Small for her age

[Woody's Mom]

We have 2 baby squirrels we will be releasing. They're approximately 2 months old. When we took them in from a lady who couldn't take care of them they were extremely small, 37.5 g & 46.5 g, but eyes were open. We've had them for 1 month. They weigh 142 g & 185 g. They both eat well, pee, poop & are very active. My question is the little one - is it possible for her to catch up? They both get FV formula plus ultraboost, Henry block and veggies.

[Mel1959]

Yes, she can catch up. You aren’t planning to release them anytime soon, are you? At 8 weeks they are way too young to be on their own. They don’t have the skills or the coordination to maneuver safely in the trees. They should also stay on formula for as long as they’ll take it. They tend to get a little skittish about being out of the cage at this age but you can continue to feed formula via syringe through the cage bars or put it in a shallow bowl.

Ultraboost can be used in a 50/50 combination with FV 20/50 for ultimate weight gain. The longer they take formula the better it is for them.

I see you’re also in Florida. I’m near Central Florida and have 3 that will be old enough to release in December, providing the weather cooperates. I don’t put my squirrels into the release cage until they’re around 14 weeks old and they spend a couple of weeks in there acclimating to the sights, sounds and smells before I open the portal. I have found that they typically fair better in the trees when they are older when released……so don’t rush them.

[Woody's Mom]

Thank you for the information. I will increase the ultraboost. We aren't planning on releasing anytime soon. I am hoping that they will be big enough & that the weather will cooperate to put them in our release cage in December. Even though they are approximately 8 weeks old I'm treating them as they are younger because of their size, especially the little one.

[Woody's Mom]

Update on the babies - Hope & Mel

Hope is the smallest - She is up to 192.5 grams

Mel is up to 257.5 grams.

My question is do you recommend me feeding Hope formula 3 times per day? Mel 2 times per day?

They both are eating veggies and Henry's blocks. Mel is solid. Hope looks great considering how she was when we first got her. They are active, lots of running and some jumping when they get out time. Our screen porch is squirrel proofed. We don't let them out alone, they are supervised.

And they are approximately 9 weeks old now.

Thanks in advance.