Caring for a baby squirrel can be a rewarding experience, but it requires a thorough understanding of their nutritional needs and developmental stages. This article provides a detailed guide to feeding and caring for a baby squirrel, from initial steps to weaning and eventual release back into the wild, drawing heavily on expert advice and practical experience.
Initial Care and Reuniting Attempts
Before intervening, attempt to reunite the baby squirrel with its mother. If the baby is warm and healthy, place it in a box near the tree where it was found, giving the mother two hours to retrieve it. To attract the mother, you can play a recording of a baby squirrel crying near the box. Ensure the baby is safe from predators and the elements during this time. If reunification fails, immediate care is necessary.
First Steps: Warmth, Hydration, and Examination
Put on gloves before handling a wild baby squirrel. Place the baby in a box lined with soft cloths in a dark, warm, and quiet indoor area, away from children and pets. Ensure the cloths are free of loose strings or loops. The baby should feel warm to the touch; if not, use a heating pad on low under half the box or a warm water bottle wrapped in a cloth.
While warming the baby, examine it for injuries. Bone breaks require veterinary attention, while open wounds should be cleaned and treated with antibiotic cream.
Addressing Common Health Problems
- Dehydration: Pinch the skin over the shoulders; if it stays tented, the baby is dehydrated. Administer unflavored Pedialyte, dropping the solution onto the tongue to avoid aspiration.
- Maggots: Remove maggots or their eggs (small yellow dots) immediately from ears, eyes, nose, mouth, or rectum using tweezers. A bath in warm water with diluted Dawn dish detergent can help loosen the eggs.
- Hypoglycemic Seizure: If the baby arches its head back and acts weak, give a small amount of honey, Karo syrup, or all-fruit jelly on the tongue.
- Emaciation: Hydrate with Pedialyte every 15 minutes for the first hour, then slowly transition to Ensure and later Esbilac puppy milk replacer.
- Cat-Caught: Clean wounds thoroughly with antiseptic wash, looking carefully for puncture wounds. Antibiotics are crucial to prevent infection.
- Head Trauma: Seek veterinary care. In the meantime, keep the baby warm and hydrated.
- Very Cold Baby: Warm gradually by holding in warm (not hot) water and massaging the body to promote circulation.
- Fleas: Use kitten flea powders safely or Advantage Top Spot. Avoid Frontline.
Nutritional Needs: Formula Feeding
The first 12 to 24 hours, feed only an electrolyte hydration formula like Pedialyte. Do not start feeding until the baby is warm, hydrated, and eliminating normally. If the baby has never had formula, introduce it slowly.
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Choosing the Right Formula
Esbilac puppy milk replacer in powder form or Fox Valley 32/40 are recommended. For Esbilac, mix 1 part formula with 2 parts hot water, refrigerating for at least two hours before use. Gradually increase the formula's strength over the first few feedings. If Esbilac is unavailable, Ensure vanilla flavor can be used temporarily.
Feeding Techniques
Avoid letting the animal latch onto a syringe, bottle, or dropper to prevent aspiration. Instead, drop the liquid onto the tongue and let the animal lap it up. The formula should be lukewarm.
Feeding Schedule and Amounts
Feed up to 5% of the baby's body weight at intervals matching the frequency a mother would feed in the wild. Use a gram scale to avoid overfeeding. A squirrel weighing 100 grams should be fed no more than 5 cc of formula every 4 to 5 hours.
Important Feeding Guidelines
- Never feed cow's milk, fruit juice, Tang, Sunny D, or other sweet drinks.
- Never feed a cold baby.
- Never feed a baby on its back or too fast. Use a 1cc syringe to control the feed rate.
- Always stimulate the baby to urinate after feeding.
Monitoring Feces
Normal feces from formula-fed babies range from yellow to dark golden and are well-formed like small seeds. If the stool becomes loose, smelly, watery, white, or very pale, reduce the formula concentration or provide Pedialyte until normal.
Weaning: Introducing Solid Foods
Let the squirrel lead the weaning process, never forcing it. Squirrels naturally lose interest in formula when ready, usually around 16 weeks old.
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Introducing First Foods
Around 6 weeks of age, gradually introduce solid foods, starting with Henry's Blocks, which provide 100% of a squirrel's daily vitamin and mineral requirements. Cut blocks into smaller pieces for younger squirrels. Also, add a water bottle or bowl to their cage.
Adding Vegetables and Wild Foods
Once the baby can chew well, introduce vegetables from the Healthy Diet for Squirrels list, removing seeds, pits, skin, or strings to prevent choking. Small sticks or branches can also be introduced for gnawing. Wild foods, such as magnolia cones, pine cones, and dandelion greens, can be offered in unlimited quantities while in season, ensuring they are free of chemicals.
Avoiding Early Treats
When introducing solid foods, avoid nuts, fruits, or treats. Focus on formula, Henry’s Blocks, healthy veggies, and wild foods to ensure they learn to love these healthy options.
Healthy Diet for Squirrels
A balanced diet for a pet squirrel should include protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals, especially calcium. Adjust the amounts based on the squirrel's weight, age, and activity level, limiting high-sugar, high-starch, or high-fat foods for older, overweight, or less active squirrels.
Core Components
- Rodent Block: 2-4 small blocks per day (Harlan Teklad 2014 or 2018)
- High-Calcium Vegetables: 5-7 thumb-sized pieces per day (arugula, beet greens, kale, etc.)
- Other Healthy Veggies: 2-3 pieces per day (asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, etc.)
- Wild Foods: Unlimited while in season (pine cones, branch tips, roses, dandelion greens, etc.)
- Animal Protein: Live or dried mealworms, crickets, or moths (2 per day) or eggs, cheese, or plain yogurt with fruit (1 tsp per day)
- Fruit: 2 slices per day (apple, bananas, blueberries, etc.)
- Nuts/Seeds: Two per day, preferably in the shell (acorns, pumpkin seeds, almonds, etc.)
- Something to Chew On: Antlers, tree branches, sea shells, or a walnut-sized rock
Foods to Avoid
- Packaged "squirrel food," "pet treats," or seed mixes
- Starchy foods: pasta, bread, grains, seeds, rice, potatoes
- Sugary foods: candy, cookies, dried fruit, banana chips, soda, fruit juices, sweetened yogurt, granola, sweetened breakfast cereals
- Junk food: french fries, potato chips, pretzels, crackers, anything salted
- Legumes: beans, peas, and soybeans (except green beans and sugar snap peas)
- Artificial sweeteners
Housing and Environment
By 10 weeks old, most babies are ready for a full-size cage with bar spacing no larger than 1/2 inch. Provide a nest box or nesting cube for sleeping. Avoid wood chips or shavings as bedding; use fleece or cloth for wire grid bases, or brown paper, paper towels, or paper hamster bedding for flat-bottomed cages.
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Enrichment
Young squirrels need out-of-cage time at least twice a day for running and climbing, which is essential for muscle development and health.
Sunlight
Natural sunlight for one hour per day in an outdoor cage or screened porch during warm months provides Vitamin D. Indoors, a full-spectrum light for 8 hours per day is beneficial.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
Being overweight can cause health problems, including diabetes. Monitor the squirrel's weight and adjust the diet accordingly.
Pre-Release and Release
Starting around 18 weeks old, allow the squirrel to spend time in an outdoor pre-release box to adjust to the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. After a couple of weeks, create a small opening for them to climb out. Continue to monitor the box and provide food and water. Squirrels do best if not released until 6 months of age, but not too late in the fall.
Common Mistakes and Dangers
- Giving nuts, seeds, and fruits as the first solid food.
- Weaning off formula too soon (before 14-16 weeks).
- Allowing household pets near the baby.
- Taking the baby outside to play too soon (before 12-14 weeks).
- Releasing too soon or too late in the fall.
- Using quick-shutoff heating pads.
- Using cheap syringes that stick.
- Overfeeding or underfeeding.
- Formula not warm enough.