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Thread: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

  1. #1
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    Default 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    I have two 10 weeks old babies, one female and one male. The female has been eating Henry’s Healthy Blocks for about a week now, along with veggies. Both squirrels are still on formula. But the male has no interest in anything besides formula. He won’t even drink out of water bottle on the cage. Is there anything I could do to encourage him to eat solids? I know I’m not supposed to wean them because they’ll wean themselves off of the formula. I just don’t like how he’s so far behind his sister. I’ve tried putting a drop of formula on the blocks and he’ll lick it off but won’t eat them.
    Any suggestions would be great.

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Check his teeth.. check for both upper and lower incisors.

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    He has no top teeth. Bottom ones are long but he does like to suck and bite the syringe. Could he be wearing them now by doing that?

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    I'll bet his sister has her top (and bottom) teeth = she wants to eat.

    His uppers should have some in by now (about 5 weeks). Did he have any sort of fall (e.g. fell from his nest) or anything?

    You might want to post pictures of those bottom teeth.. they probably are not too long yet, but will be soon if he is not wearing them down / has his uppers.

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Yes she has both top and bottom teeth. His bottom ones are long but the top are very very short. They did fall out of their nest around 2 weeks old. When should I separate them so they won’t reproduce?

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Name:  3060B014-6C9B-4BA3-8273-E9D1D0BA1E5B.jpg
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Size:  87.7 KB

    This is them around 8 weeks. Loretta and Conway

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Quote Originally Posted by bryanleo View Post
    Yes she has both top and bottom teeth. His bottom ones are long but the top are very very short. They did fall out of their nest around 2 weeks old. When should I separate them so they won’t reproduce?

    If you are planning to release them you'll not have to worry about them reproducing... they should be long gone before they can make babies together.

    The teeth for the boy may be an issue that needs intervention to be corrected... maybe not now, but maybe in a few weeks.

    A picture of his lower teeth would be helpful... and keep watch on his uppers to make sure they are growing. Sometimes (not common) they upper teeth may grown backwards along the roof of the mouth which will become a real issue if that happens.

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    He’s bottom ones are long and pretty
    Attached Images Attached Images  

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    My husband wants to keep them but I don’t know. It won’t be until next year till we can release them and probably by then I’ll get too attached to them. They’re the sweetest things

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    They are precious.

    And IMHO they deserve a life in the trees as they were meant for! If they are healthy.

    Thanks for caring!

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Aww they r adorable. Hope they are doing good. What state do u live in? My baby use to go to a vet for things. We live n a leagal state (for now) If you are in sc . Ozzy was like that with his teeth.

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  22. #12
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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Keep an eye on those upper teeth... hopefully they are just late to come in, sometimes a fall early on can cause the delay. Sometimes a fall like that can result in a permanent tooth issue that makes them non-releasable. If they are not growing over the next few week, he made require his lower teeth to be trimmed.

    Quote Originally Posted by bryanleo View Post
    My husband wants to keep them but I don’t know. It won’t be until next year till we can release them and probably by then I’ll get too attached to them. They’re the sweetest things
    Squirrels are very sweet as babies (almost always) and even juveniles... but as they grow into adulthood, that typically turns into an entirely different situation. Most healthy squirrels that make "suitable" pets are those that were offered freedom but chose a life with humans. It is hard to imagine anything like this happening at their current age, but there are plenty of stories on this board to illustrate this more vividly. It is also precisely why squirrels are not a common pet.

    Most squirrels will bond to only one person and attack all others viciously. So the odds are that you or your husband will be the chosen one... the other will be rejected. Do you have children?

    Please don't wait a year to release them, that will be doing them an injustice and put them at a higher risk. Do what is best for them, if they are healthy. It is best to release while they are over 16 weeks but well less than 1 years old...


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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    We are not allowing him to bite or suck on the syringe anymore. Hoping that is what was wearing down his teeth. We don’t have any children but a cat and dog. I want to release back into the wild where they belong. I guess if they choose other wise, I’ll know. I guess we need to start slowly introducing them to the outside world. The girl was the first to do everything, open eyes and etc.

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Quote Originally Posted by bryanleo View Post
    We are not allowing him to bite or suck on the syringe anymore. Hoping that is what was wearing down his teeth. We don’t have any children but a cat and dog. I want to release back into the wild where they belong. I guess if they choose other wise, I’ll know. I guess we need to start slowly introducing them to the outside world. The girl was the first to do everything, open eyes and etc.
    They should not be around (in the same room) with the cat or the dog. They should not be acclimated to cats or dogs. T

    Once they are about 14 weeks old they can go out to an outdoor release cage... that is when we humans start limiting our contact with them. Twice a day to provide food and fresh water. They spend a few weeks in the cage observing their wild counterparts on how to be a squirrel (since mom is not with them to teach them all this).

    Here is a link to the soft release process:
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-How-to-Sticky

    There is a a lot of related information in the "Cages, nest boxes, suppliers, materials and ideas..." forum:
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...ials-and-ideas

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    Default Re: 10 weeks old, not wanting to eat solids

    Yes they are not around them at all. And thank you for your help

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