Weaning Too Soon?

[Petey's Temporary Mommy]

Hello! During Hurricane Ida, my dog "rescued" a baby squirrel. I estimated that "Petey" was about 4 or 5 weeks old at the time. Surprisingly, Petey has continued to thrive for the past month. You can imagine the difficulty of getting necessary supplies immediately following the storm. It's illegal to "own" a squirrel in Louisiana but I could not find a permitted rehabber to take him. So, I've been doing the best I can. He is on Fox Valley 20/50 formula and is transitioning to solid foods. I started him on Henry's Healthy Blocks and appropriate veggies. He's currently 241 grams. My concern is that he is pretty much starting to refuse his formula, which is being offered 3 times daily. Isn't he too young to be almost completely weaned? I do plan to release him in spring but want to ensure that he's healthy enough for release. As a side note, I want to give a HUGE shout out to this forum for successfully getting us through the first month. We couldn't have done it without y'all!

[Petey's Temporary Mommy]

Photos of Petey when rescued (his eyes were open) and today.

[HRT4SQRLS]

So is he about 8-9 weeks old now? Some will start rejecting the formula at that age but we try to encourage them along. You can try going to 2 feedings, morning and night. They often feel the need for warm formula first thing in the morning or even before bedtime. Eventually, you will be lucky to get them to take one feeding a day. It’s the normal progression of weaning.

It sounds like you’re doing a great job. Thanks for doing your homework. He looks like the picture of health. Adorable :grin2

[LanSeaAir]

Once they are 10 to 12 weeks they will need less feedings because they eat nuggets & veggies all day. I have one now at 11 weeks & it takes one or two feedings a day until they just rather eat more nuggets but all part of the weaning process and they have fresh water at all times. :-) Great job & Beautiful picture of b4 & after. The chart I follow is: 8 to 10 wks 1 or 2 feedings a day , 10 to 12 wks 0 to 1 per day wean. They tell u when they are done :-) 5 to 6 % of body weight so at 241grams up to 14cc can be offered.

[Petey's Temporary Mommy]

So is he about 8-9 weeks old now? Some will start rejecting the formula at that age but we try to encourage them along. You can try going to 2 feedings, morning and night. They often feel the need for warm formula first thing in the morning or even before bedtime. Eventually, you will be lucky to get them to take one feeding a day. It’s the normal progression of weaning.

It sounds like you’re doing a great job. Thanks for doing your homework. He looks like the picture of health. Adorable :grin2

Thank you so much for responding! He should be about 8 or 9 weeks now. This morning he ate all of his formula, almost aggressively, so I'll cut out that 3rd feeding at lunch. Was really concerned when he only ate 3cc yesterday. I've researched ad nauseam how to properly care for him because I knew no one locally could/would help. We have some ridiculous laws in Louisiana. I can't legally rehabilitate him but can't find anywhere to take him so I either let them die or break the law. Guess some laws are made to be broken😉. I also heard that if you do find a permitted rehabber, often times they are just euthanized. When I first rescued him, he aspirated and I was so worried he was going to get pneumonia that I thought I was going to have to fake a kidney infection to get some Cipro from my doctor😂. Thanks again!

[Petey's Temporary Mommy]

Once they are 10 to 12 weeks they will need less feedings because they eat nuggets & veggies all day. I have one now at 11 weeks & it takes one or two feedings a day until they just rather eat more nuggets but all part of the weaning process and they have fresh water at all times. :-) Great job & Beautiful picture of b4 & after. The chart I follow is: 8 to 10 wks 1 or 2 feedings a day , 10 to 12 wks 0 to 1 per day wean. They tell u when they are done :-) 5 to 6 % of body weight so at 241grams up to 14cc can be offered.

Thank you so much for the information! There's a lot of contradictory information out there and I read that they should really be on formula for 16 weeks so I was getting nervous when he was refusing all together at only 8 or 9 weeks. Articles on MBD scare me. I really appreciate the feeding information you provided. Makes me feel much better🥰.

[Dinomacc]

Mines about 12 weeks and she just started refusing the bottle about 7-8 weeks. Had a gerbil waterer in her house.Tried giving her in a bowl she drank a few times but pretty much weaned herself house. Preferred the water and regular food. Mines healthy and fine. PS we had raised her from about 3 weeks old on goat replacement milk.

[KCullen]

10-12 weeks is pretty normal for mine, although some special needs, or just plain special, little guys will take formula forever. I find singletons who can observe an older squirrel emulate the older baby's eating and behavior like most other mammals seem to. I have a very active male right now who weaned early. He's going to start in his "outdoor condo" this weekend and I had him from about two weeks old. He's always been an early milestone hitter, and showed us that he was a sweet baby destined to be a wild hellion early on! He's absolutely healthy, chows down on at least 2-3 Tekland blocks and 2 Henry's Healthy blocks daily, in addition to vegetables and wild foods.