Expert Advice needed!

[SquirrelMamma]

Hello. This is my second time taking in a squirrel. The first one I rescued when my son was a baby, so my main goal the whole time was to release him to the wild. This time , eight years later... I have much more time and am enjoying the little moments a whole lot more. My first rescue squirrel was still very wild like. He was afraid of other animals and always on guard. This squirrel girl is not. I am thinking releasing her back would only hurt her considering she has no fear of cats, dogs or humans. My concern however is can holding and handling my 5 1/2 week old girl hurt her in anyway? I tried researching it but the info is very mixed and uneducated people posting it. Other than that she is thriving and growing on schedule. :-)

[Mommaluvy]

I still hold my 5. 1/2 weekers

I give scritchies and loves at feeding time - But I don't cuddle coddle them per say.

She will eventually become afraid of other animals and frankly we want that. Don't let her around pets :)

[SquirrelMamma]

Thank you for answering so quickly. Trust me I keep her well away from any other animals, but I was referring more to the sounds they make and her reaction to them. I was just concerned with whether over handling was an issue that could make the squirrel sick in any way. My belle loves to snuggle with me, and boy how she has grown. I do have a concern with that I can bathe her with, which I do once a week with a washcloth instead of in the tub, to help her hair not be so dry. She has one drop literally in between her shoulder blades of kitten flea medication, frontline, but she has itchy skin, and I can see her skin flaking, not everywhere but in a couple of spots. Any expert advice would be super helpful. Thank you!

[Mommaluvy]

Overhandling will not make her sick. But it will further habituated her to humans. That said usually, and it's been my experience that they start to wild up around 8 weeks of age. This is a good thing for releasing.

Mine can hear the cat and hear the dog and some children.. They don't seem to care either .. But when my releases go out in the acclimation and release cages they learn from the other squirrels and animals. I have some ten week olds that heard a chipmunk warning the other day and all four dropped their syringes and ran into the nest box . Some of its ingrained in them . Instinct or what not. I have never allowed the, to see my pets. But I can see the releases are afraid of the neighbors dog.

Now.. I am confused with the bathing part of your question.

As to the flea medication. Exactly what are you using? ( frontline ?) And are you able to post a picture of your little ones fur? Have you seen fleas? And if not you may want to stop using it. But post a pic if you can and see what the others say.

[stepnstone]

Thank you for answering so quickly. Trust me I keep her well away from any other animals, but I was referring more to the sounds they make and her reaction to them. I was just concerned with whether over handling was an issue that could make the squirrel sick in any way. My belle loves to snuggle with me, and boy how she has grown. I do have a concern with that I can bathe her with, which I do once a week with a washcloth instead of in the tub, to help her hair not be so dry. She has one drop literally in between her shoulder blades of kitten flea medication, frontline, but she has itchy skin, and I can see her skin flaking, not everywhere but in a couple of spots. Any expert advice would be super helpful. Thank you!

The frontline will rid parasites, if you have treated once I'd treat
just once more a month later. Frontline will not address the dry skin.
I would not recommend bathing with anything except original unscented Dawn liquid dish soap.
I would recommend washing her laundry with the same. Most detergents contain fragrant and
other properties that can be irritating and drying to squirrels.
Using a light/thin coat of Neosporin on her dry areas will help elevate them.

[SquirrelMamma]

Yes I have only used it once, I was concerned more for mites then fleas, although with all the stray cats around carrying fleas in to the house is always a possibility. It is frontline from walmart for kittens . I appreciate the tips on bathing, until this point I have not used any soap, but I do use tide simple for my laundry including the squirrels. For now on I will switch to dawn to not further irritate her skin. It is hard to get a pic of her, but I will try to post what I have, although the flaking is not severe at all , just irritating to her... a flake here and there. All of you are very helpful and I appreciate all of your advice.

[stepnstone]

Recently I treated one of mine for excessive itching, thought for sure it had to be mites
since I didn't see fleas. First treatment didn't show me anything so month later I treated again.
That helped to reduce 50% of her scratching but I felt she was still scratching too much.

Then it "dawned" on me.....
I routinely do (my own) laundry, I routinely grab the detergent.

Not knowing how much of her laundry had been washed in detergent
I rewashed everything.
Once I re-washed ALL my squees laundry with the dawn, her scratching
almost completely disappeared. Anything I see now is just normal.

Who knows, it could have been a combination of the two or it was just
the detergent all along. :dono

Don't use any type dryer sheets either, they will irritate a squirrel.