Just add squirrels to my collection of rescued!!!!?

Question

just add squirrels to my collection of rescued animals. Two babies there so cute. What kind of interesting animals do you have?

Answer 1

Some tips......

This is the best manual that I have found on squirrel care.

http://www.animaladvocates.us/squirrelma...

I have a squirrel that I have had for almost three years now. I got her when she was about 6 weeks old. It is legal for me to have her as a pet in Florida. Be careful about laws and regulations in your area and who you tell, if there are indeed laws and regulations against it.

The first link below is something I wrote after doing a lot of research and having my own experience successfully saving my squirrel. The other links are the fun we have had together ever since those first few weeks of just worrying about her health.

http://aero.livejournal.com/96666.html

(Preparing her for bed in my son's closet.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcLNyWnQ5...

(A video of me kissing her.)

http://aero.livejournal.com/97649.html

(My cat and the squirrel hanging out.)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pn4OpGBDYOA

(A video of me feeding her a bottle.)

http://aero.livejournal.com/97092.html

(Her eating a dried up frog she found in the sliding doors.)

I have written much more than that about her. She is an extremely affectionate animal to me and my son. Though, she hates my husband. It is no fault of his own. It hadn't always been that way. She decided not to like him at about 6 months of age. It is normal for captive squirrels to pick one, or in my case two, people to be attached to.

A few more tips:

Whatever you do, do not feed the squirrel nuts and other hard foods too soon. Even if they have their front teeth, it does not mean that they have their molars. Feed them soft fruits, first, just like you would a baby. They can choke on foods that they are unable to chew.

I had this happen early this year with a lady that I had to give three baby squirrels to because I was hospitalized for 8 days. She let her vet-tech friend watch them for her while she went away for a weekend. The lady, who you would think would know better, decided to give them nuts at only 8 weeks old, and one of them died.

I recommend Esbilac mixed with an equal part of water, a half to quarter part heavy whipping cream and a teaspoon of sugar or caro syrup to sweeten and add extra calories. Make sure that you warm up the formula before feeding. I do this by putting the dropper bottle (I use an Ocean's Saline Nasal Dropper bottle that you can by in a drug or grocery store in the cold medicine department. Squirrelly can't chew it to pieces as fast as a rubber nipple, and I basically lightly squeeze the bottle while she licks and swallows.) in a coffee cup and running hot water over it.

On page 6 of the top PDF manual that I gave you a link to, you will find a nutritional study done on different formulas that people use to feed baby squirrels. You will find that, indeed, Esbiliac 1:1 parts water is the best nutrition for them.

Please feel free to contact me. My Squirrelly has been part of my life for almost three years now, and I am more than happy to help anyone out with advice on how to care for them. If you intend on keeping these two as pets, I have some good advice on how to do so and things to think about to make sure that you want to take on that responsibility.

You will find that a lot of people will try to discourage you from doing so, as if a squirrel is part of some sacred species. The truth be told, but also depending on what species you have, they are as common as a rat. The world will be no worse for wear if you keep them. Other people will tell you that it is cruel to keep an animal like this captive, but again, if you are willing to take on and understand the level of responsibility, you can keep a happy squirrel.

My squirrel has an exotic pet vet, too. I would not be able to have one if I were in a state that disallowed squirrels as pets, so that is also something to consider. The vet doesn't do much more than check her urine and a blood sample. The vet that I have had his own pet squirrels. One of them lived to be 14 years old.

This is not like a rat in that way. They do have a considerably long life span, and they are not nocturnal like rats, which is actually nice. They sleep when you sleep, so you won't have to hear them rattling around in their cage at night.

Answer 2

Baby squirrels can very difficult to rehab and it is illegal in most states.  There is a wildlife rehab group here at yahoo.com that you should check out.  

If they need hydration, give them small drops of pedialyte.  

Be very careful as they aspirate easily and will die.

You really should try to return them to their mother if possible.  Put them in a shoebox securely fastened to a lower branch of the tree where you found them and stay out of sight, but watch them.

If the mother doesn't come back, please contact a licensed wildlife rehabber.  You can find one online at

http://wildliferehabber.com/

If no wildlife rehabber is available, then we can talk you through it, but it is very difficult.  This time of year new babies are being born, so if these are young, without their eyes open, they have to be carefully fed every 2 hours to start.

If you care about them, please try to reunite them with their mother.  They make much better squirrel mothers than we do.  A trained rehabber is the next best option.

Answer 3

Be very careful with those. My bf's brother rescued two baby squirrels and it ended up getting sick and no vet would help him because its not a domesticated animal. The squirrel ended up dying and my bf's brother was really really upset about it. They are very hard to care for, so please be careful!