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Thread: How to transition to food?

  1. #1
    SamKat Guest

    Default How to transition to food?

    I have a 5 week old baby, and I am a first time squirrel mom. I want to pre-plan and figure out how to wean her, when the time comes, the right way. I dont want to scramble around for answers the day of.

    So I've been trying to figure out the steps.
    Should I be giving her rodent blocks of some sort even this young to get her used to it? Her bottom teeth are quite long and top ones haven't begun to grow in.
    Should I start with a soft food or something she can nibble on for a while to practice? I've read that they don't learn to swallow the food the first few tries, and will just peal at it and when you don't see the shavings you know they've learned to eat. Is this true?

    If these answers are posted elsewhere, please point me in the right direction.
    Thanks!
    - A list making momma.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Welcome SamKat

    Have your babies eyes opened yet? At about 6 weeks I give a rodent block or Henry's Healthy block. They nibble on it and crumble it but they do consume some. In a few days they will be eating it.

    We don't wean the babies. We let them take formula until they stop.
    When they are eating the block, I start offering a healthy veggie. I offer one at a time. I like to offer kale first.

  3. Serious fuzzy thank you's to HRT4SQRLS from:

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  4. #3
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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Here is a link that will help.
    You're already past the first 3 steps. Step 4 talks about transitioning to food.
    https://www.henryspets.com/1-basic-setup/

  5. #4
    SamKat Guest

    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Yes her eyes are open.
    Thank you for that link!

    She is just a weird little baby. She uses the bathroom all on her own, and I stimulate her, but usually she just squats and pees or poops on her own. She's also hungry every two or so hours. I'm thinking she might just be ahead of the curve..?

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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Quote Originally Posted by SamKat View Post
    Yes her eyes are open.
    Thank you for that link!

    She is just a weird little baby. She uses the bathroom all on her own, and I stimulate her, but usually she just squats and pees or poops on her own. She's also hungry every two or so hours. I'm thinking she might just be ahead of the curve..?
    You don't need to potty a 5 week old. They will go on their own.

    Baby squirrels are always hungry. They WILL overeat but you have to be careful to not overfeed. Overfeeding can cause bloat and that is a serious problem. You need a kitchen scale to get the weight in grams. We feed 5-7% of the body weight. Example: a 100g baby would receive between 5-7ml of formula per feeding. This is a guideline. Some can easily take a bit more.

    A 5 week old should be fed every 5 hours. You don't want to feed too often. Every 2 hours is WAY too often. You want the old formula to pass from the stomach before the next feeding. If you put new formula on top of old formula, they can bloat.
    Also, a 5 week old doesn't need to be fed through the night. Get some sleep mom.

  7. #6
    SamKat Guest

    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    She just turned 5 weeks old as of early this morning, so thank you for the info on not stimulating. I was wondering when to stop.
    I don't feed her every 2 hours, it's just around that time she starts to cry for food and suckling. I've been feeding her every 4 to 4 1/2 hours, but I'll be sure to extend times in between. I was feeding in the night when she was a little younger, but will be sure to stop according to her weight.
    I'll get a scale tomorrow, thank you for that info.

    So from what I gather I need to go ahead and either put some small squirrel blocks, or tree twigd with her? I've seen apple tree twigs if that will work?

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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Actually, they do like those apple sticks to chew on but I would give her the block first.

  9. #8
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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    How much are you feeding her? Also, what type of formula?

    If she is waking up in 2 hours, you might not be feeding enough.

    This is a guess, but a GA grey at 5 weeks would probably weight about 120-150g ... I think?

  10. #9
    SamKat Guest

    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    Ok so start with the blocks and then move on to sticks and such. Got it.

    I feed her powder puppy formula esbilac, but am waiting for fox valley 20/50 in the mail to maybe do half and half with, or switch fully over time.
    Before she opened her eyes yesterday, we were feeding about 5 to 7 ccs, depending how hungry she was. Now we've upped it since she seems so hungry, to 9-10ccs. She never really finishes 10ccs and I don't try to make her, of course.
    I still need to get a scale today after work if I can make it to the store in Time. But from what I can see, she is about the normal size of a squirrel her age. Maybe a little thinner. Not sure, it's hard to tell in photos to compare.

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    Default Re: How to transition to food?

    I started my 3 off with Henry's Healthy Block for baby squirrels. I gave it to them whole at first but realized there was less waste if I cut them in smaller pieces. They just seemed to eat them easier and they quit trying to dig through them to find the pieces of pecans.

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