Question about new baby fox squirrel....

[Squirrelmaster]

Recently some children at the chool my Mom works at found a baby fox squirrel on the playground. Apparently some of the older kids had taken it home already and there parents found out and made them take it back. Also according to what they told my Mom it has been there for atleast 2 days. She went to the conservation people and they told her it was hopless and about to die(Apparently conservation people arent very smart around here). Sooo...she told me about it after she had talked to the conservation people and I told her to bring it to my house since Ive always been pretty good with animals. So far its been 3 days and the little man is crawling around on my shirt looking as happy as can be...tho it was looking pretty bad when I got it. Have used much of the info from this board also. The only thing that bothers me is there seems to be a line along his back mostly on his backbone area where the hair isnt growing or has fallen out. Was wondering if any of you knew what caused that? There isnt any cuts and the skin doesnt look irritated theres just no hair. And its a pretty small area. Will try to get some pictures posted soon (camera batteries are dead).

The Squirrelmaster

Forgot to mention, according to stuff Ive read here and in a few other places he seems to look about 5ish weeks old. Doesnt hop yet but crawls. And sleeps most of the time cept when I wake him for some food(food=milk mixture for puppies I got from a friend)...then he gets pretty excited.

[Secret Squirrel]

Hi squirrelmaster
I am so glad your lil flyer is doing better. I am not a flyer rehabber as of yet, so I don't know what the missing hair is from. Maybe someone else will help out.....the photos are real necessary so we can see first hand what you are seeing.

Keep us posted on his/her progress...we love your baby already!

[Secret Squirrel]

SORRY ABOUT THAT!!!! I thought I read flyer!!!!! Brain fart on my part!!!

[thundersquirrel]

it's good that you're getting info from this site, cause we're very accurate.

loss of hair makes me think mange at first, but mange tends to occur in random patches.....that's strange that it's in a line down his back. maybe it's just a coincidence, but that would be unlikely. i get an image of this little squirrel lying on it's back for a long time, but it would be dead at that point, hehehe.

maybe it was an accident of some kind....but i can't imagine why he would lose his fur in an accident but there would be no scar tissue or anything. huh, this is a puzzler, but i wouldn't worry too much if the fur starts to grow back.

a picture would definitely help. get more batteries!

[Squirrelmaster]

Ok got new rechargable batteries for camera hehe. No idea how to post thumbnails of pictures sorry. Took me awhile just to figure out how to upload and post the pictures. The part where the hair is gone isnt really big but Ive had him for a few days now and he has gotten alot fluffier...specially his tail but that part on his back doesnt seem to be growing back. Hopefully I am just paranoid and it will grow back after awhile but any info any of you have about it would be much appreciated.

The Squirrelmaster

[Timber]

Well Squirrelmaster, it doesn't appear to be anything serious from the photos but I did notice a little patch above its left eye. But the skin doesn't appear to be inflamed or scaley. Maybe it just got some hair pulled out some how or mybe it is a fungus. I have heard of and seen gray squirrels here where they have lost all their hair to fungus. Especially if they have been exposed to to much dampness and humidity. Who knows what that little kid went through before you recieved it. Anyway the fungus usually clears on its own and the hair grows back if that is what it is. Just give it several weeks and just be sure to wash up after you handel him/her ( can't remember at the moment if you said that it is he or she) every time. Anyway sounds like this little kid has had a rough time of it so I am happy that it has finally found its way to someone who cares enough to hang in there with this kid and do your best to give it a chance at life.:

[Squirrelmaster]

Hmm I never thought of that. Hopefully it is a fungus that will clear up. I havnt seen the area around that school in a long time but it has rained a few times in the past week and Im sure there are enough spots under trees etc around there to keep a place damp for awhile. And yes it is a he. Havnt really thought of a name for him yet, just been calling him Little Buddy...which I guess has now become his name. Thx much for info/advice and if anyone else has any feel free to reply.

Squirrelmaster

[thundersquirrel]

i know it may be silly to ask cause it's been a while since you found him, but have you checked the area where he was found for other babies? just a thought. if mom is gone, there might be other babies wandering around.....

now that i see the picture, it actually could've been mange, or a fungus. we have a squirrel in our backyard who had a really bad skin problem for a while, but we couldn't catch him. he lost fur in patches all over his body. as time went by though, the fur grew back, but it was white! now he has white patches of fur everywhere, and (of course) we call him Patches. :rolleyes:

it'll grow back. whatever it was, it's obviously gone now, so i wouldn't worry. just keep an eye on it, and make sure he isn't itching himself more than usual.

[Squirrelmaster]

I wasnt the one that found him, it was some kids at a school my mom works at. She teaches special ed. Im sure if anymore has or are going to be found she can find out tho. Not many things like that stay hidden from that many kids. Only problem is the kids keeping it hidden from the teachers. I got him on thursday and according to what I was told one/some of the children brought him home wednesday night and there parents made them return him the next day. He looked very weak/starved when I got him and didnt move around much. Tomorrow is monday so that means he has been out of his nest for almost a week.

Squirrelmaster

PS: Damn little kids backpacks with all those pockets that are perfect for hiding baby squirrels in!

[thundersquirrel]

lol

rehabbers actually have to go through brief training on what we fondly call "hostage situations". often times a person will call about a squirrel that they found but they just want advice, and they don't want to give it up. we use special tactics and "hostage negotiations" to have them give the squirrel to us.

it's nice that people love squirrels so much, but their best chance of survival is in the hands of a rehabber. in contrast, though, many rehabbers become rehabbers because they found a squirrel and call a rehabber, then they get interested in the process.

one time someone called and said that a teenager found a squirrel at a block party. when we got there, the teenager was trying to hide the squirrel in the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt, lol. it was pretty obvious, cause we could hear the squirrel munching on a peanut.

[Squirrelmaster]

Hehe, well I wouldnt want to keep him forever, there seems to be plenty of info on this board and few other places for me to raise him and get him ready to be released. I dont have the money to buy him a proper cage or the skills/patience to build one (I get frustrated fast building or fixing stuff). He isnt that hard to take care of....yet. So far mostly he sleeps all the time cept when I wake him for feeding time. Then he likes to run around pooping on everything for a bit...once he eats he gets tired and goes back to sleep. I play with him a little but he usually crawls into my hands and curls up into a little ball. I admit he is pretty cute when he does that compared to when he poops on everything.

Squirrelmaster

[thundersquirrel]

hey, that's totally understandable. squirrels are a committment, and not every squirrel lover has the time to make one a pet. besides, your squirrel sounds like an excellent candidate for release.

have you contacted a rehabber about taking him yet? i mean, when he gets older? you should line up a home for him now, and he might even get some foster siblings in the future. siblings are very helpful in making a squirrel wild, because they kind of stick together against people rather than being alone unless they get along with people.

you may want to create a habitat for him now if you plan on releasing him but are going to care for him a while more. where does he live at this point? if he has a cage, you should get some sticks and branches to put in there, along with a nest box that he can't get to without climbing. you can give him paper towel, too, cause it's fun to shred and he learns how to nest. at his age, though, maybe it'd be better if the nest box was somewhat near to the ground.

you don't have to do too much in the way of habitat building, and you don't have to start weening him off of you yet. i'd give that another week or so, then you'll want to avoid petting him and talking to him (you can make chitter chitter noises though lol). you can still hold him and such, just don't cuddle and be all....lovey (arrgh i know they're so cute and it's hard!).

let us know how it goes!