Formula to food

[newsquirrelma]

Hey, everyone! Just here to ask advice about transitioning my 3 babies to food.

Their weights are about 135g - 137g. They’ve got their teeth and are super active. One of them even found a new hiding spot in my kitchen that I had no clue was there. I had to take a part my kitchen cabinet just to get to him. This was at 4 am during a feeding, it was not fun… Since then, I have sealed the hole he found. I’ve been trying to let them roam a little more but they’re so smart now! My eyes stay glued to them when they’re out of their cage, and I’m even more alert after the cabinet incident.

Anyways, they’re currently taking 9cc’s of formula every 4-5 hours, though they still seem hungry afterwards. Their formula is a mix of puppy Esbilac, FV 20/50, and FV Ultraboost. I have the Healthy Blocks from Henry’s Pets. I’ve read to offer them 1/2 a block in the morning and the rest formula. Is this correct or should I do another method? Also, should I stop the ultraboost with their formula?

I’ve also noticed they haven’t really been sleeping on their heating pad anymore. They’ll sleep near it in a bundle together but not on it. Is it time to remove it or keep it until they start sleeping in a more elevated area? I recently added two more levels in their cage, the highest one having 3 separate hanging baskets. They’ll go to the highest level but won’t stay up there long.

Pictures of my thriving little monkeys. I’m so proud of how much they’ve grown!

Edited to add a huge thank you to this site. This is my first time rescuing squirrels, and it has been a huge challenge with so much anxiety and questions and worries. I couldn’t have done it without everyone here. I know we still have a long way to go, but it makes me so happy that I found this group. My babies have become so much more healthy, and I see squirrels so differently now than I did before.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Hi There!

Have you had a look at this guide? It has a TON of good nutrition information along with feeding recommendations for the different phases of a young squirrel's life: https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/

Surely others will add to this answer in the morning. Absolutely beautiful babies, by the way!

Jamie

[island rehabber]

Welcome to TSB -- glad you found us!
I am pretty hard line about transitioning baby squirrels from formula to solid food, but here's what I do:

Get a high quality rodent block such as Envigo Teklad 2018 and put just a few in their container with them. They will sniff them, roll them around and gnaw on them at first but eventually learn to eat them. These blocks will be the basis of their diet prior to release. At 8 weeks old you should add Henry's healthy blocks -- two to three per day, and now you'll know that they're getting all the nutrition they need to grow up strong and perfect. The first solid foods I add besides the blocks are leafy greens, squash and sweet potato. I don't give them nuts of any kind before 9 or 10 weeks old, and I don't give them nuts in the shell until they are almost ready for release (12 wks) because I don't like to encourage bullying and squabbling in the cage.

This is just my formula, 20 years and many squirrels.

[newsquirrelma]

Thank you! I think this is a really good rule to follow. I’ll save their healthy blocks for later when they get bigger. I do have the Henry’s diet guide for them too. I was a little confused though because it says to introduce the healthy blocks when they’re about 6 weeks

Welcome to TSB -- glad you found us!
I am pretty hard line about transitioning baby squirrels from formula to solid food, but here's what I do:

Get a high quality rodent block such as Envigo Teklad 2018 and put just a few in their container with them. They will sniff them, roll them around and gnaw on them at first but eventually learn to eat them. These blocks will be the basis of their diet prior to release. At 8 weeks old you should add Henry's healthy blocks -- two to three per day, and now you'll know that they're getting all the nutrition they need to grow up strong and perfect. The first solid foods I add besides the blocks are leafy greens, squash and sweet potato. I don't give them nuts of any kind before 9 or 10 weeks old, and I don't give them nuts in the shell until they are almost ready for release (12 wks) because I don't like to encourage bullying and squabbling in the cage.

This is just my formula, 20 years and many squirrels.

[Mel1959]

Thank you! I think this is a really good rule to follow. I’ll save their healthy blocks for later when they get bigger. I do have the Henry’s diet guide for them too. I was a little confused though because it says to introduce the healthy blocks when they’re about 6 weeks

Your confusion is logical. The Henry’s blocks are fairly expensive. So if a rehabber raises a lot of babies it can be rather pricey to feed only Henry’s blocks….especially considering how much they initially waste. The other aspect is that if you can get them to eat the Envigo block which isn’t as tasty as Henry’s they’re more likely to gobble the Henry’s block down when they’re offered. If they’re given the tasty Henry’s blocks first it’s much harder for them to accept the Envigo block. The Envigo block is a very nutritious alternative to Henry’s and it won’t spoil if left in the cage, which makes it ideal to leave in the cage so it’s always available.

Does this make sense?