My dad workes for a tree company cutting down trees & today they cut a tree down & there were 2 baby squirrels in it. One of them didnt make it due to a big cut but the other is doing fine. I looked up how to feed & rehydrate them & it said to get puppy formula but the pets stores around here dont have any. Is there anything else i could feed it. The site i looked at said not to feed them baby formula, goat milk, regular milk, or milk for kittens. Any & all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Baby squirrel help
- Thread starter M_MULLINS
- Start date
Sadistic_Serpen
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2010
- Messages
- 3
Hi,
Personally? I've dealt with baby birds, squirrels, raccoons, and a lot of wild animals.
The best thing to do is hand the squirrel over to a wildlife rehabilitator.
They know how to properly care for and release wild animals, and I think it would be best for the squirrel in this situation.
~ Mackenzie
Personally? I've dealt with baby birds, squirrels, raccoons, and a lot of wild animals.
The best thing to do is hand the squirrel over to a wildlife rehabilitator.
They know how to properly care for and release wild animals, and I think it would be best for the squirrel in this situation.
~ Mackenzie
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2008
- Messages
- 613
I've nursed baby rats and mice on infants soy formula, as well as kitten formula before. However, rats and squirrels really do have completely different dietary needs...
Everything I'm reading seems to recommend Esbilac, even for other pet squirrel species like flying squirrels, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, etc. Have you tried checking feed stores in the area or even grocery stores? Our grocery store actually sells puppy formula and kitten formula in the pet section, and most feed stores carry them as well.
Everything I'm reading seems to recommend Esbilac, even for other pet squirrel species like flying squirrels, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, etc. Have you tried checking feed stores in the area or even grocery stores? Our grocery store actually sells puppy formula and kitten formula in the pet section, and most feed stores carry them as well.
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2008
- Messages
- 64
The Walmart here sells puppy formula. Not sure of the exact cost but it isn't exactly cheap.
I see you've been reading but make sure you rub his privates with a warm soft rag so that he will relieve himself. Try pet stores to bring him to. The one here takes in all kinds of animals and rehabs and releases them. They need to be kept warm as well. Good luck with him, I hope he makes it.
I see you've been reading but make sure you rub his privates with a warm soft rag so that he will relieve himself. Try pet stores to bring him to. The one here takes in all kinds of animals and rehabs and releases them. They need to be kept warm as well. Good luck with him, I hope he makes it.
Rex Libris
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- May 25, 2010
- Messages
- 39
They sell esbilac at Petsmart. It is expensive.
I've usually kept such desperados in a plastic cooler, with the lid ajar, and a heated-up 'blue ice' pack wrapped in a towel.
Get a little kitten bottle and feed it when it cries. Wipe its little butt with a wet cloth, very often. Without that stimulation it will not pee or poop and will die. Hope. Better yet, give it to a rehabber who has the time and know-how and will know how to reintroduce it to the wild. If it lives, it will soon become quite a menace in your house.
If you can't find a rehabber, call a vet. They should have a list of them.
I've usually kept such desperados in a plastic cooler, with the lid ajar, and a heated-up 'blue ice' pack wrapped in a towel.
Get a little kitten bottle and feed it when it cries. Wipe its little butt with a wet cloth, very often. Without that stimulation it will not pee or poop and will die. Hope. Better yet, give it to a rehabber who has the time and know-how and will know how to reintroduce it to the wild. If it lives, it will soon become quite a menace in your house.
If you can't find a rehabber, call a vet. They should have a list of them.
jenniferinny
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
- Messages
- 174
A wildlife rehabber is definitely the best choice, but, they can be hard to find. Usually animal control or the local animal shelter knows who the local wildlife rehabilitation person is.
With week old baby squirrels, you get a lot better success feeding every 4 hours day and night. While there are bottles for that, I've never had any luck getting a squirrel to use one. A syringe (minus the needle of course!) or a medicine dropper has always worked better for me.
Esbilac is usually recommended for baby squirrels, but I had trouble getting them to eat it. We used to do a combination of esbilac, condensed/evaporated goat milk (comes in a can), raw egg yolks (no whites, apparently they bind to important vitamins) and a little bit of corn syrup to sweeten it so they'd eat it.
I want to say the mix was 1/2 cup of evaporated milk, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 tsp of corn syrup and a teaspoon of Esbillac powder mix.
BUT, it's been 7 years since my last batch of baby squirrels..
Around here, the wildlife rehabber was swamped, so she basically just gave you instructions to raise it yourself and then bring it back when it was ready to start training for release. BUT, even if that's the case with yours, you still want to make contact with them! Raising wildlife without working with a rehabb'er is illegal in most states and you will want their advice and help!
Unused food should be kept refrigerated and mixed fresh every day.
Obviously too, food should be fed warm, but not as warm as you would think. Just warm enough where it doesn't feel cold when you drop some on your wrist. After feeding, you have to 'stimulate' them to poo by rubbing their genital area with a warm damp cloth. First they pee, then they squirt out poo that looks like a strand of mustard.. lol..
They may not poop the first time you feed them, but after that time they should poop just about every time you feed them. If they don't poop, they may not be willing to eat the next time because they are blocked up.
They do not turn out to be loving pets later, there is a point where they just get wild acting and want nothing to do with you. Squirrel bites hurt.
Once ours was released, they had nothing more to do with us. Only time we saw one again was when he got a heavy infestation of bot flies, something our local squirrels seem to get every year. Then he came back for help. BUT, it turns out when you try to do the responsible thing by taking sick wildlife to the vet, that they just report you for illegally keeping wildlife and then you have to explain to the wildlife officer which rehabber you worked with and they have to vouch for you and it becomes a big messy deal.
So yeah, even if you can bottlefeed a wild animal, always work with a rehabber to cover your own butt in the future.
With week old baby squirrels, you get a lot better success feeding every 4 hours day and night. While there are bottles for that, I've never had any luck getting a squirrel to use one. A syringe (minus the needle of course!) or a medicine dropper has always worked better for me.
Esbilac is usually recommended for baby squirrels, but I had trouble getting them to eat it. We used to do a combination of esbilac, condensed/evaporated goat milk (comes in a can), raw egg yolks (no whites, apparently they bind to important vitamins) and a little bit of corn syrup to sweeten it so they'd eat it.
I want to say the mix was 1/2 cup of evaporated milk, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 tsp of corn syrup and a teaspoon of Esbillac powder mix.
BUT, it's been 7 years since my last batch of baby squirrels..
Around here, the wildlife rehabber was swamped, so she basically just gave you instructions to raise it yourself and then bring it back when it was ready to start training for release. BUT, even if that's the case with yours, you still want to make contact with them! Raising wildlife without working with a rehabb'er is illegal in most states and you will want their advice and help!
Unused food should be kept refrigerated and mixed fresh every day.
Obviously too, food should be fed warm, but not as warm as you would think. Just warm enough where it doesn't feel cold when you drop some on your wrist. After feeding, you have to 'stimulate' them to poo by rubbing their genital area with a warm damp cloth. First they pee, then they squirt out poo that looks like a strand of mustard.. lol..
They may not poop the first time you feed them, but after that time they should poop just about every time you feed them. If they don't poop, they may not be willing to eat the next time because they are blocked up.
They do not turn out to be loving pets later, there is a point where they just get wild acting and want nothing to do with you. Squirrel bites hurt.
Once ours was released, they had nothing more to do with us. Only time we saw one again was when he got a heavy infestation of bot flies, something our local squirrels seem to get every year. Then he came back for help. BUT, it turns out when you try to do the responsible thing by taking sick wildlife to the vet, that they just report you for illegally keeping wildlife and then you have to explain to the wildlife officer which rehabber you worked with and they have to vouch for you and it becomes a big messy deal.
So yeah, even if you can bottlefeed a wild animal, always work with a rehabber to cover your own butt in the future.
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2007
- Messages
- 5,438
I'll just echo the others and say consult a rehabilitator if you can find one. I have a friend who rescued a baby squirrel, raised it and kept as a pet for a year or so.
It was horrible. In spite of its cuteness, it was not loveable at all and would bite as soon as look at you. It turned out to be a pretty unpleasant critter to keep and she set it loose eventually. In the end it was pretty extreme, the squirrel would actually jump out at her and actively try to bite, truly aggressive behavior. It made even basic cage maintenance dangerous.
Good luck though, whatever you decide to do. Maybe your experience will be different.
It was horrible. In spite of its cuteness, it was not loveable at all and would bite as soon as look at you. It turned out to be a pretty unpleasant critter to keep and she set it loose eventually. In the end it was pretty extreme, the squirrel would actually jump out at her and actively try to bite, truly aggressive behavior. It made even basic cage maintenance dangerous.
Good luck though, whatever you decide to do. Maybe your experience will be different.
I raised a baby squirrel once, he was pretty small and had no hair and his eyes weren't open yet....I fed him baby formula and was able to raise him untill the point where he was starting to walk around. Thankfully we were able to find a rehab center before it got to the point where we had to wean him off of formula.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2009
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- 186
turns out in ohio you must be licensed to rehabilitate a wild animal. i did a little googling and in 2 minutes came up with a link to:
ohio wildlife rehabilitators association, which is where i found out you must be licensed.
http://www.owra.org/findOH
and a list of rehabers by county and city:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Home/resources/orphans/rehabilitators/tabid/6013/Default.aspx
between those 2 sites you should be able to find some rehabber close enough to easily take the baby from you.
i've personally raised a baby squirrel, the outcome was fairly typical...a couple of bad bites and a lot of destruction before it was released.
keep us updated
ohio wildlife rehabilitators association, which is where i found out you must be licensed.
http://www.owra.org/findOH
and a list of rehabers by county and city:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Home/resources/orphans/rehabilitators/tabid/6013/Default.aspx
between those 2 sites you should be able to find some rehabber close enough to easily take the baby from you.
i've personally raised a baby squirrel, the outcome was fairly typical...a couple of bad bites and a lot of destruction before it was released.
keep us updated
DO NOT I repeat DO NOT USE ESBILAC. I've had SEVERAL wildlife rehabbers tell me that they change the formula in Esbilac without changing the ingredient label. They've noticed increased instances in diarrhea when Esbilac is used and several pet stores have pulled it from their shelves.