Saturday, January 16, 2010

My daughter found a baby squirrel?

What to feed it ?


It's eyes are open and it is alert. Just need to know what I can feed it from normal household food items. i.e. Bread, apples, oranges, ect...My daughter found a baby squirrel?
Wow..a lot of advice and it's all OFF THE MARK.





First get that little baby warm by using either a hot water bottle or a heating pad (medium heat should do it) and a little nest inside of a container of some sort (do you have an unused small cage??)..the nesting can be towels all bunched up to make it feel secure.





Now with that said....Baby Squirrels need to be fed every 1-2 hours. You will need a formula called EBSILAC ( it's a puppy milk formula in powder form and available at your local pet store), you will also need a small syringe (no needle) that you can also find at the pet store. This is what you will use to feed the baby and you mix the stuff up just like baby formula. Make sure that both the formula is warm (not hot) and the squirrel is warm ****WARNING: Never feed a squirrel when it is cold*****





Take your time in feeding the little guy. If you feed to quickly the formula will come back out his nose. Just a little bit at a time (when you start going thru a whole syringe within a few minutes, it's time to get a bigger one). If he has any wet formula around his nose, make sure to gently clean it up as it can crust over and sufforcate(spelling??) him.


Now before you put him back to rest, make sure to use a warm cottonball or tissue and massage his little private area (babies don't automatically go to the bathroom) and after he does his duty, put him down for a rest.





Just like human babies, squirrels need round the clock care until they reach about 3 months of age, at which point you can back off just a little.





Do try and call a wild life rescue (it's the weekend so I don't know how successful you'll be). But if you follow the above you should be fine.


You can google care for squirrels.





For the record, I work with a Wildlife Rescue Agency that cares for Orphaned Squirrels. We care for them and then release them back to the wild when they reach about 6-7 months of age.





Good luckMy daughter found a baby squirrel?
you must give it to a sertified animal rehabilitator.


They will take care of Mr. NUTS and then realease him back into the wild were he belongs!


You dont know sqwat about raising a baby squirrel. He will die without the proper care that the wildlife rehaber will give him.


Do the right thing and hand him over to the rehaber and let him live a long happy life.
WHATEVER you do DON'T feed it if it's cold. It will die.
Don't worry i have raised plenty of baby Grey squirrels what you should do is get a coffee mug put a little peanut butter in the bottom and put it in the microwave until it is a little melted then poor some milk in not too much and stir it all together until peanut butter is dissolved. then put back in the microwave for about 10 sec just to warm up and get a sterile, clean eye dropper and feed him that way every 2 1/2 hours. also see if he will eat nuts, or something of that nature like corn you do need to keep him on solid food when he is older because considering they are rodent's their teeth are always growing. and their teeth will grow out threw their nose or up into their brain(that i learned by my last squirrel) if they don't chew on like sticks or something.I hope that helps if you need anything else feel free to write back. GOOD LUCK
give it nuts, bread, andstuff like that. some sugarless cereal or something.
you can go in the pet store and they have a formula for all can of babies and the bottle. like is your baby. When is strong let go is hart to keep
put nuts, and a little banana. Also, call for a vet, or an animal shelter. There is a chance that the animal has rabis or another disease, so keep your daughter away from it.
It is actually illegal to keep wild animals as pets. You need to turn this squirrel over to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You should be able to find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.鈥?/a>





Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have the specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, and they have the required state and federal licenses that allow them to keep the wild animals until they are healthy enough to be released.





If squirrels are legal to keep as pets in your state (they are not legal in all states), you need to purchase a squirrel from a USDA licensed breeder, or from a store or dealer that has acquired it from a licensed breeder, not take one from the wild.





You can find out if squirrels are legal in your state here: http://www.api4animals.org/b4a2_exotic_a鈥?/a>





Also, if it is your intention just to care for the baby until it is old enough to be released, please know that this is probably illegal, as well, unless you have the proper permits to rehabilitate wildlife. ';Wildlife rehabilitation licenses or permits are required to work with most native species, since wildlife is a natural resource and considered the property of the collective people of a state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires federal rehabilitation permits to work with migratory bird species, marine mammals, and species listed under the Endangered Species Act. With very few exceptions,


wildlife agencies require wildlife rehabilitation permits or licenses to rehabilitate wildlife.'; http://www.ewildagain.org/pdf/RecBooklet鈥?/a>








edit - it does not matter how successful you have been, if you are not a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, you are not legally allowed to do this. Please take the squirrel to a trained, licensed professional who will know what to feed it, how to care for it, and how to properly condition it for release into the wild, without the animal becoming too tame ( a problem many untrained people have - they release animals that are too tame to be released and the animal dies.) If you are really interested in doing this, legally, why don't you look into getting your own rehabilitator's license? There is always a need for trained people in this field!
Better try guavas,apples even potatoes-and don't forget to give it water in a bowl
take it to the humane society, or else it may die, once you take in a wild animal you cant release it into the wild again it will stand less of a chance of surviving. other than that, its a rodent so go to the pet store and get rodent food ask the pet store what do they feed their baby mice hampsters or gerbals, rats. tell them your delima they can help you. but heed my words squirrels do not make good indoors pets.
u cant take in a wild animal as a pet first of all and second u should have left it alonne it mom would hav come and get it. but seeing as u didnt u sould try little seeds and nuts but keep it as warm as u can

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