Empty nest

[Charity76]

Hello there. My name is charity.I live in saint Augustine Florida. I have all the time and the desire to raise Baby squirrels. I have raised 19 so far.I did lose one but 19 out of 20 isn't bad .I find a kinda of joy from raising them that I can't find anywhere else. I moved here from Orlando Florida and I no longer have people bringing me baby's to raise so I have found myself looking for a way to do the same here in saint Augustine. Duckmans wife sent me here and im hopeing that someone here can steer me in the right direction.

[SammysMom]

Hi Charity! Welcome to TSB! You are where you need to be to find babies who need help. Until we have someone who needs you in your area, why don't you tell us about your rehab history. Your success rate is wonderful! How old have the babies been who you started with? (Pinkies etc) What do you feed? How old are they when you release and where are you able to release?
Lots of questions, but they will lead to babies for sure!:Love_Icon

[Charity76]

Ty so much for your message. IV had some I'm thinking brand new because there eyes didn't open for 6 weeks and some with there eyes open. I have never turned one away IV had sick ones and healthy ones.I was able to release all but 2.I have raised so many animals but squirrels hold a special place in my heart.it's hard to believe but I have always used cat formula with a brown goo for dogs and cats that can't eat mixed in the milk for extra calories and alot of love time and patience.different squirrels go at different ages.it's a proses of letting them go and watching them .they come back for awhile but soon they stay out longer until they have no need to come home.I have seen my squirrels 6 months after they stop coming home.they even come and say hi sometimes.

[SammysMom]

Thank-you for your response! I would say that it will be very helpful for you to take a look at our baby forum. Nutrition is the most important issue with squirrels. Kitten formula is too high in protein so that is something you want to read up on here. We are always happy to help a newbie to TSB with lots of info and support, so welcome!
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?87-Baby-Squirrel-Questions

[Charity76]

I will do just that.I new it wasn't right but puppy formula didn't seem to do the job and I couldn't find much out there in the way of help.so I stuck to what was working. Ty so much

[SammysMom]

Esbilac puppy in powdered form is just what you want. It did not make sense to me at first either!:grin3

[Charity76]

I just looked at nutrition and I had no idea there was formula for squirrels. I have a lot of research to do. I'm wondering why mine all lived and did so well with the wrong food.I tried so hard to do a good job. It's like having a baby. Round the clock feedings you have to make them poty clean them up and keep them worm.it's alot of work but it so fulfilling.

[BamaHam]

Welcome to TSB. Now that you are here you could be helpful when someone needs you. This is a good place to be. Lots of experience and good advice here. Glad you are here!:grin2

[SammysMom]

You did get lucky with the kitten formula. It is more developmentally that it is an issue. How old were they when you released them? I have had some who were fed kitten formula and they were a huge mess of diarrhea.
Simple to avoid with the right one anyway. Always the powdered Esbilac, never the liquid. I use that up to the 2 week mark and then I slowly add in the Fox Valley 20/50. The Fox Valley 32/40 had many issues and I lost several babies because of it. I will never use it again. When I use half 20/50 NS and half Esbilac, I get perfect, healthy babies. I rehab 75+ per year, so it says something.:grin3

[Charity76]

Well I guess I got really lucky because IV never had one with diarea.most of them met all the mile stones to.I'm not saying you are wrong in any way I'm just surprised. I didn't keep track of how old they were when they left.I just took them outside at least 2 times a day for enrichment and happiness. I love to see them happy after spending so much time on each one .they just spend more and more time away before coming back to me for food bed or what have you. Eventually they don't come back for days then weeks until they stay out there.I see them from time to time and I always have a treat for them.but I have even seen a few with mates and nests 6 months after leaving .the one I did lose was 5 weeks old and got to cold.it thought me to keep a good eye on them.

[Charity76]

I'm guessing that since I did so much wrong and have had a 95 percent success rate that maybe it was the constant around the clock care that made the difference..I'm thinking wow what could I do with the right information if I did so well with the wrong information.