RockyTXMom
to TheSquirrelBoard
I’m glad you found us. I wouldn’t contact the Wildlife officials again. We have heard horror stories. Fish and Game are usually ‘by the books’ and their books are not friendly to backyard rehabbers. They can be very cruel.
Can you tell us which formula you used? The reason I ask is because the usual formula used to raise baby squirrels was horribly defective this year. Babies on formula started breaking bones. When it was clear that this was a wide spread problem, we knew there was a formula issue. Babies on the defective formula needed treatment for Metabolic Bone Disease. By the way, we don’t wean babies. We let them decide when they want to stop. The formula is the best insurance against MBD, except of course when it’s defective like the Esbilac was this year.
Your baby is too young for release so I’m glad you will overwinter him.
Which type of Rat and Mice nutrient bites did you get? Some are good and some aren’t. Your baby shouldn’t get too many nuts. Actually I didn’t let my babies know nuts existed until they were 12 weeks old.
Squirrels love nuts and will start rejecting healthy food. They will hold out for nuts. Nuts are very unhealthy due to their high phosphorus. Too many nuts (high phosphorus) will cause calcium to be pulled from the bones. Captive or pet squirrels are limited to 1-2 nuts per day
Here is a link to the healthy diet for captive squirrels.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels