get so I can make sure I am feeding them right. Of course the people that
are about to bring them to me said they had found some cute baby squirrels
and could not let them die (they had already named them) -- ppl :poke :eek

I am thinking tree rats maybe that fell during last night storm --what do you think?

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/Rhapsody_1/Baby_zpsd25f1d50.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Rhapsody_1/media/Baby_zpsd25f1d50.jpg.html)

These are little rat babies. We rarely see chipmunks in Central FL, and they're usually closer to the northern FL border and up in the panhandle. Definitely not squirrels! Let me know if you need my rehabbers to take them or if you would like them to positively ID them. I can also send pics and get their opinion, but they look like the cute baby ratties we just got in recently! :grin2

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Rat babies! Not chipmunks. Fun facts about chipmunks- they actually have black stripes on their skin so you can see it even when they're pinkies.