ChippersMommy
09-04-2014, 12:16 PM
Hello to all my TSB friends!!!! Im sure most of you know by now that I am a first time squirrel Mommy to a beautiful 5 week old girl squirrel named Chippers (we thought she was a 'he' & was originally named 'Chip' which we transitioned to 'Chippers' once we found out she was a 'she' lol) We rescued her on August 26, 2014 and we estimated that she was approx 3 weeks old with eyes closed. She opened her eyes Monday 9/1/14 at 1:30pm (left eye first- then both eyes fully opened thru the night). She weighs 110grams(which i hope is ok for her age???) and she eats 6cc's at each feeding. Here are some questions that I have:
1) Is her weight fine?
2) How many times should i now be feeding her each day?
3) Is 6cc's enough or too much at one feeding?
4) She no longer pottys with stimulation- she will not 'go' until she is put in her play/exercise time cage & once we put her in she will scurry to her 'potty corner' which has is in the far corner of the cage & she pulled a piece of fleece fabric to that corner & she will only 'go' if she is on that fabric in that corner in her playtime/exercise cage- she will NOT go anywhere else even with stimulation- is this normal? Is this ok?
5) This morning her FV formulas came in- I ordered the Henrys Baby Squirrel kit with both kinds the 32/40 & the 20/50. Since i rescued her i have been using the esbilac w/ pre/probiotics - How do i transition her to the FV and which one will i use first and for how long, etc.
6) Also as mentioned in one of my other forums, she has begun 'nibbling' and i asked was it ok to safely offer rodent block and was informed yes it was- however the kit mentioned above that i ordered came with a sample of HiProtein Squirrel Blocks for baby squirrels & flyers of all ages- is this an appropriate substitute for rodent block and if so how do i introduce it safely?
7) As instructed since I rescued Chippers, she was in a nest box half on half off a heating pad set on low. a couple days before her eyes opened on monday she began being way more active & climbing and exploring, etc and was able to climb out of her orignal nest box (the clear plastic 16 qt/15L box shaped tote as suggested) so i moved her original nest box into a clear plastic box shaped tote that is 20 gal/76L and i surrounded it with her favorite fleece materials & sweaters so that she kinda has a nest box inside of a nest box & luckily she isnt able to climb out of this one- i bought a heating pad that is big enough to fit perfectly under the entire large box but i still followed the half on half off rule- she always slept on the part that was on the heating pad even once her nest box was placed in the big box i made sure to keep it the same way on the heating pad since that seemed to be her fav spot- but monday night she began staying out of her original nest box and on the completely opposite side of the bigger box that is not on the heating pad- and she hasnt been 'nestling' herself under he fleece blankies or her fav fleece & flannel shirts like she used to- does this mean its time to remove the heat since she does have her fur now or what should i do?
8) Also as crazy as it may sound ( and im def NOT complaining bc i :Love_Icon every second of it ) I just want to be sure this is normal squirrel behavior- she searches for me i mean literally- if i get up and move to the other end of the couch within 30 seconds she has found a way to get to me- & she has a play/exercise cage that i make sure to let her spend time in daily - its in the living room and she will play and play as long as im in the living room but the moment that i walk out of the living room & she cant see me she starts crying-literally crying until i come back into the living room, i dont have to come to her just to her 'sight' & she returns to playing & for example (this is before her eyes opened & before i put her nest box inside a bigger one) i was napping on my loveseat while my hubby & kids were on the couch watching tv. she was in her original nestbox on the floor beside me(well her nest box was on a laptop lap tray that sits a few inches off the floor so that her NB could be on a heatpad) and she was just wandering her box and exploring when i laid down on the couch- time as i closed my eyes i heard my hubby say 'Oh my gosh I cant believe it' so i immediately opened my eyes to see chippers climbing up from out her NB & up the cover i had thrown over me up the couch and nestled herself onto my chest.... i was flabbergasted!!
And finally my last ???
When do i begin offering fresh fruits & veggies and what types should be offered & introduced first??
Sorry for such a LONG forum but I am new to this and still have many questions and i only trust the answers that come from my TSB friends!!!
Any & all input, suggestions, concerns, advice, instructions,etc; (whether in my favor or not lol) are welcomed and greatly appreciated!!! :grin2 :thankyou
Thanks so much!
1) Is her weight fine?
2) How many times should i now be feeding her each day?
3) Is 6cc's enough or too much at one feeding?
4) She no longer pottys with stimulation- she will not 'go' until she is put in her play/exercise time cage & once we put her in she will scurry to her 'potty corner' which has is in the far corner of the cage & she pulled a piece of fleece fabric to that corner & she will only 'go' if she is on that fabric in that corner in her playtime/exercise cage- she will NOT go anywhere else even with stimulation- is this normal? Is this ok?
5) This morning her FV formulas came in- I ordered the Henrys Baby Squirrel kit with both kinds the 32/40 & the 20/50. Since i rescued her i have been using the esbilac w/ pre/probiotics - How do i transition her to the FV and which one will i use first and for how long, etc.
6) Also as mentioned in one of my other forums, she has begun 'nibbling' and i asked was it ok to safely offer rodent block and was informed yes it was- however the kit mentioned above that i ordered came with a sample of HiProtein Squirrel Blocks for baby squirrels & flyers of all ages- is this an appropriate substitute for rodent block and if so how do i introduce it safely?
7) As instructed since I rescued Chippers, she was in a nest box half on half off a heating pad set on low. a couple days before her eyes opened on monday she began being way more active & climbing and exploring, etc and was able to climb out of her orignal nest box (the clear plastic 16 qt/15L box shaped tote as suggested) so i moved her original nest box into a clear plastic box shaped tote that is 20 gal/76L and i surrounded it with her favorite fleece materials & sweaters so that she kinda has a nest box inside of a nest box & luckily she isnt able to climb out of this one- i bought a heating pad that is big enough to fit perfectly under the entire large box but i still followed the half on half off rule- she always slept on the part that was on the heating pad even once her nest box was placed in the big box i made sure to keep it the same way on the heating pad since that seemed to be her fav spot- but monday night she began staying out of her original nest box and on the completely opposite side of the bigger box that is not on the heating pad- and she hasnt been 'nestling' herself under he fleece blankies or her fav fleece & flannel shirts like she used to- does this mean its time to remove the heat since she does have her fur now or what should i do?
8) Also as crazy as it may sound ( and im def NOT complaining bc i :Love_Icon every second of it ) I just want to be sure this is normal squirrel behavior- she searches for me i mean literally- if i get up and move to the other end of the couch within 30 seconds she has found a way to get to me- & she has a play/exercise cage that i make sure to let her spend time in daily - its in the living room and she will play and play as long as im in the living room but the moment that i walk out of the living room & she cant see me she starts crying-literally crying until i come back into the living room, i dont have to come to her just to her 'sight' & she returns to playing & for example (this is before her eyes opened & before i put her nest box inside a bigger one) i was napping on my loveseat while my hubby & kids were on the couch watching tv. she was in her original nestbox on the floor beside me(well her nest box was on a laptop lap tray that sits a few inches off the floor so that her NB could be on a heatpad) and she was just wandering her box and exploring when i laid down on the couch- time as i closed my eyes i heard my hubby say 'Oh my gosh I cant believe it' so i immediately opened my eyes to see chippers climbing up from out her NB & up the cover i had thrown over me up the couch and nestled herself onto my chest.... i was flabbergasted!!
And finally my last ???
When do i begin offering fresh fruits & veggies and what types should be offered & introduced first??
Sorry for such a LONG forum but I am new to this and still have many questions and i only trust the answers that come from my TSB friends!!!
Any & all input, suggestions, concerns, advice, instructions,etc; (whether in my favor or not lol) are welcomed and greatly appreciated!!! :grin2 :thankyou
Thanks so much!