Help needed now!!!

[mekeablue]

Hi! A baby squirrel was placed in my care today and I need help! It is a boy and his eyes and ears are open.
He is active but sluggish. He is warm. But I need to know where to go from here. All our local rescues can not take him. As they are full. I can't figure out how to upload a picture of him. But he is a souther baby/juvenile grey squirrel. Please help me help him. I don't know if I should try formula first or what. He also has been "talking" to me.

[SammysMom]

I am here to help! Is he on a heating pad set on low? The heating pad should be half under (on the outside) of a plastic container with fleece or flannel or tee shirts in it so he can burrow into it. Have you given him anything at all by mouth?

[Nancy in New York]

Hi! A baby squirrel was placed in my care today and I need help! It is a boy and his eyes and ears are open.
He is active but sluggish. He is warm. But I need to know where to go from here. All our local rescues can not take him. As they are full. I can't figure out how to upload a picture of him. But he is a souther baby/juvenile grey squirrel. Please help me help him. I don't know if I should try formula first or what. He also has been "talking" to me.

OK you need to warm him first.
IF you have a heating pad, put it half way under the container on the outside that he is in, and set it on LOW.
He needs to be warmed slowly before you hydrate.
Do you have anything to feed him with?
Can you post a picture.
Have you raised a squirrel before?
How was he placed in your care? Under what circumstances was he found?
I know lots of questions, but I'm thrilled that you found your way to us and
that you are helping him.
You will need pedialyte or homemade hydration, which is:
1 tsp salt (teaspoon)
3 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)
1 quart warm water
Mix all ingredients in warm water. Store in refrigerator.

edit: I see that SammysMom is here, you are in great hands.

[mekeablue]

I am here to help! Is he on a heating pad set on low? The heating pad should be half under (on the outside) of a plastic container with fleece or flannel or tee shirts in it so he can burrow into it. Have you given him anything at all by mouth?


Yes, he was found in the middle of the street, I told them to do exactly that with the heating pad, he is currently in a suitcase with a tshirt and heating pad, I tried formula but he refused.

[SammysMom]

Can you text me a pic to 203 214-7427?

[island rehabber]

Don't rush to formula right away. Once he is nice and warm, make a mixture of warm water and either honey or a few drops of apple juice. Drop some onto his lips, or under his muzzle, and let him taste and swallow it. Chances are he will eagerly take more; let him take as much as he wants. It may take a few rounds of hydration before he is ready to try formula. Eyes-open babies are harder to transition to formula because they KNOW it's not mamma's milk.....but they do come around, eventually!

[mekeablue]

OK you need to warm him first.
IF you have a heating pad, put it half way under the container on the outside that he is in, and set it on LOW.
He needs to be warmed slowly before you hydrate.
Do you have anything to feed him with?
Can you post a picture.
Have you raised a squirrel before?
How was he placed in your care? Under what circumstances was he found?
I know lots of questions, but I'm thrilled that you found your way to us and
that you are helping him.
You will need pedialyte or homemade hydration, which is:
1 tsp salt (teaspoon)
3 Tbsp sugar (tablespoon)
1 quart warm water
Mix all ingredients in warm water. Store in refrigerator.

edit: I see that SammysMom is here, you are in great hands.


I have a little experience with baby (pinkies) they did not make it, this was just a couple of weeks ago, so I still have formula, bottles and syringes my vet gave me. If I knew how to post a picture I would, so that way y'all would be better at knowing his age and helping.

He was found in the middle of the road, just sitting there, and he was easily picked up by the lady who found him, she knew I had a little experience with babies, so she called me. When I got there we looked for a nest...with none in the 5 tress in the area he was found. He is warm and was warm when found, maybe a little dazed? It was about 30 mins before I got to him and I had found this board right before I lost my twin pinkies. The vet said they both had intestinal damage from their fall and there really was no way to save them. I had them for two weeks and knew something was up during a midnight feeding so i stared goggling found y'all, but things got worse and I called my vet, who has knowledge with squirrels, we live in a VERY SMALL southern town. He put them down instead of making them suffer, I do NOT want the same fate for this guy. He keeps jabbering at me and acting like all he wants to do is curl up and sleep, which he is doing now.

[mekeablue]

Don't rush to formula right away. Once he is nice and warm, make a mixture of warm water and either honey or a few drops of apple juice. Drop some onto his lips, or under his muzzle, and let him taste and swallow it. Chances are he will eagerly take more; let him take as much as he wants. It may take a few rounds of hydration before he is ready to try formula. Eyes-open babies are harder to transition to formula because they KNOW it's not mamma's milk.....but they do come around, eventually!

Should I use a bottle or syringe? I am making the hydration solution as I do not have any local honey. He did taste the milk but wanted nothing to do with it. He keeps jabbering at me and acts like he just wants to curl up and go to sleep. Which he is doing, he is currently in a suitcase with a low heating pad, half in and half out. If someone can tell me how to upload a picture I can do that so you can see how big he is, maybe he's over fluids besides water and needs real food, which I have NO IDEA what squirrels eat.

Thank you soooo much for your immediate response and help, my vet is out of town and we have no other vets who have any experience with squirrels, plus my vet is the only one I really trust.

[SammysMom]

Please put the heating pad UNDER the suitcase. They can chew at a very young age and that would be disastrous.:eek

[SammysMom]

Here is the little cutie patootie...

[mekeablue]

[QUOTE=SammysMom;1050722]Here is the little cutie patootie...[/QU

Thanks for posting him....do we know about how old he is? the heating pad has been moved. He is nice and warm, when should I try the fluids?

[island rehabber]

Anytime, now that he's warm. :) Use a syringe -- 1cc is the right size; 3cc if you are VERY VERY careful, nothing larger and no bottles please.
He is only about 5-6 wks old with that skinny tail, so he will need formula for at least another month. Right now, hydration is key and then transition to formula. You can get him some quality rodent blocks online (Harland Teklad and Oxbow are good; Zupreem primate chow is ok) and start him on those as his first solid food. But, if he were with mamma he would still be taking nearly all of his nourishment from her milk.

[ALittleNutty]

Please only use a 1 cc syringe if you have it, no bottle. You have to be able to control the flow of the formula so he doesn't inhale it and get it in his lungs. If you have a plastic tote that would be better than the suitcase. At this age he needs to be in something deep enough that he can't climb out of.

[stepnstone]

You do realize liquids/ formulas need to be quite warm
as in close to hot right? :confused:

[Spanky]

What kind of formula do you have from the vet and your pinkies? This is important since there are only a few that are appropriate for squirrels. Feeding them the wrong kind of formula can be disastrous.

[Nancy in New York]

Also, and I hate to bombard you, but hold him in an upright position or on his tummy, on a flat surface to feed, and
have the syringe pointed up toward the roof of his mouth, let him sort of guide the flow with his swallowing. JUST GO SLOW.
IF you aspirate him, (formula coming out of the nose) gently turn him upside down for a few seconds, and then gently inhale his nostrils to get out any formula, wipe the nose off so he doesn't breath it in again.

Video of proper feeding technique.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?36777-PROPER-FEEDING-TECHNIQUE!!

OR lay him on his tummy on a table and feed like this, with syringe pointing up.
Sorry the picture is from above, but you get the idea.


http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/photos/i-5nJFR2s/0/M/i-5nJFR2s-M.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Other/TSB-resizing-2/n-GmzqZ/i-5nJFR2s/A)

[mekeablue]

What kind of formula do you have from the vet and your pinkies? This is important since there are only a few that are appropriate for squirrels. Feeding them the wrong kind of formula can be disastrous.

I have PetLac, which is a puppy replacement formula. It was the only thing I could get my hands on at the time and the dr told me to add fat plain yogurt to the mix before I fed the pinkies. If this is not the right stuff, please tell me what I need. He has also started "purring". Is that normal? We have moved him to a small bird cage for now, so he can excape and the other four legged children can't get to him. He seems to want to investigate, but also burrow and sleep...is that normal also? we have made the mixture as there is not a store in my town open right now for me to get pedialite. I also know the food has to almost be almost hot. how often should I feed him?

[mekeablue]

Also should I try to find another vet to get him checked out, although I think the next closes is about 100 miles away or do you think he will be ok till Monday when my vet who has knowledge, rescued and released squirrels will be back in town. Also will he be releaseable or should I just start making plans to get a set up made for him? we have a perfect spot where we could build him an enclosure outside and if he wants to come in he can come in thru a small window we have?

[SammysMom]

You need to get Esbilac puppy formula in powdered form. Here is the can that you want (on the right). It says with probiotics on the can. You mix it 1 scoop powder to 2 parts hot water. Not boiling water, but very hot from the tap. Go to the pharmacy counter and tell them you are feeding a newborn kitten and ask them for a couple of 1cc syringes without the needles.

[stepnstone]

You need to get Esbilac puppy formula in powdered form. Here is the can that you want (on the right). It says with probiotics on the can. You mix it 1 scoop powder to 2 parts hot water. Not boiling water, but very hot from the tap. Go to the pharmacy counter and tell them you are feeding a newborn kitten and ask them for a couple of 1cc syringes without the needles.

244934

[mekeablue]

I have 1cc syringes, which he took 1and 1/2 of the hydration solution. Then fell sleep in my hand.... I put him in his new area and he "jabbered as he burried himself under the tshirts. It is late and at the time he was found I think it might have been bed time? I just attemped to wake him to give him another meal and he jabbered at me the buried deeper in his bed. I am assuming this is normal?

[czarina]

Good looking little fellow.
Thanks for helping him and :Welcome

[Spanky]

If he is healthy and hydrated, he likely just wants to sleep since it is (was?) the middle of the night. All my healthy squirrels that age were very inactive at night, especially the singletons. Did you do the pinch test to check for dehydration? He looks good but we don't see much of his torso in the current pictures!

He likely won't want to eat overnight at his age, judging by his pic... he can likely go 6 - 7 hours without eating... maybe others can confirm since I am not 100% certain? Or maybe offer for the first few nights just to give him a kick-start? I would offer him formula about every 4 hours through out the day... he may go five hours before he is interested? Mine always were early risers eager to eat at sun-up!

I have good luck finding the Esbilac w/Probiotics in the powder form (premixed is different and no good) at Tractor Supply.

It's good to mix the formula up ahead of time and place it in the fridge for a few hours to thoroughly mix and dissolve. You'll need to warm the formula out of the fridge before the squirrel will take it. Most use hot water (versus the microwave which easy to overheat the formula). If you have several syringes you can pull up the formula in several of them and place in hot water in a cup or mug to keep them warm. Multiple syringes makes feeding easier as well since the squirrel is less likely to loose interest or become impatient in between syringe fills. He should eat between 5 - 7% of his weight... so if he weighs 100GM he should eat between 5 -7ml... but this may vary some but be careful of the extremes.

If you have any questions, ask them... no one wants to overload you with info, but at the same its hard to know what you may not know?!?! That's what this place is all about!

Thanks for helping this little guy... he was waiting there in the street for YOU to help!

:Welcome

PS Can you go back during daylight to the area you found him and make sure there are not any others in need of help? Or maybe the lady that called can have a look see this morning?

[mekeablue]

I did the pinch test as soon as I got him, he was good, no tenting. He took 2 ccs this morning, also waking me up cause he was NOT happy. But at the end of the 2nd cc he fell back asleep. I attempted to stroke him to wake him, but he just seemed to enjoy it, burrowing deep in my hand.

Please bombard me. I have little experience with squirrels, I lost twin pinkies at about 2 weeks old, that fell from about 15 feet during a wind storm, the vet told me they had internal issues due to the fall....kittens, puppies, birds, tadpoles, armadillos, opossums and two very abused young sugar gliders who had 4 great years with us. Along with any stray or lost animal within a 20 mile radius seem to find my house...squirrels...not so much.

Should I still be stimulating him to potty? Also is it normal for him to be so vocal, I have heard jabbering and something that sounds like a young purring kitten? Also when trying formula, should I start with the hydrating solution then switch in the middle of feeding to formula, I am headed to our local Tractor Supply now.

[pjjere]

Our first squirrel rehab, Nutkin, never made a sound when she was small. When she got older she would make kind of a soft purring noise when she was calm and wanted petting. Now we have 2 babies and one is constantly speaking while the other one is silent. The babies we have now (they were 4 & 5 wks old) never required stimulation but they did get a little constipated after a day or two on the formula. I would try stimulation with your squirrel, it can't hurt and may encourage him to pee and poo. Good luck and welcome to TSB!

[Spanky]

I agree, stimulating cannot hurt.

As I said, at that age mine always were up at the crack of dawn wanting to be fed!

No, do not use hydration solution at the same time as formula. You can give water / sugar water in between feedings, but not at the same time. I only know this having read quite an interesting post explaining both nutrition and hydration and to summarize: Hydrating at feeding time is counterproductive to both the squirrel getting nutrition as well as being hydrated. Something about the body pulling fluid into the gut for digestion.

When you say "so vocal", a video would help a lot to know what the vocalizations are exactly. But if he was just recently separated from mom last night, he may still be attempting to call to her to come retrieve him. Or.. if it was later in the morning, he may just have been very hungry.

Do you a have weight on him so as to track he is getting the right amount of formula? Knowing his weight is critical. And as IR mentioned earlier, this is an older squirrel, not like your prior pinkies that normally gobble whatever they are given, and he knows what mamma's milks is very well, so it make require some time for him to adjust to the "hoomin" concoction! :grin3

[mekeablue]

Our first squirrel rehab, Nutkin, never made a sound when she was small. When she got older she would make kind of a soft purring noise when she was calm and wanted petting. Now we have 2 babies and one is constantly speaking while the other one is silent. The babies we have now (they were 4 & 5 wks old) never required stimulation but they did get a little constipated after a day or two on the formula. I would try stimulation with your squirrel, it can't hurt and may encourage him to pee and poo. Good luck and welcome to TSB!

I will give him a "bath" at next feeding and see if he'll potty. Thanks for the welcome! I am so glad I found y'all!! Everyone has been wonderful at helping! :Love_Icon

[mekeablue]

I agree, stimulating cannot hurt.

As I said, at that age mine always were up at the crack of dawn wanting to be fed!

No, do not use hydration solution at the same time as formula. You can give water / sugar water in between feedings, but not at the same time. I only know this having read quite an interesting post explaining both nutrition and hydration and to summarize: Hydrating at feeding time is counterproductive to both the squirrel getting nutrition as well as being hydrated. Something about the body pulling fluid into the gut for digestion.

When you say "so vocal", a video would help a lot to know what the vocalizations are exactly. But if he was just recently separated from mom last night, he may still be attempting to call to her to come retrieve him. Or.. if it was later in the morning, he may just have been very hungry.

Do you a have weight on him so as to track he is getting the right amount of formula? Knowing his weight is critical. And as IR mentioned earlier, this is an older squirrel, not like your prior pinkies that normally gobble whatever they are given, and he knows what mamma's milks is very well, so it make require some time for him to adjust to the "hoomin" concoction! :grin3


The sounds is almost like he is mad or does not want to be disturbed, happens when I pick him up, or put him back to bed. But most of the time last night, He will "purr" while he is in my hands, although he will also jabber and burrow into my closed hand. I will try to get video.

I do not have a scale to weight him on, that is next on my list today.

Should I just offer formula since he is hydrated and I now have the right stuff? Also his last two feedings he has been chewing on the tip of the syringe. Bottom teeth are in, top teeth are coming in, or from what he'll let me see and I'm not pushing to see...

Also should I be giving him some type of day light time? Like time in the window? Of just let him burrow and sleep between feedings?

[mekeablue]

If he is healthy and hydrated, he likely just wants to sleep since it is (was?) the middle of the night. All my healthy squirrels that age were very inactive at night, especially the singletons. Did you do the pinch test to check for dehydration? He looks good but we don't see much of his torso in the current pictures!

He likely won't want to eat overnight at his age, judging by his pic... he can likely go 6 - 7 hours without eating... maybe others can confirm since I am not 100% certain? Or maybe offer for the first few nights just to give him a kick-start? I would offer him formula about every 4 hours through out the day... he may go five hours before he is interested? Mine always were early risers eager to eat at sun-up!

I have good luck finding the Esbilac w/Probiotics in the powder form (premixed is different and no good) at Tractor Supply.

It's good to mix the formula up ahead of time and place it in the fridge for a few hours to thoroughly mix and dissolve. You'll need to warm the formula out of the fridge before the squirrel will take it. Most use hot water (versus the microwave which easy to overheat the formula). If you have several syringes you can pull up the formula in several of them and place in hot water in a cup or mug to keep them warm. Multiple syringes makes feeding easier as well since the squirrel is less likely to loose interest or become impatient in between syringe fills. He should eat between 5 - 7% of his weight... so if he weighs 100GM he should eat between 5 -7ml... but this may vary some but be careful of the extremes.

If you have any questions, ask them... no one wants to overload you with info, but at the same its hard to know what you may not know?!?! That's what this place is all about!

Thanks for helping this little guy... he was waiting there in the street for YOU to help!

:Welcome

PS Can you go back during daylight to the area you found him and make sure there are not any others in need of help? Or maybe the lady that called can have a look see this morning?

We checked all five trees last night for a nest or a mother wondering around, no luck.... they have been checking every few hours to see if he had any siblings. We do know there is a wild tom cat in area...... but he has no visible wounds, is using all limbs and eyes and ear are defiantly working because he was not to happy when the dogs were barking this morning after his morning feeding...lol

[Spanky]

Yes, if he is warm and hydrated offer him the formula. Do not forget (or go back and review) IR's advice about how it might be necessary to ease this little into the Esbilac. Transitioning from momma's milk it not always immediate.

I think they all chew on the syringe tips when their teeth come in. Miracle nipples can save a lot of syringes and my squirrels have always preferred that over the syringe tip:
http://www.henryspets.com/miracle-nipple/

A few minutes of lLight is good but not a lot of direct sunlight. They can overheat quickly and we still have very warm days now here in the South. Making sure he has a pile of fleece, flannel or tee shirt material to burrow in and hide is a plus. You should consider a quiet place maybe away from the dogs... he may be very alarmed about those predators being so close by.

[island rehabber]

You should consider a quiet place maybe away from the dogs... he may be very alarmed about those predators being so close by.

Good advice. An 'older' baby knows what predators are and he is not going to come out or eat if he hears/smells them. :thumbsup

[mekeablue]

Happy to report little man took right to the formula. When I went to wake him this morning he bounced right in my hand chattering happily. I sent another picture for y'all to see his torso and full body size. Any concerns please let me know.

[farrelli]

He looks great. Let us know if you have other questions. You know not to take him outside, right?

[mekeablue]

He looks great. Let us know if you have other questions. You know not to take him outside, right?



Other than the obviouse of him running away, is there any other reason he can not go outside? Also when should I start him on solids? I am ordering the block that was recommended, but I also would like to get prepared for when and what he needs as solids to keep him healthy.... and he is a "talker", he lets us know when he is upset or I am late with a feeding, but he also lets us know that he's happy and he's starting to come to my call. If I cup my hand just right, he will stay there forever, with his little head peaking out every so often. I am in love!!:Love_Icon

[HRT4SQRLS]

He is as cute as can be. :serene

One more reason not to take him outside: a predator like a hawk can drop from the sky and snatch him away. :eek
He is very young and will need to be overwintered. He has months to go until spring. I wouldn't want to start acclimating him to the sights and sounds of the great outdoors when he can't go there yet. Sometimes when squirrels get bored and anxious to be free they will start pacing in the cage. It's pretty miserable for them and you when they pace.

They can have the block when their eyes open. They might not eat it right away but they will start playing with it and crumbling it. Soon they will be eating it. The block should be their first solid food.

[farrelli]

So many people have so many sad stories of outside time going bad. Everyone thinks they're different, and then it goes bad.

And like was mentioned, outside time can make them start to wild up, which will make them unhappy and hard to deal with inside.

[mekeablue]

It would be just my luck that the female red tail hawk we have watch grow since she was just an egg decide to come visit....and that honestly would not have occured to me had y'all not said something, because my ol' man wants to take him out in the back yard and let him play in the grass. He is a very active little guy, he knows that if he scratches his box then I or "Dad" will come get him out, sometimes he wants to eat, sometimes he just wants to know what is going on. From what I have read, this is normal correct? I am free feeding him at this point, if it's been more than 5 hours and he's been sleeping since his last feeding then I will wake him and feed him, If he wakes thru the day or night and it hasn't, then I offer. Is this ok, or like a two legged baby, should he be on a schedule?

Also, is this the rodent block I was told about?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/larger/lg-85101-vendor.jpg

Is this what we start him out on and then transition him to real food or is this a replacement? Because I would like for him to have a natural diet.

[farrelli]

Those are OK blocks. THe gold standard are these:

http://www.henryspets.com/hi-protein-blocks/

Blocks are absolutely necessary and the bedrock of the diet. Here is the diet plan for an adult sq:

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

Let him take formula as well for as long as possible.