My Roxi, my girl forever. She stole my heart. She is gone but never forgotten.
Thanks for the helpful thread.
Why not use distilled water?
What do you do for diarrhea?
Hello, I'm new here. May I add never use cardboard boxes to keep your babies in as it can pull the moisture out of the air. Learned this the hard way recently and now I am trying to soothe their poor cracked skin (it literally happened in a few short hours after keeping them in the box for a week...the cracking I mean...they were obviously drying out all week!).
ScrappyDo, for bringing up this extremely important point! I know that we have mentioned it many times in the course of many threads, but putting it here is even more effective. Especially with pinkies but with all babies, cardboard is a NONO .
(PS: I have resorted to smoothing a bit of high-quality olive oil on their skin. If my grandma used it on her human babies, it can't be bad for little squees, either. It worked.)
Oh, and WELCOME to The Squirrel Board!
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Thank you! Sooo happy to have found this site! I used a bit of neosporin right when I realized what was happening (it happened sooo fast!). Olive oil is a great idea! I am out at this time but I do have unrefined organic coconut oil and Emu oil. I was thinking of using Emu oil as I use it myself because it is supposed to resemble our natural oils. What do you think? I will post pics and questions in the help section as soon as I get my sweeties skin rubbed down.
island rehabber (02-20-2017)
I don't have personal experience with the Emu oil, but I believe the coconut oil is mild and effective for little ones. Be VERY cautious regarding tea tree oil, though -- a member here had a scary experience with that stuff as it is far more toxic than its publicity people want you to know and I would never use it on a baby squirrel.
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Mel1959 (03-10-2017)
Mel1959 (03-10-2017), Nancy in New York (02-20-2017)
Hello....I am searching your forum high and low looking for what Ive done wrong I woke up this AM and one of Two 4 week old gray squirrels had passed away. I last fed it about 11:30 the night before and went to feed them at 5 this morning. It had eaten very well the night before and used the bathroom more than it had in the 5 days I had them. They were finally eagerly searching for the milk, and I thought we were out of the woods. =(
*I have them in a tub with a heating pad but inside a smaller box with towels, sitting on the heating pad
*The deceased baby had crawled to the very bottom, closest to the heat
*It appeared to have thrown up milk and defecated as well
*Its belly was more swollen than normal(what made me think Id given it too much air)
*This particular baby was hardest to fed, it constantly turned its head
*They had a traumatic separation and another litter mate died the day they were found with crushed legs (land being cleared with heavy machinery)
*I am feeding them canned goats milk(though after finding this forum I will do better)
In the grocery store near the milk.
Some say whipping cream, others say heavy cream,
same thing but heavy cream has more milk fat.
There are differences in milk-fat content.
All cream contains at least 18 percent milk fat: "whipping cream" is made up of 30 percent,
while cartons labeled "heavy cream" or "heavy whipping cream" must contain 36 percent or more.
Mel1959 (03-10-2017)
I am not sure if I am causing this or how to fix the following:
First - this is my first squirrel rescue, my goal is for a successful release, and I have already made a couple mistakes, so hoping for eliminate yet another one at the expense of this cute girl.
I made Girl Squirrels nursery one of those blue low edge clear totes. Well overnight she just grew (now 6 wks old), and so I moved her to a large clear tote with higher edges.
When I went to put her into the new tote, she started spinning, moaning, light squeaking. I put my hand in to comfort her, and she puts a death grip on my hand. So, I nested the two totes together so she could see the blue. Once I finally got her settled I put her in her bed sock and put her back in the new tote. I evaluated her off and on until she needed fed. Pulled her out, played with her and went to put her back in the tote to rest and fall asleep. She repeated the spazzy spinning, moaning and light squeaking. I put my hand down to comfort and sure enough a death grip on my hand.
This repeats throughout the day, but this evening right before I get to the box, she starts getting fidgity, and moaning. Clearly she is not happy about this change, and right now is curdled up next to me sleeping.
What should I do or not do?
Squirrel Regards
Defender of Girl Squirrel the Adventurer
Daily Photos https://twitter.com/squirrelmyworld
It sounds like she is a little spoiled. I doubt it's the new bin. She just wants to be with you. Do you have fleece or a T-shirt in the bin. Is the bin half on a LOW heating pad? Usually after they eat they are ready to sleep. They like to burrow under the fleece. You could also try a rice buddy. Fill a cotton sock with rice. Microwave it for a minute. Massage the rice buddy to mix the rice. This will eliminate 'hot spots'. Wrap it in something. A warm buddy might help Girl Squirrel.
island rehabber (04-11-2017), Nancy in New York (04-11-2017)
HRT4SQRLS - thank you for the quick reply.
1. have a heating pad set to low, situated on one side.
2. I have a fleece thing she curls into to sleep. I cut the sleeve off one of my kids coats that was super soft.
3. Typically she will go to sleep, no problems. Not today.
Are you recommending a rice buddy in addition? Am I encouraging this behavior and should I just let her flip out to self sooth? Truthfully I probably feel guilty since she is a loner.
Squirrel Regards
Defender of Girl Squirrel the Adventurer
Daily Photos https://twitter.com/squirrelmyworld
Just throwing this out there: Is there any sort of a smell / order to the new bin? Maybe try wiping it down with a diluted vinegar solution or something? I have seen similar reactions to ammonia type smells.
Ekorre (04-11-2017), Nancy in New York (04-11-2017)
I had a single one like her, once, who screamed on top of his little lungs if I tried to leave the room.
A rice buddy and a few stuffies in the bin with him did help. Darkening the room he was in, or covering the bin 3/4 of the way with a dark cloth also calmed him. Remember that in a natural setting, mamma would have her 6-wk olds shoved waaaaay down to the bottom of the nest, with all kinds of stuff piled on top of them, and it would be pretty dark.
Island Rehabber
NY State Licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitator
"Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
Michelangelo
*
If you can't afford the vet,
You can't afford a pet.
NEGLECT IS ABUSE.
"Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."
'...and the greatest of these, is Love. '
Ekorre (04-11-2017), Nancy in New York (04-11-2017)
Thinking along these lines, you initially said a blue clear tote.
Now you have her in a clear tote?
Just wondering if she is feeling too exposed when looking out,
and if the blue somehow muted what she was seeing.
Do you have a top on the tote?
Word of caution, don't pile anything too close to the sides,
they can and do pull themselves up and out without a top.
(oh, and make sure you have PLENTY of air holes in the tote as well)
Edit: I was babysitting some little ones a few years ago.
I would put them in a bin when I cleaned their cage.
I have NO other animals here, so there was never a need for a top..
unless it was to keep the squirrel inside the bin.
Here's a perfect example of what they can do, and they do it so fast too!~
VIDEO Click on picture
Last edited by Nancy in New York; 04-11-2017 at 08:23 AM.
Ekorre (04-11-2017)
Nancy I was wonder the same exact thing regarding exposure. I am going to try and post pictures of the totes, but I have to do that from my phone, and then find this message. *Haven't figured out how to follow things.
My cat would be ok so thankful if there was no lid.
Squirrel Regards
Defender of Girl Squirrel the Adventurer
Daily Photos https://twitter.com/squirrelmyworld
Squirrel Regards
Defender of Girl Squirrel the Adventurer
Daily Photos https://twitter.com/squirrelmyworld
Squirrel Regards
Defender of Girl Squirrel the Adventurer
Daily Photos https://twitter.com/squirrelmyworld