My little Honey.

[greyno]

First of all, I just want to say thanks to this entire board. Without your website, I'm pretty sure Honey wouldn't have made it!
Thanks to you guys, I didn't mix Pedialyte with her formula (as many other websites suggest) Thanks to you, I was able to find the right amount to feed her based on her weight.

I'll take you back to the start quickly. Last Wednesday, I went outside to feed my cat, and saw what I thought was a dead mouse in the distance that he'd brought in. As I got closer, the mouse started squeaking, and I realized it was actually a tiny baby squirrel. I ran inside to text my husband, who told me to grab a box and leave her by one of the trees in our yard, as her mother might be looking for her. I did as he suggested, and watched the box for two hours from behind my blinds, whilst I made sure my cat was not able to get close. It started to get dark, and I popped out to see if the box was empty yet. And there my poor honey was. (I didn't even know I was supposed to keep her warm, so I felt extremely guilty)
I wrapped her in a cloth and brought her inside, and frantically started googling where my nearest rehabilitation centers where. There were two, both an hour away in opposite directions, and they didn't take squirrels. I was still looking for centers when my husband returned home, and I was already in tears by this point. He just looked at me and said 'What do you need to make sure this baby survives?' Of course, this made me cry even more. But with tear filled eyes I found that I needed Pedialyte, and a syringe before I needed anything else. Setting her in a bed of one of my pajama shirts on top on a hot water bottle, we quickly ran out to grab essentials for her.

Now we are 6 days in, and Honey is growing every day. I have never felt anything so rewarding in my life.

Sorry for the long winded post, I just had to get my feelings out, and thought 'where better?' :)

I do actually have a question though... I have read on a few websites that it is not a good idea to release squirrels during the winter. Currently, Honey is 3-4 weeks old and 56g. Which means she'll be ready for release in the colder months. Is it better, as I've read, to wait until warmer weather (March/April) to start introducing her to the big outdoors?

Thanks again to all you amazing members. Without you, Honey wouldn't be here, and I'd be a mess <3

[stepnstone]

First of all, I just want to say thanks to this entire board. Without your website, I'm pretty sure Honey wouldn't have made it!
Thanks to you guys, I didn't mix Pedialyte with her formula (as many other websites suggest) Thanks to you, I was able to find the right amount to feed her based on her weight.

I'll take you back to the start quickly. Last Wednesday, I went outside to feed my cat, and saw what I thought was a dead mouse in the distance that he'd brought in. As I got closer, the mouse started squeaking, and I realized it was actually a tiny baby squirrel. I ran inside to text my husband, who told me to grab a box and leave her by one of the trees in our yard, as her mother might be looking for her. I did as he suggested, and watched the box for two hours from behind my blinds, whilst I made sure my cat was not able to get close. It started to get dark, and I popped out to see if the box was empty yet. And there my poor honey was. (I didn't even know I was supposed to keep her warm, so I felt extremely guilty)
I wrapped her in a cloth and brought her inside, and frantically started googling where my nearest rehabilitation centers where. There were two, both an hour away in opposite directions, and they didn't take squirrels. I was still looking for centers when my husband returned home, and I was already in tears by this point. He just looked at me and said 'What do you need to make sure this baby survives?' Of course, this made me cry even more. But with tear filled eyes I found that I needed Pedialyte, and a syringe before I needed anything else. Setting her in a bed of one of my pajama shirts on top on a hot water bottle, we quickly ran out to grab essentials for her.
Now we are 6 days in, and Honey is growing every day. I have never felt anything so rewarding in my life.
Sorry for the long winded post, I just had to get my feelings out, and thought 'where better?' :)
I do actually have a question though... I have read on a few websites that it is not a good idea to release squirrels during the winter. Currently, Honey is 3-4 weeks old and 56g. Which means she'll be ready for release in the colder months. Is it better, as I've read, to wait until warmer weather (March/April) to start introducing her to the big outdoors?
Thanks again to all you amazing members. Without you, Honey wouldn't be here, and I'd be a mess <3
Thank you for taking this baby in and Yes, Honey will need to be over wintered. :great
3-4 weeks I'm assuming her eyes are still closed? What is the formula you are feeding?
Can you post a picture of her?
Not sure of all you've researched or read but here is a link that could be a big help.
It's 6 pages long with the next button on the top right corner.
http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

[greyno]

Thank you for taking this baby in and Yes, Honey will need to be over wintered. :great
3-4 weeks I'm assuming her eyes are still closed? What is the formula you are feeding?
Can you post a picture of her?
Not sure of all you've researched or read but here is a link that could be a big help.
It's 6 pages long with the next button on the top right corner.
http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/


Thanks so much, after reading this, she may be a little over four weeks I think. I'm currently feeding her Esbilac puppy formula in powder form, and will be moving on to fox valley once she opens her eyes (though my husband was pretty upset that the esbilac was $30, oops) Her eyes are still closed yes. This is her just now, with formula beard, on her last feed before bed :)

304047

[stepnstone]

Thanks so much, after reading this, she may be a little over four weeks I think. I'm currently feeding her Esbilac puppy formula in powder form, and will be moving on to fox valley once she opens her eyes (though my husband was pretty upset that the esbilac was $30, oops) Her eyes are still closed yes. This is her just now, with formula beard, on her last feed before bed :)
304047
She's precious! :Love_Icon
Eyes generally open at five weeks, you should be seeing that happen soon.
Not necessary to scrap the esbilac, many of us transition with the fox valley
to a 50-50 with the esbilac and they do very well on the combination.

[greyno]

She's precious! :Love_Icon
Eyes generally open at five weeks, you should be seeing that happen soon.
Not necessary to scrap the esbilac, many of us transition with the fox valley
to a 50-50 with the esbilac and they do very well on the combination.


Oh good! That'll keep my husband happy :grin2

One more question, she has only pooped once today, pee'd after almost every feed, but only one poop. It's solid and brown, no discoloration or anything. Do you think it's something to be concerned about?

[CritterMom]

Oh good! That'll keep my husband happy :grin2

One more question, she has only pooped once today, pee'd after almost every feed, but only one poop. It's solid and brown, no discoloration or anything. Do you think it's something to be concerned about?


No. As long as the tummy is nice and soft and squishy and not getting hard, she will poop when she has sufficient solids to do so. By the time she eats each time, her tummy should be fairly flat. Once she eats her fill, if you hold her up under her armpits so her body hangs, her tummy should look like a teardrop. soft and squishy like a partially filled water balloon.

The formula you feed is 2/3 water and 1/3 solids, and solids are all that get pooped out, so it can take a few feedings to have enough solids to eliminate.

My favorite thing to use to stimulate is a flat watercolor brush with bristles that are about 1/2 to 3/4" wide. I broke the handle off short on mine so I wasn't using such a long tool. If you barely dampen the bristles they will slightly drag when you use it to stroke the tummy (downward strokes) and it is as close to a mommy squirrel's tongue as you are likely to get!

When you get to the point where you want to switch or incorporate the FV formula, come back here - you NEVER want to just switch formulas or you will throw their little digestive systems into a quandry. You will be very slowing incorporating a little more of the new stuff into the old formula until you get to where you want it, and the longer you take to DO that, the lower your chances for tummy issues will be.

[Mel1959]

She looks PERFECT! What a great job you did! :hug

[greyno]

No. As long as the tummy is nice and soft and squishy and not getting hard, she will poop when she has sufficient solids to do so. By the time she eats each time, her tummy should be fairly flat. Once she eats her fill, if you hold her up under her armpits so her body hangs, her tummy should look like a teardrop. soft and squishy like a partially filled water balloon.

The formula you feed is 2/3 water and 1/3 solids, and solids are all that get pooped out, so it can take a few feedings to have enough solids to eliminate.

My favorite thing to use to stimulate is a flat watercolor brush with bristles that are about 1/2 to 3/4" wide. I broke the handle off short on mine so I wasn't using such a long tool. If you barely dampen the bristles they will slightly drag when you use it to stroke the tummy (downward strokes) and it is as close to a mommy squirrel's tongue as you are likely to get!

When you get to the point where you want to switch or incorporate the FV formula, come back here - you NEVER want to just switch formulas or you will throw their little digestive systems into a quandry. You will be very slowing incorporating a little more of the new stuff into the old formula until you get to where you want it, and the longer you take to DO that, the lower your chances for tummy issues will be.

Oh believe me, I'd never do anything now without coming here first :)
Thank you for all your advice :)

[JLM27]

Be soooo careful of the heating pad. She should be able to crawl off if she wants to. Overheating and even burns can be caused by heating pads.