Squirrel doing "guppy mouthed" breathing VIDEO

[Nancy in New York]

Sometimes "newbies" are concerned when they see their squirrel
breathe like this video.
They think they are gagging or have pneumonia.
I just wanted to post this here so you can see what some squirrels,
for some unexplained reason, do when they eat.
This is only when they
eat, and it is very difficult to continue feeding, but nothing to be concerned about.
Sometimes blowing in their face will break this trance, or sometimes you have
to just be patient and let it work itself out.
Either way, do not try to rush the feeding as that will cause aspiration.
These little ones take a lot of patience but they are SO worth it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E25ynfqQlZU

[anniedancer]

Ive read several posts about this. Viewing the video, it struck me that this baby is trying to NURSE! Is that it?
What a little cutie!!!!
Annie

[KarmaKay]

My little Larry would get into a nursing trance. It was definitely scarey for me being a newbie and first time squirrel mama. This board was wonderful and answered a lot of my questions. Thanks to all the pros! Looking forward to the gathering of the nuts! And hope to meet a lot of ya.
Karma

[bratann617]

My little Southern Flying Squirrel, Akiva, has done this on occasion while I feed her. If I put in one drop at a time in the side of her mouth while she did this the formula would still go down. I found it very hard not to laugh at her while she did it. I don't know why but I found it very adorable and funny at the same time!

[island rehabber]

Most of the time it's not a problem....only if they do it so consistently that they are not actually swallowing any formula.