New to the forum... and of course I have a newbie question.

[bwdearman]

Hello all,

My name is Brett Dearman and I live with my wife Holli in Meeker, Colorado (way up in the Northwest corner). Several weeks ago, Holli found a baby squirrel that had apparently fallen out of a tree in our yard. He was about 2-3 weeks old at the time... Eyes not open yet, but had a light layer of hair. We named him Simon (for no particular reason). Tried to reunite him with his mother, but she was nowhere to be found. The next day, she found another one under the same tree. Naturally, he had to be named Garfunkel (but goes by Funky now). That was all about 6 weeks ago. Since then, we've done a lot of research and have had pretty solid success so far. They're both developing well and are very active. We got them a "six story condo" cage and they run like crazy... then crash hard after they've been fed... just like human toddlers. We've been starting the weaning process and I'm beginning to think we may be rushing it a bit. They've been on a pretty steady diet of Esbilac (powdered with blue label), but have started giving them solid (albeit soft) foods. They seem to like avocados, peeled grapes, sweet potatoes (sort of), apples, broccoli, peaches and of course... pecan pieces. They've been tolerating it really well for the last couple of weeks until yesterday. It appears that Simon has developed really loose stools and we're concerned that we may be rushing the weaning process a bit. I would appreciate it if you folks in this group would chime in and let me know your thoughts. We're flying by the seat of our pants (with YouTube and Google for support), so I would appreciate any helpful tips. Are we over-feeding them? Being in remote Colorado, there are no rehab facilities anywhere close to us, so we're looking to you all for advice.

[CritterMom]

One of my favorite duos. I wonder if they had settled on "Simon and Funky" if they would have had the same success...:grin2

First, don't "wean" them - they will decide when that should happen. We like to keep them on formula for as long as possible as it really fosters growth.

When they DO wean, it is on "blocks" first, THEN veggies are slowly worked in. With a tummy not used to them, veggies can be tough on the stomach.

These: https://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/ (the first 5 items) are the very best. They all seem to prefer the "Picky" and the "Hazelnut" flavors. These are both a diet AND a nutritional supplement, and 2-3 a day provide all of the vitamins and minerals they need to be healthy. Once they are actually consuming them, THEN you phase in the veggies. Nuts are ALWAYS to be a treat and fed very sparingly. They are not inexpensive, so start by cutting a block in half and let them work on that. They have no preservatives, so remove the pieces at the end of the day and discard, and store the bags of blocks in the freezer, removing them only when needed.

Hopefully the diarrhea stops with the removal of the vegetables. They need additional hydration while they have diarrhea. You can give pedialyte for up to 24 hours and if they require more after that, switch to plain water.

Giving them a couple drops of pepto bismol will help to bind up their poop a little. It will make their poops very dark - almost black - don't be alarmed by that.

Proper feeding amounts are determined by their body weight - they should eat 5-7% of their body weight. For example, a 75 gram squirrel would eat 4 to 5ml per feeding. If you can post weights we can help. If you don't have a scale that weighs in grams, you really need one - they can be purchased at Walmart or similar - look in the kitchen wares. Dieters use them.

Have you read this: https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/ It is 6 pages of excellent info.

[CritterMom]

Whoops - I was half asleep when I wrote that. 2-3 Henry's blocks per day for an ADULT squirrel. Your little guys can start with one each though I hold with giving them each a half block to see what they do. Usually they do mostly shredding at first, then begin to actually consume. Also, the same "no preservatives" thing that means they need to live in the freezer also means that you need to clean the old bits and pieces out daily - that should be ALL food - to prevent illness.