Anyone know about baby squirrels?

A friend of mine found a baby squirrel yesterday. It's probably about 8 weeks old. She does have a permit to keep him, but she was wondering what all she needs to feed him and do for him. I told her that I would check around on the internet for her and find out. What foods are best to feed him? What kind of cage should he stay in? Any advice is appreciated!





~CarlyAnyone know about baby squirrels?
2. PICK THE BABY UP. Get a small box about a foot square, a cat carrier, a large Tupperware container (without the lid on) or another suitable container. Place some soft fabric at the bottom but not towels as they can get their claws stuck in the loops. Put on some thick leather gloves (they probably don't have teeth but just to be safe). Gently pick up the baby. Take this opportunity to look at the baby to check for injuries, parasites, bleeding, bumps, puncture wounds. If they are bleeding quite a bit or you see obvious broken bones or serious injury, take them to a veterinarian ASAP.





3. GET THE BABY WARM. Hopefully you have a heating pad or electric blanket handy. Put the heating pad or blanket on low to medium depending upon type. Place the container on top of half of the pad. This way if it's too hot, they can crawl off. Baby squirrels should be about 99 degrees F. They can't regulate their own heat when they are babies so they need external heat. Be sure to check to make sure the container or squirrels don't get too hot. Also check to make sure they're warm. Some heating pads have automatic safety shut offs after so many hours. Place a towel over the top of the container to keep the heat in. If it's a hot day, they may not need the towel over the top. If you don't have a heating pad or blanket, you can use a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Don't let their skin touch the bottle or they can be burned. You can also use a latex exam glove filled with water, knotted and microwaved for about 30 seconds depending upon your oven power.


5. GET THE BABY HYDRATED. Most fallen babies will be dehydrated. You can see how dehydrated they are by gently pinching their skin. If the ';tent'; of skin stays there over a second or so, they are dehydrated. If they look wrinkly, have sunken in eyes, appear emaciated, they are dehydrated. Most super markets and drug stores carry Pedialyte in the baby section or their own brand of rehydrating baby fluid. Gerber has a brand also. Squirrels like fruit flavors but plain will do if it's all they've got. If you can't find Pedialyte, there is always Gatorade. If you're nowhere near a store here is a homemade formula. One teaspoon salt, three teaspoons sugar mixed into one quart of warm water. We use oral syringes, i.e. syringes without needles, but you can use a clean eye dropper or an oral baby syringe. They also sell syringe feeders at Petco and Petsmart right next to the Esbilac puppy milk. Make sure the baby is warm before you give it any fluids or it won't be able to process the fluids. f they are tiny hairless pink babies about 2-3 inches long, you must be very careful giving them fluids. It's easy to aspirate the babies and get the fluid in their lungs. This will give them pneumonia and they will probably die. Just put one tiny drop on their lips at a time and let them suck that in. If they have their eyes open, you can let them take the syringe in their mouth and gently give them a few drops. If a lot falls out of their mouth or comes out the nose, you're going too fast. If you get some coming out their nose, hold them upside down instantly for 10 seconds then blot the fluids off their nose, out of their nostrils. Wait a minute before resuming. Make sure you give these fluids warm but not hot. Store unused amounts in the refrigerator.





If they won't take the fluids, put a drop on their lips or poke a drop in their mouth so they can taste it first. Some will just open their mouths wide and start suckling away. I would give tiny eyes closed pink babies 1 cc every two hours, fully furred eyes closed babies 1-2 cc every two hours, eyes open babies 2-4 cc every three hours until a rehabber calls you back with instructions. (1 cc is about 20-25 drops from an eye dropper, 5 cc is 1 tsp)





Baby squirrels need to be stimulated to poo and pee when their eyes are closed. After each feeding of fluids you will need to gently wipe the genital and anal area with a warm moist cotton ball or Q-tip until they pee or poo. If they are very dehydrated and haven't eaten in a while, they may not pee for a couple of feedings and may not poo for a day. Keep trying after every feeding time.





Baby squirrels may have parasites such as fleas, mites, ticks and maggots. Remove the fleas and maggots by hand with flea combs or tweezers. Petco also sells flea and mite sprays made specifically for small animals such as hamsters. If it's a baby pinky, do not apply anything to the squirrel. Put the spray on cloth around the baby. Do not spray into wounds.


7. WHAT WE DO WITH THE BABY SQUIRRELS. We as in rehabbers will nurse the babies until they are old enough to eat on their own. Then we will teach them how to eat soft and hard foods. When they can eat on their own, we take them from the indoor cages and put them into large 8' tall outdoor cages. Here they learn how to find food, build a regular squirrel nest, climb, jump and interact with other juvenile squirrels. When they are 4.5 to 5 months of age we will release the squirrels within two miles of where they were found. This will probably be your back yard if you wish. We will put them in an outdoor nest box which we will wire to a tree or post. After a few days they will leave their box and build their own nest. They will be able to find food and fend for themselves by this time.Anyone know about baby squirrels?
Well if she's got a permit she should have went to classes and be taught. But okay I've raise over 100 and kept to *** pets due to one was blind the other 3 legs. So if it eyes are open and it has teeth start will peanut chunky butter, and get a water bottle for it. Also buy a parrot seed mix, keep in frig, and fruits and veggies are great but not to many, a few little bits twice daily. They love the ferret hammocks, and toys, lots of chew toys, there teeth grow no stop and they need to chew. Males are wonderful BUT the females is a different story weather it's a grey, fox or red once they come into heat 4-6 months they get NASTY, and quick, they need to be let go, the males are more gentle and layed back, they take a bit longer to release. I use a rabbit cage and added on two to the top, so they had room to climb and get good exercise. Any more questions just let me know. Best of luck...





Also if the baby has fleas or just needs a bath, make sure it doesn't get chilled you use (has to be name brand, not sure why but works) Johnsons Baby orgianl shamphoo, get wet, soap up leave on for 5 mins rinse really well. This will kill any and all ticks and fleas on the baby.
Around here we call in pet control. They really know how to take care of these animals and release them where they need to be. If you follow the instructions that several people have commented on you don't properly know how to handle these animals. It makes much more sense to call pet control. Hope everything is ok with the squirrel :)





( I love animals :D)
Way back when you didn't need permits to keep wild animals we raised a lot of baby squirrels. We fed them with a bottle and goat milk until weaned and weaned them onto a scratch grain for chickens plus veggies and the occasional nut treat.
Carly.the one and only





It may be a Chipmunk but anyway I Would''t hold one. They eat from mom if they're young squirrels.





Will.
i`d call your local vet and see what they recommend.