What Do Baby Squirrels Eat? A Guide to Feeding Your Furry Friend
Most of the time we see squirrels eating anything they came across. The reason is that surrounding conditions are not favorable to them and they eat what they find. Squirrels are not picky eaters. Anything which seems too edible to them they will pick it and eat it. But if you desire to have a squirrel as a pet it will not a good choice .squireels are not a good pet and very difficult to handle. If you find a squirrel baby in your backyard, it becomes your duty to look after it. you should aware of the baby squirrel food. You should know what baby squirrels eat, what is favorable to them. How to feed them and how to provide shelter. There are so many things to care about if you have a pet with you. [acf field=”Schema”]
If you find them sick, cold, and unattended for 2 to 3 hours there is very little chance that their mother will come to take them back and the baby is considered orphaned. But if the baby is warm and healthy, there are good chances of a reunion with his mother. The orphan baby is now your responsibility to look after, to provide shelter, food and to rescue him from environmental conditions.
Finding A Baby Squirrel
Whenever you find the baby, before giving him food give him a comfortable place to live in. You can have a box with a soft fabric base. Do not use a towel as their claw may stick with it. Always use gloves before handling them.
If you find a baby is not opening its eyes and its body is cold, warm its body. you can use soda bottles filled with hot water. Covered the bottle with a tee-shirt so that it doesn’t roll over the squirrel’s body. Ensure that the bottle is not too hot. You can also use a heating blanket or electric heating pad. The baby should be felt warm if you touch it .you also need to check whether the baby is hydrated or not .most orphaned babies are in need of hydration. For hydration use Pedialyte. Pedialyte is easily available at drug stores. The best Pedialyte is unflavoured Pedialyte. Do not rust to feed the baby first. The most important is rehydrating its body .you can feed the baby with syringes. If Pedialyte is not available at the nearest drug store you can make it at home. You can add 1 tablespoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar to the water. A dropper can also be used to feed the baby. After rehydrating let’s come to feed the food. Here comes a question in mind what to feed the baby?
What We Can Feed To A Baby Squirrel?
What type of food does it like and what to feed a baby squirrel. Feeding wrong food can be harmful to them and may cause health problems .so before giving food you must have some know-how about it. In order to make you tension-free regarding this question, we will tell you what type of food does baby squirrel eats.
What Do Baby Squirrel Eats :
Once you are done with rehydration and the baby is hydrated you can feed the baby with food. Baby squirrels are fed on mother feed on formula milk. Babies cannot be fed on solids after they are just born. The best replacement for mother milk is esbilac milk. Feed the baby with esbalic milk. Esbillac milk is available in almost all pet shops. It is recommended to buy formula milk from the nearby shop.
Esbilac milk is available both in powder form and liquid form. For powder form, you have to take one part powder and three parts of water. Stir well to make its concentration even. you can reduce the water gradually. if you have liquid milk then add water to the first feed.Gradually decreases the amount of water in the next feeds. Do not feed the formula in hot water. Always use lukewarm water for mixing formula milk.
Never try to feed the baby with homemade formulas, soya milk, or cow milk. Homemade formulas and these two others can be quick killers and very damaging to baby squirrels. You cannot rely on this milk for feeding squirrels baby. Overfeeding is also not recommended for them. These animals should be fed 5 % of their total weight.
Related Post: Flying Squirrel As Pet
Weaning diet :
When the baby squirrel is 6 weeks old, you can wean its diet and gradually add solids to it. The solids foods include fruits (grapes), vegetables(broccoli ), and nuts especially shelled nuts. once the baby reaches 8 weeks and starts gaining weight you can reduce milk feeding. But make sure that baby squirrel is healthy and gaining weight.
Mixing and storing of the formula :
If you have to feed with powder formula the next day, the ideal situation is that mix it one night earlier. This will help the mixture to mix well in water. For the first day, let it sit for a couple of hours before feeding. If you have taken hot water, mix the formula and place it in the refrigerator. Ideally use lukewarm water to feed squirrels.
For Extra Reading: Can Squirrels Eat Meat
Feeding schedule :
As the squirrel grows the feeding schedule get changes. For the first two weeks, you have to feed once after every two hours. Feed o.5 ccs per feed in the very first week and 0.75 to 1 cc for next week. For the third week gradually increases the feed time to 3 hours. Increase the number of feed-in cc with a number of ages. For example, you will feed 2cc for 2 weeks and 3 ccs for 3 weeks .you will feed 3 to 4 cc for 3 to 4 weeks. When the baby reaches at age of 4 to 7 weeks, the feeding gap should be at least 4 hours. As the baby grows to 5 to 6 weeks he may demand more feed. You can feed 6 to 8 cc per feeding. At 6 to 7 weeks you can introduce small slices of avocado and fruits in a small amount. at the age of 9 weeks, feeding should be reduced to thrice a day with some solids. You can feed broccoli, green peas, fruits but you cannot feed sweet potatoes and corn at this age. At 9 weeks you can add sweet potatoes and corn along with feeding. The feeding should be reduced to two times a day At age of twelve months, the baby will reject formula milk and demands more solids. At this time add some sunflower seeds, a handful of nuts, and a couple of pecans.
How To Feed Baby:
Feeding a baby is not easy. you can use bottles, droppers, and syringes for this purpose. Fill in the syringe with formula. Take a mug with water and microwave it. Make sure that the water is hot. Now before feeding, dunk the syringe in water for 30 seconds. This will warm the formula inside the syringe. shake the syringe so that the formula mixes well. Always test the syringe on your wrist before feeding. if you find that formula is still cold, dunk it again in water. Always use quality syringes and avoid cheap syringes. You must feed slowly to prevent aspiration.
5 % to 7 %feeding rule:
First of all, weigh the baby in garms on a weight machine. Now multiply that number with o.5 or 0.7. That number will be in cc and is to feed per feeding. For sick or underweight baby take less than 0.5.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do not try to overfeed the baby because they will eat whatever you will feed them .overeating may cause health problems such as diarrhea, vomiting, and bloating which can be fatal. You must take care of the baby’s weight and check it every day so that you know whether the baby is gaining weight or losing weight. If the baby is losing weight adjust its feed accordingly.
Q1:What to feed baby squirrel if it fell from the tree?
You should try to reunite the baby from its mother .you can place uncooked rice or bird seeds wrapped in the socks. Microwave it so that it becomes warm .place it in the open box with squirrel baby.do not try to feed it with water or baby food.
Q2:Can baby squirrel survive without his mother?
As the bay grows to 8 weeks, he is no longer dependent on nursing and can be survived on its own in wildlife.
Q3:How long baby squirrel survive without food?
A baby squirrel can not lives without food .they usually die within 24 hours without food. if you find a baby squirrel on the ground try to find out his siblings and his nest.
Q4:How to feed a baby squirrel?
It is not easy to feed baby squirrels .you can use feeding bottles, droppers, or syringes to feed them. Drop by drop you can feed the baby squirrel. Always remember not to overfeed the baby, as it will never deny and overfeeding will cause diarrhea, bloating, and nausea. It may be fatal for the baby’s health.
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