finetoons
09-28-2007, 01:58 PM
Thanks again for everyone's helpful advice. Your helpful answers have made me feel comfortable asking questions...I hope I don't get too pesky.
We found two baby squirrels (approx. 6 weeks old) at my son's baseball game the other night. While there are trees all around the field, the squirrels were near the dugout and not within 100 yards of any tree. It was impossible to tell where they could have come from. One of the moms "bravely" put the squirrels in a cooler and "dumped" them near the edge of the woods (it was so funny to see a bunch of adults so terrified of these little creatures). When the game ended at dusk about 2 hours later, I went over to check on the little guys who had come out to the edge of the woods. They were shivering and looking very scared. I bent down to put one back in the woods, and he jumped up my arm and ran up to my neck and cuddled under my hair. At that moment I knew I couldn't leave these guys alone as owl snacks. A bicyclist stopped and said that he saw some fresh road kill nearby that could have been mom. It was getting dark, and the choice was to let nature take its course with them, or for me to give nature a little boost.
I called our animal control officer who said the local rehabber is overwhelmed with babies right now, so I thought I would do what I can with the little small-mammal knowledge I have and the helpful advice from this board (the animal control officer knows me through the volunteer work I've done with dogs, and said she thought I'd do a good job with the squirrels).
They seem to be thriving, but I am taking it one cautious step at a time.
I am concerned about parasites. I don't SEE any, but suspect they may at least have fleas since I get little bites after holding them a while. My big concern is mange and mites, or internal worms which usually can't be seen until it is too late.
Would you recommend treating them prophylacticly? Are there any signs I should watch for for early detection?
Also, how would you give these guys a bath? Sometimes they take their formula so enthusiastically that it gets a little messy all over their fur.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
We found two baby squirrels (approx. 6 weeks old) at my son's baseball game the other night. While there are trees all around the field, the squirrels were near the dugout and not within 100 yards of any tree. It was impossible to tell where they could have come from. One of the moms "bravely" put the squirrels in a cooler and "dumped" them near the edge of the woods (it was so funny to see a bunch of adults so terrified of these little creatures). When the game ended at dusk about 2 hours later, I went over to check on the little guys who had come out to the edge of the woods. They were shivering and looking very scared. I bent down to put one back in the woods, and he jumped up my arm and ran up to my neck and cuddled under my hair. At that moment I knew I couldn't leave these guys alone as owl snacks. A bicyclist stopped and said that he saw some fresh road kill nearby that could have been mom. It was getting dark, and the choice was to let nature take its course with them, or for me to give nature a little boost.
I called our animal control officer who said the local rehabber is overwhelmed with babies right now, so I thought I would do what I can with the little small-mammal knowledge I have and the helpful advice from this board (the animal control officer knows me through the volunteer work I've done with dogs, and said she thought I'd do a good job with the squirrels).
They seem to be thriving, but I am taking it one cautious step at a time.
I am concerned about parasites. I don't SEE any, but suspect they may at least have fleas since I get little bites after holding them a while. My big concern is mange and mites, or internal worms which usually can't be seen until it is too late.
Would you recommend treating them prophylacticly? Are there any signs I should watch for for early detection?
Also, how would you give these guys a bath? Sometimes they take their formula so enthusiastically that it gets a little messy all over their fur.
Thanks in advance for your advice.