New to the baby squirrel world

[jillian15279]

Hi! I found my little guy Thursday evening. I’m thinking he fell from his tree. I thought he had passed and was going to bury him until he twitched. I brought him in and warmed him. Went to tsc and got baby nursing kit and the esbilac formula. We weren’t very successful so after research I found the bottles a No No and got a few 1cc syringes. Saturday he took to those and yesterday he started doing about 1/2 syringe of pedialyte and 2 to 3 of the formula. I’m guessing he’s about 4-5 weeks since his eyes just opened Saturday. I have him in a soft cat carrier half on a heating pad in a wire puppy carrier. I would love to keep him and let him go when he’s ready. My biggest question is if he’s getting enough to eat and what’s the best habitat for him. I do have cats and a dog so I’m cautious there.
Thank you in advance for any tips or tricks

[CritterMom]

The first thing you should do is go here: https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/ and read each of the pages - there are 6 of them. It is the best guide and most concise guide to building a baby squirrel you will find. This is also the place where you want to buy food after weaning - the Henry's Healthy Bites really are the best. For full disclosure, the woman who owns Henrys is one of our long time members, and the baby squirrel guide is the result of YEARS on this board.

Once you get through that, you can ask specific questions. We feed a percentage of the animal's weight, so having that digital scale is really important.

[jillian15279]

Thank you.. I bought a digital scale and he's 155 grams so if I did the math right he needs a 6ml a feeding. He's only taking about 4 for now, should I increase his feeding times to every 3 hours? or just give him time to work up to that?
thank you for the link and help. I've ordered the feeding starter kit to get us going a little better..

[HRT4SQRLS]

The recommended feeding amount is 5-7% of the body weight per feeding.
At 155g, that would be between 7.75-10.85mL per feeding. As they get older they will even take more than that. It’s more important for the little guys and those new into rehab to use the 5-7% guideline because you don’t want them to bloat. Again, as they get older, they take more per feeding.

The eyes open at 5 weeks. I would feed every 5 hours. When they get hungry, they will take more formula per feeding. Feeding too often will result in reduced appetite and failure for the formula to move out of the stomach. An increased feeding interval will allow old formula to move on before new formula intake. Feeding too often can result in bloat.

[Taz2020]

Well hello fellow Indiana...new baby squirrel...finder...mom...!

So, being a neophyte myself the only real useful information I can pass on is to listen to the folks here, do what they say, read all the links they give you, ask questions, and read through as many different threads as possible. There is a crazy amount of information here, both in the people that make up this board and within the many threads/conversations. I learn something new here on a daily basis; this site has been invaluable in helping me keep my girls healthy and happy.

Enjoy the ride! I'm new to this world as well (the squirrel world, I've been on the people world a long time). There will be ups and downs, sad times, times you'll want to pull out your hair (usually with the fuzzballs help), and laugh out loud times. Be prepared to be peed on, pooped on, and have nuts and various other food items hidden in your shirt, waistband, bra, socks or any other part of your person they (the squirrels) deem an appropriate hiding place (I usually get a complementary "avocado hair mask" on a weekly basis). Your house will begin to take on a "rustic" ambiance, with a little dash of war zone thrown in, you'll have late nights and early mornings, panic attacks that somethings wrong with your little guy (well, I have panic attacks...but then again I've also been accused of being an overprotective/neurotic mom by my two legged, non furry children), and a possible intervention when your family and friends worry you've started cutting yourself.

Pro Tip: Tyvek jump suits work quite well in protecting against excessive squirrel scratches, and as an added benefit they also double as a sauna suit. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.

But most importantly, be prepared for the unconditional love and impact this little guy will have on your life.