New Orphan

[Stella P]

Hi, I'm Stella and I found a 2 to 3-week-old baby squirrel yesterday on a driveway. There were no other baby squirrels around and I wasn't able to find an adult squirrel or any nest. I've read numerous websites on emergency squirrel care. He doesn't appear to have any injuries but is very dehydrated.

I've been feeding him 1 cc warmed Pedialyte every 30 min. but he has peed very little (only a few drops two times) when I stimulate him. I've tried using a soft Kleenex, and Q-tips and cotton balls dampened with warm water.. I try this for 2-3 min. after feeding. Is it just that he's so dehydrated that his little body is just absorbing the solution?

Also, he has quite a lot of fleas and tiny, white specs that seem to stick/burrow into his fur. I've gotten a few of these out but is there a good way to remove them all?

A rehab person I found on the web last night hasn't contacted me yet so I'm going to call some rehab numbers from the Dept. of Natural Resources site a little later. It sounds like turning him over to a professional is the best thing to do (I sure to do like him though. His name is Superman)☺️

[PeeWee's Mom]

Thanks Stella for saving this little guy!
Someone with more experience will help guide you.
Make sure baby is kept warm- fleece vs towels (so the nails don't get caught) and if you have a heating pad place it under half the container you have the baby in. This will keep him warm. Can you post a picture of the little one so the folks here and see what we're working with?

Thxx

[Stella P]

Sure, I'll do that!

[Stella P]

I'm changing his bedding twice a day--I took the bedding advice when I first got him (no terrycloth) and have a smooth, padded placemat on the bottom and a couple of pieces of soft material for him to burrow into. Also, I don't have a heating pad but I put a large jar of hot water in his box (outside of jar protected with cloth so he won't burn. I'll try to upload a pic of him now...

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 Stella P
:Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

Here is a link that will help. It's basic baby squirrel care.
It has 6 pages. The NEXT button is at the top.
http://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/

Either a drop of Revolution or a warm bath in Dawn dish washing soap will get rid of the fleas.
I would probably do the bath. I would wait until he is hydrated to use the Revolution.

[Stella P]

Thank you HRT! I'll get that link and try the Dawn dishsoap bath. Gotta feed the little man his Pedialyte now...

[gardenjewel]

Hi, I am wondering if the white specs that seem to stick/burrow into his fur might be maggots? If so the baby might need a capstar?
Julia

[Stella P]

Hi Julia (and ALL of you helpful people),

Thank you for your suggestion. From all the images I've seen on the web my baby squirrel may very well have both maggots and lice eggs. If some of them are maggots, though, they are far smaller than a grain of rice. I had to look up what "Capstar" is--I'm a real newbie at this.☺️ It seems to be a very good idea, especially since you can use it topically also. For now, since he is still very dehydrated after 19 hrs., I'm going to hold off on that and just give him a Dawn dish soap bath later on tonight. At the moment, I'm mostly concentrating on just keeping him warm and rehydrating. Do you think this is a good idea?

Also, do you (or anyone!) know when I should start gradually transitioning him to formula, given his dehydrated condition? I've read that you should wait first until he's completely rehydrated and then start giving him Pedialyte/Esbilac ratios. But I'm a little afraid that after 24H he might start starving. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Julia and you others!
Stella

[lennysmom]

Don't use the Pedylite for more then 24 hours - how many feelings of it have you given your little one so far? Also, do you have a weight on him? You want to be feeding 5 -7% of his total body weight. If he's already had several feelings of the hydration fluids, I would suggest giving him some formula, slightly more diluted then usual (with plain water). Make sure you are using the Esbalic with probiotics. Oh, and feeding with a syringe no bigger then a 1cc at this age.

[gardenjewel]

he does need nutrition. I would keep giving him hydration fluid...sugar water not Pedialyte in between feedings. Also you can dilute the formula with water and slowly bring it up to full strength...maybe over a day or so.

Thanks,
Julia

[Spanky]

Can you post a picture of the little one so the folks here and see what we're working with?

Just wanted to remind you to post a picture. If he does have maggots and not just lice and fleas, I am pretty sure you will want to treat with Capstar orally as well as topically. There is a good chance if they are ON him, they are IN him. And they will literally eat him from the inside (not to scare you but so you understand how critical the Capstar treatment). Those more experienced with maggots will provide precise guidance, but a picture will be extremely helpful "so the folks here can see what we're working with". And you always will get more members to look at the thread that includes pictures/.. they can't resist squirrel pictures! :rotfl

Thank you for helping this little one. :thankyou

:Welcome to The Squirrel Board.

[Stella P]

Hi everyone! Fantastic news that I FINALLY found a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to finish caring for my little squirrel. I'm bringing him to her tomorrow.

You're right, Jenny's Mom and garden jewel. Per the new caretaker on the phone, I have switched Superman to Esbilac and plain water. No more Pedialyte as she said it contains salt and too much of it can dehydrate him further. So far he's been doing great.

Before with the Pedialite, I gave him 30 min. to hourly feedings of Pedialyte, 1cc each time, later 2cc's, for a total of 13 cc's from last night to early afternoon. Unfortunately I don't have access to a gram scale, but I'm sure the rehabilitator does. I'm using a 1cc syringe.

Hi Spanky, I'm afraid I couldn't figure out how to upload of picture of my little guy onto my page here. Maybe you can give me some guidance on that--I'm such a computer Luddite. Also, I'm sure that the rehabilitator will have that Capstar product on hand for the maggots. I'll be sure to tell her when I see her tomorrow because I know the maggots inside can kill them.

You are all incredible people, so helpful and insightful! It was very very challenging to find a professional rehabilitator around my area. I called so many people and organizations between caring for my squirrel and most of them were full to capacity or their phone numbers were outdated. Finally I found a really nice person to hand my squirrel over to, and she has other 3 other baby squirrels so he can socialize with them!

Thank you again for all your help! I'm going to TRY again to figure out how to upload a pic of the little guy, but right now I have to feed him. Bye for now, and I'll check back later to see if you have any more suggestions before I hand him over to the rehab woman tomorrow. I'm really going to miss him though. He's been a brief but shining light and I'm sure he'll do much better with professional care and other squirrel playmates.

[kcassidy]

I just had a baby come in the other night who was covered in Fly Eggs, they are the eggs that turn into Maggots. I should have taken a pix before cleaning her up, but I didn't (DOH!!!) here she is after, but you can still see 2. One is on the right side of the pix right above her thumb, the other on the left side on my jeans. When I got her she was COVERED in them. They look like pieces of rice.

I feed them capstar (crushed pill mixed with pedialyte) and I put ONE drop of Revolution for cats on them as well.

Cleans them right up. All intakes get this treatment.


Hope this helps, there is a lot more you need to do, but I'm sure others will weigh in on that.

Thanks for caring!

Kim
262121

[Stella P]

I just had a baby come in the other night who was covered in Fly Eggs, they are the eggs that turn into Maggots. I should have taken a pix before cleaning her up, but I didn't (DOH!!!) here she is after, but you can still see 2. One is on the right side of the pix right above her thumb, the other on the left side on my jeans. When I got her she was COVERED in them. They look like pieces of rice.

I feed them capstar (crushed pill mixed with pedialyte) and I put ONE drop of Revolution for cats on them as well.

Cleans them right up. All intakes get this treatment.


Hope this helps, there is a lot more you need to do, but I'm sure others will weigh in on that.

Thanks for caring!

Kim
262121
Kim,
You have the most adorable pics! I have Revolution but for cats greater than 5 pounds. Would it be OK to put a drop of that on my little squirrel?

[Spanky]

Hi Spanky, I'm afraid I couldn't figure out how to upload of picture of my little guy onto my page here. Maybe you can give me some guidance on that--I'm such a computer Luddite. Also, I'm sure that the rehabilitator will have that Capstar product on hand for the maggots. I'll be sure to tell her when I see her tomorrow because I know the maggots inside can kill them.
:wave123 Stella P. I am a native Michigander too! :Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard.

:thankyou for helping this baby and finding help for this baby... you Rock!


Maybe this will help with picture uploading:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?30-How-do-I-upload-or-post-pictures-on-this-site
(http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?30-How-do-I-upload-or-post-pictures-on-this-site)
Michigan, I have come to realize, is a tough state for finding squirrel help. This place is a ways away from you in Lowell, but I learn to love them more and more as more time passes:

http://farmwildlife.org/

Keep a note with their contact info in case of future needs. Sometimes I wonder if Sjana regrets the day she met me (we, us... KT my wife was there and she is much more likable than I!!!). :tilt I am sure Sjana does not have regrets as her heart is full of love.

Of course, you could start to spread word here about the wonderful rehabber you located... Lord knows we need more reliable, squirrel friend folks in the Mitten State! Michigan is a standout squirrel state... reds, foxers, greys (of all sorts) not to mention chippers etc.!

Now that you have instructions... we really really love squirrel pics! :grin3

[Stella P]

:wave123 Stella P. I am a native Michigander too! :Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard.

:thankyou for helping this baby and finding help for this baby... you Rock!


Maybe this will help with picture uploading:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?30-How-do-I-upload-or-post-pictures-on-this-site
(http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?30-How-do-I-upload-or-post-pictures-on-this-site)
Michigan, I have come to realize, is a tough state for finding squirrel help. This place is a ways away from you in Lowell, but I learn to love them more and more as more time passes:

http://farmwildlife.org/

Keep a note with their contact info in case of future needs. Sometimes I wonder if Sjana regrets the day she met me (we, us... KT my wife was there and she is much more likable than I!!!). :tilt I am sure Sjana does not have regrets as her heart is full of love.

Of course, you could start to spread word here about the wonderful rehabber you located... Lord knows we need more reliable, squirrel friend folks in the Mitten State! Michigan is a standout squirrel state... reds, foxers, greys (of all sorts) not to mention chippers etc.!

Now that you have instructions... we really really love squirrel pics! :grin3

Hi Spanky,
Thank you for the link. Sorry, but I have an iPad and those instructions for uploading a photo seem to be for a non-Apple (Microsoft) format.
The only thing I was able to do was upload a photo to appear under my Profile, but it doesn't appear as my avatar for people to see .
I give up. I'm sure this site accomodates iPad users but I just can't figure out how. The iPad doesn't allow me to drag a file down to the box I'm supposed to put the photo in.

That farm wildlife link is a great one for people in your area. The rehabilitator woman I'm bringing my squirrel to is:

Sally Bradford (Lapeer County) 586-484-6299. She is in Ortonville, Michigan. I'm sure she wouldn't mind her number being posted here as she is listed in the wildlife rehab. portion of the DNR website. She is about 1 hr. from my St. Clair Shores/north Detroit area. As of today, she will have 4 little squirrel babies so she may be at full capacity at this moment.

I have tremendous respect for people who volunteer to take in multiple squirrel babies! I feel little Superman has consumed a lot of my time these past couple of days, though I have really enjoyed it. But I can't imagine being able to care for 3 or 4 of them the way they're supposed to be, especially those who are really sick or injured. Those people are wonderful. I plan on donating a little money to Sally for her time with Superman, and to ensure she has some Capstar on hand for him.

One thing I plan to do is put together a "wildlife emergency supply kit"--things like a heating pad (Sally has a great idea--in a pinch, she says those instant handwarmers work very well as a heat source. They last for hours), different size syringes, formulas, Capstar, a gram scale and some other supplies.

Well, I'm signing off for now. Sorry this is so long

Stella

[Spanky]

Stella sent me some Super pictures of her Man and said I could share with everyone. I have attached several pictures of "Superman". :klunk


That farm wildlife link is a great one for people in your area.I was visiting Grand Rapids when I came across a squirrel (Hank the Tank) in the road that had been hit. The bad news is we had a difficult time finding help but the good news is we found Sjana and Hank is now free in the trees. TSB has referred several people coming here looking for help to Sjana and she is always there to help!

The rehabilitator woman I'm bringing my squirrel to is: Sally Bradford (Lapeer County) 586-484-6299. She is in Ortonville, Michigan. I'm sure she wouldn't mind her number being posted here as she is listed in the wildlife rehab. Portion of the DNR website.
We would love to add Sally to our extremely sparse “MI List”. If you keep in touch with Sally and get up dates on Superman don’t forget to pass those along to us here on TSB!

One thing I plan to do is put together a "wildlife emergency supply kit"--things like a heating pad (Sally has a great idea--in a pinch, she says those instant hand-warmers work very well as a heat source. They last for hours, different size syringes, formulas, Capstar, a gram scale and some other supplies.
All sounds like great advice… A plastic container with a lid and holes drilled into it as well! I keep that and a pair of gloves in both my vehicles.


Well, I'm signing off for now. Sorry this is so long.

No apologies needed… I suffer that same long message affliction myself when writing about squirrels. :tilt
PS But the folks around here don’t even mind, especially if there are lots of pictures... they get distracted don’t even realize how long the post actually is! :poke