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View Full Version : Need assistance with Foraging / Teething



Clueless
09-06-2024, 02:02 PM
Hi,

Sorry for the novel that's coming.

I have a male Grey Squirrel. He's approximately 6 weeks old. I got him two weeks ago. The "story" is a logger was felling trees, the baby and his three siblings were left in the nest so the logger took them and gave them to his friend. Thre of the babies died and they called me to take the last one. I don't know if it's true but that's what I was told.

I am not a licensed rehabber, let's get that out of the way to begin with. And I have no intention of handing him over to one either. He's considered a pest and, since he was moved across state lines, they'll just euthanize him. It's the law and I've dealth with that before. Raccoon babies I found in a sub division, emaciated and dehydrated. I took them home 5 miles away and tried to find somwone to help them. The rescues I talked to reported me and I got in trouble with the game warden. Never again.

Anyway, they were feeding him "goats milk" with a bottle. The formula they sent was in a sandwich baggie mixed with Rice Cerial. So I have no idea of brand.

I switched to a syringe after the first feeding and put him on Esbalic Puppy Formula. It did have Whey Proties as ita third ingedient. Currently, I've got him on 50/50 Esbalic and Fox Valley 20/50. I occasionally give him Stonyfield Organic Yogurt (1/2 fat) as well.

He's weinging in at 140 grams and is eliminating on his own. I've removed the heating pad as he does not seem to need it anymore. He's eating every 4 hours, and would eat more if I allowed it.

I've got my eye on a large cage that can be placed outside and is racoon/snake proof. What are the criteria for determining if/when he's ready? His current cage is 4x2x3, and I've placed fleece steips in the bottom, as well as a hide and several branches, straight from the yard. But he doesn't seem interested in anything. He runs around, plays with me, and climbs the sides like a crackhead. But he's actively avoiding anythuing to do with the outside. Is this normal at his age?

What specific teething items does he need? I've read he can have any bird toy, but half of them have plastic and I dont know what type of woods are safe for him. I've also been reading about tooth care and it seems very important he have somethung to wear them down with.

I've read they go wild again when their instincts kick in around 10 months. Is that true? How do I make sure he's ready and knows how to survive?

I've ordered him Henry's Healthy Blocks and I know he can't have any other solid food till he's eating those. But what if he eats pieces of the wood from his cage or the fleece, will that hurt him?