Read this first
If you have just found a baby squirrel, this is not your page. Most of the babies we get calls about can be reunited with their mother, which is a far better outcome than anything a human can offer. Start with our Found a Baby Squirrel page, and text 901-340-6534.
This is the rehabber-depth reference: the formula, the volumes and the schedule. It is published as a readable page rather than a PDF so it can actually be found and quoted correctly.
Before anything else
If the baby is injured, it needs a rehabber. A rehabber has training, medication and veterinary access.
If the baby is uninjured, plump and warm, try to reunite it with its mother in the same location it was found. Reuniting beats rehabilitation every time.
Only if reuniting has failed and you have genuinely exhausted every route to a rehabber should you be caring for the animal yourself, and in Tennessee that requires a permit. There is no shortcut in rehabbing a baby squirrel, and it means many sleepless nights.
Do not introduce pets, small children or friends to the squirrels. The goal is a wild animal that releases successfully. Habituation ruins that.
Supplies
A safe plastic container with plenty of air holes drilled in the sides and a locking lid.
Fleece blankets with the edge stitching removed. Large stitching is a strangulation hazard.
A heating pad that does NOT shut off, set on low, under half the container.
A kitchen scale that reads to the gram, to weigh the baby daily.
1 cc and 3 cc O-ring syringes, luer-lock.
Miracle Nipples, minis and originals.
Cotton swabs or cotton balls to stimulate the baby to urinate and defecate before and after every feeding.
If the baby is dehydrated
Give homemade hydration fluid or plain Pedialyte. Do not mix it with formula, and do not give it for more than 24 hours. Always warm it to about 101°F, a mother squirrel’s body temperature. Our hydration page has the full instructions and the skin tent test.
Formula
Babies under 5 weeks
1/2 cup Esbilac puppy formula powder
1 cup water
1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
Mix the formula using hot water. Let it rest 8 hours in the refrigerator. Then combine with the cream. Store up to 3 days. Mix only what you will use in 3 days.
Babies 6 weeks and older
1/4 cup Esbilac powder with 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Fox Valley 20/50 with 1/2 cup water
1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
Mix each formula in a separate container using hot water. Let both rest 8 hours in the refrigerator. Combine both formulas with the cream. Store up to 3 days.
How much to feed
Feed 5 percent of body weight per feeding, working up to 7 percent. Weigh the baby daily at the same time each day for an accurate trend.
Formula must be warm, close to 99 to 101°F, and the baby must be warm. A baby will not drink cold formula, and a cold baby cannot digest it.
Feed in a belly-down nursing position. In young babies you will be able to see a milk band on the belly.
Control the flow with the plunger. If the flow is too fast the baby can aspirate, and aspiration pneumonia moves quickly. An aspirated baby needs antibiotics to survive. Get it and its siblings to a rehabber, and never separate siblings.
Feeding chart
These are estimates by weight. Always weigh your squirrel rather than feeding to the chart.
Birth to 1 week — 0.5 to 1 cc, every 2 hours, 1 to 2 night feedings
1 to 2 weeks — 0.75 to 2 cc, every 2 to 3 hours, 1 night feeding
2 to 3 weeks — 2 to 3 cc, every 3 hours, 1 night feeding
3 to 4 weeks — 3 to 4 cc, every 3 to 4 hours, night feeding if needed
4 to 5 weeks — 4 to 6 cc, every 4 hours, night feeding if needed
5 to 7 weeks — 6 to 8 cc, every 4 hours, no night feeding
7 to 8 weeks — 8 to 12 cc, every 4 to 5 hours, no night feeding
8 to 10 weeks — 12 to 20 cc, 3 times a day, no night feeding
10 to 12 weeks — 20 to 35 cc, 1 to 2 times a day, no night feeding
When the eyes open
At 4 to 5 weeks, when the eyes open, start offering blocks or pellets formulated for squirrels. This is the point where diet starts to determine whether you end up treating metabolic bone disease later. See our squirrel block recipes and our MBD protocol.
Credit
Adapted with permission from the orphaned squirrel quick care guide produced by Danielle Bourgeois and the Squirrels Resource & Network.
Questions
Text 901-340-6534. We answer rehabber questions from anywhere, free.