I found it in my backyard, and it's two other siblings were both dead. It's all pink and naked and fits in the palm of my hand. I've been feeding it baby milk with a dropper. Is this the correct thing to do?? Help me!HELP! I found a baby squirrel!!!!?
It is worth a try to keep him alive. Make sure you keep him really really warm though. They need to be ';nested';. I have raised a squirrel from that age in the past and he seemed to do very well(until he ran away). I bought powdered kitten formula from the pet store(which ';Peanut'; seemed to love) and bought the smallest bottles and nipples that i could find. From the age he is right now I would say that you have about 6 more weeks of bottle feeding. But keep in mind that in most states it is illegal to keep a squirrel. You would probably be better off calling your local vet and letting him/her handle it. Good Luck though-it can be done!!HELP! I found a baby squirrel!!!!?
yes, also check online or a wildlife center near you for more on what to do.my cousins had some in their trailer at family property once.
take it 2 the nearest pet store ............................... they'll take good care of it
you should bring it to a vet. or what r those things called?? its on the tip of my tounge. the animal shelter places. you might make it worse :/
DO NOT FEED the baby squirrels anything, especially cows milk.
check this out
you should research or the best way is to bring the baby squirrel to the vet and ask questions...
yes. I've done it before, call your vet and he might have something better you can feed him.
Good luck!!!!!!!! I hope he makes it!
I would take it to an animals shelter.
Really I would get it there, it could be diseased or anything.
It is good to try and save it, I know you mean well. But whew it could have anything, it bro and sis died of something.
Hey, go here. It might help some.
http://www.geocities.com/crawdadcreekreh鈥?/a>
I would take it to a vet or a zoo that is prepared to handle this kind of thing...he is lucky you found him!
NEVER FEED A COLD BABY
The first thing to do is either warm the baby by putting him or her next to your skin under your shirt for an 1/2 hour or more or you can place baby in a container with a lid making sure there are holes for ventilation. All containers for baby must have a lid as even small babies will climb out. All babies will need a heat source until they are fully furred and healthy. Place a nice clean baby blanket or flannel shirt in the bottom of the box. Gather it together and then make a pocket in the middle of the blanket with your fist and put baby in the pocket pulling the material close around him. Take a heating pad and turn it on low and place under half of the box or container. This will allow baby to climb to unheated half of the box if baby gets to warm. Place a towel folded twice between the bottom of the box and the heating pad. If baby is unable to move on his own, be sure to monitor the temperature of baby very closely,so baby does not overheat. A normal squirrel temperature is 99 degrees. They should feel warm to the touch.
Checking for injuries
Check for external injuries, broken bones, respiratory problems or signs of internal injury. All of these problems need to be taken care of by a veterinarian immediately. Bites, scratches and very shallow cuts can be cleaned with 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water and then covered with neosporin plus. Apply at least 2 times a day until healed. All CAT BITES must be seen by the vet as cat bites are fatal for squirrels. They must have antibotics for this and this must be done in the first 24 hours or they will die from the cat injury. There is a bacteria in cat saliva that is deadly to squirrels unless antibotics are given within the first 24 hours of the injury. Try to find a veterinarin who has treated wild animal as not all have done so. If you can not go to a Veterinarian then give the baby to a rehabber who can as it will die without treatment. You should also check to see if baby has any external parasites like fleas or maggots. If baby has fleas get Adams Flea mist 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.
How to rehydrate baby
Most baby squirrels when you find them are dehydrated and must be rehydrated before you can feed them formula. You must warm them up first (see above) before you try to rehydrate them. You can use pedialyte to do this. You can purchase the small bottles now. Get the plain kind. Be sure to warm it slightly and to refrigerate it after opening the bottle. It is only good for 72 hours after opening. Give 1/2 to 1cc or any part of it every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. After 2 hours give it at every feeding which should be every 2 hours around the clock. Do not feed pedialyte for more than 24 hours. It is not a subsitute for formula. After 24 hours have passed the baby should be rehydrated and you can begin feeding formula Do not feed formula before he is rehydrated. You can cause the baby's death by putting food in a severely dehyrated system when it can not handle it. After the baby is hydrated and for the first formula feedings mix 1 part pedialyte to 3 parts formula. Do this for several feedings then you can just feed the formula alone. You may mix a little of a product called Nutri-Cal to the first few formula feedings to provide extra nutrients. You can also get this at a pet shop.Never feed cows milk or human baby formula to squirrels It will kill them! If it does not kill them outright it will give them Metabolic bone disease, which will kill them from seizures and paralysis. If you are going to put all this time and energy into saving a baby, Why not do it right in the first place? The one I use is Esbilac milk replacer for puppies. I have this on my site and you can also get it at your local feed store or most pet stores. It comes in powder or liquid. I prefer the powder. Do not accept a subsitute. Nothing else will do as good.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 (without the needles of course) of 1 to 3cc for the very small baby and 5 to 10cc for the larger baby. I have these on my site and you can also get them at some feed stores and pet stores. You can buy small nipples to go on the syringe.Mix 1 part powder to 2 parts water(if using liquid mix 2 parts esbilac to 1 part water) and you may add a little baby fruit to it for sweetness. Just a littel. 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 vey small you can hold them. Be very careful and go slow 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 baby's nose and mouth and then start over slower. 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 2 cc at each feeding, 6 to 8 times 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 (Zupreem monkey biscuits 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 until 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 small amount of ground up Zupreem monkey biscuits to the formula or soak 1/2 of a biscuit 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 whole biscuits, they are already familiar with it. Just use a small amount as to much will clog the syringe. Only mix it in the amount you are going to feed not the whole jar.
Bathroom Business
You will have to help the small baby eliminate their waste. They can not do it for themselves until their eyes are open. The easiest way is to take a kleenex and tickle the genital area until the produce waste. This is what the mom squirrel does when she licks and cleans her babies. Sometimes this can take up to 2 minutes so be patient. They should do both wet and little poops.
If the dry kleenex does not work you may use a warm damp cotton ball and stroke the genitals til 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.
Feeding the Older Baby
Once the baby reaches 5 weeks he should have all his fur and his eyes are open. This is the time to start adding solid food. Zupreem Monkey Biscuits are the very best squirrel food. They are nutritionally balanced and they provide the nutrients for proper growth. Start them as soon as they can have solid food. Leave some in their cage at all times. Again you can get the monkey biscuits at my store or at a pet shop. Just be sure to use nothing but Zupreem Monkey Biscuits. Place 1/2 of one in the cage and they will try it. They will make a big mess at first as they learn to eat. After they are eating the Zupreem well, you can now start adding other things like grape halves, pieces of green beans, peas, pieces of corn on the cob, small pieces of romaine lettuce, broccoli, squash,, and cucumber (peel if waxed), sweet potatoe, cherry tomatoes, orka,mushrooms, avacodo, cauliflower and do not put all these foods in at once. Give small pieces of some of them till the squirrel is eating them good. Then vary the diet from day to day. You may add 1/2 piece of pecan for a treat. Always give small fresh pieces at first and never ever feed something that looks or smells bad. They also like fruit like apple (no seeds), raisins, strawberries and most every fruit. Go slowly at first and allow them time to get used to the food. Pine Nuts and pumpkin seeds are also good for a treat..
No salted food at allThis is the time to add a dish of water or water bottle.The water dosen't get dirty by them dropping food in it. Use fresh water daily. Keep on feeding the formula you were using (from the syringe) until the squirrel decides he does not want it anymore. This could be 12 weeks or more.
Growth of babies
0 to 2 weeks-true pinkie, umbilical cord still remaining
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.
4to5 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.
Releasing back to the wild
Now we need to talk about releasing the baby you have raised. Sometimes they are not releasable due to some injury or size of animal or their teeth. If you are in doubt please check with a rehabber or your vet.Never release a baby before it is 4 months old. They are too small and they have no sense. They are Predator 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 savvy 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 predator food? They have no sense of danger until after 4 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 until 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 predator 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 predator can get in to hurt him.Be sure to let him out every morning. He will come back for a while until 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.
Most vets don't know how to care for animals such a squirrels. You can call but they will probably tell you to contact a local Game Warden or Animal Control.
You can also try to find a vet that deals with exotic animals and they might be able to help.
For the time being keep it in a quiet warm spot where it won't be bothered by noise.
Just call the animal center.
if you are not sure on what you should do call your local docoter today..I'm mean animal controll it's best not to feed the squirrel becuase you might over feed it or kill it
take it to a vet.
NO NO NO, hurry and get it to a vet, it will probably need an incubator and different formula for rodents, give it to a wildlife rescue if you cannot get it to a vet that will give it the right care!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well that baby squirl was abandoned or the parents died, what u can do is take it to an animal care thing where they can handle that thing, what you can do is raise it and send it back to the wild
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment