I have 2 eastern gray squirrel babies. The boy, Napoleon, i got on aug 7. He was a tiny pup with only fur around his nose and on his head. I judged to be about a week and a half. The girl, Nugget, i got on Aug 18. I know she is somewhat older than Napoleon, by at least 2 weeks. She opened her eyes 5 days after we got her, on aug 23. Then Napoleon opened his eyes 5 days after she did, on aug 28. Neither one was severely dehydrated when i got them, but i gave fluids anyway for a day, and then they have been on esbilac since.
Since they opened their eyes, Nugget has sprouted well and taken off. She is super fat and fluffy, bushy tail, thickening fur, and big bright black eyes. She runs and climbs all over her cage. I took her off the heating pad about a week after she opened her eyes. And immediately introduced rodent blocks as soon as her eyes opened. She loves them. Napoleon, however, seems to be a late-bloomer. He is fully covered in fur, but its not thick. His tail has white hairs on it, but its not getting fluffy. He is still small. He is growing and gaining weight at a normal rate, he is just significantly smaller. Napoleon has no interest in the rodent blocks, or any other solid food. Only the formula. He does not climb around the cage, he stays in his sock. He is also very wobbly and seems to stay close to one area, almost like walking in circles or staying close to a specific scent. Like the rag i lay them on to feed them, after they eat, Nugget will run around and climb everything. But Napoleon acts like he can't see to leave the rag. He constantly sniffs where he is and if he leaves that rag, he sniffs til he finds it again. Nugget can see the feeding syringe, and she is an amazing eater. But Napoleon seems to not be able to see the syringe, i have to stick it in his mouth, but then he eats well. After a feeding, Nugget will have fun playing. But Napoleon crawls into a corner on my body somewhere and curls up. Also, Nugget is in her cage alone, while Napoleon is still in a bin on a heating pad because he cannot keep warm with his own body heat. I plan to keep them thru the winter, and release in the spring. But Im worried about releasing Napoleon.
Now this is my concern. Napoleon has black eyes as well, but in a certain light, one of his eyes looks like a garnet colored hollow bead. Im wondering if he could be blind in that eye. His eyes are not cloudy or gray. Both him and Nugget have big bright black eyes. But Napoleons one eye looks funny. I have tried to take pictures of his eyes to be able to show someone, but i cant capture what im seeing in the photos. Im also concerned that Napoleon isnt catching on to the whole squirrel thing. Does anyone possibly know why he is not catching up to Nugget? Or have any ideas as to how i can coax Napoleon into being the squirrel he is? If he is not able to be released, he has a permanent home with me and my family. But i would love more for him to be able to live freely in his world, not mine.
SN.. About a week before he opened his eyes, Napoleon did go thru a bad diarrhea spell for about 3 days. Nugget was fine, i kept them separated (they still are separated now as Nugget is bigger and plays too rough with Napoleon, plus he is still on a heating pad). I gave Napoleon fluids during those 3 days. On the 3rd day, i gave him esbilac and his stools returned to normal immediately. He started gaining his weight back, then like 2-3 days later opened his eyes.