Before you do anything else
Call or text us first: 901-340-6534. Tennessee law is clear on this, and so is TWRA — contact a permitted rehabilitator BEFORE you pick the animal up. We can often tell you in one text whether the animal needs us at all.
Also worth knowing: rehabbers do not pick animals up. If we can take the animal, you will need to arrange transport. We have a volunteer transport list and we will help you sort it out.
How old is it? Look at the tail.
This is the whole question. The tail tells you almost everything.
Newborn. Hairless, pink, eyes closed. Needs reuniting or us.
About 4 weeks. Eyes just opening, thin scraggly tail. Needs reuniting or us.
About 8 weeks. Fully furred, but the tail is still shorter than an adult's. Try reuniting.
10 to 12 weeks and up. Body longer than 6 inches not counting the tail, and the tail is fluffed out like a bottle brush. Independent — leave it alone.
The bottle-brush test: if the tail is full and fluffy like a bottle brush and the body is longer than six inches, that squirrel is on its own and doing fine. Walk away.
One thing that surprises people: a young squirrel that keeps running up to you or following you is not being friendly. It is a juvenile that has lost its mother and is looking for help. Text us.
How to reunite it with mom
Warm it up first. This step gets skipped and it is the one that matters most — a mother will not retrieve a cold baby.
Put it in an open-topped container with a soft cloth and a heat source underneath.
Secure it to the trunk of the nest tree, or set it at the base — as close as you can to exactly where you found it. Do not move it somewhere "better."
Go inside and stay out of sight. Keep cats and dogs in. She will not come while you are watching.
Light rain, cover half the box. Heavy rain, bring it inside — she will not search in a downpour.
Give it up to 24 hours. If you found it late in the day, leave it out through dusk, bring it inside overnight with heat, and put it back at first light. Mothers very often collect at dawn.
Nobody came by the next morning? Text us at 901-340-6534.
DO NOT FEED IT. DO NOT GIVE IT WATER.
We are begging. This is the single most common reason rescued babies die before they ever reach us.
No cow's milk. No goat milk. No kitten or puppy formula. No Pedialyte. No water from an eyedropper. Not a drop of anything. Baby squirrels aspirate easily and it kills them.
What it actually needs is warmth, dark, and quiet. That is it.
How to contain it safely
A cardboard box or plastic bin. Punch the air holes BEFORE the animal goes in. Secure the lid.
A soft cloth on the bottom — an old t-shirt or fleece. Not a terrycloth towel; the loops catch claws and nails.
Heat under HALF the box only, so it can move away if it gets too warm. A sock of dry rice microwaved for a minute, or a capped bottle of hot tap water wrapped in cloth. Always put cloth between the animal and the heat.
Dark, quiet, indoors. A closet or bathroom is perfect. Away from kids, pets, and the TV.
No handling. No peeking. No photos. We know it is hard. Human attention is stress, not comfort.
Wash your hands afterward.
Call us immediately if you see any of these
Bleeding, an open wound, or a broken bone
It has been in a cat or dog's mouth — ANY cat contact is an emergency, even with no visible injury. The bacteria alone will kill it without antibiotics.
Small white specks that look like grains of rice — those are fly eggs — or flies hovering around it
Cold to the touch, wet, or crying nonstop
You know the mother is dead
What not to do
Do not raise it yourself. It is illegal without a state permit, and squirrels raised alone do not survive release.
Do not relocate it. Moving wildlife is prohibited in Tennessee and it separates families.
Wildlife emergency? Text us at 901-340-6534