Newbie with lots of questions

[hockeymom1564]

Hello everyone. I am so glad I found this board. here is our situation. We came home from a hockey tournament 3 and a half weeks ago to find a baby grey squirrel (Georgie) outside on the ground. We left her outside in a box with fleece for 4 hours and no mama returned. She has been in our house ever since. We have never rehabbed a squirrel before. We think she was about 4 weeks old when she was found. I have read so many threads but still have lots of confusion.

1. We have fed her Ebsilac the entire time. No issues other than she did get aspiration pneumonia. Totally my fault :( She was treated and is doing well now. I have her at 4 feedings a day and recently started her on a block. How long do I keep feeding formula? I also have her trying to drink from a water bottle. That is a slow learning process.

2. She does not really seem to like the block. I ordered some Henry's block to see if she will prefer that one over this brand. Fingers crossed. Any suggestions on how to get her to start eating her blocks?

3. When can I start introducing healthy veggies and wild foods? I have placed branches in her cage and she does nibble on those.

4. Once they are off formula, how do you ensure they are getting enough calcium to prevent bone disease?

Thank you to anyone sharing advice.

Here is Georgie the day we got her and her again a few days ago

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[HRT4SQRLS]

Hello everyone. I am so glad I found this board. here is our situation. We came home from a hockey tournament 3 and a half weeks ago to find a baby grey squirrel (Georgie) outside on the ground. We left her outside in a box with fleece for 4 hours and no mama returned. She has been in our house ever since. We have never rehabbed a squirrel before. We think she was about 4 weeks old when she was found. I have read so many threads but still have lots of confusion.

1. We have fed her Ebsilac the entire time. No issues other than she did get aspiration pneumonia. Totally my fault :( She was treated and is doing well now. I have her at 4 feedings a day and recently started her on a block. How long do I keep feeding formula? I also have her trying to drink from a water bottle. That is a slow learning process.

Give her formula as long as she will take it. We let them self wean. I wouldn’t push the water bottle at this point. She will eventually find it and use it as her solid food intake increases.

2. She does not really seem to like the block. I ordered some Henry's block to see if she will prefer that one over this brand. Fingers crossed. Any suggestions on how to get her to start eating her blocks?

Keep offering the block. They will usually start nibbling the block. At first they just nibble it, play with it and pee on it. She will definitely like the Henry’s block better than the commercial rodent block. It has a pecan base so it’s much tastier.

3. When can I start introducing healthy veggies and wild foods? I have placed branches in her cage and she does nibble on those.

As soon as she is eating her block well you can start introducing healthy veggies. I usually start with kale. Have you seen the Healthy Squirrel diet with the recommended veggies?


4. Once they are off formula, how do you ensure they are getting enough calcium to prevent bone disease?

As long as they are eating the block and healthy veggies they will get adequate calcium. The biggest part of this is WHAT NOT TO FEED THEM! :) Do not feed unhealthy foods (high phosphorus foods) like nuts, seeds and corn.

Thank you to anyone sharing advice.

Here is Georgie the day we got her and her again a few days ago

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She is adorable. :grin2

[hockeymom1564]

Thank you ❤