Weaning Advice

[megabeagle]

My squirrel is starting to transition from formula to solid foods, but he still does not have interest in water. Any tips or advice on how to get a squirrel familiar with water. I keep a rodent water bottle in his cage.Sometimes I try giving him a shallow dish of water or a syringe but still no interest.

[Nancy in New York]

My squirrel is starting to transition from formula to solid foods, but he still does not have interest in water. Any tips or advice on how to get a squirrel familiar with water. I keep a rodent water bottle in his cage.Sometimes I try giving him a shallow dish of water or a syringe but still no interest.

How old is your little one and how much formula is he taking?
I NEVER wean them off of formula. It's the best insurance against
MBD.
Mine will eat solid foods, and still take formula, now that's ideal.

[DaSquirrelMom]

Squirrels "find" their hanging water bottle sometime around 5-6 weeks of age. They find it accidentally by bumping into it and it drips on them or they see it dripping. They shouldn't begin the process of weaning from milk until at least 8 weeks of age. (Red squirrels may start the self-weaning process, which takes weeks, at 7 weeks.) All squirrels should be weaned slowly over several weeks. As Nancy posted, if your squirrel will continue to drink some milk, it's beneficial for them.

They must learn to eat rodent block before weaning begins because they must consume the calcium in it after weaning. Rodent block isn't as yummy as other foods, so you must severely limit the amounts of nuts and sweet fruit they receive during and after weaning while confined to a cage or they won't eat their rodent blocks. If squirrels don't have enough calcium, terrible things happen to their bodies.

There is great info on this forum about weaning. The following link is also a helpful site with all info easily found on one page.
http://www.orphanedwildlifecare.com/squirrelcare.htm

[Rhapsody]

We here at the TSB do NOT recommend weaning our squirrels, we let then self wean when they are ready, which on an average can be at 12 weeks...... some longer.