and what difference does one make?
you ought to know the joy of the one who is saved.
Mourn those we cannot save. It is a eulogy to their being.
"Do not let their loss be in vain"
by Jim Willis
You should also check to see if baby has any externial parasites like fleas or maggots. If baby has fleas get Adams flea mist (nothing else is safe) and spray on your hands and rub on baby. Do not get it near their face and never spray directly on them or use powder on them. Maggots must be hand removed and will usually be found on an open wound. You can pick them off and then use 1/4 part hydrogen peroxide mixed with 3/4 warm water to flush out the wound to remove any remaining maggots and eggs.Look in all body openings for them.It only takes a short period of time before maggots make their way to major organs. If you can not deal with these yourself,take baby to the veterinarian immediately.
on the internet and you can also get it at your local feed store and most pet stores. It comes in power or liquid. I prefer the powder. Do not accept a subsitute. Nothing else will do as good . While you are there get some syringes,without the needle of course. .All feed stores have them. NEVER,NEVER USE PET NURSER BOTTLES,OR DOLL BOTTLES.THEY CAN CHOKE THE BABY AND WILL KILL HIM OR HER. You will need some syringes of 1 to 3 cc for the very small baby and 5 cc for the larger baby. Look in a feed store for syringes or go to the veterinarian for them, also SQUIRREL STORE has them and In some pet stores like Pet Smart,you can buy small nipples to go on the syringe or order them from squirrel store also..If you can't find the above you may use a eye dropper but be very careful not to feed to fast and choke the baby. Mix 2 parts esbilac LIIQUID to1 part water(IF USING THE POWDER ITS 2 PARTS WATER TO ONE PART POWDER) and you may add a little baby fruit to it for sweetness. Just a little. Use baby bananas. They really like them. You may also add a little yogurt to the formula. Mix the formula in a clean jar and keep in the refrigerator. Only warm up the amount you will be using at each feeding. You can warm it in the microwave but be very careful that it doesn't get to hot. Pull the formula up in the syringe and feed baby very carefully. I lay my larger babies on a flat surface and feed them. If they are very small you can hold them. Be very careful and go slowly so you do not choke them. Sometimes they will suck so fast that they choke. Stop and hold baby upside down so the liquid drains out and then wipe the baby's nose and mouth and then start over slower. Be very careful and patient with the baby.
The tiny baby with none or hardly any fur should be fed every 2 to 3 hours around the clock as they can not eat that much at one time. The 2 to 3 week old baby should be fed every 3 to 4 hours around the clock. The 3 to 5 week old baby every 4 to 5 hours. At 5 weeks they should be fully furred and their eyes starting to open and can be fed every 4 hours during the day and not at night.
Amounts to feed and this is not written in stone. More or less may be eaten.
0 to 2 weeks-1/2 cc to 2cc at each feeding, 6 to 8 times a day around the clock
2 to 4 weeks-2 to 4 cc at each feeding, 5 or 6 feedings a day around the clock
4 to 6 weeks-4 to 6 cc or more if they want it at each feeding,4 feedings a day,none at night
from 6 weeks on they should start to eat solid food ( zu preme bisquit and start on small pieces of veggie) in addition to 6 to 12 cc of formula, 2 to 3 times a day.
I always give formula untill they wean themselves.
I understand fox squirrels will eat more than this but I have no experience with them so can not say how much. Play it by ear.
When your baby gets around 5 to 6 weeks old you can start adding a small amt of ground up zu preme bisquit to the formula or soak 1/2 of a bisquet in the formula and give to him.This gets them used to the taste of it so when the time comes for them to eat the whole bisquit,they are already familiar with it. Just use a small amt as to much will clog up the syringe. Only mix it in the amt you are going to feed not the whole jar.
If the dry kleenex does not work you may use a warm damp cotton ball and stroke the genitals till you get results. This should be done after every meal until they can do it for themselves at around 5 weeks of age.Failure to do this will lead to poisoning and death.
Remember squirrels are vegetarians!!!!
2 to 3 weeks-dark pigmentation beginning to come in from top of head to down back;
3 to 4 weeks-Has hair all the way down from top of head to tail. beginning to develop silky blonde hair on abdomen.
4 to 5 weeks-more fur coming in all over but tail fur still sparse. Eyes starting to open or already open.
5 to 6 weeks- eyes open,lots more fur and tail filling out.
6 to 7 weeks- fully fured and nice full tail. Very active. Holds own food sits up and tail curls over back.
this is one I have raised
eyes are open
From the age of 6 weeks on,they need a roamy cage. Try to get the biggest one you can afford. Remember they must have room to stretch those muscles.There are quite a few ferret cages on the market. They are usually about 2 ft wide by 3 feet long by 4 or 5 feet high with a couple of levels in them. These are perfect for the squirrel. Good additions are a hammock and a ferret sleeping sack so they can be nice and toasty warm. A water bottle should be added and a few safe branches and maybe a climbing rope. I make mine by buying a 8 to 10 ft hunk of nylon rope pretty fat around and tie knots in both ends and hang with a hook from the top of the cage. so it just touches the floor. They love swinging on it. They also like bits of cloth and small twigs to play with.Old socks tied together and hung from the top of the cage to almost the bottom are also a favorite.
Never release a baby before it is 6 months old. They are to small and they have no sense. They are prediator bait as they have no experience out in the wild.Usually their mom teaches them all this The absence of their mother to teach them to be savy in the wild clearly delays their development and dimishes their chances for survival in the wild. They do not have her to warn and teach them of danger,they do not have a nest and how will they learn their food is high in the trees.After all your hard work and care and expense,why would you put them out there before they are ready,just to become prediator food? They have no sense of danger untill after 6 months of age when at some point their instinct to be wary kicks in..
Never release in the winter. Do it in the spring or summer so they have time to adjust before cold weather sets in. be sure in the spring the trees are beginning to leaf out,providing them with a source of food and cover to avoid being a hawks lunch.
When you release do it as a soft release,by that I mean allow the squirrel to come back to sleep and for food untill it is ready to stay out on its own.Some type of outdoor shelter will allow it to do that. Make this shelter before you release the squirrel and allow the baby to get used to the outside.Make sure it is safe and prediator proof and as large as you can afford. They also will need a sleeping house that is dry and warm placed in the shelter. Provide water and food for the squirrel. Leave the baby in here for at least 2 weeks to allow him to get used to all the sounds and smells and then open the door in the morning and let him out. Leave the door open so he can come and go and provide food and water as long as he wants it.Close the door at night after he returns so no prediator can get in to hurt him.Be sure to let him out every morning. He will come back for a while untill he is sure about the outside.
Never just take the animal out in the woods and release him. If you cannot release him in your yard,please take him to a rehabber who will do it. They do this all the time and are experienced
at it.Your squirrel will thank you.
Squirrels are primary vegetarians with occasional meat items if in the wild.. A good diet consists of 1 or 2 pieces of all the items below varied daily.
Zupream bisquits or homemade nut balls.
squash( zucchini-butternut-yellow-pattypan)
tomato(cherry or pieces of larger tomato)
Sweet potato
broccoli
cauliflower
bell peppers(they love the core)
okra
carrots
celery
green beans
mushrooms
cucumber (mine eat the green rind of it)
peas (sugar snap,english peas,snow peas)
fava beans or lima beans
corn on the cob (1 inch piece every other day)
ovacado (not to much its fattening)
romaine lettuce (I rib a day) or kale,endive or spring mix
fruits such as Apple,peach,grapes,cherry,blueberries,watermelon,figs (peel the grapes for the smaller baby and also the apple pieces,no apple seeds or peach or plum seeds)
hard pieces of bread like cuban or french
a few sunflower seeds,pumpkin seeds,squash seeds
a couple of nuts in the shell a day and a few pine nuts is ok
fresh peanuts 1 or 2 no salted ones at all.
vitamins,minerals and liquid calcium.
this is the diet my guys and all my babies have been on right along and they do excellant on it.
do not overfeed,just give small pieces and vary it. No more then 2 nuts a day.
I do not worry about the calcium-phosphorus ratio on theis diet.
Squirrels are territorial and possive. It should be understood that only one person will be able to handle them and if you allow other people to handle them they will bite.If they chatter their teeth,be wary they are ready to bite.
Squirrels are not for children. Their teeth are sharp and will bite right through your finger. They also have sharp claws and will rip your skin.
Squirrels are destructive,especially to electrial cords,wood furnature, clothing and your drapes. They can and will get in trouble if let run loose in the house.
they will knock over things and break things that get in their way of climbing or exploring.
Most of time they can not be housebroken and are very messy eaters. Some can be potty trained but not all of them.
Squirrels may not get along with your other animals and some animals(cats and large dogs) are a danger to the squirrel.
They can not go without meals or water and must have exercise so a good sized cage is important.Regardless of cage size,out of cage time every day is important. You should squirrel proof one room for them to exercise in.
Their diet is very important. all types of nuts in the shell,acorns,veggies and fruits (all kinds) sunflower seeds,pine nuts,some peanuts but most important is Zupreme primate chow bisquits. That should make up the bulk of their diet. Feed the nuts sparingly.
I recommend vitamins. Avitron vitamins,Avimin minerals and liquid calcium is what I give mine. The vitamins and minerals you can get at SQUIRRELSTORE.COM.
The calcium at your local drugstore. Its called calcium glubionate. I add all these items to the drinking water at the rate of 4 drops each per 8 fluid ounces of water and change twice a week. This will along with the Zupreme and the proper diet keep your squirrel from getting metabolic bone disease,which will cripple him. You can also use what is called an Ott light and expose the squirrel to at least 1/2 hour a day to the light. Can be found at squirrel store.
Now it takes a certain kind of person to have a squirrel as a pet. They are not your run of the mill pets. You have to be prepared to put in a lot of work to have one but the rewards will be great.
Below are pictures of some of my cages and they will give you an idea on how to build one or what to buy for the squirrel.
The other cage is one of 2 new ones we just made. They are 4' by 4' by 7' high panels and are all screwed together so as to make it easy to take apart and clean. The wood used is 2 by 2. The wire is 1' by 1' galvanized wire. These cages are all equiped with hammocks,tubes,sleeping bed,ropes,extra shelves and boards across the cage.Every thing is put together with screws. They also have rollors on the very battom so you can move them. All my guys love these as they have a lot of room and lots of toys and all to play with. They also were not that expensive to build.
These are used by my live in squirrel buddies.They also have at least 2 hours a day out of cage time either in their room or in my outside cage which is 12 ft by 20 ft long.
