We found a baby rodent. Squirrel?

[Arty]

Hi all! New to the boards. My coworker found a baby rodent yesterday outside (no mama around) and we're trying to make sure we feed him (or her) the right thing. Photo included below -- he has hair but eyes still closed. Moving around, doesn't seem lethargic.

2 main questions:
--does he need Pedialyte AND food formula? Or just food formula?
--I keep reading that Esbilac is best for squirrels buuuut we aren't sure if he's a squirrel, rat, vole, or something else. So far my coworker has him on KMR. Should we switch to Esbilac?

Thank you in advance!

https://scontent.fzty2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/37790028_10110389936560663_6051782763160272896_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=11af17769960d0115f42a8716ee1dc1a&oe=5BD6CEC1

[island rehabber]

He is a rodent, yes, but definitely not a squirrel. :grin2

Looks like either a mouse or baby rat. Anyone else think so? Esbilac is good for ratties, too -- I would get him off the KMR. With the exception of raccoons, pretty much nothing should get Kitten Milk Replacer except kittens. :)

[Arty]

Thank you for your response! Good to know we can cross squirrel off the list of things Arty -- as we've been calling him -- could be. I think he looks the most like a mouse, but feel by the time he was this size (abt 3 inches not including tail) his eyes would be open.

I am going to buy Esbilac after work and stop use of the KMR :)

Thanks again! He's eating very well so that's encouraging.

https://scontent.fzty2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/37841022_10110394144288343_815045008775184384_n.jp g?_nc_cat=0&oh=60a267767364539c710779148746b517&oe=5C11E5C9

[TubeDriver]

Those feet look WAY bigger than my grown mice so I think this is some type of rat. I would get him on Esbilac or FV 20/50 and stop KMR. Rats and mice can carry diseases that can make people sick, the primary risk is urine and poops so wash your hands (soap and warm water) after interacting with your little guy.

[Loudhouse2]

Quick question is the tail lightly/somewhat furred?

[Diggie's Friend]

The Hispid Cotton Rat may be what you have there; it's a good swimmer, which would explain the larger back feet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeaEy8Slj20 This video has a bright light that washes out the deep brown color of the coat.

(See photo of Hispid Cotton rat in this video at 2.50 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNbxzJFHvSg


Hispid Cotton Rat- A Hispid Cotton Rat has a gray-enhanced coat of deep-brown hair. Its underparts are gray or white and it has small ears. A typical Hispid Cotton Rat resides in grasslands in the Southern United States, Mexico, and Central America, including Florida. This diurnal rodent feeds on green plants and eggs of ground-nesting birds. Its nests on the ground or under it. Hispid Cotton Rats tend to move about using the same routes, and distinct paths can be seen near their nests. They move about in both nighttime and daytime, and Hispid Cotton Rats are good swimmers. The cotton rat can reproduce all year round. The gestation period lasts for four weeks, and each litter has 1 to 15 young. Young grow rapidly and may be weaned 10 to 15 days after birth, so up to nine litters can be born in a single year. As a result, when weather conditions are good, there can be a huge increase in the rat population causing severe damage to sugarcane, corn, and other crops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGPaj2RWLA4 Gray squirrel meets Hispid Cotton Rat.

[Diggie's Friend]

I see I missed the location; which is not Hispid Cotton rat territory. Oh well, it was fun trying to figure out the ID of this critter.

[island rehabber]

I Googled "New England rodents" and scrolled thru pix until I came to a Meadow Vole. What do you think?

https://www.google.com/search?q=images+meadow+vole&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=S-b9A1WLMVnTNM%253A%252CD198GYwmHJXi9M%252C_&usg=__ss52ex0CYVxm0EeWfuOBalaP_2k%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj1y9nqrMTcAhULy1kKHaM2B2sQ9QEwAXoECAUQB g#imgrc=S-b9A1WLMVnTNM:


(https://www.google.com/search?q=images+meadow+vole&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=S-b9A1WLMVnTNM%253A%252CD198GYwmHJXi9M%252C_&usg=__ss52ex0CYVxm0EeWfuOBalaP_2k%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj1y9nqrMTcAhULy1kKHaM2B2sQ9QEwAXoECAUQB g#imgrc=S-b9A1WLMVnTNM:)

[Loudhouse2]

I was thinking a water vole due to the longer tail.

https://goo.gl/images/jjoZoN

[island rehabber]

I was thinking a water vole due to the longer tail.

https://goo.gl/images/jjoZoN

Even better, Loudhouse2. I'd go with that, and it seems they made it across the pond from Europe like all the other rat species, so we do have them here.

[Diggie's Friend]

I thought there was a post on water voles, but it appeared to be removed? Then when read you said it was a rodent I set voles aside as I thought they weren't rodents. but like shews have 5 toes in front and back. If I had looked that up to verify I would have then learned that they are rodents, like rats, with four toes in front and 5 in back.

http://www.cperc.org.uk/downloads/CPERC%20-%20Otter_Vole_ID.pdf

One thing for sure about this likely vole, is that it is a swimmer, for his back feet tell that tale.

After he weans be sure to check the poos, they shouldn't have points on them as rat scat does.

[Diggie's Friend]

Restricted to distinct regions of the Northwest, water voles occupy areas stretching from Canada down into Oregon and parts of Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The pests typically construct underground burrow systems on the banks of flowing water systems. Burrow openings are generally surrounded by chewed plant life, which gives off the appearance of a mowed lawn.

Looks like you have a meadow vole.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_vole

Diet:


Meadow voles eat most available species of grasses, sedges, and forbs, including many agricultural plant species.[3][12] In summer and fall, grasses are cut into match-length sections to reach the succulent portions of the leaves and seedheads. Leaves, flowers, and fruits of forbs are also typical components of the summer diet. Fungi, primarily endogones (Endogone spp.), have been reported in meadow vole diets. They occasionally consume insects and snails, and occasionally scavenge on animal remains; cannibalism is frequent in periods of high population density. Meadow voles may damage woody vegetation by girdling when population density is high.[3]

In winter, meadow voles consume green basal portions of grass plants, often hidden under snow. Other winter diet components include seeds, roots, and bulbs. They occasionally strip the bark from woody plants. Seeds and tubers are stored in nests and burrows.[11][12] Evidence of coprophagy is sparse, but thought to occur.[12]

In an old-field community in Quebec, plants preferred by meadow voles included quackgrass (Elytrigia repens), sedges, fescues (Festuca spp.), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), timothy (Phleum pratense), bluegrasses (Poa spp.), and bird vetch (Vicia cracca).[36]


Voles are mostly herbivorous. They feed on a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, bulbs, and tubers. Also, usually in the fall or winter, they eat bark and roots of trees. They store seeds and other plant matter in underground chambers.

[Diggie's Friend]

I'd go with that, and it seems they made it across the pond from Europe like all the other rat species, so we do have them here.

It's possible it is an introduced vole from Europe; so far haven't found any notes on this having occurred; I'll keep looking.

[Diggie's Friend]

Not seeing a color match of fur on the top of the paws and feet that is lighter in the vole you have,

than that of the darker fur on the paws and feet of baby European water voles, shown in video on page around half way through and right near the end of the video showing the adult coloration to also be darker. ("Water voles: natural swimmers")

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Water_Vole#p01f9rk2

European water voles are endangered in Britain.

[Loudhouse2]

https://animalcorner.co.uk/animals/british-water-vole/

Second picture down

[Diggie's Friend]

How is the little big foot doing?