Greetings fellow squirrel lovers!
Found my 2 gray squirrel babies at about 4 1/2 weeks with eyes closed. Male is Bean, female is Nugget. Real characters.
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Three weeks later they are healthy and happy, and love snuggling in my shirt in their Crown Royal bag!
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My husband made them an excellent cage!
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So while all is good, I have some questions:

1. It is too late in the season to release them this year. What should I expect this winter - will they hibernate at all, or will all be normal because they are in the heat of the house?

2. How old are they when they mate? If I can't release them until Spring do I need to worry about that?

3. I put a litter box in the cage a few days ago, and they are actually using it! I read something about concern over the ingredients in other posts, and they do nibble at it a bit. I got Marshall Fresh & Clean Ferret Litter, which lists the only ingredient as "clean virgin paper." Should this be alright?

4. My Nugget is a serious piglet when nursing. She gets the formula all over herself. I have been wiping her down with a warm, slightly soapy cloth, then one without soap then drying her, but her fur still gets stiff sometimes. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for keeping messy eaters clean?

5. I'm going to look for pine cones for their cage. Are there any that are best? Any that are dangerous to them?

6. While still nursing, they love to nibble on grapes, avocado and walnuts, but don't seem interested at all in the rodent blocks. I am seriously limiting the snacks, hoping they will eat the better food, but it doesn't seem to be working. Is there a brand or type of rodent block that your babies like best?

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Thanks for all your wisdom!
Loving my babies,
Rabs