Hi all!!
I am a first-time poster and a first-time squirrel caretaker.
Some background for fun: So I live in Michigan, and my Squeegee was found in the wheel well of my mother's car while I was visiting for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, a nest somewhere under the chassis was also found and told us that Squeegee's mother and sibling did not survive whatever time they spent in there. Squeegee was a stubborn fighter though and was very loud, letting us know he was in there and needed help! I believe he was around 4 weeks old when I found him. Now he would be around 6 weeks. Naturally, he was very emaciated and dehydrated when I found him, and I just want to say thank you to this board for helping me navigate his care on my own. I started him on Esbilac the day I found him (it was evening and luckily Tractor Supply was open) and kept him on that for a few days until I got my FV in the mail. So now, I feed him Fox Valley 20/50 formula, around 6ccs every 5-6 hours as of now (he weighs 88 grams--up from 56 grams when I found him two weeks ago!). He has started getting his Henry's Healthy Blocks, but as of now he just shreds them but definitely is developing an interest for later successful eating :-) He likes to chew apple sticks, sleep on my chest, and use me as a tree to run around. From what I can tell, he is an American Red with his grey-er summer coloring. He is super affectionate, a talkative loud guy (still), and super adventurous. I've attached some pics at the bottom of his progress and general cute face!
Now to my question! Does this cage look appropriate for a squirrel rehab?
https://www.exoticnutrition.com/Prod...pc-ENC104.aspx
He is still very young, so I was thinking I could block off the top level for now so he does not have clumsy falls from a dangerous height. But then later, it would still work as I could just unblock that top tier to provide space as he grows without having to purchase multiple separate cages. It looks very similar to the cage that Henry's Pets used on their site that now says is no longer available. The bar spacing is 1/2"...is that too large for his age? He is currently in a large plastic storage bin with a heater under half of it with old sheets and an old robe for burrowing as well as a space without nesting sheets for testing his Henry's Blocks and chewing apple sticks. He also has a little climbing thing made of more apple sticks as well as a kapok seed pod that is hanging for him to chew or just mess around with. These are just hung on the side of the bin...right now I keep another sheet on top with an old shelf on top of that to secure it because he is turning into a little escape artist at times (there are still breathing holes in the bin don't worry). Obviously this is not ideal and is only very temporary but I want to make sure I am getting a good cage for his needs before spending too much money! Thank you all so much for your infinite wisdom and help, us newbies are eternally grateful!
Squeegee through the last two weeks :-) (sorry, I don't know how to flip some of these to their correct orientation)