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Thread: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

  1. #1
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    Default THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    You've found a baby squirrel, and you've found The Squirrel Board.
    You're here in the Emergency Forum and you've read a little bit about how to keep the baby alive. Maybe you've warmed the baby up and he's starting to get active and nuzzle your hand. Maybe you've tried a little warm Pedialyte and he loved it and he looks so cute while he's slurping that syringe and when he's all curled up in a ball. And you figure, smart person that you are, that you're doing so well, it can't be THAT hard to raise this baby yourself.......


    Yes, it can.

    Please ask yourself the following questions:


    • Are you prepared to go out NOW and find Esbilac with probiotics, or goat's milk to start him on formula, followed by Fox Valley Squirrel formula that can only be ordered ON LINE and costs upwards of $11 per canister?
    • Are you prepared to go wherever you have to go, NOW, to get a 1cc syringe to feed this baby properly without aspirating him?
    • Are you prepared starting right NOW to feed this baby as frequently as required by its age and condition, including getting up in the middle of the night?
    • Are you prepared to use, or go out and buy NOW, a heating pad without the automatic shut-off feature? It is an absolute MUST for baby squirrels. Other heat sources will not be adequate and the baby will die.


    • When your baby starts "clicking" and becomes lethargic because he accidentally inhaled a bit of formula, will you be able to get prescription-only antibiotics within the next 2 hours to save its life? There are NO over- the- counter antibiotics that will cure pneumonia in a baby squirrel. NONE.


    • Are you prepared, LATER ON as the squirrel grows, to buy or build a series of appropriate cages for the animal's age, to buy expensive fresh produce which the squirrel requires for good health, to seek out skilled veterinary help even if you are in an "illegal state", and to learn how to "soft release" the squirrel in an appropriate release site so it will have a chance to survive in the wild?


    • Are you prepared to resist ALL temptation to "introduce" the squirrel to your household pets, thereby giving the squirrel the delusion that cats and dogs will not kill him when he is out in the wild? Are you prepared to keep the squirrel and the pets separate for the entire life of the squirrel?

    • If you have answered NO to even one of these questions, you need to contact a qualified wildlife rehabilitator and we will help you do that.....

    NOW.
    Last edited by island rehabber; 03-26-2016 at 11:01 PM.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  2. 4 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to island rehabber:

    ConroeTX (09-27-2017), ghilliegirl21 (05-08-2016), Scott (01-24-2017), squirrelgirl30 (04-13-2017)

  3. #2
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    EXCELLENT POST!!!!!

  4. #3
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    is there a way to have this sticky posted permanently on TSB's Home page or something?... so that it's the first thing everyone sees and so that it comes up in search engines results?...
    seriously, it needs to be visible at all times

  5. #4
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Quote Originally Posted by whatsonemore
    I'm brand new to this baby squirrels thingy! I'm loving them but I have questions. I got 4 babies from a bird rehabber and she set me up pretty well.
    I'm curious as they grow, I've got a large outdoor pen within my chicken coop. Completely enclosed with strong 1" x 2" wire. There is a roof over that section. It's probably 13 ft tall by 6' x4' and they would be separate from the chickens...It has a roof and I could build a nesting box and have the capability for a heat lamp (wrapped in wire of course) or something like that.
    Would that be a good step to raise them there before releasing them? We could supply branches, swings, etc. Thanks! Oh and do we risk them biting us as they are growing? Do the males get wild and fight, do I risk getting caught in the middle of a squirrel fight?
    Thanks
    to TSB

    How old are these "babies"? A picture would be helpful to better advise you.

    In the meantime to answer your cage questions...
    First: The wire is all wrong for a squirrels enclosure. They can and will get their mouths around the wire, chew at it and damage their teeth. When teeth are damaged they grow wrong, they can't eat and ultimately their teeth can kill them. Predators can reach through the openings of a 1" wire and kill a squirrel. Also depending on the type wire such as chicken wire, they can and will chew through it.

    Recommended wire enclosure for a squirrel is no bigger spacing then 1/2" x 1/2".
    Second: Squirrels need natural sunlight.

    Third: A squirrel is, regardless of rearing, a wild animal. They do and will bite!
    The purpose of a pre-release cage is so they will wild up and be able to survive in the outside world, so that answer is yes, they will get wild.
    Some do fight among themselves and if your caught in the middle depends on where your at when attitudes flare up.

  6. #5
    sfreel Guest

    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    I need a rehabber! I want to give the two orphaned baby squirrels to someone. I am in Manhattan. Is anyone out there a rehabber who can direct me to someone nearby? Thanks!

  7. #6
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    sfreel, contact The Wild Bird Fund ASAP --


    The Wild Bird Fund, Inc.

    565 Columbus Avenue
    NY, NY
    10024
    [between 87th and 88th Streets]
    646-306-2862


    They have contact info for all the NYC rehabbers -- good luck!!
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  8. #7
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    How do you become a rehaber? I'm probably going to retire in a couple years, and taking care of squirrels is something I would like to do. Other than the cages I have everything you listed, FV, heating pad, etc. I live in the Peoples Republic of Maryland.

  9. #8
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Quote Originally Posted by sfreel
    I need a rehabber! I want to give the two orphaned baby squirrels to someone. I am in Manhattan. Is anyone out there a rehabber who can direct me to someone nearby? Thanks!
    Happy to update that sfreel found someone to take the two little ones, in NYC. And that I still have 10 altogether and half a dozen on their way soon from Flo, but not these two as well.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  10. #9
    Join Date
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Quote Originally Posted by mdyoung216
    How do you become a rehaber? I'm probably going to retire in a couple years, and taking care of squirrels is something I would like to do. Other than the cages I have everything you listed, FV, heating pad, etc. I live in the Peoples Republic of Maryland.
    I am sure Maryland would love to have you! I suggest you private message a member whose screen name is UDoWhat.....she is a Master Licensed Rehabilitator in MD.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  11. #10
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Quote Originally Posted by island rehabber
    I am sure Maryland would love to have you! I suggest you private message a member whose screen name is UDoWhat.....she is a Master Licensed Rehabilitator in MD.
    Thanks

  12. #11
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    CAN'T say it enough times.....
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  13. #12
    Join Date
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    Location
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    BUMP! Baby season's coming....
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  14. #13
    Join Date
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Excellent post but I ask, if there is no rehabilitator in your area, do you leave it to die?

  15. #14
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Quote Originally Posted by TammyG
    Excellent post but I ask, if there is no rehabilitator in your area, do you leave it to die?
    That's an ethical question only you can answer. IF you believe that "nature should take its course", then I guess you can do exactly that. If you make the decision to change nature's course by intervening, then you take in the baby with the knowledge that you will need to do all the things listed above in order to make that baby's fate a better one than nature dealt it. In other words, keeping the baby in less than healthy conditions and having it die of MBD, for example, because all you feed it is peanuts.....well, to me that's probably a fate worse than death.

    But IF you can commit to doing it right, and there's no one else around, then TSB will help you every step of the way as much as we possibly can.
    Last edited by island rehabber; 05-18-2013 at 11:27 AM.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    City Island, Bronx, NY
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    51,452
    Thanked: 17932

    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    BUMP!!
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  17. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    City Island, Bronx, NY
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    51,452
    Thanked: 17932

    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?


    BUMP!!!


    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

  18. #17
    Join Date
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    Can You Bump this up Everyday till mid Summer? I will.. I mean ,,i will help you,,, Thanx Maura..

  19. #18
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    You've found a baby squirrel, and you've found The Squirrel Board.
    You're here in the Emergency Forum and you've read a little bit about how to keep the baby alive. Maybe you've warmed the baby up and he's starting to get active and nuzzle your hand. Maybe you've tried a little warm Pedialyte and he loved it and he looks so cute while he's slurping that syringe and when he's all curled up in a ball. And you figure, smart person that you are, that you're doing so well, it can't be THAT hard to raise this baby yourself.......

    Yes, it can.

    Please ask yourself the following questions:


    Are you prepared to go out NOW and find goat's milk to start him on formula, followed by Fox Valley Squirrel formula that can only be ordered ON LINE and costs upwards of $11 per canister?
    Are you prepared to go wherever you have to go, NOW, to get a 1cc syringe to feed this baby properly without aspirating him?
    Are you prepared starting right NOW to feed this baby as frequently as required by its age and condition, including getting up in the middle of the night?
    Are you prepared to use, or go out and buy NOW, a heating pad without the automatic shut-off feature? It is an absolute MUST for baby squirrels. Other heat sources will not be adequate and the baby will die.


    When your baby starts "clicking" and becomes lethargic because he accidentally inhaled a bit of formula, will you be able to get prescription-only antibiotics within the next 2 hours to save its life? There are NO over- the- counter antibiotics that will cure pneumonia in a baby squirrel. NONE.


    Are you prepared, LATER ON as the squirrel grows, to buy or build a series of appropriate cages for the animal's age, to buy expensive fresh produce which the squirrel requires for good health, to seek out skilled veterinary help even if you are in an "illegal state", and to learn how to "soft release" the squirrel in an appropriate release site so it will have a chance to survive in the wild?


    Are you prepared to resist ALL temptation to "introduce" the squirrel to your household pets, thereby giving the squirrel the delusion that cats and dogs will not kill him when he is out in the wild? Are you prepared to keep the squirrel and the pets separate for the entire life of the squirrel?

    If you have answered NO to even one of these questions, you need to contact a qualified wildlife rehabilitator and we will help you do that.....

    NOW.
    Last edited by island rehabber; Today at 12:51 PM.

  20. #19
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    ,,

  21. #20
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    Default Re: THINKING OF RAISING THAT BABY YOURSELF?

    You've found a baby squirrel, and you've found The Squirrel Board.
    You're here in the Emergency Forum and you've read a little bit about how to keep the baby alive. Maybe you've warmed the baby up and he's starting to get active and nuzzle your hand. Maybe you've tried a little warm Pedialyte and he loved it and he looks so cute while he's slurping that syringe and when he's all curled up in a ball. And you figure, smart person that you are, that you're doing so well, it can't be THAT hard to raise this baby yourself.......

    Yes, it can.

    Please ask yourself the following questions:


    Are you prepared to go out NOW and find goat's milk to start him on formula, followed by Fox Valley Squirrel formula that can only be ordered ON LINE and costs upwards of $11 per canister?
    Are you prepared to go wherever you have to go, NOW, to get a 1cc syringe to feed this baby properly without aspirating him?
    Are you prepared starting right NOW to feed this baby as frequently as required by its age and condition, including getting up in the middle of the night?
    Are you prepared to use, or go out and buy NOW, a heating pad without the automatic shut-off feature? It is an absolute MUST for baby squirrels. Other heat sources will not be adequate and the baby will die.


    When your baby starts "clicking" and becomes lethargic because he accidentally inhaled a bit of formula, will you be able to get prescription-only antibiotics within the next 2 hours to save its life? There are NO over- the- counter antibiotics that will cure pneumonia in a baby squirrel. NONE.


    Are you prepared, LATER ON as the squirrel grows, to buy or build a series of appropriate cages for the animal's age, to buy expensive fresh produce which the squirrel requires for good health, to seek out skilled veterinary help even if you are in an "illegal state", and to learn how to "soft release" the squirrel in an appropriate release site so it will have a chance to survive in the wild?


    Are you prepared to resist ALL temptation to "introduce" the squirrel to your household pets, thereby giving the squirrel the delusion that cats and dogs will not kill him when he is out in the wild? Are you prepared to keep the squirrel and the pets separate for the entire life of the squirrel?

    If you have answered NO to even one of these questions, you need to contact a qualified wildlife rehabilitator and we will help you do that.....

    NOW.
    Last edited by island rehabber; Today at 12:51 PM.

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