Ekorre
08-10-2016, 04:26 PM
Hi there!
I'm thrilled to have found this site as it's clearly an incredible wealth of information and I could really use some help! I hope I'm posting this in the correct area of the site - as a new member, my posting is restricted.
Sorry this is so long - the situation is complicated and there's a lot to explain.
I've had pet rats throughout my entire life (none at the moment), so I know quite a bit about raising them. I also adore squirrels. Now I find myself dealing with a difficult and stressful situation regarding a young, vulnerable squirrel and I'm not sure what to do.
My husband and I live in an apartment and the kitchen window looks out onto a nearly flat roof. Over the past few years, a number of squirrels have come and gone on the roof and we've been happy to feed them (unsalted nuts, vegetables, some fruit, and of course fresh water). It's been (and is) a source of tremendous joy to watch them eat, play, and grow. Unfortunately, our window is rather high up which means we're physically unable to reach the squirrels. Normally, this is not a problem as I can throw food to them and it lands on the roof where they can eat it.
A few months ago, an entire squirrel family showed up. A mother squirrel and her four babies. 3 of the 4 young were healthy. The fourth one was absolutely tiny (even smaller than an adult rat), had no fur, and was just skin and bones. Going based on the healthy three, my guess is that they were somewhere between 6-9 weeks when I first saw them.
After careful observation, I realized that the runt could not eat solid food. It could only lick the food that was thrown down to it (my guess it that it either has no teeth, very few teeth, or misaligned/damaged teeth). I quickly came to the conclusion that it was going to die of starvation if I didn't help it.
After a bit of trial and error, I was able to come up with a mixture it would eat. Despite the squirrel being incredibly malnourished and having no fur, it was (and still is) a very picky eater. In the beginning, the only food I could get it to eat was a mixture of the following: thoroughly mashed banana (no lumps), a variety of supplements that were crushed into a fine powder (including Calcium & Vitamin D3), and melted raw virgin coconut oil. I mixed all of that together and carefully threw it down on the roof below. The squirrel loved it and after a week or so I could see that its health had begun to improve. (Banana was not my first choice as there is a lot of natural sugar in bananas, but I had to go with whatever it would actually eat.)
One day I was discussing the squirrel's problems with my husband and he suggested that I chew up the nuts and see if the runt could eat them that way. I wasn't sure it could digest the nuts, but felt it was worth a try. I started chewing up unsalted pecans, walnuts, and brazil nuts and feeding them to the squirrel (I chew until the nuts are almost like a paste – no rough edges or sharp pieces whatsoever). Well, that changed everything! The hungry little squirrel quickly devoured everything I threw down and wanted more. It uses its tongue to get the food into its mouth and swallows it without any problems. It also uses its claws to pick up pieces of the paste and eats it like it would a regular nut (holding it in its paws). These days, it will eat about 8-12 nuts in one feeding. I'm well aware that nuts are not supposed to be a staple in a squirrel's diet (they're only supposed to be treats), but my picky eater is just that... extremely picky!
In any case, the runt has gained a small amount of weight, has grown a little (it's taller and longer...although it's still crazy small for a squirrel its age - it's now somewhat larger than an adult rat), and some of its fur is starting to grow in. It also has quite a bit more energy. All of this is fantastic progress!
Now for the difficult part. Feeding this squirrel has always been a nightmare. I have to stand on a stool and lean out of our kitchen window (which is extremely painful for my back) so I can aim properly and it can find the food. In addition, I have to use a heavy duty water gun to fight off aggressive pigeons and the occasional seagull (they do not like being sprayed with water) which terrorize the runt.
My husband built our squirrel a wonderful wooden house that we have lowered onto the roof (it's anchored inside our window with strong rope). Our hope was that the runt would use the house (there's a large hole on the side so it can easily get in) and feel calm and safe in there instead of being out in the open and frightened (it's quite skittish for obvious reasons). The house was also meant to protect the runt from the elements (rain, etc.). Unfortunately, it doesn't dare to go in it and the house has been out there for a number of weeks now.
The whole family of squirrels was living in a nest that was in a hole in a stone/cement wall on the other side of the roof. It's not visible from where we are, but one of our neighbors who can see it told us about it. That's where the runt lives and it's not possible for us to access the nest (it's really high up and situated in a way that makes it impossible to reach).
Over the past week, there has been an alarming development. There is now a mother squirrel (it probably has a litter of newborn babies as it's obvious that it's nursing) who comes to the roof daily and is intent on doing the runt harm (it's the runt's sister...one of the original 3 healthy babies). She has been gone for quite some time, but suddenly seems to think the roof is her territory and views the runt as a threat. Our guess is that the runt is most likely male. In any case, whenever the mother squirrel sees the runt, she goes completely crazy and chases it at the speed of light.
It's clear that she wants to harm it and will most likely kill it if she gets the chance. The runt can run very quickly, but also tires quickly (small, thin, low on energy). Today things got even worse with her hanging out on the roof for hours after she had been fed...seemingly intent on preventing the runt from coming up the wall and onto the roof to be fed. This is very serious as the runt was not able to eat today due to this.
We are now faced with having to carefully trap the runt and bring it inside. This was always a possibility as we knew it was not going to make it through the winter eating out in the open on the roof and with almost no fur.
However, there are several issues. A metal cage-like trap cannot be used as the runt would never go in it (it's far too afraid). The only thing we can think of is some kind of netting...and even that could be difficult/problematic as we don't want to injure it and laying netting on the roof from our kitchen window could be quite complicated.
Does anyone have any advice about using netting to trap a squirrel?
It can not bite us, so that's not an issue. We are concerned, however, about lice, fleas, mites, ticks, etc. I have some health problems and absolutely can not risk getting Lyme Disease, etc. The squirrel has some fur (not much) and I've seen it scratch itself a few times, so I'm also concerned that our apartment (which we rent) could become infested with whatever the squirrel might be carrying. Does anyone have any advice about how to prevent this from happening?
Ideally, I'd like to find a way to safely sedate the squirrel so it's easier to trap and therefore less traumatic for the poor little creature...but there seem to be too many risks involved in trying to sedate it. Does anyone have any advice about this?
Once we trap it (if that's even possible), we want to take it straight away (in a carrier) to a vet that has rodent/squirrel expertise (we have yet to find one, but are working on it). Obviously, a vet needs to take a look at the squirrel's mouth and possibly take X-rays in order to let us know how to proceed.
If this squirrel had any chance of surviving on its own, we would not be considering bringing it into our home. We're prepared (and fully committed) to taking care of the squirrel and providing it with the best life we can indoors. If at some point it recovers enough to live on its own (outside), then we will of course consider releasing it.
I have contacted two wildlife rehabbers in our area and neither is willing to take on a squirrel in need of this much assistance.
Thanks in advance for reading this as well as any and all advice!
I'm thrilled to have found this site as it's clearly an incredible wealth of information and I could really use some help! I hope I'm posting this in the correct area of the site - as a new member, my posting is restricted.
Sorry this is so long - the situation is complicated and there's a lot to explain.
I've had pet rats throughout my entire life (none at the moment), so I know quite a bit about raising them. I also adore squirrels. Now I find myself dealing with a difficult and stressful situation regarding a young, vulnerable squirrel and I'm not sure what to do.
My husband and I live in an apartment and the kitchen window looks out onto a nearly flat roof. Over the past few years, a number of squirrels have come and gone on the roof and we've been happy to feed them (unsalted nuts, vegetables, some fruit, and of course fresh water). It's been (and is) a source of tremendous joy to watch them eat, play, and grow. Unfortunately, our window is rather high up which means we're physically unable to reach the squirrels. Normally, this is not a problem as I can throw food to them and it lands on the roof where they can eat it.
A few months ago, an entire squirrel family showed up. A mother squirrel and her four babies. 3 of the 4 young were healthy. The fourth one was absolutely tiny (even smaller than an adult rat), had no fur, and was just skin and bones. Going based on the healthy three, my guess is that they were somewhere between 6-9 weeks when I first saw them.
After careful observation, I realized that the runt could not eat solid food. It could only lick the food that was thrown down to it (my guess it that it either has no teeth, very few teeth, or misaligned/damaged teeth). I quickly came to the conclusion that it was going to die of starvation if I didn't help it.
After a bit of trial and error, I was able to come up with a mixture it would eat. Despite the squirrel being incredibly malnourished and having no fur, it was (and still is) a very picky eater. In the beginning, the only food I could get it to eat was a mixture of the following: thoroughly mashed banana (no lumps), a variety of supplements that were crushed into a fine powder (including Calcium & Vitamin D3), and melted raw virgin coconut oil. I mixed all of that together and carefully threw it down on the roof below. The squirrel loved it and after a week or so I could see that its health had begun to improve. (Banana was not my first choice as there is a lot of natural sugar in bananas, but I had to go with whatever it would actually eat.)
One day I was discussing the squirrel's problems with my husband and he suggested that I chew up the nuts and see if the runt could eat them that way. I wasn't sure it could digest the nuts, but felt it was worth a try. I started chewing up unsalted pecans, walnuts, and brazil nuts and feeding them to the squirrel (I chew until the nuts are almost like a paste – no rough edges or sharp pieces whatsoever). Well, that changed everything! The hungry little squirrel quickly devoured everything I threw down and wanted more. It uses its tongue to get the food into its mouth and swallows it without any problems. It also uses its claws to pick up pieces of the paste and eats it like it would a regular nut (holding it in its paws). These days, it will eat about 8-12 nuts in one feeding. I'm well aware that nuts are not supposed to be a staple in a squirrel's diet (they're only supposed to be treats), but my picky eater is just that... extremely picky!
In any case, the runt has gained a small amount of weight, has grown a little (it's taller and longer...although it's still crazy small for a squirrel its age - it's now somewhat larger than an adult rat), and some of its fur is starting to grow in. It also has quite a bit more energy. All of this is fantastic progress!
Now for the difficult part. Feeding this squirrel has always been a nightmare. I have to stand on a stool and lean out of our kitchen window (which is extremely painful for my back) so I can aim properly and it can find the food. In addition, I have to use a heavy duty water gun to fight off aggressive pigeons and the occasional seagull (they do not like being sprayed with water) which terrorize the runt.
My husband built our squirrel a wonderful wooden house that we have lowered onto the roof (it's anchored inside our window with strong rope). Our hope was that the runt would use the house (there's a large hole on the side so it can easily get in) and feel calm and safe in there instead of being out in the open and frightened (it's quite skittish for obvious reasons). The house was also meant to protect the runt from the elements (rain, etc.). Unfortunately, it doesn't dare to go in it and the house has been out there for a number of weeks now.
The whole family of squirrels was living in a nest that was in a hole in a stone/cement wall on the other side of the roof. It's not visible from where we are, but one of our neighbors who can see it told us about it. That's where the runt lives and it's not possible for us to access the nest (it's really high up and situated in a way that makes it impossible to reach).
Over the past week, there has been an alarming development. There is now a mother squirrel (it probably has a litter of newborn babies as it's obvious that it's nursing) who comes to the roof daily and is intent on doing the runt harm (it's the runt's sister...one of the original 3 healthy babies). She has been gone for quite some time, but suddenly seems to think the roof is her territory and views the runt as a threat. Our guess is that the runt is most likely male. In any case, whenever the mother squirrel sees the runt, she goes completely crazy and chases it at the speed of light.
It's clear that she wants to harm it and will most likely kill it if she gets the chance. The runt can run very quickly, but also tires quickly (small, thin, low on energy). Today things got even worse with her hanging out on the roof for hours after she had been fed...seemingly intent on preventing the runt from coming up the wall and onto the roof to be fed. This is very serious as the runt was not able to eat today due to this.
We are now faced with having to carefully trap the runt and bring it inside. This was always a possibility as we knew it was not going to make it through the winter eating out in the open on the roof and with almost no fur.
However, there are several issues. A metal cage-like trap cannot be used as the runt would never go in it (it's far too afraid). The only thing we can think of is some kind of netting...and even that could be difficult/problematic as we don't want to injure it and laying netting on the roof from our kitchen window could be quite complicated.
Does anyone have any advice about using netting to trap a squirrel?
It can not bite us, so that's not an issue. We are concerned, however, about lice, fleas, mites, ticks, etc. I have some health problems and absolutely can not risk getting Lyme Disease, etc. The squirrel has some fur (not much) and I've seen it scratch itself a few times, so I'm also concerned that our apartment (which we rent) could become infested with whatever the squirrel might be carrying. Does anyone have any advice about how to prevent this from happening?
Ideally, I'd like to find a way to safely sedate the squirrel so it's easier to trap and therefore less traumatic for the poor little creature...but there seem to be too many risks involved in trying to sedate it. Does anyone have any advice about this?
Once we trap it (if that's even possible), we want to take it straight away (in a carrier) to a vet that has rodent/squirrel expertise (we have yet to find one, but are working on it). Obviously, a vet needs to take a look at the squirrel's mouth and possibly take X-rays in order to let us know how to proceed.
If this squirrel had any chance of surviving on its own, we would not be considering bringing it into our home. We're prepared (and fully committed) to taking care of the squirrel and providing it with the best life we can indoors. If at some point it recovers enough to live on its own (outside), then we will of course consider releasing it.
I have contacted two wildlife rehabbers in our area and neither is willing to take on a squirrel in need of this much assistance.
Thanks in advance for reading this as well as any and all advice!