Found 2 babies, one seems in trouble

[hardbeetle]

Hello, I found 2 baby squirrels on the ground about 8 hours ago. They were about 50 feet apart from each other, and one was squeaking and the other was silent. I waited a while for their mother to return, but I eventually took them when she didn't.

They're currently in a blanked-lined box. There's an electric blanket under the box and lightbulb close enough to give off warmth. I'm not sure if the electric blanket is warm enough, but they stopped shivering which is a good sign.

We have been feeding them Pedialyte from a dropper. The silent squirrel has been drinking a lot; he'll put his paw on the dropper and you can tell that he is actively drinking. He'll drink about 6 inches of the dropper worth of liquid (I dont know how much liquid the dropper holds) every 2 hours. After he drinks he is very active.

The other squirrel (the squeaking one) does not want to drink. He will not accept the dropper like the other one, and he has not stopped squeaking since I found him. There is also a ticking sound coming from his chest.

I dont plan on keeping the squirrels. Tomorrow morning I plan on getting some formula from a pet store and I'll attempt to feed them. I'll then take them back to campus and give the mother a chance to take them back. If she doesn't, I'll continue to care for them until a rehab center responds.

I'm not very worried about the quiet squirrel, but the other one is worrying us. I'll post photos of the squirrels and their box in another photo. What should I do about his drinking? Is it safe for me to go to sleep tonight, or do I need to stay up and car for them?

[hardbeetle]

https://imgur.com/a/LvnS4yb

Photos of squirrels and their box. The first 2 pics are the troubled squirrel. Also, how old are these guys?

[Sottinger]

https://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/

While waiting on someone to respond have a look at this six page beginner care. The clicking baby is emergent I know that. Aspiration pneumonia can kill them pretty quickly. Do you have a scale you can with them with, in grams? Any antibiotics around the house? If so list them along with baby’s weight and someone with the proper experience will help you work out how to dose the sick one.

[Spanky]

Continue to provide them the hydration, but please stop using the dropper. Droppers and bottles are bad for use with squirrels as they can too easily inhale the liquid which can result in aspiration pneumonia (AP), which is THE NUMBER 1 killer of babies being cared for by humans. AP can take them down in a matter of hours. You can use a small syringe (without a needle!) or a clean small brush (like ahcild's paint brush or makeup brush). The pharmacy should be willing to give you a couple syringe for feeding.

Good plan about trying to reunite BUT these are southern flying squirrels and are nocturnal. Mom will not come out during the daylight hours to get her babies.

Lastly, if re-uniting does not work I would be grateful if you would consider allowing me to raise and release them: I have a single baby-flyer that is about the same age as these two. Flyers live in groups or "colonies" and unlike other squirrels they must be released in groups if they are to survive. It would be super fantastic to have this little group to release together.

[hardbeetle]

The sick one is 20 g and we have metroNIDAZOLE.

[hardbeetle]

How do I dose him? Should I dose him?

[Spanky]

There is also a ticking sound coming from his chest.

The sick one is 20 g and we have metroNIDAZOLE.

Is the ticking sound constant, with every breath?

We need to know what strength of metronidazole you have in order to provide dosing instructions. If this si AP with the click, the very best drug would be Cipro which is commonly prescribed for urinary tract infections in humans.

[redwuff]

Continue to provide them the hydration, but please stop using the dropper. Droppers and bottles are bad for use with squirrels as they can too easily inhale the liquid which can result in aspiration pneumonia (AP), which is THE NUMBER 1 killer of babies being cared for by humans. AP can take them down in a matter of hours. You can use a small syringe (without a needle!) or a clean small brush (like ahcild's paint brush or makeup brush). The pharmacy should be willing to give you a couple syringe for feeding.

Good plan about trying to reunite BUT these are southern flying squirrels and are nocturnal. Mom will not come out during the daylight hours to get her babies.

Lastly, if re-uniting does not work I would be grateful if you would consider allowing me to raise and release them: I have a single baby-flyer that is about the same age as these two. Flyers live in groups or "colonies" and unlike other squirrels they must be released in groups if they are to survive. It would be super fantastic to have this little group to release together.



Please consider allowing Spanky to raise these two little flyers. He ranks among the best on the squirrel board. You can rest assured that he will do everything in his power to get and keep these babies healthy.

The one baby desperately needs the correct medication and, unfortunately metro will not work for AP. The babies are in poor shape. From the looks of them, they have been without mom for awhile. Reuniting is always the best, but the babies have to be in good enough shape to withstand being exposed to the elements while waiting. Often we can look at a baby and see the reason why it is out of the nest. It is often cos something has happened to mom. Your babies have that look.

[dr3am]

Please listen to Spanky and Redwuff...you may have more than you can handle on your hands. Your babies look in need of some 'professional help' in order to help them survive. :panic

[TamiKakes]

Just another note, please get them into a plastic container with a lid and holes. The cardboard box will dehydrate them. Only put the heat blanket under 1 half of the container so they can get off if they get too hot.
Ideally you would want a non auto shut off heating pad set to low.

[hardbeetle]

Hello everyone, I took the flyers to a rehab center SE of Atlanta. You all were right and I quickly realized that I couldn't give the babies what they needed.