Hello

[rangergirl]

Well, I've been here a lot in the last week and a half. Thanks for all the great advice!
I am a new squirrel mama to two adorable little grey squirrels named Pip and Squeak. They are about 3 1/2 weeks old now.
Here is their story!!
What I thought was just a bunch of leaves that had blown between my window and carport roof turned out to be much more! I opened the window to clean the leaves (knowing it would all fall inside on the floor) but when I reached my arm in further, something hit me in the stomach and left a scratch. All I saw was a flash of black. I stuck my arm back in the leaf pile and pulled an armful out... a huge 'nest' fell on the floor. When I picked it up, there were three baby squirrels. I quickly put them back in the nest and set it outside in the sunshine. I went back inside to clean up just as people arrived for a house viewing (selling my house now). Two hours later, I checked the nest. Only one baby squirrel was gone! I tried for 2 days to entice the mother to come back...even played MP3s of baby squirrel cries, kept them warm and put the babies back in the original nesting place (which required me to get up on a very large extension ladder! haha)... to no avail. I think all the traffic in and out of the house and the backyard scared her away.
Everything happens for a reason. I absolutely love them! For the first week, I ran back and forth from work every 3 hours to feed them. That wasn't working out so well. Luckily, my administrator has given me permission to bring my babies to school with me. I am so happy! The students are not allowed to pick them up unless they are wearing gloves (most don't want to touch them though!). What an amazing experience for my international students!
Anyhow, I look forward to getting to know you and learning from you. :)

[redwuff]

How exciting! What formula are you feeding? Love those Canadian squirrels!

Any pictures?

[rangergirl]

I'm using Esbilac for puppies, powder... I tried the canned stuff and after 3 feedings, the babies had diarrhea, so I gave them a couple feedings of just Pedialyte and then back to the powder. I've also been giving them one 'feeding' a day of just Pedialyte to keep them hydrated. Doesn't keep them full for too long though! :) Today I added two drops of liquid calcium and two drops of coconut oil. They are drinking about 8cc each. A friend told me I should be giving them heavy cream too... but I'm not sure about that. I figured they are approximately 4 weeks now because they have little bottom teeth (that look pretty sharp!) lol They're also trying to hold their heads up more. One is a little bigger and blacker than the other. I've caught them sucking on one another a few times. Perhaps I need to give them more food or an extra feeding...? Tried making them a little 'soother' out of a longer bottle nipple, with some solid coconut oil inside and stuffed with kleenex (to prevent air from getting in) and dipped in formula. One sucked on it for awhile. lol They had a bit of dry skin, so... being a naturalist and making my own skin care products, I rubbed a tiny bit of jojoba oil on them. It helped. I think I might be 'over-mothering' them! :) Just want to kiss them and cuddle them all day long.

[HRT4SQRLS]

:Welcome th TheSquirrelBoard rangergirl

They are adorable. I just LOVE black squirrels. Where I live we just have grey ones. :tilt
Do you have a weight on them? A weight is very important to determine how much formula per feeding. We feed 5-7% of the body weight per feeding. Also, how often are you feeding?

Sometimes they will suck on each other but this is very dangerous. It can cause a life threatening blockage. Sometimes they even have to be separated but I hope it doesn't come to that.

[rangergirl]

Hi
I don't have a weight on them. I've been gauging their intake on how many weeks old them are. I will see if I can find a scale from somewhere. Thanks for the advice. I'm feeding them about every 4 hours... except through the night. Do you think I should still be getting up in the night to feed them? Their last feeding at night is around 11 pm, and then the first morning feeding is around 6:30 - 7 a.m.

[HRT4SQRLS]

You're OK. They don't need night feedings.
If they look plump I wouldn't add the heavy cream but if they look lean you can add a tiny bit of heavy cream. The cream will boost up the fat content. If you decide to add it I would add it slowly so that their digestion can adapt to it. We don't want any diarrhea.

Some people use a mixture of Esbilac puppy formula and Fox Valley 20:50 at a 50:50 ratio. They feel the two together is a more complete formula. As long as what you're doing is working though I wouldn't worry about doing that.

[Ekorre]

Welcome to TSB! :Welcome

Thanks for saving (and loving) these sweet little babies! :great

Here are some basics you might find helpful:

This is a fantastic general guide (it's six pages long and you need to keep clicking on the "next page" button in the upper right-hand corner). https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Do you have a heating pad that does not have auto shut-off (and is set on "low") under half of the container they're in? Most heating pads have auto shut-off which means your sweet little squirrels could get cold when the pad shuts itself off. Here's one that does NOT have auto shut-off: https://www.henryspets.com/sunbeam-n...f-heating-pad/

You want to make it possible for them to stay on the area that's being warmed by the heating pad, but also be able to get off that area if it's too warm for them. (That's why the heating pad should only be placed under half the container).

Here's info about how to use it: https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

A scale that measures in grams is absolutely crucial. They're inexpensive and easy to get. I would make this item a priority. You need their weight in grams so you can accurately determine how much you should be feeding (and how frequently). You will also need to know how much they weigh if they have AP (aspiration pneumonia) or anything else and need antibiotics. Without a correct weight in grams, you're pretty much operating in the dark. Everything is based on weight with squirrels (formula, medications, etc.).

As has already been mentioned, you want to be feeding them 5%-7% of their current body weight per feeding.

It's also important that you're using the correct formula, it's being mixed properly, is the right temperature, has no air bubbles, etc. Here's a link to info about that: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...(Esbilac-etc-)

You need a 1ml/1cc syringe so you can carefully control how much formula they're getting (and avoid aspiration). No bottles or bottle nipples.

You can buy the 1ml/1cc syringes here: https://www.henryspets.com/slip-tip-o-ring-syringes/

Miracle Nipples work great for baby squirrels.

You can buy them here (you want the "mini" or "regular"): https://www.henryspets.com/miracle-nipple/

Your feeding technique is also extremely important. Here's a video that shows how it should be done: https://vimeo.com/91095331

and more info: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...DING-TECHNIQUE!!

Pottying: https://vimeo.com/91094717

Hope this helps! :)