New to forum...so many questions!!

[JenBel]

Hi! My very first squirrel...I’ve had Scarlet the Red Squirrel for just over 4 weeks now. Her eyes opened after the second week so I’m guessing her to be about 7ish weeks now. She was fed the Esbilac powder the whole time and is now at 4 times a day. She has access to Oxbow baby rat/mouse pellets at all times (I assume these are what people refer to as blocks?) and also last week on the advice of another website I introduced fruits. Then this week I added vegetables and some nuts. She seems healthy, shes active a few times each day, about an hour each time. I’ve started bringing her out on the nicer days in her cage. I have also given her fresh cut branches and pine cones. I do however have questions:

If she’s growing and seemingly fine on the Esbilac should I still take her off due to the alert?
She has very little interest in the Oxbow. Should I take all other solids away until she eats it?
I live on 40 acres of bush in Northern Ontario....we get LOTS of snow and blizzards and -25C is not uncommon. I have a nest box built and the frame of a large cage, just need to add the wire fencing. I intend to soft release and feed her over winter but will she be ok? Will she survive a winter by herself? I feed about a dozen squirrels all winter so I’m hoping by spring she’ll be “squirrel” enough for full release. I don’t know if I can winter her inside...I have 4 dogs and a cat and keeping them separated in my small house is hard. One of the dogs is very interested in her and I know he would go after her if she ever got out.
Thanks!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Welcome to The Squirrel Board JenBel

It depends on which Esbilac you have as to whether you should continue it. There are cans of the older lots of Esbilac still on the shelves. The older cans are fine. If your can has a US flag with the words MADE in the USA you can continue with the formula. IF the can is a new lot that says CRAFTED in the USA you should definitely change formula. You should switch to Fox Valley 20:50.

Not all of the babies on the bad Esbilac have digestive issues like diarrhea/bloat and FTT (failure to thrive). Some look normal but I can assure you they are not normal. The bones are extremely fragile and it’s just a matter of time before they begin to break. Any of these babies that are released won’t survive long outside.

Unfortunately you won’t be able to release Scarlet this year. At 7 weeks now, her normal release would be in later December. In FL we do release in Dec but Canada is a different story. The cold is just one of the challenges she would face. The lack of tree cover from bare trees would put her at a high risk for being taken by a predator. Also, the fact that she is a singleton makes a winter release even more problematic. You asked the question, will she survive?... I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it would be unlikely that she would survive so many things against her. This is a guess but I would assume that squirrels as small as reds must huddle together in nests to share body heat to survive -25 temps. You can’t guarantee that she would stay in your yard. She might be run off by the locals.

I know you have a lot of heart invested in Scarlet. Her best chance of survival is overwintering with you and a spring release.

I would not let her have nuts just yet. They are extremely unhealthy. If she gets hooked on nuts getting her to eat healthy will be difficult.
The Oxbow rodent blocks are fine.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

[JenBel]

Thanks for the info.
The can of Esbilac I have says crafted in the USA.
I checked a few different sites for the fox valley 20/50 and the quickest delivery I can get is 5-7 days. Should I add a calcium supplement until then? Do they sell the supplement at the pet store or drug store?

I’ll have to come up with a plan for overwintering her indoors.

Thanks

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yes, it does appear that your Esbilac is from the problematic lot. I would supplement with calcium as Scarlet’s bones are more than likely weakened. If you can find pure calcium carbonate that would be best. Amazon sells a brand called NOW. It is relatively inexpensive. Calcium carbonate is also available as a medication for indigestion. The problem with these is that most contain Vitamin D3. While Vitamin D3 is a good thing in normal dosing amounts, you can’t megadose Vitamin D in rodents as it is toxic. Vitamin D is used as a rodenticide. Tums is a brand that we use. Sometimes they don’t like the flavors. If you get Tums don’t get the mint flavors. You can crush the Tums and add it to her formula. It would be a small amount approximately 200-250 mg per day. Spacing that amount over the entire day would be a small amount.

Considering the Scarlet is a baby red I would drop that amount to even less after a week.
Those little reds are so tiny.

[JenBel]

Found a way to get the fox valley here on Monday. 👍🏼
Do squirrels eat fresh mountain ash berries? Also all my oaks seem to be red oaks so from what I’ve read she is less likely going to want those acorns? —they prefer the white?
I also have the long shaped pine cones and the shorter rounder ones...is one better than the other? I’m trying to start to collect what I will need for her over winter. The frame of her cage is going be about 40wx40dx65h. Is that big enough? Winter here can go to the end of April. That’s a long time to be caged. I will also squirrel proof the room as best I can so she can get out of cage time but she will be alone often when I’m working or walking the dogs. She has lots of sticks and hiding places in her small cage now so I will make sure the new one does too. Should I hide treats everyday for her to find? Any tips to keep her from going stir crazy in a cage for 7-8 more months??

[HRT4SQRLS]

We don’t have ash berries here so I don’t know what they are.

The cage sounds like a good size. She will need out of cage time during the long winter.
Yes, you can hide things. Some people put treats in a paper towel roll. Insert treat and roll the ends shut. They have a ball tearing open the tube to find the treat. There are threads on the board that give ideas for overwintering squirrels. I will see if I can find a thread.

Cat trees and hanging ropes are nice. You can get very inexpensive cat trees on Amazon.