5 days ago while letting my dogs back in from outside in the backyard I noticed something pink and still in the dirt. I thought it was dead at first but when I touched it, it actually moved. Then I noticed a 2nd one close by. They were cold and weak. I picked them up in my shirt and took them inside. I knew I needed to warm them and the fastest thing I could do was to hold them against the skin of my stomach for about 20 mins. As they warmed they became more active. Both are female. They are brand new, tiny and pink. No hair is visible. I can actually see the nest in which they must of fallen from, but it is much too high for me to reach. The tree is far over in my neighbors yard which is often guarded by a not so friendly dog. The trees long branches extend over into my yard which contains the nest. I am surprised they survived the fall. One of the babies has a few lacerations on its skin. I am not sure if the nest was attacked. I got them hydrated with a few small feedings of pedialyte that first night and switched them over to puppy formula (1 scoop of dry powder mix to 3 scoops of water, as I don't want to make it too strong for them). Since Tuesday night I have been feeding the two little sisters with a 1mL syringe every 3-4 hours. I stimulate them before every feeding to urinate and poop, and they deliver every time. They are doing very well overall. The little girl with the lacerations to the skin I started applying a small amount of neosporin to the cuts a couple times a day. I switched from neosporin to a triple antibiotic eye ointment as it is safer for her. I keep them warm with a pink heating disk you warm in the microwave and it lasts hours. I layer the soft blankets over the heating disk so as not to overheat them and they stay nice and toasty and content.
For a few nights I would bring my phone outside and play baby squirrel noises to see if a mother squirrel was on the lookout for them but I never saw a squirrel looking into the sound. I watch the nest at times and never see a squirrel come and go from it. I don't know if the mother is dead. This is all new for me as I have never raised baby squirrels. I have lots of experience with hand raising newborn kittens and puppy's so i feel confident in my ability to help them. I have not left them out (to see if mama will retrieve them) near the tree they fell from cause like I said the tree is far over in my neighbors yard and our yards are separated by a 7 foot fence and I fear the dog that patrols that yard. Besides it has been chilly this week at night and I don't want them getting cold. I am not sure what my long term plan is for them at this point. I fear the Nature center may euthanize them, or atleast the baby with the lacerations. I bet they are loaded with infant squirrels anyhow. I know there are some wild life rehabbers I can contact but I feel I have time to look into that avenue.
I guess I am enjoying caring for these little fleshy babies. Its a lot of work but I don't mind. I am a registered vet tech who works in an animal hospital, so they go to work with me. I currently have a 5 week old kitten I am raising, I got him at 4 days old and he is doing great. So I have 3 little souls relying on me.
I feed them slowly with the 1mL syringe and they both have a strong suckle reflex. There has been a few times, even though I am careful that they have suckled in perhaps too quickly that a small amount of formula came out of their noses. I immediately stopped feeding at that point and clean them up and they seem to be just fine afterwards. I really try to feed them slow and carefully.
Also they seem to poop quite a bit on their own. I stimulate them to go but sometimes taking them out of the carrier there are lots of tiny little turds that they must of pushed out while inside. There is no diarrhea just tiny light colored little turds. Often times they stick to their skin and I clean them off.
I guess I just wanted a bit of advice from more experienced squirrel carers. Is there something more I need to be doing for them? I would like to post a few pics of them. Not sure I can though.