Warm first, always
A cold squirrel cannot digest or absorb anything. Warm the animal before you give it fluids, and warm the fluids too, as close as you can get to a mother squirrel’s body temperature of about 101°F. Cold fluid gets refused, and refusal gets misread as "it will not drink."
How to tell if it is dehydrated
Gently pinch the skin at the back of the neck or on the belly and let go.
Skin snaps back immediately — hydrated.
The tent stays for a count of 1 to 2 — dehydrated.
The tent stays for a count of 3 to 4 or longer — this can be life-threatening.
Other signs: wrinkled skin, sunken eyes, an emaciated appearance.
Homemade hydration fluid
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon real sugar
1/4 teaspoon real salt
Stir until all the sugar and salt crystals have dissolved. Plain unflavoured Pedialyte is the other acceptable option.
The rules that matter
Do not mix hydration fluid or Pedialyte with formula. Give them separately.
Do not give hydration fluid or Pedialyte for more than 24 hours.
Always warm the fluid before giving it.
If the baby is dehydrated, give fluids before you give formula, not alongside.
How often
Depending on severity, fluids can be given as often as every 15 minutes, as much as the squirrel will take, until hydration is achieved. As it improves, move to every 30 minutes, then taper.
Check hydration with the skin tent at every feeding rather than assuming.
When you need a rehabber
Very weak babies may only manage a few drops at a time. That is a rehabber situation.
A severely dehydrated squirrel needs subcutaneous fluid therapy in addition to oral hydration, and that requires a permitted rehabilitator or a veterinarian. Oral fluids alone will not save an animal that far gone.
In West Tennessee, text 901-340-6534.
Credit
Adapted with permission from hydration instructions produced by Danielle Bourgeois and the Squirrel Rescue Network.