Fuzzy_Fae
06-19-2022, 04:30 PM
Hello, I'm fairly new to TSB and the care of squirrels in general. I ended up here because on May 21st a close family friend contacted us needing some help because their pigs were in labor and someone had just given them baby squirrels to take care of. They were found in a camper someone purchased from out of state, and when the people who found them called a rehabilitation center they said to let them die. Squirrels are completely unprotected in my state, you can take them in if you want or kill them, nobody really cares. But we didn't want the babies to die, so we ended up with 5 baby squirrels. they were still blind and had some pink on their bellies and only very short hair on the rest of their bodies. When I got there my friend had already made sure they were hydrated, and they were in a shoebox with a fleece blanket and a heating pad on low underneath them. We did some research, got them on goat's milk, fresh and raw from a local farm, and started taking care of them feeding every three hours through the night. My friend did most of it in the beginning, but after a while she was drowning in work between her other animals and her kids, so she began leaving them with me in shifts of a few days at a time.
By the time they'd opened their eyes at what we estimated to be about 5 weeks old, we got them rodent blocks to begin offering as well (the rodent blocks from Exotic Nutrition). by this time one of the boys in the litter had passed away, nobody knew why. My friend opened the cage one day and he was gone. we lost another to bloating, someone offered him more milk than he could really handle but he was a pig about his milk. 2 more went down from AP pneumonia, due to improper and inexperienced feeding. (In my opinion we let far too many people feed them, I would've liked a more controlled, focused environment, but my friend let her children feed them as well even though they continued to not pay attention and accidentally aspirate the squirrels and usually not even stop feeding them while they were aspirating until they were told to. Her kids ARE experienced with the care of many animals, but squirrels are a whole separate thing. I know now I should've voiced my concerns about their involvement with the feeding sooner.)
At 6 weeks, one Squirrel was left. My friend said she had thought about it and wanted me to keep him. I have no complaints; especially since she wants to help buy him equipment, chewing toys, perches, treats, and even help me invest in a very large cage setup for him as he gets older. I have changed my methods of feeding this boy his milk, he eats it from a saucer now and he enjoys it plenty. His name is Frankie and he is doing very very well.
I did have a question about feeding and introducing solid foods, I've been slowly introducing foods i know to be good for him such as bok choy (which he LOVES) Broccoli (another favorite), and some small amounts of radishes, celery, and cucumber. As well as offering 1-2 rodent blocks a day. He gets 1 nut at the end of the day, after he has eaten his other healthier foods. usually an almond or hazelnut.
He is currently 7 weeks old, and behaving as such, but he does seem small to me compared to other 7 week old squirrels I've seen other post photos of, is that something I should be concerned about? (I will be weighing him today and I'll reply to this thread with his weight and some photos for reference.)
Otherwise, he seems to be doing wonderfully! He is becoming very squirrely, with healthy amounts of activity, and he loves to play with me by wrestling with my hands. He'll chase them if I drag them along the carpet, and if one touches him he rolls on his back for me to softly tickle him and "get him". After some playtime he usually wants to snuggle and take a nap either in my lap, on my shoulder, or under my shirt collar with his head poking out the top while he lays on my back/neck. I love the little guy, he really is sweet. I've always liked squirrels but never really knew the depth of their intelligence, emotions, or needs. I'm still very new to this of course, but I like to throw myself headfirst into anything I do, and totally commit. It's already been a difficult but beautiful learning experience, I can't wait for the years to come of him growing up.
By the time they'd opened their eyes at what we estimated to be about 5 weeks old, we got them rodent blocks to begin offering as well (the rodent blocks from Exotic Nutrition). by this time one of the boys in the litter had passed away, nobody knew why. My friend opened the cage one day and he was gone. we lost another to bloating, someone offered him more milk than he could really handle but he was a pig about his milk. 2 more went down from AP pneumonia, due to improper and inexperienced feeding. (In my opinion we let far too many people feed them, I would've liked a more controlled, focused environment, but my friend let her children feed them as well even though they continued to not pay attention and accidentally aspirate the squirrels and usually not even stop feeding them while they were aspirating until they were told to. Her kids ARE experienced with the care of many animals, but squirrels are a whole separate thing. I know now I should've voiced my concerns about their involvement with the feeding sooner.)
At 6 weeks, one Squirrel was left. My friend said she had thought about it and wanted me to keep him. I have no complaints; especially since she wants to help buy him equipment, chewing toys, perches, treats, and even help me invest in a very large cage setup for him as he gets older. I have changed my methods of feeding this boy his milk, he eats it from a saucer now and he enjoys it plenty. His name is Frankie and he is doing very very well.
I did have a question about feeding and introducing solid foods, I've been slowly introducing foods i know to be good for him such as bok choy (which he LOVES) Broccoli (another favorite), and some small amounts of radishes, celery, and cucumber. As well as offering 1-2 rodent blocks a day. He gets 1 nut at the end of the day, after he has eaten his other healthier foods. usually an almond or hazelnut.
He is currently 7 weeks old, and behaving as such, but he does seem small to me compared to other 7 week old squirrels I've seen other post photos of, is that something I should be concerned about? (I will be weighing him today and I'll reply to this thread with his weight and some photos for reference.)
Otherwise, he seems to be doing wonderfully! He is becoming very squirrely, with healthy amounts of activity, and he loves to play with me by wrestling with my hands. He'll chase them if I drag them along the carpet, and if one touches him he rolls on his back for me to softly tickle him and "get him". After some playtime he usually wants to snuggle and take a nap either in my lap, on my shoulder, or under my shirt collar with his head poking out the top while he lays on my back/neck. I love the little guy, he really is sweet. I've always liked squirrels but never really knew the depth of their intelligence, emotions, or needs. I'm still very new to this of course, but I like to throw myself headfirst into anything I do, and totally commit. It's already been a difficult but beautiful learning experience, I can't wait for the years to come of him growing up.