Orphaned baby ground squirrel

[Neuf]

I'll give some backstory first.

So two days ago(Wednesday afternoon) I noticed a baby thirteen lined ground squirrel laying on the concrete at the front entrance of my house all by itself. I didn't think a whole lot of it so I left it there.

The next morning(Thursday) I noticed it had moved a couple feet but was still by itself. Later that evening it was gone so I started searching for it. I found eight babies in total sprawled out in the grass about 10ft from where I saw the first baby. They were pretty hard to see as my grass needed to be mowed. Most of them seemed lifeless but a couple would move when nudged. I did a bit of research online and figured out they must have been orphaned but at the time I thought it was probably too late for me to save them(I hadn't found this website yet).

This morning(Friday) I checked and saw all eight of them had passed so I took their bodies to the field adjacent to my yard. However, a few hours later I decided to check that area again and saw there was actually one more baby and it was still alive! I was much more determined to try and save this baby so I did some more research and found this website.

I took the baby in and put a warm bottle next to it with a blanket in a box. I went to the Vet in town and got a 1cc syringe and esbilac with an exp. date of 01/2022. I got some unflavored pedialite from the local drug store. When pinching the baby's skin it seemed to come back within a second but it was hard to tell with it having fur. I tried giving it some pedialite but it only took .2cc before becoming disinterested.

I've now got a heating pad and a scale. It weight 11 grams, is about 4 inches long and has a pretty good amount of fur. Based on that I gave it 1cc of formula and it gobbled it right up. I haven't seen it open its eyes but I had noticed some of it's brothers/sister had their eyes open. Also I think it's a girl but you can let me know based on the pictures.

Not sure if I can post pics since I am new but here they are.






She has some hard poo sticking out her bum that was there before I fed her. I rubbed the genitals a bit with a wet Q-tip 30 minutes after I fed her but nothing came out.

Let me know if you have any advice for me or if there is anything I'm missing. I plan on continuing to feed her based on her weight. Ideally I think it would be better if an expert in my area can take her in. I live in Southwest Minnesota. Otherwise I will continue to take care of her until she is ready to release.

[Neuf]

Here are the url's for pics since embedding them didn't work.
https://imgur.com/ojIGTuQ
https://imgur.com/itA13tB
https://imgur.com/fa9NDAY

[Scooterzmom]

Poor little angel. She still looks dehydrated and terribly undernourished. If she's not peeing it's most likely because she is still dehydrated. She has to be rehydrated and kept warm at all times if you want her to digest any formula. BTW the Esbilac has been causing trouble to baby grey squirrels since they changed their formula. They can't digest it well at all, and they cannot absorb the calcium in it. I don't know about baby ground squirrels but can only assume it could be the same.

You might be better off with the goats milk formula* and order some Fox Valley 20/50 (NOT the 32/40).

3 parts goat’s milk
1 part heavy whipping cream*
1 part vanilla yogurt

If she's already had a few feedings of Esbilac, you will want to transition her gradually to the goat's milk formula by mixing the 2 (1/4 goat's 3/4 Esbilac, then 1/2 g +1/2 E, then 3/4 g+ 1/4E) You could give her a bit of Pedialyte between feedings - do not mix the formula with Pedialyte.

I would rehydrate her a ittle bit at a time between each feeding throughout the night and morning. Another alternative - since she is so undernourished - might be to start her on Ultra Boost or vanilla (or pecan) Ensure.

Others will surely come in and might be able to help you more than I can.

Good luck, and thank you for taking that adorable little girl in. Sending prayers for her.

[Neuf]

Ok thank you for the advice. I had read that Esbilac with an expiration date after 10/2021 might be ok. Mine is 01/2022. In the morning I will see if I can find some goat's milk.

I mispoke in my first post. I've been giving her .5cc per feeding not 1cc since she is only 11 grams. I've given her Esbilac twice and just now I gave her Pedialite instead. Each feeding has been 3-4 hours apart. The most worrying part to me is that I haven't noticed her going to the bathroom. I wait 15-30 minutes after feeding her then try stimulating her for about a minute with a wet Q-tip. Am I doing something wrong?

Also, her eyes have now opened.

[Neuf]

I was able to contact the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Minnesota and they were more than happy to take her in. Thank you to this site for the information that helped me get her through the night.