Yoing squirrel found injured

[Chris57m]

OK, so I found this baby/young squirrel on my way to work. It appears that that the front right leg is injured. It was waving its front left at me in defense. I'm guessing its around 8 weeks old. How should I care for him? I've been reading up on what to feed, but some simple straight forward care instructions would be great. I'm goimg to try to attach some pictures so someone can accurately age the little guy for me. I just want it to be healthy and heal right I dont know if it can go back into the wild or not. I jist want to do the right thing. Thank you very much!

[Spanky]

OK, so I found this baby/young squirrel on my way to work. It appears that that the front right leg is injured. It was waving its front left at me in defense. I'm guessing its around 8 weeks old. How should I care for him? I've been reading up on what to feed, but some simple straight forward care instructions would be great. I'm goimg to try to attach some pictures so someone can accurately age the little guy for me. I just want it to be healthy and heal right I dont know if it can go back into the wild or not. I jist want to do the right thing. Thank you very much!

Here is a great "primer". Your 8 week old may need a more proper cage, likely will not require the heat (if he is 8 weeks old). He will require formula (Esbilac Puppy (powdered version! And do not let the store tell you anything else is "the same", it is not!) Tractor Supply, big-box pet stores) or Fox Valley 20/50 (can only be bought on-line).
https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/


If you give him time (assuming not a compound complicated break) he likely will recover fine and be releasable.

to TSB! And for caring for him.

Edit: If he is eight weeks old, he is ready to start solids but start with Rodent Block (and only rodent block!). That includes Henry's Healthy Block (on-line only), Teklad, Muzuri, Oxbow or Kaytee (if you cannot find any of the others!)


Edit: I see I forgot to include the "primer" link but later in the Nancy added it (Thank You (again) Nancy!) but I wanted to include it in case someone comes looking at the thread in the future and does not read the entire thing...

[Chris57m]

Hopefully this helps. I can't figure out. How to pics in directly to post

https://imgur.com/a/MSkzL

[Nancy in New York]

He will also need some block.
I always get the HHB's as those are the only ones my
squirrels will actually eat. I get the ones for picky eaters.
But they have to be ordered on line. They only need 2 a day
in addition to their healthy veggies.
https://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

[Nancy in New York]

I just added the photo to your post.
WOW he's a tiny little one. I think he's more like 6 weeks.

He needs to still be on formula.
Thank you for helping this little baby doll.
Here's a great link. It's 6 SHORT pages long with the
next button in the top right corner.
It's very detailed, but gets right to the point.

https://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

Hopefully this helps. I can't figure out. How to pics in directly to post

https://imgur.com/a/MSkzL

[Chris57m]

Will I be able to get anything good at petsmart today? I'm about to go but I dont want to waist the trip.
He's very snuggly. Made a high pitched screaming noise, then I picked him up and he just snuggled into my arm. Did you look at the pictures, how old do you think??

[Nancy in New York]

Will I be able to get anything good at petsmart today? I'm about to go but I dont want to waist the trip.
He's very snuggly. Made a high pitched screaming noise, then I picked him up and he just snuggled into my arm. Did you look at the pictures, how old do you think??

If you go to petsmart look for the Esbilac formula that was posted above.
The powdered one.
I think around 6 weeks.
You will need syringes and you need to feed him in the proper position, upright with the
syringe pointing towards the roof of his mouth. The WHOLE key is SLOW until you get the
hang of it, because the CAN aspirate easily.
You really should order syringes on line, but in the mean time see if a pharmacy
will give you some.

Before you feed him anything hydrate him with
Homemade pedialyte and make sure he's warm before
giving anything by mouth.
Heating pad UNDER the container always set on low.
Put some fleece or anything without loops in his container.


Homemade Rehydration Fluid

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar or apple juice
2 cups warm water
Store in refrigerator. Discard after 24 hours.

Note: If the baby refuses fluids, try leaving out the salt.

[Binkers mom]

Hi Chris, thank you for helping the baby squirrel.
I'm relatively new to squirrel rescue....but here is what I learned. 1) very important that the baby be warm before attempting to give anything. Henry'sHealthyPets.com has a 6 page, very straight forward info on baby squirrel care.
2) after it is warm, it MUST be hydrated, Never feed a dehydrated or cold baby. A homemade hydration solution recipe: 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups warm water (discard after 24 hrs).OR some use INFANT pedialyte . Always warm the hydration fluid or formula before feeding and test the temperature of it ,on your cheek is a good spot, so it isn't too hot or cold, warm body temperature 100 degrees is good. 3) always have the syringe point up to baby's mouth, never down, and go slowly. If feeding is done wrong, the fluids can get in the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. Deadly. 4) you can pull up the skin on the baby's back to see if it springs back in 1- 2 seconds, baby is hydrated ok, if it takes longer hydrate every 45 min - 1 hr until the skin pinch test indicates the baby is hydrated.
5) when baby is ready for formula, ONLY FEED PetAg ESBILAC PUPPY FORMULA with Pre an Probiotics, sold at pet stores, or Fox Valley 20/50..sold at Henry's Healthy Pets, Amazon maybe ?...... NOT 32/50.
Start with 1 part powder formula to 3 parts water at first, if tolerated after a few feeding go to full strength of 1 part powder formula to 2 parts water. BTW, the liquid puppy formula in the can is crap, so don't use that. Also, rodent block is feed at this age, at pet store Kaytee, Oxbow for young rats, rodents. ONLY.
Please read the baby squirrel care page on Henry'sHealthy Pets.com ....it is short, to the point....exact information. ... it's my squirrel care survival guide. Hope the little guy is ok.

[Binkers mom]

He looks like 5 1/2 - 6 weeks. My guys are 7 weeks old and look much more advanced than this little cutie.

[Chris57m]

OK, going to the store. Thank you so much for the help!

[Chris57m]

OK, going to the store. Thank you so much for the help!

Ok, they have the right brand of puppy formula but not esbilac. It is petlac. It has the pro biotics and prebiotics. Should I just make my own or will this work? They are out of esbilac

[Jen413]

If it's not the esbilac with pre/probiotics it's not good for them. You'd be better off doing the homemade goats milk formula and ordering esbilac or fox valley.

[Chris57m]

OK I'll go with the home made formula

[Binkers mom]

OK I'll go with the home made formula

It's been my experience that the homemade formula from the squirrel board is better than buying the wrong formula.
You can use it until you get the correct formula.

[Nancy in New York]

Ok, they have the right brand of puppy formula but not esbilac. It is petlac. It has the pro biotics and prebiotics. Should I just make my own or will this work? They are out of esbilac

Just remember the homemade formula is only TEMPORARY.
Amazon has the one you need. Third ingredient is dried whey protein.
If you have Prime you'll get it in 2 days.

https://www.amazon.com/PetAg-Esbilac...+replacer+milk

[Chris57m]

All seems well in baby squirrel land. Fed him twice with no issues. Ordering the real formula from amazon. I jusy hop it keeps going well. Is it normal for him to sleep after feeding?

[Spanky]

Awww.. such good news. Yes, they do sleep a lot until they are 8 weeks +... falling asleep after feeding and pottying is usually a very good thing!

[Binkers mom]

Hi, yes it's usually normal. The babies sleep a lot. My babies go into a nice sleep after eating. When they wake up, they play a bit, eat and sleep again. They twitch a bit too. Glad it is going well for you and the baby. Do you know if it is a girl/ boy? Have you given a name? You may need to help the baby eliminate urine and / or poop. You can use a warm wet q tip, or baby wipe. Just lightly flick around their genitals and anus, you are basically mimicking the mother's tongue. It's very important that the baby eliminate both pee and poop. If they are fussy about eating....they may need to go to the bathroom.

[Binkers mom]

Hi Chris, how is the baby squirrel doing ?