Need help with baby flying squirrels

[ScubAmanda]

I volunteer with a wildlife center and am looking for any advice on rehabbing baby southern flying squirrels. These guys are not pets, but will be rehabbed and released into the wild at the appropriate time/age. I've done dozens of gray squirrels, opossums, and bunnies but it's my first time with flyers and I'm not finding much information on rehabbing them. I'm feeding Fox Valley but I'm thinking in the wild they eat bugs, so I'm wondering if we need to supplement with extra protein. Any advice is welcome! These guys are all between 8 and 12 grams and so far have been thriving well for about 4 days but I want to make sure we are doing everything correctly!

[CritterMom]

I wouldn't mess with the protein, but they do well on the Fox Valley 20/50. They grow fast - faster that grays - and so need a pretty robust formula. You can boost the FV with a small amount of whipping cream and full fat yogurt. My little flyer Laz who is 10 now (!) LOVE his formula with Stoneyfield Yobaby blueberry yogurt added, a still get a little bit of yogurt for an occasional treat.

The one thing to remember is that you can't release them alone, and the more the better. Some rehabbers will continue funneling their weaned babies into a big communal "release cage" and collect them until they have a decent sized group to mass release.

[KCullen]

I wouldn't mess with the protein, but they do well on the Fox Valley 20/50. They grow fast - faster that grays - and so need a pretty robust formula. You can boost the FV with a small amount of whipping cream and full fat yogurt. My little flyer Laz who is 10 now (!) LOVE his formula with Stoneyfield Yobaby blueberry yogurt added, a still get a little bit of yogurt for an occasional treat.

The one thing to remember is that you can't release them alone, and the more the better. Some rehabbers will continue funneling their weaned babies into a big communal "release cage" and collect them until they have a decent sized group to mass release.

Very good to know! We just picked up a 5 week old singleton. I was unaware of the group release need. i will reach out to some other rehabbers!