Miss Peaches - 6 week old questions

[SunnyDee63]

Hello, I am caring for an approximately 6 week old baby fox squirrel. (Miss Peaches) She has had her eyes open for about a week, today. Based on everything I have read, I am assuming this is her approximate age. This morning she weighed about 110 grams. She has a healthy appetite and have been feeding her the Esbilac puppy formula 2 parts spring water/ 1 part formula every 4 -4 1/2 hours with the syringes with O rings and miracle nipple from Henry's. I started her on Henry's High Protein Block yesterday and she loved it and shredded it to pieces (not sure how much she actually ate). Anyway, my question is this - should I begin giving her some veggies yet? Or is she too young, yet? Also, should I add a water bottle to her cage yet? Sometimes, she is especially hungry and I feel bad not giving her more formula (at about 5.5-6 cc's per feeding). Other times, she will only eat about 5.5 cc's and just want to play in between eating. Thank you for any advice. She is a sweet little squirrel. I have rehabbed two opossums in the past and also a western king bird.

[Mel1959]

Welcome . It sounds like you are doing everything right with your little girl. . We don’t recommend that you give anything but block until they are EATING the block really well. You should only give two Henrys blocks a day. There are other blocks you can put in with her that she can have as much as she wants of, like Harlan Teklad 2018 (online) or Mazuri, Zupreem or Oxbow rodent block which can be found in some big box pet stores. That way if you suspect she might be hungry between feedings she can eat them.

Yes, you can introduce a water bottle.

How much does she weigh? We recommend feeding between 5-7% of their weight. If she is 6 weeks old she might need more food than what your feeding her at each feeding. Can you get a weight for her in grams? Walmart and bed bath and beyond sell digital kitchen scales for about $20.

[SunnyDee63]

Thank you, yes - she is 110 grams

[Nancy in New York]

Hello, I am caring for an approximately 6 week old baby fox squirrel. (Miss Peaches) She has had her eyes open for about a week, today. Based on everything I have read, I am assuming this is her approximate age. This morning she weighed about 110 grams. She has a healthy appetite and have been feeding her the Esbilac puppy formula 2 parts spring water/ 1 part formula every 4 -4 1/2 hours with the syringes with O rings and miracle nipple from Henry's. I started her on Henry's High Protein Block yesterday and she loved it and shredded it to pieces (not sure how much she actually ate). Anyway, my question is this - should I begin giving her some veggies yet? Or is she too young, yet? Also, should I add a water bottle to her cage yet? Sometimes, she is especially hungry and I feel bad not giving her more formula (at about 5.5-6 cc's per feeding). Other times, she will only eat about 5.5 cc's and just want to play in between eating. Thank you for any advice. She is a sweet little squirrel. I have rehabbed two opossums in the past and also a western king bird.

Welcome to TSB.
It sounds like you're doing an excellent job with you little girl.
You can definitely increase her formula intake. Just go up slowly
probably around .2-.3 every feeding and see how she does with that.
You want her tummy to feel like a half inflated water balloon, But NOT
hard.
Here's a feeding chart that goes by weight with the suggested amounts to feed
according to their weight.


Here is another excellent thread pertaining to the 5-7% "rule of thumb"
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...=rule+of+thumb

At this age, their only food is their mother's milk, they don't get water or veggies yet.
The best thing you can do for your girl is keep her on formula as long as she will take it.
It's the best insurance against Metabolic Bone Disease.

At around 8 weeks old, when they get into their medium size cage, is when I offer a water bottle.
I still give them formula as long as they want it. Never wean a squirrel off formula. You probably already
know that.
With the veggies, you want to make sure they are eating all the block for a while before introducing
veggies. It will be difficult to go back to block after they get a taste of the veggies, but BLOCK
is most important.

We're here to help so any questions you have, please ask.
We love pictures too, so I look forward to you sharing your little one with us.

Edit: I see that Mel beat me to it, she's a faster typist.

[LR]

Welcome to you and to Miss Peaches!

[SunnyDee63]

Thank you all so very much!! The chart and the wisdom is so much appreciated, as well as the welcome! <3