Observe the baby squirrel for the next six to eight hours of daylight. Has the mother returned to retrieve her baby? NOTE: Each animal's nutritional, housing, and handling requirements are very specific and must be met if the animal has any chance of survival. Cow's milk and human milk replacers will make wild animals sick.
Raising a wild animal in captivity is illegal in Virginia unless you have a state permit. For information on how you can become a permitted wildlife rehabilitator , contact the Wildlife Center of Virginia , the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries , or your state's wildlife agency. Donate Now. Need wildlife assistance? Search form Search. The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Baby Squirrels.
If you find a baby squirrel: Do any of the following apply to the squirrel? At this age the baby will be much more active and spend less time sleeping. At 8 weeks old, a baby squirrel actually looks like a squirrel, albeit a small one. He becomes very active and jumpy, and uses his sharp claws for climbing and hanging upside down. By 10 weeks old his tail is full and bushy, and his sharp teeth are fully grown in. Heather Vale is a writer, interviewer and seasoned journalist.
She has authored news, entertainment and informational programming in TV, radio, print and online media. A Predator Found The Nest: Birds, cats, and other natural predators of the squirrel can wreak havoc on a nest and send babies tumbling to the ground. A cardboard box with an old t-shirt or towels is a great bed for a baby squirrel.
For extra warmth, place a heating pad on low under half of the bedding. The baby should have a cooler place to go if they get overheated! Second, help the baby rehydrate. Orphaned babies are often dehydrated by the time they are found by a human. Pedialyte can be found in almost any drugstore and can be given with an oral syringe. If possible, obtain the unflavored version. Third, feed the baby. Puppy milk replacement is available from many pet stores and can be given to infant squirrels.
Babies between 1 — 2 weeks need to be fed between 0. As the baby grows, this amount will increase and at 6 weeks, the baby could be eating 5 times this amount every 4 hours. Baby squirrels are weaned by 8 weeks. Fourth, help the baby go potty. Yes, you read that right!
When a squirrel mother cleans their baby this helps to stimulate the body, encouraging the baby to urinate and defect. You can help your baby go to the bathroom by taking a warm washcloth and gently cleaning their body, including their bottom. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Just as a cat scratch or bite can irritate your skin, feline germs and bacteria can be toxic to small animals.
The warm bath will have helped heat the baby up. It will drop again, though, as it dries. To keep the baby's core temperature up, place it in a box with a blanket bed. Cover the baby, even its head, and put the box on a heating pad or next to a heater.
Check on the baby every 15 minutes. If you found more than one baby squirrel, place them next to each other for comfort and to share body heat. The presence of a littermate will help the squirrel feel safe and relaxed. You can also hold the baby squirrel cupped between your hands or let it snuggle against your body for warmth.
Rehydration is often more important than food during the first day of care. You can use Pedialyte or mix half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of sugar in two cups of water and feed it to the squirrel with a feeding syringe. Pedialyte is more efficient than the water mixture, so if you can pick some up at the store, do so.
Look for the unflavored variety, but if you can't find it, squirrels will generally drink the flavored mixes as well. A feeding syringe does not have a needle, but an open, cone-shaped top. It is often used to administer oral liquid medications to animals.
You can dip the top into the liquid, pull back on the plunger to fill the vial, and then press the plunger forward to drop or squirt the liquid into the squirrel's mouth. To help the squirrel drink, place it upright in a sitting or position or as if it were standing on its hind legs. You can do this by mounting a blanket or towel around it or holding it in your hand.
You don't want to give it liquid lying on its back as it might choke. If the baby squirrel is particularly wiggly, you might need to hold it to keep it still. It might also be helpful to use cotton gloves when handling the squirrel and to avoid washing them unless they become soiled with waste material.
The gloves will absorb the squirrel's scent and help it to feel safe and calm. Administer the liquid slowly. A squirrel that drinks too fast can choke and allow fluid to enter its nasal passages. If the liquid starts coming out of its nose, turn it upside down to let the liquid to drain out entirely through the nose rather than flowing down into its lungs. You'll want to go slowly at first as the baby squirrel might be too weak to swallow much at a time.
It might also be too small to drink very much during one sitting, so continue to offer the liquid about every half hour. After every drinking period or at least once per hour, re-stimulate the squirrel's genitals.
When the urine appears light yellow or clear, you can move on to more nutritious foods. Clean the baby's face and neck with a wet, warm cloth after every drinking period as the salt and sugar water can leave a sticky residue.
Most animals need to feel safe and comfortable before they can turn their attention to eating or drinking. It's part of their survival instinct. Be safe first; then eat when they can. If your baby squirrel doesn't seem to want to drink, try the following.
Once you establish the right mood and bond with the baby squirrel, it will usually take liquid from you without hesitation. If the baby squirrel has done well with the syringe, you can graduate to a feeding bottle with elongated nipples. You might need to poke holes in these nipples.
To do so, just pierce the nipple with a needle or toothpick and then boil the nipple with the needle or toothpick still in the hole. Remove the nipple from the boiling water, let it cool, and then remove the piercing instrument. The hole will be permanently formed.
Adult squirrels aren't too discerning about what they'll eat , but a baby squirrel's digestive system is sensitive. Feeding a baby squirrel the wrong thing could cause diarrhea and dehydration or, worse, send their body into shock. Never feed them human formula, cow's milk, or milk substitutes. If you aren't sure on what baby squirrels eat, the best feeding solution you can buy is puppy milk. Esbilac and similar products are available at veterinary offices and pet food stores.
Look for the powdered version and then slowly introduce the solution to the baby squirrel's system in the following stages. Stay at each stage for two feedings and offer the solution every two and a half hours. It would be helpful to wake up once during the night to provide the baby squirrel an additional feeding time. Be sure to follow the directions on the puppy milk packaging so that powder fully dissolves.
Warm your mixture to room temperature to make it palatable to the baby squirrel and to avoid chilling it. The amount that you should feed a baby squirrel during each period will depend on its age and species. Keep in mind that a malnourished squirrel will probably not be able to take a full feeding until it regains its strength. Remember that American red squirrels are smaller than Eastern greys and so will need much less food. You will also need to continue stimulating urination and washing the face and neck after each feeding.
Pay attention to the baby squirrel's stool. When it is dehydrated, the stool might be dark brown or black and will often be quite loose. After it begins digesting the puppy milk, it should turn to yellowish-brown pellets. If the stool appears very pale, add plain water to the mixture to dilute the milk solution. If the baby's stomach seems bloated, soak its lower body in warm water for half an hour and massage its abdomen.
Skip a feeding period and administer only Pedialyte or salt and sugar water. If the bloating does not dissipate within 24 hours, call a veterinarian or wildlife specialist to check for parasites. After you have done your best to clean, warm, feed, and treat injuries, the next best step is to call your local wildlife authority.
Park services often have nature centers where they can house and rehabilitate injured or orphaned animals. The staff and volunteers of a nature center will have the time and resources to best care for your orphaned squirrel.
You would also be free to visit and check up on the little one's progress. And a wildlife shelter might already have another baby squirrel with which they can socialize your rescue. If you are committed to caring for the baby squirrel yourself, here are a few essential guidelines to follow. A squirrel is not a pet. You should not approach caring for a baby squirrel expecting it to become a permanent pet. Once it is mobile, it will be mobile. It will either tear around your house like it does the trees outside or it will be miserable while confined to a cage.
Without enough area to expend energy, a caged squirrel will become violent. Even raised from birth, a squirrel cannot be domesticated. It is not an indoor animal. A squirrel should be socialized with other squirrels.
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