Baby Chipmunk Care 4-5 Weeks Old

[Anthonythesquirrel]

I found a baby chipmunk today that appeared to be around 4-5 weeks old. She appeared to be abandoned, but otherwise in good health, so I brought her inside and gave her some small apple pieces and grape pieces, which she ate.

I also tried to give her some pedialyte and formula from a very small syringe (from a baby squirrel formula recipe) but she did not seem at all interested in it, other than licking up a few drops of pedialyte from the ground that leaked from the syringe. She seemed much more interested in sleeping.

I put a small bowl filled with pedialyte, then switched the bowl to formula, in the cage with her, but I want to make sure she can get enough liquid from the bowl, or does some need to be from the syringe? And should I put water in the cage at this point?

I cannot hold her to feed her because she is so small that she slips through my fingers. She is about the size of a mouse. I have tried holding the syringe right up to her face, but I’m not sure what else to do. She doesn’t seem quite old enough to be eating seeds and ignored the ones I gave her. So basically, at this point is she old enough to drink solely from a bowl, and if not, how should I make sure she’s getting enough liquid? Any other general tips would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

[Javarat]

You can feed a chipmunk with a syringe.. but you have to put the tip just under the nose (in the V of the lip) and let it lick up the drops. (They do not suckle) This works both with babies and adults.
Or you can use an eyedropper.
It's easier to feed her if you let her lay on something instead of trying to hold her in your hand.
Feed her Esbilac Goats Milk Puppy Formula, or Esbilac Puppy formula. 5% of her bodyweight.
Try a few Cheerios to start onto solids. Diet is about the same as a squirrel, so refer to the squirrel diet on this board.

For a dish, I use the top from a small tupperware container. or the plastic lid from something like a pringles container. Extremely shallow with like 1/4th of an inch of fluid on it, to lick up.

Note on baby chipmunks... They don't fall from their nest, or wander off when young. So there are high odds that either the mother did not return, or she exposed it because of a health problem. Possibly it was not eating, or was a lot smaller than siblings. But there is a good chance it has a health problem and may not survive no matter how well you care for it.

[Rock Monkey]

For a dish, I use the top from a small tupperware container. or the plastic lid from something like a pringles container. Extremely shallow with like 1/4th of an inch of fluid on it, to lick up.



This part is very important. It greatly reduces the risk the animal aspirating fluid into the lungs which can be very quickly fatal.