Handling the crazies with 3 sibling 7.5 week old greys and sucking issues

[fatcatlurker]

Hello! My group of 3 siblings are crazy today. Is it recommended to bring them out individually for formula feeding at this age? And than do a separate play / exercise session together later?

I' am a newbie mom. They fell from our tree 7/24 as pinkies, mom had tucked them and the nest up behind our recycle bins in the nest ball and when I went to pick up sticks after the storm there they were. It was still cold and stormy so I did the heated rice pack in a card board box bringing them in and out for heating pad and hydration for 3 days, (brought them in over night and started escbilac w/ cream after first day) even used distress call on my cell to get her to come. Long story short she fell out of our tree 5 days later right by our front door...she didn't make it. :-(. We guess she was in the nest with them and she was missing a rear foot...appeared to be a old injury. Poor momma. So we tackled the job of being squirrel parents and the kids are great, fat, and healthy because I have devoured every bit of info I could find online on them but I still have questions. Been lurking here since the beginning and found you people to be nice, honest, and open bunch with no unnecessary judgements towards fellow wildlife loving humans. I thank you for that!

They are fat;
Christopher Robin - 238 grams
Diva - 231 grams
Charlie girl - 246 grams

And another arrival from my yard 9/3
Lucky - 114 grams
Opened one eye when he fell from my backyard tree with bloody nose and mouth, dehydrated and weak. He has put on about 10 grams from his first weigh on 9/2. It took him 24 hours to give me pee and 3 days for first poop. Poor guy. And he has some other concerns that may make him unreleasable but I will let time and others decide that later. His other eye opened 1 day later. He is on the same protocol I used with the 3 at his age. Estimate 4-5 weeks, he is separated from them and in little guy mode, heat pad, eat, clean, he is doing potty business on his own now, and back to bed after his potty walk.

I am working towards release for all of them. Even have the wire to start building the release cage very soon. I am a 3 cat / 2 dog household and they are closed tight and snug in my guest room. It's theirs as long as they need it but not forever.

So that's my first question because they are getting so big, so quick.

Separate feeding and than a play together out of the pen kind of deal? Until I build the bigger cage? They are in a Guinea pig cage right now so they need exercise at their size for sure.

On to the sucking issue. They started as soon as they found it. I tried separating the boy than caught him doing it just yesterday by himself. . These 3 are anything goes...crazy I tell ya. They are all doing it and they are fat...help! I read about trying a baby sock on here but maybe they really need to be separated..idk? I separated the boy by rotating them for 3 days to boy / girl separate pens until I found out what he was doing and what they were doing. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated at this point. That's it for now and I thank you for any response.

Ps I will attempt some photobucket pics soon.

[fatcatlurker]

https://imgur.com/a/W2NDhyW

Hopefully this works.

[Spanky]

to TSB and for helping these little ones. You've done a great job considering how small they were when they came to you... big challenge for your first babies!

Suckling, especially at this advance age, usually indicates under feeding... but they sure look fit in the pictures. They only way to know though is the math... How much do they weigh, how much are you feeding and how often? And what are you feeding them?

[cava]

What kind of block and veggies are you offering? Are you using a hanging water bottle or dish for water?

[fatcatlurker]

to TSB and for helping these little ones. You've done a great job considering how small they were when they came to you... big challenge for your first babies!

Suckling, especially at this advance age, usually indicates under feeding... but they sure look fit in the pictures. They only way to know though is the math... How much do they weigh, how much are you feeding and how often? And what are you feeding them?

Thank you but I feel like they did all the work. They are so beautiful and crazy cool.

All 3 are in the 230-240 gram range, I will reweigh tonight at final feed to get accurate weights and post in the am or way past most people's bed time.

I just bumped them up to 13 mils each today on 50/50 mix esbilac and fox valley 20/50 the after 4 weeks one. 4 times a day roughly every 4-5 hours. They were on escbilac with cream and water mix from when I first found them but I figured I'd try the fox valley now to see if it helped with the nursing / sucking issue.

The blocks are oxbow garden select and mouse & rat complete from tractor supply. They just started nibbling the blocks and they are probably not the best choices but my first buys. I can change them out for better.

They get a variety of fruit and veg daily to include; apples, grapes, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli and cucumber, I have also given some seeds; black stripe sunflower and pumpkin seeds daily which they show no interest in.

Small walnut pieces only twice which they liked of course and no other nuts period tried yet.

Water is in a hanging bottle that I have shown them by putting their little mouths up to but they do not appear to be using it.

They also have a mineral block, hanging salt, and sticks. A bundle of sticks from the pet store and ones from my silver maple out back.

The male ate so many veggies today his poop was green after his late afternoon feeding I am guessing that's normal?

I think I answered everything for both posts. Thank you for any suggestions. Being raised a farm girl on a diary farm and having known many types of animals I have to say "squirrel checks" are my new favorite.

[fatcatlurker]

Last night weights as best I could get them after putting them each on my scale 3-4 times.

Diva - 249
Christopher Robin - 252
Charlie girl - 245

[Spanky]

They should be eating 12ml - 17ml each feeding and in another week or so you can cut back to 3X a day for formula... but they have to be eating blocks and veggies.

PLEASE, please, please stop giving them seeds and nuts at this age. That is like providing a 2 month old baby cotton candy. Just say no!

They should be eating blocks by now, and then only after they eat the blocks provide them veggies. I would not think of giving nuts or seeds to anything less than 11 weeks or so.. and then only as rare treats. If you do not correct their diet now, if they get spoiled on seeds and nuts you will have a very difficult challenge changing their diet. And that diet of seeds and nuts will lead to a lethal disease known as Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD).

Henry's Healthy Block are the gold standard, followed by TekLad 2018 (these need to be purchased on line). Third place is Mazuri rodent block... Oxbow is good nutritionally, but squirrels tend not to eat that because they do not like the flavor.