4 babies came out of tree cutdown today - what to feed them overnight ?

[Stevelisa]

My sons friend is a tree cutter, they cut down a tree this afternoon, then 4 babies came crawling out of the nest hole half way up.
He brought them home not finding the mother nearby. I think they are grays by the size of them in his video and moving around alot. They look a good size, no fur yet but eyes are open now.

He has them in a box in the house for the night, next to a radiator heater. It is cold enough outside tonight, about 27 degF. The mother must be frantically looking for them if she's still alive. Shouldn't he try to find the mother again tomorrow ?

Any ideas what liquid he can give them tonight ? Nobody has esbilac at this time tonight.

[Stevelisa]

cn they survive until 10am to get some esbilac ?

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

cn they survive until 10am to get some esbilac ?

Have you been directly involved in the care of a baby Squirrel? From looking at the history of your posting on TSB it appears that you may have some experience! That would be advantageous!

Are there any Rehabbers nearby to transfer care of your babies if that is something you would consider? If so, I would recommend attempting to contact the Rehabbber now!

Can you post photos of the babies. If they are very young (eyes not open), they cannot regulate their body temperature or even urinate or defecate without stimulation. They literally totally dependent upon the mother. They should definitely receive hydration and nutrition (formula).

I am placing a link to Henry's Pets excellent information pages on Baby Squirrel Care. Please review it immediately! https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

It may be that Mom would claim the babies but currently her nest is destroyed. She would need to have located another home. She may have but I suspect not yet. I would not recommend putting these little ones outside in the cold tonight! I really don't know what the odds are that mom would claim these babies and the cold and loss of the home seems to me to be not so encouraging conditions for a successful reuniting with mom. For what it may be worth, I have also pasted a link to a one hour recording of a baby Squirrel calling for mom. It may attract Mother Squirrel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgXnLN9w5BA

Others on TSB may feel have some comments about reuniting under these conditions and about this general state of affairs with these babies.

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Chirps]

Squirrels supposedly have backup nests, so hoping Mom is alive and you can reunite them. People report very mixed results in attempting reunification, but let's hope!

[Mel1959]

DEFINITELY TRY TO REUNITE!! It’s ALWAYS the best option. Here’s the link for the baby squirrel crying for mom audio. Play it on your phone as loud as you can. Keep the babies warm with a rice buddy while attempting to reunite, as well as a watchful eye over them.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?65195-One-Hour-of-Baby-Squirrel-Cries-to-attract-the-Mother

I have successfully reunited many babies. It definitely works.

[Stevelisa]

He just told us about mom, it turns out she didn't survive the tree fall :sadness
We were really hoping on that option.

He brought them to us this morning as he's not sure what to do and no time.
The 4 babies are indeed black squirrels, with short fur growth, eyes not open. photo will follow.

We raised Chippy then Coco, 2 red girls, they were each about 6-8 weeks. They had no problem urin/def on their own. These babies are younger, so its our first time to help with that.
Thank you ALL for the directions, Lisa is reading it all, confident she can do it.

They are now in a fleece blanket, on a heating pad on low, in a box (we're going to get a plastic container as in Henry's picture)
Lisa fed them some pedialyte this morning, slowly with a small syringe. Each of them sucked it up. We just got some Esbilac.

(Chippy and Coco will not like the smell of new intruders in their house )

[Stevelisa]

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[Stevelisa]

https://youtube.com/shorts/UPgrIJzjlIc?feature=share

[Stevelisa]

You can see in the photo their body skin looks wrinkly/folded... is that a sign of dehydration ?

[Spanky]

https://youtube.com/shorts/UPgrIJzjlIc?feature=share

That syringe is way, way way too large. You need 1ml syringes for these small ones!

[Spanky]

You can see in the photo their body skin looks wrinkly/folded... is that a sign of dehydration ?

Yes. And always start with hydration for new intakes. Feeding a dehydrated baby is counter productive. Get them hydrated and peeing before starting formula. :thumbsup

[Stevelisa]

thank you Spanky, we'll follow that.

[Tashahaven]

When I rescued my girl, all I had or could get the first day, was a TOO big syringe… I had to literally go DROP by DROP, VERY slowly, cause even the drops are big. Even once she was grown, I never used bigger than 3cc. Even though it’s a lot easier than cleaning and using multiple per feeding. The volume increase between the different sizes is difficult to adjust to.

So until you get a 1cc syringe, go slow. :) even though I’m sure they are ravenous.

And yes, HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE first. Dehydrated or cold babies can’t digest the formula.

They are adorable! Keep us posted! And THANK YOU for taking them in! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Stevelisa]

the 1ml syringes came in, much easier to go slow :w00t

They are taking the warm formula now. Urinatng & def ok with prodding.

[Tashahaven]

Yay! Thanks for caring for these littles!

🥰🥰

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Stevelisa:
How are your babies doing?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Stevelisa]

Good evening Sam,

3 girls, 1 boy....the boy is the runt. His skin appeared the most dehydrated the first day, but is looking better.
The girls are more ravenous, taking about 1.5ml per feeding. We're giving him about 1ml.
It seems they would all take more if we let them, should we be feeding them until they're full or how much?

Lisa is the mother rubbing their belly and feeding. They're urin/def well now before feeding. I just fetch and watch, they're too small for me too handle.

They sleep together all bunded up in one ball, in the fleece blanket. They're bodies are plenty warm enough now without the heating pad. will try to post a pic tomorrow.

SL

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Good evening Sam,

3 girls, 1 boy....the boy is the runt. His skin appeared the most dehydrated the first day, but is looking better.
The girls are more ravenous, taking about 1.5ml per feeding. We're giving him about 1ml.
It seems they would all take more if we let them, should we be feeding them until they're full or how much?

Lisa is the mother rubbing their belly and feeding. They're urin/def well now before feeding. I just fetch and watch, they're too small for me too handle.

They sleep together all bunded up in one ball, in the fleece blanket. They're bodies are plenty warm enough now without the heating pad. will try to post a pic tomorrow.

SL

Hi SL: Thanks! These Little Ones seem like they are doing very well in y'alls care!

In regard to the amount of formula and your question about whether or not to feed until satiation (until they stop eating); I would like to ask whether you are weighing the Squirrels first thing in the morning before their first meals of the day and then calculating the amount of formula to give each Squirrel with each feeding based upon that mornings weight? Next question would be whether your calculated amounts to give each each Squirrel is base upon the 5%-7% "rule. The rationale of this 5-7% rule is that this is generally considered be the normal filling capacity of the stomach for formula. Most people raising Baby Squirrels probably use the 5-7% rule consistently. Overfeeding has its risks and one of the potentially most serious is regurgitation of the formula into the breathing passages and lungs which could lead to an aspiration pneumonia (infection) or an aspiration pneumonitis (inflammation) and while the risk of aspiration can never be eliminated, the risk can be kept low by not exceeding the 5-7% rule.

Good job SL!!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Stevelisa]

Sam, Haven't weighed them yet, will let you know shortly.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Sam, Haven't weighed them yet, will let you know shortly.

Hi SL:
How are things going with your Squirrels?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Stevelisa]

Hi Sam,
ok finally weighed them this morning.

2 of the girls are at 2.9 oz, the boy runt and other girl are 2.8 oz.
Eyes not open yet.

So thats between 79 to 82 g each.
5% of 80g is 4g = about 4ml of formula, right ?

We've been feeding them about 3 to 3.5 ml each, and one of them wanted more this morning so she got 4ml.

[Stevelisa]

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[SamtheSquirrel2018]

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What a beautiful Little Squirrel!!
StS

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Sam,
ok finally weighed them this morning.

2 of the girls are at 2.9 oz, the boy runt and other girl are 2.8 oz.
Eyes not open yet.

So thats between 79 to 82 g each.
5% of 80g is 4g = about 4ml of formula, right ?

We've been feeding them about 3 to 3.5 ml each, and one of them wanted more this morning so she got 4ml.

Hi SL:

Your Little Squirrels look very good!

I do have a few more questions, suggestions and comments (so what else is new!).

Are you using the recommendation from Henry's for guidelines of care such as a bin for housing, air holes in the lid, heating pad withOUT auto-shutoff on low and under 1/2 the bin. What is the formula you are using and how are you mixing it? How often are you feeding!

The math seems good but ideally, a scale that weighs directly in grams will be somewhat more accurate as you are making small approximations with the math math conversion. Also, of course, since you need Grams for the formula dosing, reading the weight in Grams not only makes sense but is easier as no math is needed.

I would recommend not ever giving less than 5% and use a maximum of 7% but within this range is some wiggle room. I would suggest giving each of the babies at least 5% of their weight and more if they will take it as long as you are not in any way force-feeding and that you have not exceeded 7% max. With the babies I have raised (and I am not a big-time rehabber by anyone's stretch of imagination), I will let the Squirrels regularly eat at the 6% number and sometimes a little more but never more than 7%. It is essential to monitor their pooping also and white stool and/or loose stool are common indicators of overfeeding. Also, the abdomen should never be taut and distended (bloated appearing) as this can make aspiration more of a risk! Aspiration is another risk of over-feeding and this is where stomach contents are refluxed and end up in the lungs or breathing tubes or where some of the formula goes directly into the breathing tubes during feeding. While the risk of aspiration can never be totally eliminated; slow accurate feedings using a 1cc syringe with the Squirrel held upright and held without pressure being applied to the belly will help to keep the risk of aspiration at a minimum. It seems that your Squirrels are probably close to 4 weeks of age. They are not yet able to regulate their temperature at this age. I would recommend feeding every 4 hours with no more than 6 hours "off" of feedings during the night. I hope others will comment as well!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hello again SL:
I just wanted to thank you again for your compassion and willingness to care for these little Squirrels ! I neglected mention in my recent post that not only is the 5% to 7% "rule" a very good guide but in order to dose the formula optimally, the weight should be obtained on EACH Squirrel every morning before the first feeding and using theses weights, calculate the amount of formula to give with EACH feeding to EACH baby based each Squirrel's indivudual weight!
Thanks again!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Stevelisa]

Thanks Sts,

Lisa is looking after the 4 babies, im mostly looking out for chippy and coco between my day job lol.
These squirrels are a handful :bliss. Plus Chippy has been in full chatter mode. I cleaned all the nuts out of her stash over Easter, it was stressing her out so much she couldn't control her instinctive RED nerves :tap

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[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Thanks Sts,

Lisa is looking after the 4 babies, im mostly looking out for chippy and coco between my day job lol.
These squirrels are a handful :bliss. Plus Chippy has been in full chatter mode. I cleaned all the nuts out of her stash over Easter, it was stressing her out so much she couldn't control her instinctive RED nerves :tap

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WOW! Looks like a herd of Squirrels attacked you! They are very protective of their food and if they are stashing, it's definitely NOT out-of-sight-out-of-mind! We may not be successful finding stashes on our initial attempts but often the Squirrels will let us know when we are close! Just out of curiosity, is your Day Job being a Hand Model. If so, you may be out of work for a while until you heal and you will have more time with the Squirrels!
Regards and as always, thanks to Lisa and you for your loving care of these wonderful little creatures!
SamtheSquirrel

[Spanky]

This may come too late for you but others may benefit... when cleaning out stashes, it is always a good idea to separate the stashing squirrel into a separate cage and separate room. Best they not even see us attempting to rob them of their hidden treasures! :hurt:shark1

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

This may come too late for you but others may benefit... when cleaning out stashes, it is always a good idea to separate the stashing squirrel into a separate cage and separate room. Best they not even see us attempting to rob them of their hidden treasures! :hurt:shark1

Great idea! Just another caution with this though is that fairly often we are prompted to suspect a stash based upon a significant behavioral change in a once gentle Squirrel becoming an attack machine! If a Squirrel finds a way to stash, it may become a bit of a crap-shoot just by opening the cage door! Be prepared!:duel
StS

[Stevelisa]

Of course we take her in another room to do that.
With gloves on, cage door open, i let her jump into my hands, then arms way up run down to my office work space. I need to keep her distracted to get her out of the living room area, before she tries to jump on the sides of Coco's cage, that is beside hers. We've already discussed this before with Diggie's Friend, the danger of letting them fight on either side of a cage is one will eventually lose a finger or toe. The younger Coco did get her paw bit a few months ago.
Once down in the other room, Chippy calms down after 5 minutes. I take the gloves off there. Once in a while she isn't calmed down enough and goes for my hands. I just keep them still, talk softly, she lets go.

When its time to go back, she sits in my hands gloves on walking back to cage, but she always jumps off to the top of Coco's Critternation cage. Then its play fighting to keep her on my gloves and arms, all to maneuver her back to the door of her cage, then she goes in. But she sometimes bites through the thick work gloves. So its a bit of a routine there and back. Im used to the odd bite as she doesn't mean it. As CM says... reds sheesh, lol.

[Stevelisa]

Chippy in one of her rare relaxing moments….
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[Stevelisa]

this thread can be moved out of EMergency by now...

[Tashahaven]

💕❤️🥰

Thank goodness you were able to take these littles in and care for them.

Reds are common where I’m moving to. It will be interesting to observe them and see how they differ from fox 🐿️

Sending my love to these cuties. 🥰

[Stevelisa]

We had an terrible accident the next day after your post above. 2 of the girl babies were put aside during feeding under a blanket, to feed the other 2 next. One of us had to go to the bathroom, while that one of the kids came in and sat down where the blanket was.. when we realized what happened, we tried to revive them but it was too late. Their eyes weren't even opened yet. We feel quite bad about this. The other 2 are a black girl and gray boy, we're being more careful with them.

[Tashahaven]

Awe I’m SO SORRY this happened stevelisa. I know how much you love these little ones, and are caring for them greatly. What a tragic story. Know it was not your fault. Accidents happen, and while they are devastating and sad, you are still doing an amazing thing continuing to love and nurture the little ones you have. I’m so sorry for the pain and sadness you are experiencing.

They were lucky to have the love you gave them, a quick death, and a peaceful transition to the rainbow bridge 🌈 ❤️

[Stevelisa]

These 2 are growing fast, the boy(gray) is now 7.8 oz(220g), the sister(black) is 8.2 oz(230g).
They're each taking about 12-14 of 1ml syringe of Esbilac.
Will send a picture later.

[Stevelisa]

The growing gray boy, milk moustache
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[Stevelisa]

The gray boy Barry and black girl Bella are quite a size now, seem very healthy. But getting too big and wild to keep inside much longer. I finally made the RC, first intended for reds Chippy and Coco, but we’re putting these 2 first.
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[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Tremendous job, SteveLisa!!! Thanks for all you have done so lovingly for these Squirrels!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[Stevelisa]

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That’s Barry, he’s a dark gray; his sister is black. She will bite me if I get too close. They only let Lisa near them. Was very hot today… I put my 1950s pedestal fan beside them and sprayed a fine mist from the hose.

[Stevelisa]

After a month in the RC, we let the 2 juvis out this morning.
They found their way out the plastic pipe midway up the side of the cage.
Once outside they explored our yard and soon went over to the neighbors where the trees are taller.
Within a few minutes the girl Bella got in a short scuffle with another black squirrel, then went up one of the trees. Lisa saw them a few times during the day, between coming back into our yard for a peanut and then back up the trees. The girl bella came back into the cage about 7pm, drank some water then right into the nest box to sleep for the night. The grey boy Barry is still out there at 10pm, no sign of him yet. A bad thunderstorm went through an hour ago, so at least there's water for him to drink out there, and i put a bowl of water on the ground around their cage, in case he is wandering around. Hopefully we'll see him in morning.

[Stevelisa]

To give you all an update on the 3 baby black squirrels....
Since their release, all 3 were coming back to the RC for food and water, a few times a day. Along with another 5 or 6 local squirrels as well. But our 3 never slept in it anymore, they seemed to be happy out in the large trees. There are no racoons on our blocks, so i'm not worried about that. Its not easy to pick out the 2 black girls among the others, but the slightly gray boy Barry stands out. He still comes up to us in the backyard and front porch. The other day we noticed he is missing 2 toes on his back foot. They are cut back clean and healed now, as if a squirrel bit him in a fight. However, we've not seen any of them fighting, all 3 of them seem to fit in to the local black squirrel clans.

[TubeDriver]

I bet they are having a blast out there! :w00t


To give you all an update on the 3 baby black squirrels....
Since their release, all 3 were coming back to the RC for food and water, a few times a day. Along with another 5 or 6 local squirrels as well. But our 3 never slept in it anymore, they seemed to be happy out in the large trees. There are no racoons on our blocks, so i'm not worried about that. Its not easy to pick out the 2 black girls among the others, but the slightly gray boy Barry stands out. He still comes up to us in the backyard and front porch. The other day we noticed he is missing 2 toes on his back foot. They are cut back clean and healed now, as if a squirrel bit him in a fight. However, we've not seen any of them fighting, all 3 of them seem to fit in to the local black squirrel clans.

[Stevelisa]

They are loving it, so do the locals. we seem to be feeding the whole neighborhood :).
Here is Barry, one of the few with a gray tint around here. We released him back in June. In the photo we can see his 2 missing toes. He goes up to Lisa often during the day, sometimes tries to get in through the front door.
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[Stevelisa]

Do his missing toes look like its healing ok ?
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[Stevelisa]

@Tubedriver:

Do his 2 stubby toes look healed ok to you? In the photo above. We just noticed it last week, suspect it happened in a squirrel fight.

[CritterMom]

They look pretty good. I suspect he got them caught in something and panicked and pulled them off. They are very vulnerable to getting stuck in pinch points - the toes are very thin and slip right in, but the tips are round and bulbous and get stuck.

[Stevelisa]

Thanks CM ! Makes much more sense, I haven’t seen any fights among the black squirrels and relieved for that.

[Stevelisa]

Barry visited us regularly, almost every day since he snd sister Bella were released last summer. It is now 10 days no sign of him. We’ve searched the neighborhood a few blocks around us, no signs of car accidents. His sister Bella visits us every day, often comes in the front door, as they both did. There was usually a few other black squirrels with them, watching these 2 go up to Lisa and right into the kitchen to see her. We’ve been worried sick about Barry, but it’s too long now. He’s so close to Bella still following her over to our house. And still hanging on to her, sometimes wraps his paws around her and hangs on for a ride 😊, like they did at 10 weeks. . Such a timid squirrel he is. It was a joy to see them every day. We miss him so much and pray he is ok somewhere, or at least he did not suffer going to the rainbow bridge. They started out as 4 siblings, then Barry and Bella, now Bella carries on for them. She has us for as long as she wants.

[Shellysfriend]

Happy thoughts for Barry! My girl Shelly snubbed me for 2 whole, very long months one time. Seems they like to go wandering now and then. It is mating season too, my money is on he’s out chasing all the pretty females!