Release

[kcassidy]

As someone else recommended, you might consider keeping Sleepy for a bit longer.

I release squirrels on my property, I have 8 acres up in NY. I have some squirrels that I handled a lot (not recommending this btw) and once they are on their own for a day or two they don't want to come in anymore. After a few weeks, I can no longer pick them up or touch them. They come to the feeding stations and I can hand them a nut, but no touchy.

I have never had a problem putting young squirrels together, I wouldn't do so with adults, but Juvies, yes. I can always grab whomever and pull them out of the mix if it gets crazy.

I'm curious as to why you had so many squirrels die? If you tell us, maybe we can assist you to help increase your survival numbers.

I find Squirrels are the easiest animal that I rehab. The only time they die with me, is when the finder kept the squirrel and fed it incorrectly and got formula in their lungs.

I had one squirrel last year who died for no apparent reason, right before release. I had her since she was 3 days old, but she had some kind of immune disease, I'm guessing her heart quit.

Anyway, your kids are really cute and good job

[Nancy in New York]

Also, if I am going to keep these guys for a couple more months I want to make sure they are eating the proper foods.

What are the BEST fruits veggies and nuts.
(obviously they love sunflower seeds and peanut butter).

I give apples and avocado's, apple sauce cheerios, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews. No shells and no skins
Carrots, squash, sweet potato raw, zucchini, spinach.

I was trying to mix in cat and dog food (hi-protein Purina dog chow) but they never seemed to eat it.
I also bought the local store brand wild bird and squirrel feed. (black sunflower seeds and corn).
Also - where can you get unsalted nuts. Even the peanuts and sunflower seeds I found at the grocery store have salt on them???

Thanks again,
JS

Akkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.........their diet is ALL wrong.
Please take a look at this link. Nuts should rarely be given.
Do you give any squirrel block?
Did you give them formula when you got them? If so what kind?

Personally, and please don't take offense to this, but if these were my squirrels,
I would get them on a healthy diet and not release until spring.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels

[kcassidy]

Oh WOW Nancy I missed this.

JS10 - please take Nancy's advice, it will help you keep the squirrels alive and healthy. Squirrels are, for the most part herbivores, they don't eat dog/cat food. I never feed them any processed foods, ever. The vets don't know this??

I'm not picking on you, please don't take offense and I'm so glad you found the Forum!!

I buy my formula from here www.squirrelsandmore.com and a vitamin block from www.henryspets.com

Everything else comes from the grocery store. Fruits, Veggies and the only nuts I give are Walnut, Hazelnut (filberts), Almonds and Pecans.

Chewing on a limb isn't the same as cracking a nut, either. You need to observe them doing so before releasing.

Please keep asking for advice, this forum is filled with knowledge on squirrels and you will be so happy with the results.

[Mommaluvy]

I buy my formula from here www.squirrelsandmore.com

Everything else comes from the grocery store. Fruits, Veggies and the only nuts I give are Walnut, Hazelnut (filberts), Almonds and Pecans.

I had to order nuts from the above link . NONE of my locals will carry these till Christmas time . At that time I'll wait till they go On sale then I'll snag up as many as I can hopefully cheaper. ( I got that idea from a post by Squirrels rule and bunnies too) . That site is also where I got my first two release nest boxes. Now I make my own.

[kcassidy]

I got some of my nest boxes and a nice ferret like cage from Henry's.

I live in NY, so finding nuts at the store is easy. Bummer is that during the summer they are kinda expensive. Good news is that I can find Hickory and Acorn nuts on the ground all over where I ride and walk.

Starting next month, they will have a huge bin of mixed nuts (in shell) I buy many bags of them, then a week after Christmas, they go down to 99cents a pound and look out folks, I fill bags, bags and more bags of nuts, it usually lasts until May or so

[JS10]

Hi Steph - yes, that cage can go outside. That is what it was intended for however, we didn't think it through the whole way when we built it.

Cleaning is hard, and getting inside to all the corners is hard. I just ordered a new cage off of Henry's for INTERNAL rehabbing and will make improvements on this one for outside rehabbing and release....

Thank you for your help.

[JS10]

kcassidy - thank you!! I am not offended at all. I actually feel terrible. I have been going about this the way I was told from my vet. We take in stray and injured wild life and I volunteered to try to foster the animals. We have squirrels, birds, ducks, possums, etc.... I have fostered several possums and baby birds and a couple squirrels that I returned to the vet for release last year.

But this year, I lost several baby squirrels. They just stopped eating. And we seemed to have received a TON of baby squirrels. Every day 4 or 5 new babies were coming in.

I believe a couple of the ones I had may have aspirated. We were all having the same issues. We would get them from 1-4 weeks old, eyes not opened and we would feed them the KRM I think it is, kitten formula or the puppy formula plus heavy cream via a plastic syringe with no needle, we also added liquid calcium. I followed feeding instructions for how many CC's every how many hours depending on their estimated weight and age.

They would eat great for a couple days and then stop eating and get dehydrated and then after a day or 2 at the vets trying to keep them hydrated with fluids they would die. It was very heart breaking and then I found out that most of the other girls were experiencing the same issues.

I actually stopped taking the babies and then would only take the ones that had their eyes opened. I started with 4. They did good. Then last week Sleepy started having seizures. I witnessed 2 of them in one day, the next day I went to work at the vet and got calcium injections and fluids. By the time I came home he had died.

I got 2 more squirrels a couple weeks ago they were doing good, eating on their own, Stubby and Skinny. I was playing with them last night, when to check on them before bed and found Skinny, dead. He had choked on his blanket.

I thought I was doing everything right. Turns out I have not being doing much right. I am so glad I found this board but so sorry it was too late. I feel so bad.

Hopefully with help the 4 I have left can be released safely.

I just ordered blocks and a new cage and the fleece pouches. I will no longer provide the nuts and applesauce diet recommended by my vet.

Hopefully I can get these guys back on track.

They all were given formula initially, but not by me, they are no longer on formula unless you know of some way to get them to take it.

[TubeDriver]

The TSB is a great place to learn about what works for squirrels and what does not.

One of the first things you might want to review is proper feeding techniques. Read this thread and watch the video. It will greatly reduce the chances of a baby aspirating formula which causes pneumonia and will kill them in a few days.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...DING-TECHNIQUE!!

kcassidy - thank you!! I am not offended at all. I actually feel terrible. I have been going about this the way I was told from my vet. We take in stray and injured wild life and I volunteered to try to foster the animals. We have squirrels, birds, ducks, possums, etc.... I have fostered several possums and baby birds and a couple squirrels that I returned to the vet for release last year.

But this year, I lost several baby squirrels. They just stopped eating. And we seemed to have received a TON of baby squirrels. Every day 4 or 5 new babies were coming in.

I believe a couple of the ones I had may have aspirated. We were all having the same issues. We would get them from 1-4 weeks old, eyes not opened and we would feed them the KRM I think it is, kitten formula or the puppy formula plus heavy cream via a plastic syringe with no needle, we also added liquid calcium. I followed feeding instructions for how many CC's every how many hours depending on their estimated weight and age.

They would eat great for a couple days and then stop eating and get dehydrated and then after a day or 2 at the vets trying to keep them hydrated with fluids they would die. It was very heart breaking and then I found out that most of the other girls were experiencing the same issues.

I actually stopped taking the babies and then would only take the ones that had their eyes opened. I started with 4. They did good. Then last week Sleepy started having seizures. I witnessed 2 of them in one day, the next day I went to work at the vet and got calcium injections and fluids. By the time I came home he had died.

I got 2 more squirrels a couple weeks ago they were doing good, eating on their own, Stubby and Skinny. I was playing with them last night, when to check on them before bed and found Skinny, dead. He had choked on his blanket.

I thought I was doing everything right. Turns out I have not being doing much right. I am so glad I found this board but so sorry it was too late. I feel so bad.

Hopefully with help the 4 I have left can be released safely.

I just ordered blocks and a new cage and the fleece pouches. I will no longer provide the nuts and applesauce diet recommended by my vet.

Hopefully I can get these guys back on track.

They all were given formula initially, but not by me, they are no longer on formula unless you know of some way to get them to take it.

[Mommaluvy]

kcassidy - thank you!! I am not offended at all. I actually feel terrible. I have been going about this the way I was told from my vet. We take in stray and injured wild life and I volunteered to try to foster the animals. We have squirrels, birds, ducks, possums, etc.... I have fostered several possums and baby birds and a couple squirrels that I returned to the vet for release last year.

But this year, I lost several baby squirrels. They just stopped eating. And we seemed to have received a TON of baby squirrels. Every day 4 or 5 new babies were coming in.

I believe a couple of the ones I had may have aspirated. We were all having the same issues. We would get them from 1-4 weeks old, eyes not opened and we would feed them the KRM I think it is, kitten formula or the puppy formula plus heavy cream via a plastic syringe with no needle, we also added liquid calcium. I followed feeding instructions for how many CC's every how many hours depending on their estimated weight and age.

They would eat great for a couple days and then stop eating and get dehydrated and then after a day or 2 at the vets trying to keep them hydrated with fluids they would die. It was very heart breaking and then I found out that most of the other girls were experiencing the same issues.

I actually stopped taking the babies and then would only take the ones that had their eyes opened. I started with 4. They did good. Then last week Sleepy started having seizures. I witnessed 2 of them in one day, the next day I went to work at the vet and got calcium injections and fluids. By the time I came home he had died.

I got 2 more squirrels a couple weeks ago they were doing good, eating on their own, Stubby and Skinny. I was playing with them last night, when to check on them before bed and found Skinny, dead. He had choked on his blanket.

I thought I was doing everything right. Turns out I have not being doing much right. I am so glad I found this board but so sorry it was too late. I feel so bad.

Hopefully with help the 4 I have left can be released safely.

I just ordered blocks and a new cage and the fleece pouches. I will no longer provide the nuts and applesauce diet recommended by my vet.

Hopefully I can get these guys back on track.

They all were given formula initially, but not by me, they are no longer on formula unless you know of some way to get them to take it.

So sorry to hear about the loss of Sleepy and Skinny.

Glad you have another cage. I think you will like it. I do give my guys some nuts. But only after their healthy foods.. I tend to follow a hybrid of the TSB healthy pet recommendations and the Wild Mammal Babies The first 48 hours and beyond since my guys will not be pets and will eat a wild diet at 14-15 weeks.

One thing I see in this post that is defiantly something you might want to address next year is the KMR. Its not recommended for squirrels. Your vet probably does not know this. And I am not sure about the calcium supplements. Course I am new to this but never heard about that for baby squirrels on formula that are otherwise healthy. Fox valley formula and Esbilac with Pro Biotics are two of the recommended formulas. I have used both on two different sets of squirrels. I do notice that my guys tails are tons fluffier than the wild squirrels of similar ages. Some here mix the two 50/50.

You say they are not on formula? how long have they not been on formula? I thought you were taking them in at about 5 weeks or so? I like to give mine formula up to 12 weeks. Actually Mine take it right up till they get released. I have never had one refuse for longer than 24 hours. ( I had one get spooked and decided not to finish her syringe but.. at dinner the next night she was ready for it. )

In short I don't think apple sauce and nuts/seeds by themselves caused these deaths. You will get good advice here for next baby season.

[JS10]

No they are not on formula, I can't even hold the 3 bigger ones. But one if them is now starting this weird sleeping position and rubbing his face on the boards.

Oh I hope what happened to Skinny doesn't happen to him, this was my fav, I called him friendly because he would always come over to me and say hi, but none of the 3 older (maybe 15-16 weeks) maybe older. let me touch them.

Is there a way to give them formula.

I think I still have some Pro-Biolac. If someone can tell me how to go about feeding them the formula again I will. Or where to get the long rubber nipple things (we only used the 1 cc plastic syringes with nothing soft on the end) most of the time I feel like we had to force the younger ones to eat...

But now the 4 I have are bigger.

Stubby is the only one I can still hold. sometimes I can pet Friendly and there's no getting near Meany and Bitty (hence the names).

Not sure how old Stubby is, her eyes have been open for maybe 3 weeks. ???? She's jumping around, climbing, eating solid foods. Maybe 10 weeks? 9. The others are at least 12 weeks. Probably more.

My vet said KRM (or probiolac) then cheerios and peanut butter sandwiches, then fruits seeds and nuts. Lots of applesauce and yogurt.

I feel so bad that that is all wrong.

Let's start with IMMEDIATELY, what do I do.

I ordered the rodent blocks.
I can take out all of the seeds and nuts in the cage and just offer veggies. ???

How can I turn this around to make sure they are healthy.

I just spend my last $200 on supplies but if you could recommend the 1 or 2 most important things to buy what else should I get.

[Mommaluvy]

Before my computer shuts down on me...

when they are too big to hold I give them formula in between the bars. They are able to use the nipple or the syringe tip.

I am talking about a 12 week er .. and I use a 12 cc syringe for that.. HOLD THE PLUNGER BACK.. cause they can suck hard and its risky.


You can also put formula in a water dish. but mine got milk burn and lost their facial hair so I started back to the syringe thing. If your having a ard time visualizing that I will take a picture at dinner time.

[JS10]

What is MILK BURN?

Yes please, pictures would be best....

Ok so I am going to try the formula again for all 4 squirrels.
Stubby still loves me so we'll start with him. I have the little 1 cc syringes but no rubber ends. I guess I will have to order them???? Advice???? Pictures of your syringes please....


I have the pro-biolac. My vet said 1 part formula to 2 parts water.

Is that it? And we just warm it up and feed it to them???


I will start tomorrow morning and when my new cage arrives I will put all 4 squirrels together and start feeding ONLY The rodent blocks I ordered and some veggies and a small amount of fruit and nuts for treats.

Sound good?
Thank you all for your help.

One more question. Pictures or advice for safe bedding. Just any fleece blankets????

Oh please help advice and criticisms welcome, I am planning on making a life out of trying to save all of God's innocent creatures one at a time.

I've done the pets, rescuing and fostering, dogs, cats, reptiles, etc. But the wild also need saving so keep the advice coming...