New baby - what next?

[blessedbeingmom]

On October 5th, my MIL brought us a baby squirrel that she found on her property. We estimated him to be about 3-4 weeks old and have been feeding him Fox Valley since then. He is gaining well, although I don't have the exact numbers with me as we are camping this weekend (with him). We do have electricity for his heating pad, which is half under his box. We have done this before, but it has been a few years & Ms. Suzy was several weeks older when we found her. Up till now, he has been in a small shoe box which has Twinkle Toes written on it, so that is his nickname for now.
I just need a little help remembering what to do next. When do we start introducing other foods, and what do we start with? Now that his eyes are open, what would be the next appropriate cage/home for him? When do we add a water bottle? How long do we need to continue to stimulate him? Thanks for any advice!

[Spanky]

On October 5th, my MIL brought us a baby squirrel that she found on her property. We estimated him to be about 3-4 weeks old and have been feeding him Fox Valley since then. He is gaining well, although I don't have the exact numbers with me as we are camping this weekend (with him). We do have electricity for his heating pad, which is half under his box. We have done this before, but it has been a few years & Ms. Suzy was several weeks older when we found her. Up till now, he has been in a small shoe box which has Twinkle Toes written on it, so that is his nickname for now.
I just need a little help remembering what to do next. When do we start introducing other foods, and what do we start with? Now that his eyes are open, what would be the next appropriate cage/home for him? When do we add a water bottle? How long do we need to continue to stimulate him? Thanks for any advice!

Continue the formula for as long as he will take it. And until his formula feedings start to decrease he will get all the hydration he needs form the formula. It does not hurt to introduce the water bottle now as it will give him lots of time to discover how it works before he really needs it.

A large plastic bin with plenty of air holes drilled in it is a good choice right now. Here is an example (and there are 6 total pages of baby information here that I recommend you review as there is a lot of refresher info here that will help!).
http://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/
(http://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/)
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51708-4skwerlz-Baby-Squirrel-Care
(http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?51708-4skwerlz-Baby-Squirrel-Care)(This second link explains the navigation on the baby pages!)

Start with a high quality rodent block, most of us prefer HHB's (http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/).

Once he is eating the block well, you can begin introducing veggies from the healthy diet chart (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels).

Typically they no longer require stimulation after eyes open, but it does help keep the cages much cleaner if you continue. :thumbsup

[blessedbeingmom]

Thanks for the help! Twinkle toes weighs 100 grams now. He looks very healthy & alert & has a handsome fur coat. I will try to post a picture later.

[blessedbeingmom]

So Twinkle Toes is about 8.5 weeks now & still doing very well, but not really showing any interest in the HHB. Anything we can do to get him interested? He has a beautiful fluffy tail now.

Tricia

[DarkLies212]

You can soak them in formula, yogurt, chop them up real fine and mix with a bit of yogurt, give them frozen, cold, cool, room temp, hot, etc :grin2

We need pictures of the cutie! :poke

[Spanky]

So Twinkle Toes is about 8.5 weeks now & still doing very well, but not really showing any interest in the HHB. Anything we can do to get him interested? He has a beautiful fluffy tail now.

Tricia

Are the HHB the only solid food you have made available to him? If not, that should be the first thing and the only solid food provided until he is eating those well. DL has given you lots of good ideas to entice him into eating the HHB.

After he is eating the HHB, then you can begin to introduce the healthy veggies, etc.

Does TT have branches or other hings to chew on in his cage? If yes, is he chewing on those (tree branches are irresistible to them)? If he has tree branches, etc. that are available but he is not chewing on them there my be issues with his teeth.