6-8 Week Old Baby. First time squirrel mom!

[Arjgreene]

Hello. A friend of ours find a baby squirrel and my boyfriend and I offered to take him in. His eyes are open. He's furry, but his tail isn't fluffy yet. He doesn't seem dehydrated and he's not emaciated. He was also warm. He wondered around all over me. He's very sweet. He was nibbling on my hand and shirt. We have him in a bin for now with a large hole cut in the lid and Timothy hay in the bottom. I couldn't find a lot of information about caring for him since he is a little older. We bought a thing of bird seed that has a lot of the recommended nuts that I found. We have him that and a bowl of water. I tried to get him to eat, but he didn't seem interested. He just burrowed into the hay and fell asleep. I'm worried that he won't figure out how to eat. I wasn't sure if I should try to feed him formula. Any suggestions on food and general care would be really appreciated. Thank you!

[SammysMom]

Welcome to TSB! Now, I am going to be a bit of a downer. Get rid of the birdseed immediately! That baby needs hydration and then Esbilac POWDERED, puppy formula. NOT the liquid Esbilac and not Pet Lac formula. He needs to be warmed and kept warm with a heating pad under the container he is in. NO HAY! Use fleece or old tee shirts as bedding.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-BABY-YOURSELF

[Coralreefer]

Please be careful with this baby.
So many die because of people that mean nothing but good but have no idea HOW to care for them.
Everything Sammy's Mom said is right on the money.
At his age as Sammy's Mom said you need to get the Powdered Esbilac puppy formula. A 2:1 water to powder mixture.
It's a proven food for these little ones to replace the squirrel mothers milk.

Also a ton of these babies die from aspiration pnuemonia from people feeding them formula in a way that causes the squirrel to inhale formula accidentally. Please if you are going to do this yourself do not use a dropper. Go to any pharmacy and ask for a couple 1cc syringes. You position the baby squirrel over the syringe with the syringe pointing up and slowly allow the baby to suck the formula. This is so imperative. You have to trust us on this.

It would be best of course if you could tell the board your approximate location so we could find an experienced rehabber to help this little one grow up safely. If you are going to try to do it on your own please research on this board. We found a baby first time at one point just like you have now and we made it through with her growing up safely ONLY because we read a number of threads on this board which told us exactly what to do and how to do it. If you don't do the research it will end badly and you don't want that.

[Mel1959]

How is this little one doing?

[UDoWhat]

This little one looks dehydrated and emaciated to me. He needs formula as others have described and absolutely NO bird seed or no solid food yet . Please get the proper items needed to raise this baby. You need a few 1cc O- ring syringes, Esbilac powdered puppy replacement formula, a kitchen scale that weighs in grams, a heating pad that does not shut off automatically, fleece or t shirt material, and this is just to start with. Please research this site on raising a baby squirrel as the information here is the only really trusted information. This baby should be feed 5% of his body weight at least every 4 hours. I would feed at least 5x per day. Start out slowly and you need to transition this baby to formula. First feed hydration solution then feed a couple of feedings at 1/4 strength formula then a few more feedings at 1/2 strength, a few more at 3/4 strength and finally at full strength formula. Thanks for helping this little one. It is a huge commitment.

[stepnstone]

This baby being dehydrated was my observation as well.
You should hydrate him with Pedilyte or the home made solution. (below)
When trying to acquire syringes say your nursing a kitten, don't mention a squirrel.

The proper formula pictured below. Powered never liquid!

Also adding a link that can be a huge help with information on raising baby.

Homemade hydration fluid recipe:
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 quart water.



Go to this link, it's 6 pages long with the next button on the top right corner.
http://www.henryspets.com/baby-squirrel-care/

[Chirp]

The syringe pointing up and slowly allow the baby to suck the formula. Is best way to feed them.
I try to mimic the angles and how a baby would feed from the mother. Even then i'm always worried i will send the food to fast.

Your little one looks bit younger then mine.