Found freezing young squirrel. Not sure the age.

[ckore]

I put a large squirrel house in the tree behind my house and 2 litters of 3 each and 2 moms live there.

This one was the smallest of all of them. I think they kicked her out, not sure why, they have unlimited food.

She feels like she has an empty stomach.

She is so weak and freezing cold she tried to bite me but it didn't even hurt at all.

After I picked her up, she was ok and snuggled up against my arm trying to hide in m shirt.

What should I feed her?

How old do you think she is?



Thank you.

[ckore]

I wanted to add I only picked her up because she was just sitting in the snow not moving and could not walk because she was so cold. She made no attempt to get away.

[Mel1959]

I’m not good at guessing age, but I’d say around 10 weeks old. She might take formula from you. The homemade goats milk formula recipe is 3 parts goats milk, 1 part heavy whipping cream and 1 part yogurt. If the goats milk is canned or powdered you must reconstitute it using the directions on the can. Warm only the amount you’re going to attempt to feed. I don’t know if she’ll take it from a syringe. You can try. If not give it to her in a shallow bowl.

If she won’t take formula try her on hard squash (butternut, acorn, etc), arugula lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, kale. Also fruit in limited amounts, papaya (no skin or seeds), grapes (peeled), blueberry, fresh coconut, avocado (no skin or pit).

I’m not sure why mom would boot her out of the nest. Have you checked her over to be sure there’s no injuries? She may have just fallen. I have found that mom squirrels allow their babies to explore sooner than we do when we raise them. The mom in my yard let her babies explore about the time their tails started to fluff out. We don’t recommend releasing squirrels we’ve rehabbed till 16+ weeks.

[frankc]

Hi One of the first things is check her if you can for any injuries. NEXT most important get her warm, do not feed her anything until you do that. Do you have a heating pad ? If not let us know and we will tell you what you can do to warm her. Then she will need to be checked for dehydration we will tell you how that is done but the most important things right now is getting her warm !! and then see if you check her for injuries. It's kind of hard to tell her age from the picture but I am guessing about 9 to 10 weeks maybe a little younger.

[CritterMom]

First, warm her up slowly. If you have a heating pad, place it on low under her container. Keep her mostly covered so she doesn't feel so exposed.

Once she is warm, I would offer her some hydration. Add a bit of sugar or honey to some water and heat it to body temp - about 105 degrees. A small syringe (without a needle) or eyedropper would be helpful. If she has been on her own for a while she is likely dehydrated and it is important to get her warmed up and rehydrated before you give a lot of food r she won't be able to process it.

Step 1: Warm
Step 2: Hydrate
Step 3: Feed

[SammysMom]

Thank you for helping this sweet baby...
Would you like us to seek a rehabber in your area?

[ckore]

I will go back to Walmart and get all the veggies. I ran there real fast and got avocado.

She still would not eat until I played a youtube video and she actually answered the sounds exactly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH57rNCxm3E

They have been running around that small since the first snow (like 3 weeks). I thought they were fine because they were eating sunflower seeds and peanuts, maybe this one wasn't big enough yet to eat that,



I live in the middle of nowhere (ironwood) in the UP of Michigan. I doubt there is a rehab within 200 miles.

I check on them often and have a heated water bowl and large tile pieces with a heating pad underneath for their food so the snow doesn't cover it up.

She just fell asleep on top of the avocado.

Thank you.

[Mel1959]

She might like a heating pad put UNDER one half of the container you have her in with lots of fleece or blankets to snuggle into. Don’t put it inside the container she’s in, because she might chew the cord. Set the heating pad on low.

If you don’t have a 1cc syringe you can usually get one at the pharmacy for free. They’re more sympathetic to feeding a baby kitten than a squirrel, so you might tell them that’s what you have.

[ckore]

I got most of it. I got puppy formula which was the closest I could find.




Do I need to cook them or raw?

[stepnstone]

Do not give her that canned formula, it is no good for them.
The will eat veggies raw. Make sure she has access to water.

[Nancy in New York]

Maybe you can return the formula you already bought.
Sorry about that.
In the meantime, make sure she stays hydrated.


Here is the goat's milk formula.

The basic recipe is:

3 parts goat milk
3 parts plain (low-fat) yogurt
2 parts heavy cream
Add 1 egg yolk for each cup of formula
Add 1,000 mg CA for each cup of formula (recommended if using for more than a few days)

Almost forgot, with the avocado, remember no skin or pit.

Thank you so much for helping this little one!

[frankc]

Hi
I did some research and found the page with rehabbers in Mi. I am attaching the link because the list is long. I hope this helps.

https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/dlr/

[frankc]

I up one rehabber that is 83 miles from you if you don't find one closer on the list.

BONNO, LOIS IRON RIVER, MI 49935 906-265-4739 MAMMALS AND NON-FEDERALLY PROTECTED BIRDS MAMMALS

[SammysMom]

Where are you in mi?

[frankc]

Where are you in mi?

She is in Ironwood Mi,

[SammysMom]

What's going on with this little one?

[frankc]

I have been wondering the same thing ?? Seems like all communications has stopped.