Friday, August 6, 2010

Baby squirrels?!?

i found a baby squirrel on the side of the road, it's mom had been hit by a car. it's really small, not sure how old but it looks too young to be able to survive without it's mom.


i bought kitten formula to feed it and i have it in a cage with a heating pad.


what do i need to do to help it survive?


can i release it into the wild again and have it survive?


or can i keep it and domesticate it?





any advice would be appreciated.Baby squirrels?!?
I'm no vet but I collected all kind of injured or orphaned animals on the road behind our house.





A baby squirrel is a rare find and one that can turn out to be quite enjoyable. They are rodents to begin with so forget about cat food, not good for them, think more of it as a rabbit.





It's difficult to say how young it is with what you told us but if it has little to no hairs on it, it's definitely too young to survive on it's own. If the critter is quite alert with a full fur then you might try rabbit food, veggies all that rodents like to eat. Squirrels we all know, love nuts, any kind.





It can be trained to go in a litter, with patience, I've seen it. They make really cool pets when tamed at a young age. Like I said, it's like a rabbit or a rat but with far more energy.





It will need a large cage and much attention if you let it free in the house until it is properly trained. My friend had one for many years and he let ';Cruncher'; out the house for hours and always he came back.





Just remember, these are wild beasts. They adapt well but still... those ever growing teeth and the sharp claws they have can be problematic once they are kept in captivity.Baby squirrels?!?
Hey,





First I want to say good for you for stopping and taking the baby squirrel before it got his by a car.





Here is a site that I found that might be of good help to you. It has lots of information on what to do and tells you if you can release it back into the wild.





http://www.stfranciswildlife.org/squirrels.html





The best for him would probably be Just Born puppy milk.. Just don't feed him any baby formula, it is to strong for him.





Good luck with him and I hope this helps.
I think you probably need to contact a professional about this, not rely on yahoo answers. Call a local vet and explain to them what happened, they should at least be able to get you in touch with an animal agency in your area who can help. Quite frankly depending on how long it is in your hands the animal most likely won't be able to be introduced back into the wild, and like any wild animal keeping it as a pet is probably a poor decision. however a vet may be able to help you find a wildlife agency that can help.
Did this when I was young also. You have to get a tiny bottle with a nipple to feed it. I am not sure how old it is, if it has hair or not you didn't say. When I got mine it had no hair at all. I believe I fed it every four hours and kept it warm. when it got older and got teeth gave it nuts. Let me warn you that their teeth are like razors! Mine was really tame, we would let it in the house and it would ride around on me in my robe pocket but liked to jump or run up your leg and on your clothes. The claws are like needles. We ended up letting it outside in a handmade cage with a little house inside of the cage. When my kids would go to see it and let it on the ground they would play hide and seek with it behind a tree and it would come when they called. Was very cute but always had dangerous teeth and claws. You may keep it until it is old enough to live on its own then let it go to the wild. Good luck!! Also remember to give it water like in a water bottle for rabbits. Also you won't be able to domesticate it thoroughly.
You should contact your local animal control. They will be able to give the squirrel proper treatment and then determine if it is okay to be released into the wild. Great job on doing all that you could.
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i say keep it, squirrels are pretty good when they're barbequed right ;)

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