I need help weaning 3 babies!

[salemtucker]

I am in need of help weaning 3 babies. This is my first time with baby orphaned squirrels. They are around 6 weeks old and I was told to feed them rat pellets. They are not interested in anything but the milk. They are obsessed with the milk! I have put a dish with the food in their enclosure so they can explore it. They also want nothing to do with water, in a dish or in a syringe. I need help and ideas please! Thank you all in advance! The picture is from a couple of weeks ago. Their tails are starting to curl now!

Christine

[Annabelle's papa]

Hi salemtucker, could You post what kind of milk/formula You are giving Your Lil' Ones. And if You could post a recent photo of them that would be most helpful also.

:Welcome To The Squirrel Board and stay on if You can, and someone will start answering all of Your questions as soon as possible.:)

[salemtucker]

Hello,

I was feeding them Esbilac puppy milk replacement powder and now I am feeding them Fox Valley day one formula 20/50 milk replacement for squirrels 4 weeks and older. This is the male. The two females are in a milk coma right now but he is wanting to play.

[Annabelle's papa]

:great Bless Your Heart for the immediate reply, Your photos are very good. FV 20/50 is a good choice,:thumbsup I am a fairly new member myself but You will certainly receive a lot of experienced information from many other senior members. Don't worry about weaning, it is usually advised to let Squirrel's self wean, the longer they use formula the better.

If You could post their weights that would be ideal, however that Lil' Fellow looks the Picture of health to me. Everyone is going to be tickled to see these pics when they start coming on this morning.:Love_Icon Keep checking in the next few hours, or to pass the time You could review the healthy diet thread among many other informative topics. Thank You for finding The Squirrel Board. :)

[island rehabber]

hi salemtucker , welcome to TSB!

Rat pellets are not the way to go --forget 'em. Maybe a friend has a rat you can give them to? :grin2

First of all, your babies look beautiful and you are feeding them the right stuff. Let them continue to take the Fox Valley until THEY give it up. Most will start weaning themselves off it by 9-10 weeks old, some stay on longer. It makes their bones strong and keeps their calcium levels up, so we let them stay on as long as they wish.

Besides the formula, you'll want to start them on high-quality rodent blocks and also supplementary blocks called HHB's -- Henry's Healthy Blocks. The high quality rodent block brands are:

Harlan Teklad 2014 or 2018
Mazuri Rodent block
OxBow

If their eyes are opened you can start them on any one of these brands right away. They will mouth them, gnaw on them and shred them to bits before they start eating them...that's ok.

When they are 8 weeks old you should start them on the Growth Formula version of Henry's Healthy Blocks, available at www.henryspets.com They will get all the necessary calcium, vitamins and other minerals into your babies and you won't need to worry so much about it -- one or two a day is all you need, PLUS....

Healthy veggies from our Healthy Foods list. Go to the Squirrel Nutrition Forum and start reading; there are pop quizzes every Friday. :grin3 (not really)

We're here and happy to help you raise these beautiful baby squirrels. You'll be releasing in the spring I guess, right?

[CritterMom]

Yup - you don't wean - they do. These babies would be kept in the nest with their mama until they are about 10 weeks old - and that means IN THE NEST - no exploring. That means that in nature, the ONLY food they would be getting until that point would be mama's milk. You want to duplicate that as well as you can, and provide them with the formula until they reject it voluntarily.

[salemtucker]

Yes I will be releasing in the spring when they are old enough and we have consistent good weather.


hi salemtucker , welcome to TSB!

Rat pellets are not the way to go --forget 'em. Maybe a friend has a rat you can give them to? :grin2

First of all, your babies look beautiful and you are feeding them the right stuff. Let them continue to take the Fox Valley until THEY give it up. Most will start weaning themselves off it by 9-10 weeks old, some stay on longer. It makes their bones strong and keeps their calcium levels up, so we let them stay on as long as they wish.

Besides the formula, you'll want to start them on high-quality rodent blocks and also supplementary blocks called HHB's -- Henry's Healthy Blocks. The high quality rodent block brands are:

Harlan Teklad 2014 or 2018
Mazuri Rodent block
OxBow

If their eyes are opened you can start them on any one of these brands right away. They will mouth them, gnaw on them and shred them to bits before they start eating them...that's ok.

When they are 8 weeks old you should start them on the Growth Formula version of Henry's Healthy Blocks, available at www.henryspets.com They will get all the necessary calcium, vitamins and other minerals into your babies and you won't need to worry so much about it -- one or two a day is all you need, PLUS....

Healthy veggies from our Healthy Foods list. Go to the Squirrel Nutrition Forum and start reading; there are pop quizzes every Friday. :grin3 (not really)

We're here and happy to help you raise these beautiful baby squirrels. You'll be releasing in the spring I guess, right?

[salemtucker]

So getting a weight was a chore but here is the best I could do:

Annabeth - 225g
Constance - 205g
Mathias - 225g

The picture was not easy either because they can't stand to hold still :bliss

Precious little babies. One additional question, can I trim their nails? The "mom tree" has scratches all over it and I have a blood clotting disorder.

[CritterMom]

5-7% would be about 11cc to 15cc per feeding - I averaged everyone's weight. They are adorable.

Oh my. Baby squirrels and a clotting disorder just couldn't be worse for one another! I assume these guys are going to be released? They really need their nails - they need to learn just exactly how hard to push off to jump from here to there and just what it will feel like when they land. I wear a "squirrel suit." It is 2 pairs of cotton yoga pants, one on top of another, and two long sleeved cotton t-shirts, also layered. You could wear light cotton gloves, too - they would absorb most of the abuse. The most I would do to survive until they go into the release cage is to hit the tips with a fine emery board.

[salemtucker]

They are currently eating about 12cc per feeding and their little tummies get so fat. Thank you for the advice on the nails. :grin3


5-7% would be about 11cc to 15cc per feeding - I averaged everyone's weight. They are adorable.

Oh my. Baby squirrels and a clotting disorder just couldn't be worse for one another! I assume these guys are going to be released? They really need their nails - they need to learn just exactly how hard to push off to jump from here to there and just what it will feel like when they land. I wear a "squirrel suit." It is 2 pairs of cotton yoga pants, one on top of another, and two long sleeved cotton t-shirts, also layered. You could wear light cotton gloves, too - they would absorb most of the abuse. The most I would do to survive until they go into the release cage I would do is to hit the tips with a fine emery board.

[farrelli]

Many people wear gloves.

[lennysmom]

Oh salemtucker, your babies are so adorable! :Love_Icon I just had to say that! :grin
I wear a thick bathrobe when I am with the squirrels, and sometimes gloves too. And thick sweatpants or double layer pants work well for me. :)