LittlestMonster
03-19-2022, 12:07 AM
Hi All. I'm so happy to have found The Squirrel Board and to be able to post here.
Hubby & I found this little guy, now named Kevin and affectionately called Little Monster, two weeks ago while walking our pups. He was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, quiet as a mouse. So quiet, in fact, that the lead pup, Roscoe, walked right past him. A miracle indeed, because Roscoe is not small animal safe and would have made short work of Kevin. Neither pup is, but I spotted the baby before pup 2, Jack, spied him. I looked around for the mom squirrel but didn't see any sign of her. I placed him at the base of the tree I believe his nest was in and tried to walk away. I know I should have stayed to watch for Mom, but we were nearly a half mile from home and had dogs with us. "She'll come back for him," I told myself, along with "Circle of life, circle of life." I didn't make it 50 yards. I couldn't stand it. It's a fairly busy street, men with big equipment were pressure washing a building right beside the tree, and there was a dog inside a porch barking to be let outside. Plus he had cried out for Mom when I picked him up to put him by the tree. So back I went and scooped the little fella up. and he curled up in my hand immediately & went to sleep.
I knew enough to get him started and put him in a container on a heating pad as soon as we got home and hydration and nourishment after he was warmed. I did some Googling and guesstimated his age to be between 3 and 4 weeks. I did some quick shopping--found the powdered Esbilac but couldn't for the life of me locate a syringe smaller than the 10ml I had. I sent a text to a rehabber that took a baby squirrel I found a couple years ago, but she never answered. More Googling led me to Henry's Healthy Pets--ordered the FV 20/50 and smaller syringes--and Henry's led me here. (Big shout out to them because they ship so fast.) I bet I read that care guide five times over the next couple days. I realized the smaller syringes I had ordered weren't small enough, so I ordered smaller ones along with a couple of the Miracle Nipples. And I don't how I did it, but until those supplies came in, I managed to feed Kevin using that giant 10ml syringe, and I did it without him aspirating. (And he even gained 9 grams between Friday and Tuesday.) I have read and learned so much here, and I've tried to follow everything as closely as I could. Kevin is in a little bin on a heating pad in my bedroom, and the dogs don't even know he's here. I weigh him every day in grams--he started at 54 and is now at 105. His eyes opened Monday, and I'm pretty sure I saw a top tooth just starting to poke out. His appetite is great, his eyes opened Monday, and he's just starting to pee & poop on his own sometimes.
I ordered a bag of the Henry's Healthy Blocks and introduced him to a small piece on Wednesday, thinking just to get him used to the smell. Well, he took that piece and started nibbling on it like he'd been eating it his whole life. I seem to be his safety person, and he snuggles & goes to sleep in my hand after every meal. He's such a little love.
I'll have lots of questions as we get closer to his release. But for now, I'll just share some photos. Thank you thank you for all the information shared here.
Hubby & I found this little guy, now named Kevin and affectionately called Little Monster, two weeks ago while walking our pups. He was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, quiet as a mouse. So quiet, in fact, that the lead pup, Roscoe, walked right past him. A miracle indeed, because Roscoe is not small animal safe and would have made short work of Kevin. Neither pup is, but I spotted the baby before pup 2, Jack, spied him. I looked around for the mom squirrel but didn't see any sign of her. I placed him at the base of the tree I believe his nest was in and tried to walk away. I know I should have stayed to watch for Mom, but we were nearly a half mile from home and had dogs with us. "She'll come back for him," I told myself, along with "Circle of life, circle of life." I didn't make it 50 yards. I couldn't stand it. It's a fairly busy street, men with big equipment were pressure washing a building right beside the tree, and there was a dog inside a porch barking to be let outside. Plus he had cried out for Mom when I picked him up to put him by the tree. So back I went and scooped the little fella up. and he curled up in my hand immediately & went to sleep.
I knew enough to get him started and put him in a container on a heating pad as soon as we got home and hydration and nourishment after he was warmed. I did some Googling and guesstimated his age to be between 3 and 4 weeks. I did some quick shopping--found the powdered Esbilac but couldn't for the life of me locate a syringe smaller than the 10ml I had. I sent a text to a rehabber that took a baby squirrel I found a couple years ago, but she never answered. More Googling led me to Henry's Healthy Pets--ordered the FV 20/50 and smaller syringes--and Henry's led me here. (Big shout out to them because they ship so fast.) I bet I read that care guide five times over the next couple days. I realized the smaller syringes I had ordered weren't small enough, so I ordered smaller ones along with a couple of the Miracle Nipples. And I don't how I did it, but until those supplies came in, I managed to feed Kevin using that giant 10ml syringe, and I did it without him aspirating. (And he even gained 9 grams between Friday and Tuesday.) I have read and learned so much here, and I've tried to follow everything as closely as I could. Kevin is in a little bin on a heating pad in my bedroom, and the dogs don't even know he's here. I weigh him every day in grams--he started at 54 and is now at 105. His eyes opened Monday, and I'm pretty sure I saw a top tooth just starting to poke out. His appetite is great, his eyes opened Monday, and he's just starting to pee & poop on his own sometimes.
I ordered a bag of the Henry's Healthy Blocks and introduced him to a small piece on Wednesday, thinking just to get him used to the smell. Well, he took that piece and started nibbling on it like he'd been eating it his whole life. I seem to be his safety person, and he snuggles & goes to sleep in my hand after every meal. He's such a little love.
I'll have lots of questions as we get closer to his release. But for now, I'll just share some photos. Thank you thank you for all the information shared here.