New 7 week old squirrel

[MaggieC]

For several years we have been supporting our area squirrels and have anywhere between 7 and 20 in our yard in the mornings.

We found a baby on Saturday afternoon who tried to follow several of the females and was batted back, he was attacked by another squirrel while in our yard, and was still by himself when it got dark, so we took him in. We placed him back outside first thing in the morning on Sunday for a few hours, but nobody claimed him.

We are 90% confident he is 7 weeks old. On Sunday, he weighed 88 grams and had a cloudy eye. On Monday, he weighed 101 grams and his eye was almost completely clear. This tells me we were able to rehydrate him pretty well. He is strong, has an excellent appetite for pecans and grapes, and on Monday was extremely playful and energetic. He does not like our emergency goat milk formula so we are basically 'force feeding' him about 10 ml's a day (roughly 2 ml's every 2 hours).

His digestive system appears to be good with normal and regular poops BUT we have not seen any pee. His penis is completely normal - no scab, we have tried to stimulate after every meal, he sleeps on me at night and during the day he sleeps on a white towel.

What might be happening?

Also, not knowing his history, and the fact that he will NOT accept the formula willingly, how much do we have to continue to feed him against his will vs monitor his weight on a solid food diet. I don't want to take away the formula completely in case he needs it later but 20 ml a day is a lot to do when he is so disinterested.

Thank you so much for your time monitoring and providing this forum!!!!

- Maggie & Josh

[Spanky]

:Wecome to TSB and :thankyou for caring for this baby.

He is capable of going on his own, but it seems you are confident he is not peeing yet... nothing in the bedding? I have had babies go up to about 72 hours after intake before urinating, but these are typically severely dehydrated and younger babies. I'd suggest he be given lots of hydration.. plain water or if you need to add just a touch of honey to peek his interest. Sometimes just dipping the tip of the syringe / nipple into the honey gets they started drinking.

I am going to post a link to the healthy squirrel diet... note that nuts (pecans) are treats and very similar to feeding cotton candy to a human baby.... too many (and not very many) can lead to deadly and painful health issues (MBD).

I'll also post a link to a 6 page long primer on baby squirrel care...

What type of formula are you feeding him?

His diet should include a high quality rodent block as the foundation, healthy veggies and some fruit. Very few nuts (in fact, I don't give any nuts until they are 14 weeks old and ready for the release cage where they will spend several weeks preparing for a life in the treetops). The rodent block can be a commercial block like Teklad (now Envigo?), Mazuri, Oxbox... this is a rodent (mouse and rat) and not rabbit or hamster/gerbil food. If using these it will be 75% or more of his diet... alternatively, the site with the baby care primer (Henry's) sells a high quality rodent block which is a supplement.. .they need only eat 2 blocks a day and the rest of the diet is veggies and a small amount of fruit.

Healthy Diet:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

Caring for baby squirrels:
https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hello,

Strange to see a 7 week baby alone as his mom raised him. Could he be lost ?? Maybe Mom is recently gone ?? Could the cloudy eye prevent him from climbing/running to find his home ?? Since many squirrels come to your yard, any other babies that look like him ?? What kind of squirrel ?? Post a picture.

SSG

[MaggieC]

Thank you so much! I appreciate your help and experience about sometimes it taking a few days.

[MaggieC]

We did find a deceased squirrel who was nursing but that was 3 weeks ago. Yes - how did he make it to the yard and where are his siblings? So much happens in the squirrel world that we'll never know.

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[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Again, what a cutie! Looks very healthy being on his own at ~7 weeks.

If that was his Mom found 3 weeks ago, hard to imagine he been on his own since. Hope others can give their thoughts.

Was the squirrel that attacked him another female or male ??

Do you have predators near your yard ?? (cats, hawks, owls, fox, etc...)

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hello Admins, should this thread be moved to "Help Needed - Non-Emergency" to get more visibility ??

[Spanky]

It is almost impossible (really it is impossible) the dead nursing mother was this little one's mom... at 4 weeks his eyes would not have been opened so there is no way he would have survived on his own.

This little guy should not be on his own... I hope that picture of him in the yard was not him being released!?!?!?

[supersquirrelgirl]

It is almost impossible (really it is impossible) the dead nursing mother was this little one's mom... at 4 weeks his eyes would not have been opened so there is no way he would have survived on his own.

This little guy should not be on his own... I hope that picture of him in the yard was not him being released!?!?!?

Hi Spanky,

Glad you agree on the deceased Mom. Someone must be caring for him so I hope the Mom is still nearby and looking for him.

SSG

[Spanky]

Hi Spanky,

Glad you agree on the deceased Mom. Someone must be caring for him so I hope the Mom is still nearby and looking for him.

SSG

Likely he was more recently (hours or a few days at most) separated from mom and found his way to Maggie & Josh.

I *believe* (hope & pray) that Maggie & Josh have taken this little guy in and he is not on his own... maybe they'll clarify that point for us?

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

For several years we have been supporting our area squirrels and have anywhere between 7 and 20 in our yard in the mornings.

We found a baby on Saturday afternoon who tried to follow several of the females and was batted back, he was attacked by another squirrel while in our yard, and was still by himself when it got dark, so we took him in. We placed him back outside first thing in the morning on Sunday for a few hours, but nobody claimed him.

We are 90% confident he is 7 weeks old. On Sunday, he weighed 88 grams and had a cloudy eye. On Monday, he weighed 101 grams and his eye was almost completely clear. This tells me we were able to rehydrate him pretty well. He is strong, has an excellent appetite for pecans and grapes, and on Monday was extremely playful and energetic. He does not like our emergency goat milk formula so we are basically 'force feeding' him about 10 ml's a day (roughly 2 ml's every 2 hours).

Hi Maggie & Josh and ?:
Thanks for finding The Squirrel Board! What is your baby's name? Others have given very good advice and I just wanted to add a couple of comments and suggestions. My first concern would be for ensuring an accurate weight. I'm not really questioning the implied 13 gram weight increase in one day but I would like to encourage you to accurately weigh your Little One using a digital scale set to Grams before the first feeding in the morning and do this every morning. You may have already read Henry's Squirrel Care Guidelines from Spanky's posted link. I hope so and if not, please take the time to read it now.

The amount of formula for EACH feeding is based upon the weight obtained each morning. The general range is to give 5%-7% of the weight of the Squirrel in grams in Milliliters (ml) of formula with EACH feeding! At 101 Grams, 5% would be 5 ml's (100 x 0.05=5) and 7% would be 7 ml's (100 x 0.07=7). Your Squirrel should get a volume of formula within this range with EACH feeding!

There should be not need to "force-feed" your baby and nursing with formula is instinctual! Force-feeding greatly increases the risk of aspiration (getting some of the formula into the lungs rather than into the stomach where it belongs). Aspiration can result in a particularly serious form of pneumonia and will cause respiratory distress and fear! The force-feeding itself will cause fear and this can and usually does, hinder success!

I suspect that the reason your baby is not avidly drinking the formula is because the temperature of the formula is too low. First, the goat's milk formula must be kept in the refrigerator at all times and only the amount needed at the moment should be made ready. Goat's milk notoriously spoils quickly! Well, getting back to the temperature issue; most baby Squirrels will not touch any cold or cool formula or rehydrating solution! In fact, they really tend to prefer (especially pinkies) rather warm temperatures for their formula and I would recommend that you try 105 degrees Fahrenheit as measured by a thermometer as a good temperature to try. A 1 cc syringe withOUT a needle should be used for feeding. NEVER use a larger syringe as aspiration is much more likely with larger syringes and use minimal to no pressure and try to let the Squirrel such the formula from the syringe. It may very well be that very gentle pressure on the plunger of the syringe may be beneficial but the formula should be dispensed drop by drop! I would suggest starting with every 4 hour feedings. It is certainly very good that your Squirrel is eating "solid" food but it would be best to have this be mostly quality Blocks (as Spanky mentions, 75% or more)! Squirrels will wean themselves but it is too early to think that your Squirrel's reluctance to drink formula implies that he is weaned. Please continue the formula!

I would like to mention that there is one recommendation made by Henry's in the Feeding Section of the Guide which is Page 3 (there are 6 pages total) that I would recommend that you ignore and that is for using Fox Valley 32/40. A number of our members have had very serious problems with this in especially the very young Squirrels but I would recommend against this anyway. The other recommended Formula id Fox Valley 20/50 which is ideal. A number of us use a 50/50 mixture of FV 20/50 and Esbilac Puppy Milk Powder (don't use the liquid).

I would also like to encourage you to do what Spanky has suggested and get your little one eating QUALITY Rodent Blocks such as Teklad 2018, Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet, Oxbow Rat Blocks or Henry's Healthy Blocks. With all but the Henry's Blocks, the other mentioned quality blocks can be free-fed (can give as much as the Squirrel wants). Henry's Blocks are concentrated and for a young Squirrel of 100 grams, one fully eaten Block will be adequate as long as your Squirrel eats the entire Block. For the "average adult Squirrel, two fully eaten Henry's Blocks provide all of the nutrients, mineral and vitamins needed. The maximum number of Henry's blocks consumed by even the larger Fox Squirrels should be limited to three blocks.

Thanks for caring for this little Squirrel!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Maggie & Josh,

How's it going ?? Any Update with your little guy ??

SSG

[MaggieC]

Such great advice! Thanks so much for all of the help!

In retrospect, it seems as if poor little "Pip" had likely been on his own a day or two because he was pretty dehydrated and has become amazingly active now that he feels better. I was worried about him keeping his body temperature up at night in the beginning but now he is SO healthy and SO active and very happy, even being kept inside. :)

It seems as if he needs to be able to get out of his "nest" area and be able to run around to fully pee and poop. He seems not to want to soil his bed. The formula problem resolved itself when we got the Fox Valley formula in. He LOVES Fox Valley formula!!!!! If I ever had this same problem I might make the goat milk formula just a little bit heavier on the whip cream to make it more palatable.

It did take almost 72 hours for him to pee, so that was very valuable experience shared by Spanky.

It's been almost a week and he is doing great!

Now, we are trying to decide if we can release him at week 12 if it seems as if it is going to be a mild winter. We can always supply him with food, and a squirrel house but we do have a lot of other squirrels around to compete with.

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[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Josh and Pip! (and Maggie),

Thank you for bringing him inside. Pip is young and ~100 grams so he definitely needs your help. I was hoping Momma would come around looking for him but now that he's inside that's probably not going to happen. Keep your eye out for a roaming nursing mom in your yard.

Releasing him in about 4 weeks (mid-December) might not be a good idea. Mr Pip does not have a winter nest, a food stash, and may not be accepted by the local squirrels. I'm not experienced in release protocols so hoping other TSB members will comment. For now, Pip is with you and hopefully bring you tons of love and joy. This experience will change your life!

SSG

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Maggie Josh & Pip:
I just noticed your thread and I know that almost 2 weeks has gone by since anything was posted and I apologize for missing your Thread but I do agree with SSG in that a release now or anywhere in Winter or even as Winter approaches in MD regardless of whether or not it might seem like the Winter may be destined to be "mild," would NOT be a good option!

If Pip was 7 weeks old when you started your thread on 11/7/2023, he would only be only be 9 weeks or lets say even10 weeks of age now. Even if Winter was not approaching, I would encourage you to NOT consider the release of a 12 week Squirrel! I would ordinarily NOT considering releasing of any Squirrel until at least 16 weeks of age and older would be fine and has some potential advantages!

Generally, Pip will be far better off for NOT having to shift for himself in a very soon to be cold world where natural food sources are scarce and he has had relatively little or most likely NO real opportunity to get acclimated to the cold, prepare a Winter's stash of food, while also putting on some Winter fat to help "insulate" himself!

Remember also that the release of a Squirrel should be what is called a Soft-Release (they are NOT simple let loose (called a Hard-Release which would likely end with the baby starving in fear while awaiting near certain death from predators!) and most Squirrels stay in a release cage for at least 2 weeks to "wild-up," often for 3 or 4 and not that rarely for a month or more before a real release occurs! Even if some sort of Soft-Release could be seemingly successful; doing this as Winter approaches or after it is already here is far more likely to result in a bad outcome for Pip than a Spring release after leaves are on the trees and the natural food and water sources have again become readily available and accessible!

In light of the approaching Winter and especially for being in a Northern State where Winters have been historically cold and often quite inhospitable for much of nature; I would like to encourage you to keep Pip over the Winter and if you are unable to do so, please seek a Rehabbing facility that would agree to keep him over-winter and facilitate a Soft-Release in the more nature friendly world and climate of Spring!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel