Baby Squirrels

DAY 30. The Palm Tree Fell!
Friday, 16 August 2002

The squirrels lived in a palm tree with their mother. When the palm tree moved to a San Diego business park, the squirrels lost their home! One cloudy morning, men and loud machines came to get the tree. They worked for an hour, and finally the tree was hanging in the air, roots and all!

When the tree was turned sideways,
a Squirrel Mother ran like crazy right past us.

A nice man in a blue shirt carried the litter of three squirrels to the grass. We put them in a pet carrier with snuggly towels, and then we put the pet carrier under the bushes, in the shade.

After six hours, the frightened mother had not returned. The squirrels were warm under their blankets, but they were becoming dehydrated. I warmed some milky water, but the babies would not drink it. So I gently dunked their heads into the liquid, hoping that some would leak into their mouths.

Their names are Rock, Paper, and Scissors. Rock is the biggest. Scissors is the smallest, squirmy and difficult to feed. Paper and Rock quickly learned to drink from the eyedropper. The squirrels are four weeks old, and their eyes are still closed.

Click on any picture to see a larger view.

Squirrel care instructions:

Warm! The first thing a baby squirrel needs is warmth. She should be warm to the touch and definitely not shivering. To warm a squirrel baby, snuggle it against a warm part of your skin, or put it on a heating pad. An emergency heating pad can be made from a ziplock baggie of very warm water, under a towel.

Hydrate! A lost baby has not swallowed liquids for up to 24 hours! Find an eyedropper, and warm some water with 1/4 tsp of salt per cup to provide electrolytes (or get Ringer's Solution from a pharmacy or lab.) Add a few drops of milk for flavor, then gently put the eyedropper to the side or front of the baby's mouth. It is located about 1/3 inch beneath its nose. If you touch its nose with water, the baby squirrel will sneeze if it is old enough, or inhale water if it is young. So be careful!

When you first begin to feed a squirrel baby, hold it for a few minutes until it is sleepy, then gently put the eyedropper to its lips, and dribble some liquid. If the baby laps the liquid, good! Otherwise slowly dribble the water against his lips. Some will get inside, and the baby will begin to learn that this is how food comes now. It helps to feed the baby liquid in a darkened room, as he will instinctively hide from the light.

After, and only after, the baby is warm and hydrated...

Feed! Buy puppy milk powder. Mix 6 parts water to 3 parts powder, and add 1 part real whipping cream. This formula is too rich for the baby to eat right away, so for the first feedings, mix with water according to the table below. Feed every two to four hours, all day long.

Clean! Young squirrels do not defecate or urinate in the nest. They wait for Mother to lick them clean. If your squirrels are not voiding themselves, tickle their tummies with a Q-tip and absorb their urine drops.

Friday, 16 August 2002