newly found baby squirrel

[sandimc]

I too recently found what appears to be a 6-8 week old baby squirrel. He seems to be doing quite well. I give him water with an eye dropper for hydration and currently am feeding him squirrel food, nuts, broccoli, apple, and have ordered the rodent blocks from Henry's. I have a few questions however. Does he still require formula? Will I be able to release him back to nature and how long before that can happen? Am I feeding him the correct diet . He stays warm and will sleep in my pocket with a cover. Currently have been keeping him in a medium sized dog carrier-but have thought about a bird cage-any accommodation sugggestions?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sandi

[DarkLies212]

Hi Sandi! Welcome to TSB and thank you for saving this guy!

First off, stop with the eye dropper - too easy to aspirate. Order some 1cc syringes from Henry's when you order the blocks (make sure they're the Hi-Protein ones for your little one!)

Also, if you're giving pedialyte and it's been more than 24 hours, switch to plain water or sugar water if he's still dehydrated. EDIT: just saw you said water - sorry!!

You can try to offer Esbilac POWDERED puppy formula - available at most pet stores and tractor supplies. Make sure it either says with pro/prebiotics or the 3rd ingredient says powdered whey protein. Depending on his age, he may or may not take it - TSB can help determine the age if you post a picture

What type of squirrel food are you giving him when you say squirrel food. Does it have nuts/seeds/corn in it? If so, stop that and all nuts (junk food to them like candy is to us ) and just go for the veggies until you get the blocks in. Here's the healthy diet thread http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels Start with group 1 veggies and once he's eating all those and block, introduce group 2, then group 3 and fruits.

If the carrier is plastic, he'll chew out of that in an instant once he figures out how to. Many use critter nation cages for ours - nice strong metal bars (not panel cages like rabbit/guinea/hamster cages) that have a good bar spacing. You can check on Craigslist in your area to see if anyone is selling something similar for cheap - I've gotten many very expensive cages for $50 from people who didn't want them anymore!

Was he attacked by an animal - cat or dog. Any injuries, bugs, etc? How did he come into your care?

As long as he doesn't have any injuries, he should be able to be released into the wild!

Also...PICTURES PLEASE!!

[sandimc]

Thanks for your response- tried the brocolli yesterday-he wouldn't eat it! I have not been giving him anything but water for hydration. My husband found him basically in a state of shock on the sidewalk last Thursday evening. Mom was dead-we think maybe took a hit from a cat while trying to protect her baby. I keep him in one of my cat carriers that has a heavy wire mesh top and door don/t think at this point he will chew thru it. I have ordered the blocks from Henry but it doesn't look like they will get here until the end of the week. So have been feeding him squirrel food and natural pecans and almonds. He seems really healthy right now and I just want to make sure he lives long enough to go back outside where he truly belongs. Will he become to domesticated for that ? I take him to work with me and he spends most of the day in the pocket of my work apron and seems quite content. He is being exposed to lots of human contact as I own a small interior design shop and everyone want sot see and touch him as he is so cute. Would love to talk to you personally-do you skype?
Thanks,
Sandi

[Bitsy]

Are you feeding him formula?

[sandimc]

I haven't been-do I need to be? I don;t mean to be totally ignorant but I only know rescue cats and dogs=squirrels are new to me and somehow I think I may be doing more damage than good. Although I did raise a baby mockingbird from a week old to full grown and still lives in the neighborhood-or at least we think he does-lol.

[lukaslolamaus]

Yes the baby needs formula for proper growth and nutrition. As mentioned above esbilac puppy formula with pre and probiotics can be purchased at tractor supply and most pet shops and a good rodent block should be the first solid food.
A picture would be nice to determine the age.

[HRT4SQRLS]

to TheSquirrelBoard

Here is a link that should help you. It has 6 pages. The NEXT button is in the upper right corner. http://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/

This will get you started.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Your question about whether he will be able to go back outside after he has had human contact... the answer is a big YES. They do get very tame but most will 'wild up' at some point. They will often pick one person as their 'mom'. They will be friendly to that person to the exclusion of the rest of the family. A common story that we hear around here is... My baby is SO sweet to me but he just attacked my husband, my wife or my child. It's actually quite common.

We always tell people that they do NOT make good pets. Unlike cats and dogs they are wild animals. At some point those wild instincts will kick in and some can become very nasty and mean. It is always our goal to raise these babies for release back to the trees. Sometimes there are disabilities that make their survival in nature unlikely. These are deemed non-releases and are kept as educational animals and yes, some do have pet squirrels. Keep in mind that it is illegal to keep a pet squirrel in almost every state with a few exceptions. Only licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators are illegally allowed to possess wildlife and that is for defined periods of time. With that said, it is best to not share your baby with others, especially in a business setting or on social media. All it takes is one call to Wildlife Officials and they will come and confiscate your baby and possible euthanize him. Before I encountered my first baby squirrel, I had NO idea that there were 'squirrel police' It didn't take long for me to learn.

I didn't post this to be a 'negative' Nellie. I just wanted you to know. It's always better to be informed.

Your baby is young. I wouldn't release until about 16 weeks. It really depends on the season and the setting. You're lucky in that spring will be here soon so you are looking at a late spring release. You don't want the baby having contact with dogs or cats. You don't want them to think that cats and dogs are friends. This is be a huge disadvantage when he goes to the trees. Cats especially, are predators.

If you desire we might be able to find a rehabilitator for you or we will help you raise this baby. Thank you for rescuing the baby. They really are precious and so easy to love.

[sandimc]

wow- I had no idea I could get in trouble for helping-I have ordered the baby kit from Henry's and it should be here hopefully by Thursday. Joey as we have named him ate brocollii tonight and I will go to the store tomorrow to get him more healthy foods. If you can tell me how to post a pic, I can do that tomorrow. He sleeps a lot-which I think is a good thing??? We do have a wildlife rescue not far from my shop-would it be best to turn him over to them? I had one dealing with them about 6 months ago and just didn't get a real good vibe from the young girls that were there My husband's concern-and he is a huge animal lover-actually likes them better than people- is to make sure he is healthy and physically fine before handing him off to folks we don't know. What is the best type of home for him-right now he stays in a good size animal carrier with good ventilation and visibility except when he is asleep in the pocket of my work apron which is a lot of the time during the day. There is a feed store not far from my office so tomorrow I will go and get the formula. How much should I be feeding him and should I worry if he doesn't take it? Everyone has been really helpful and I can't tell you how much it is appreciated.
Sandi

[HRT4SQRLS]

If you didn't feel totally at peace with the wildlife center I would definitely NOT take him there. Trust me, there are good wildlife centers and BAD ones.

At that age, we usually have them in medium sized Sterilie containers with holes drilled in the lid. I usually go up to a large Sterilite container before they get their first baby cage. My first baby cages are lower profile bird cages. I don't want them to fall from the top of a tall cage while they are learning to climb... not that they need lessons but they can be clumsy.

[Bitsy]

wow- I had no idea I could get in trouble for helping-I have ordered the baby kit from Henry's and it should be here hopefully by Thursday. Joey as we have named him ate brocollii tonight and I will go to the store tomorrow to get him more healthy foods. If you can tell me how to post a pic, I can do that tomorrow. He sleeps a lot-which I think is a good thing??? We do have a wildlife rescue not far from my shop-would it be best to turn him over to them? I had one dealing with them about 6 months ago and just didn't get a real good vibe from the young girls that were there My husband's concern-and he is a huge animal lover-actually likes them better than people- is to make sure he is healthy and physically fine before handing him off to folks we don't know. What is the best type of home for him-right now he stays in a good size animal carrier with good ventilation and visibility except when he is asleep in the pocket of my work apron which is a lot of the time during the day. There is a feed store not far from my office so tomorrow I will go and get the formula. How much should I be feeding him and should I worry if he doesn't take it? Everyone has been really helpful and I can't tell you how much it is appreciated.
Sandi

You can get him Esbilac at pretty much any pet store. I'd get some ASAP. He's basically starving in the meantime .

[HRT4SQRLS]

Feed him 5-7% of his body weight. To start with I would mix the formula 3:1. (Waterowder) and then go up to the 2:1.

I feel certain he will take the formula. The baby is hungry. It might take a while to get used to the syringe and nipple. Get a 1 CC syringe (without needle) from a pharmacy. They will usually give you one. Do NOT use a dropper. The risk of aspiration pneumonia with a dropper is huge.

[HRT4SQRLS]

He probably needs to be hydrated with hydration fluid first.

Maybe someone can post the recipe.

[stepnstone]

He probably needs to be hydrated with hydration fluid first.

Maybe someone can post the recipe.

1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 quart water.

[lukaslolamaus]

To post a picture. Click on manage attachments (were it says additional options further down) and go to your files to choose a picture. I'm not the best at explaining things.....

[DarkLies212]

Here's stosh's handy guide!!

TRY this---

Click on paper clip icon-
Click on ADD FILES ( upper right)--
Click on BASIC UPLOADER-- ( for multiple pictures )
Click on CHOOSE FILE ( find picture(s) you want)--
Double click on picture--
if you want to add another photo--Click on "+" box--
Click on CHOOSE FILE ( no file chosen) it is directly above your first file selected--( max of 10 photos per post)
Click on UPLOAD--
Now you will see your selected files along the bottom.
REMEMBER to place your cursor where you want the photos to appear in your message.
Click on INSERT INLINE--
Click on SUBMIT REPLY--
___________________________________________
That should do it .....

[lukaslolamaus]

How is the little one?