oraphaned

[country_girl]

today i found two very tiny baby squirrels with a dead squirrel close by I waited for 4 hours to see if another squirrel would come back but none never did. I tried calling the rehab center here but they are close until monday :( I don't want the littel guys to die before then so i just want some ideas on what to do. I have them on a heating pad set to warm and they can crawl off of it if need be. I gave them a little bit a puppy formula n got them to go as I read on the forums here. not really sure how old they are and only have my phone to take pictures with will try to atach the pictures that i took with that though. please help!!

[country_girl]

Thank you for your feedback gamma I am really worried about them dying I wanted to try to raise them to be released but it seems really hard to do since they are so little. So hopefully they wil llive till monday morning at 9 when the rehab place opens thanks again.

[thundersquirrel]

there are a few things about pinkies to remember-

they like to crawl around and snuggle up in places. be sure that the cloth you're keeping them in is free of loose string; this can get wrapped around them and cut off circulation to parts of their body. fleece is very nice to have, since it doesn't get stringy.

never feed a cold pinky. if you wake up tomorrow and for some reason they're not warm to the touch, do not feed them until they have been warm for a few minutes.

pedialyte is good, as gamma has implied. i would stick to just that, actually, until maybe midday tomorrow. if you mix normal pedialyte with very warm water, this will hydrate the babies, which is more important than food right now.

tomorrow, if their skin is not dry or terribly baggy, you could try more food. at first, i would mix it four parts very warm water to one part esbilac. they need to get used to their new diet at a heavily diluted level, to avoid diarrhea.

food gets cold easily, so check it once in a while. i find a lot of pinkies won't eat if their food is even lukewarm, but it can burn them if it's hot. temperature control is difficult.

if you keep them near where you sleep, you may be able to hear cries if they need you. until then, you might want to check your area for other rehabbers, or try to find the people who work at the center.

sorry if this is all rather militant, i just like to get to the point, you know? once the babies are stable and you know all the facts, we can talk about how adorable they are. :)

they look like grey squirrels or fox squirrels. do you want any help figuring out the gender? that's always fun.

[country_girl]

i tried the pedialyte they wanted nothing to do with it that is why i tried te puppy formula we had some on hand becasue we had a hunting dog that died in the process of giving birth so we had to raise the puppies. the squirrels are urinating n pooping after every feeding the urinate is clear jsut not very much but it may be jsut the qtip i am using asborbs most of it and their stool is almost solid and its dark brown. i have the babies right beside my bed so that i can hear them and I did read on the other forums about making sure I dont feed the babies when they are cold and it doesnt help when my heating pad has an auto off feature :( but I am waking up n checking the babies n turning it back on until we can find our old pad that doesnt turn off. i have the babies curled into a jersey knit pillowcase because its really soft and i didnt see any loose threads is this ok to keep them in?? or should i go n get a small thing of fleece?? and I would love help figuring out the gender and also I would love to know how hard it is to raise them to release them... I am growing attached and would love to keep them around till they can be released. thanks again.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Sounds like you are doing a great job with the little tykes. I would get them a little piece of fleece. They love to snuggle in it and it keeps them nice and warm. It is very hard to raise a pinkie squirrel as young as yours. Even rehabbers with a lot of experience have a hard time keeping the little tykes alive. I think it would be best for them to go to a rehabber. As for telling whether they are boys or girls here are a couple pictures of my little guys:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4910.jpg
This little tyke is a boy


http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_3372.jpg
This little tyke is a girl

[thundersquirrel]

i agree with gamma about giving them to a rehabber. i really, REALLY sympathize with you; these little angels come into your life begging for help, and you can't imagine ignoring their plea.

but these guys are so young, things can happen. tiny mistakes can turn into huge ones, and with squirrels it happens very fast. this rehab center sounds like their best chance for survival, and you should feel very proud to have gotten them to that point. i'm sure the center would let you visit afterwards, as well. maybe they'll even train you a bit, or let you raise and release them when they get a little older!

don't worry about the pedialyte then. a good substitute is the heavily diluted formula. i would still make it four parts water to one part powder until their poop turns a lighter brown, probably.

i'm glad they're responding to stimulation- poop is the best way to judge a baby's digestive health. :)

how's the sexing going? know what we got yet? :crybaby

[country_girl]

ok i think I have girls but i am attaching a picture of each one again they are done with the camara phone n the little babies wouldnt be still but I am thinking that is a good sign?? they are moving around alot. i hope that the rehab center here will let me stop by to check in on them n possibly take to raise till release i think it would be awesome :) but here are pictures of their bottoms...

[thundersquirrel]

congratulations mom, you've got a couple of beauuuuutiful girls there, unless my eyes deceive me.

movement is a good sign, though they should settle down after meals. babies like to sleep.

i'm sure you'll find nothing but kindness at the rehab center. rehabbers always appreciate it when loving citizens bring the babies forward. :thankyou

[country_girl]

So I called the rehab center this morning and spoke with a lady there named Sandy and she asked me to go ahead and bring the squirrels by So they could take a look at them... They are great and guess what!!!! one of the rehabs happens to live 4 houses down from me n I never knew :) Soooo she has agreed to let me keep the babies as long as I keep doing as I have been told to do and as long as she can stop in on her way to n from work everyday till they get older. So I get to keep the babies I am sooooo happy!!!!!!!!!!! :jump :D I will keep everyone up to date if u would like :) I have decided to name one of them alyssa but i cant seem to decide on another female name any suggestions??

[Momma Squirrel]

That is great news :thumbsup and how cool is that your neighbor is a rehabber and you didn't even know it. Just goes to show we don't know what is really going on in our neighbors house behind closed doors :rotfl

[4skwerlz]

I have decided to name one of them alyssa but i cant seem to decide on another female name any suggestions??

Some sweet girly names for Alyssa's sister: Clarissa, Saphron, Annabelle, Jasmine, Loralei.

[thundersquirrel]

hmmm, i've always loved the name aurora....celestial names are just so pretty.

that's awesome that they'll let you help! i'm glad it worked out so well! PLEEEEEASE stay on the board, we need all the squirrel lovers we can get! :grouphug