Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

  1. #1
    lookwhatifound Guest

    Default babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    Hello all. I want to start by apologizing right away for any irritating grammar. im on my phone and this "smart phone" isnt very smart :-). my mom found 2 baby squirrels in her yard then they became 3 then 4. 1 of them is very comfortable with us, the others not so much. We did try to take them to the wildlife in need center near us but they were full and said that we could try to "finish them off" because they are about 8 or 9 weeks old and dont need the same level of care as the new babies. they are eating rodent block and fresh fruits and veggies and being housed in a medium sized dog carrier. they are being kept in the garage because my mom has cats and a dog and to have the babies in the house would be cruel to them and entertaining to the pets.they do have a water bottle and heating pad and lots of blankets to keep warm. my question is this - on the baby that is okay with us around i found a bunch of little brown/tan bugs. not ticks. i tried to take a picture but the darned thing wouldnt hold still and it came up as a blur. what could these things be and how do we get rid of them? i cant imagine that these little guys like having these things crawling all over them and we want to make them as comfortable as possible. thanks for your help!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Oviedo , Florida
    Posts
    6,841
    Thanked: 21

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    most likely they are fleas. Easiest thing is to get some Dawn dish soap wet a wash cloth , get it soapy and wrap it around the baby, if it will let you hold it on for a couple of minutes, they should all die and come off. Wipe off with plain water cloth then dry baby with flannel not a towel, their nails get caught in them.
    This is the none drug way for starters

    Simon's video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzpwo0r35l0

    “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”
    ― Anatole France

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Northeast USA
    Posts
    478
    Thanked: 2

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    I think these are fleas. pretty common on wild squirrels. Washing them in dawn dish detergent may help, but by reading your posts, they are older babies and giving them a bath may end up with you bleeding pretty good!
    I want to say that you can use revolution for dogs, but I am hoping someone else chimes in here to help you. This would be much easier to get a drop of revolution on them than to give baths. If one has fleas, they all do! They will all have to be treated.
    Once your babies get to about 16 weeks old, maybe you can move the cage outside away from streets and pets? Do you have some woods on your boundary? or are you in a more busy area?
    The cage would deed a roof over the top for the rain. maybe a sheet of plywood or something? You could eventually open up the cage door and let them come out on their own free will. Check on them as the sun goes down, and if there are some babies back in for the evening, close the door. Eventually they will not come back to sleep. You may want to continue feeding for a while though.

  4. #4
    lookwhatifound Guest

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    thank you for your help! bathtime was a success!! the petstore nearest my moms house keeps regular business hours 9-5 so we wouldnt have been able to make it until the weekend. so we decieed to give the bath a shot. we armed ourselves with old oven mitts to reach in and grab the more fiesty of the bunch and they all got a good cleaning! however being able to actually hold all of them raised a few more questions... the two that originally showed up have nice round bellies and are much more active, friendly, and forgiving than the newer two. the first baby i bathed as nearly skin and bones! poor little thing. he has alot of fight in him tho - he showed that mitt who was boss... at first then i think the bath felt good because he relaxed and his heart rate slowed and he was content sitting on my lap as i wiped him down and wrapped him up. the first my mom bathed - a little girl was also very skinny and very.... i dont know - limp? she groweled at my mom a few times then she just gave up. when her bath was over she stayed in her blanket for nearly 45 minutes completely motionless. my mom was convinced she killed her about 50 times. is her lack of fight something we should be concerned about? or could it be that shes just very skinny and weak? or maybe the warm water and bugs leaving her felt just heavenly? and my last question - is there some food, in particular, that will help a young squirrel pack on healthy weight quickly? or should we just continue with the rodent block and fruit/veggie platters they get? like i said the original two are nice n chunky one is super outgoing the other more reserved but both are friendly. the newest two are scared to death and super skinny. i will say this though - after the bath it was obvious all were feeling better - they were playing amd running around the bathroom and ALL 4 came to sit on me while i put the carrier back together. my mom lives on a 1.75 acre lot which is mostly wooded so when these little ones grow up they will have a nice selection of various trees to choose from. she and i were discussing larger cages for these guys until they are adults even though weve got a little bit yet. does anyone have any suggestions for prebuilt or VERY simple to make cages? my mom is getting old and as i dont live there im not as much help as she would need building one. again thank you!!

  5. #5
    Jackie in Tampa is offline Left TSB to start her own Board
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    NA
    Posts
    23,474
    Thanked: 19

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.


    do you know how old they are? are they on formula? what type?
    can you post pics?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    South East Texas
    Posts
    2,544
    Thanked: 17

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    Hi LookWhatIFound
    Revolution is what I use. You have to get it from the Vets. If you have a Dog or Cat or a Friend who Use Revolution see if you can buy or Use a few drops. If these guys are about 8 or 9 weeks old. I would use 4 drops on them.
    Between the shoulders, and the base of the neck. Spread the fur and Put the drops on the skin. Let it dry for a few seconds so they don't try rubbing it off. After dosing the Babies, Use the leftovers on a dog or some ones pet.
    It is no good after being opened, and sitting. (It looses its strength.) This will Kill Fleas,Mites, and Lice for up to 3 weeks. Do you have a Picture of the Baby Squirrels you can Post? Good Luck.

  7. #7
    lookwhatifound Guest

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    i just wanted to add that skinny girl IS eating and drinking. alot actually :-) . how do i upload pics? the wildlife in need center said they were between 8 & 9 weeks and that we should be giving them rodent block and gave us a list of fruits and veggies to feed them. so no, they are not on formula.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    City Island, Bronx, NY
    Posts
    51,452
    Thanked: 17932

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    May I respectfully disagree with the rehabber and say that those babies can and should be on formula for another few weeks, if possible? Especially since they were without mamma and all underweight to some degree. Baby squirrels will continue to nurse from mom up to 12-13 wks or more -- basically until she swats them away,sometimes. They need the calcium in the formula. I would try goat's milk first, with added ingredients right from the grocery store:

    Jackie (Jackie in Tampa) has graciously offered her temporary replacement formula recipe.

    Jackie's Goat Milk Recipe
    1 cup goats milk
    1/3 cup heavy cream
    1/3 cup dannon all natural vanilla yogurt

    A quality rodent block AND veggies are also a must, yes! Anything from outside that would be part of a wild squirrel's diet in your area is perfect, too.
    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. '

  9. Serious fuzzy thank you's to island rehabber from:

    stepnstone (10-18-2017)

  10. #9
    Carmelitapearl Guest

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    Quote Originally Posted by lookwhatifound View Post
    thank you for your help! bathtime was a success!! the petstore nearest my moms house keeps regular business hours 9-5 so we wouldnt have been able to make it until the weekend. so we decieed to give the bath a shot. we armed ourselves with old oven mitts to reach in and grab the more fiesty of the bunch and they all got a good cleaning! however being able to actually hold all of them raised a few more questions... the two that originally showed up have nice round bellies and are much more active, friendly, and forgiving than the newer two. the first baby i bathed as nearly skin and bones! poor little thing. he has alot of fight in him tho - he showed that mitt who was boss... at first then i think the bath felt good because he relaxed and his heart rate slowed and he was content sitting on my lap as i wiped him down and wrapped him up. the first my mom bathed - a little girl was also very skinny and very.... i dont know - limp? she groweled at my mom a few times then she just gave up. when her bath was over she stayed in her blanket for nearly 45 minutes completely motionless. my mom was convinced she killed her about 50 times. is her lack of fight something we should be concerned about? or could it be that shes just very skinny and weak? or maybe the warm water and bugs leaving her felt just heavenly? and my last question - is there some food, in particular, that will help a young squirrel pack on healthy weight quickly? or should we just continue with the rodent block and fruit/veggie platters they get? like i said the original two are nice n chunky one is super outgoing the other more reserved but both are friendly. the newest two are scared to death and super skinny. i will say this though - after the bath it was obvious all were feeling better - they were playing amd running around the bathroom and ALL 4 came to sit on me while i put the carrier back together. my mom lives on a 1.75 acre lot which is mostly wooded so when these little ones grow up they will have a nice selection of various trees to choose from. she and i were discussing larger cages for these guys until they are adults even though weve got a little bit yet. does anyone have any suggestions for prebuilt or VERY simple to make cages? my mom is getting old and as i dont live there im not as much help as she would need building one. again thank you!!
    If you can get to walmart you can go to dog area get puppy milk and a bottle mix i teaspoon milk with 2 oz water at room temp try and feed the lil ones that will help them get strong

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    13,495
    Thanked: 10431

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Jupiter, FL
    Posts
    31,376
    Thanked: 13302

    Default Re: babies with bugs... what are they and how to get rid of them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Carmelitapearl View Post
    If you can get to walmart you can go to dog area get puppy milk and a bottle mix i teaspoon milk with 2 oz water at room temp try and feed the lil ones that will help them get strong
    Old thread and totally incorrect advice. Please go to the nutrition forum and read.
    Squirrels, squirrels and more squirrels....
    Prayers for the people who make this a better world...
    savesquirrels@sbcglobal.net



  13. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to SammysMom:

    cava (10-19-2017), island rehabber (10-18-2017), Nancy in New York (10-19-2017)

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •