lil dude we found

[thumper]

found a baby yest. 1 eye closed, in the road close to the (flat) mother. got out the h. pad and made a incu. box. gave him 1/2 eyedroper of warm evaporated milk,he jumped all over the eye dropper like he was starved.did some research, and did the pedialite thing today.http://squirrelworld.com- was a good site for info.I think that this board is cool,and a good place to find answers. just thought I would intro. my self and say hi to all, any tidbits of helpfull info is greatly appr. thumper,and bumper the sq. later

[island rehabber]

Welcome Thumper, and it's so great that you rescued the little dude. You are right so far to have him on Pedialyte and then gradually get him onto Esbilac...this is all described in several places on this board and also on Chris's Squirrels and More website. If one eye is open he's probably 4-5 weeks old and should eat about 5 times a day, every 3-4 hours but not necessarily in the middle of the night. (Thank God :) ) Since he is alone you will want to put a stuffed toy or "rice buddy" (also described on this board) in with him to cuddle with. I'm not the most experienced rehabber here for sure but I'm happy to look up the answers to questions you may have and to share any of my experiences -- so is everyone else here. We're a real friendly group.

[thundersquirrel]

:Welcome

sounds like a really cute squirrel. just remember the basics; warmth, hydration, nutrition, and shelter. you may also want to help the squirrel pee and poop.

after feeding, simply get a soft tissue and gently stroke the baby's lower tummy and genitals for a bit, and see if it will pee or poop for you. i know it's kinda gross, but it's the thing that mom would do, and you'll get used to it.

Esbilac puppy formula (the powder kind) is good for squirrels. island rehabber pretty much covered that. pedialyte is also good, especially for hydration, but you don't have to give the squirrel pedialyte once it's hydrated. to check for hydration, the eyes should be bright and moist, the mouth should be wet (on the inside) and when you pinch the skin and release, it should return almost immediately to it's original position. just don't pinch the skin on the back of the neck, cause animals naturally have more skin there. ;)

warmth can be provided by a heating pad and a rice buddy. you can put the heating pad under the squirrel's enclosure; make sure the heat is getting through, but make sure the squirrel has access to cooler areas. a rice buddy can be made with a sock and some dry rice; just fill the sock with rice, tie it off tightly, and pop it in the microwave for thirty to forty-five seconds. put a cloth between the baby and the buddy; direct contact could be too hot. but the benefit of a rice buddy is that it feels like another squirrel in the nest, which is comforting to a young squirrel.

shelter can be a few old clean t-shirts to cuddle up in. terry cloth towels are not good at this age because the threads can come loose and strangle the baby. make sure that, if you put the squirrel in a cage, the squirrel can't squeeze through the bars. trust me, even if it sleeps most of the time, it just might wake up to explore at 3 AM, and if it can, it WILL escape. :D

*pant* i always feel like i write too much, but i just can't help it. i love giving advice about squirrels. :)
let us know how things go!