top of page
Squirrel care
Please note that the texts below are for your information only, to tell you about how we look after our bushy-tailed clients. It should not be construed as an encouragement to hand-rear squirrels without a licence or proper experience.
THE FOOD
The first feed for a newly rescued baby is always rehydration fluid; we use Biolapis, which is also a probiotic. Then, gradually, formula is introduced. The formula we use is Royal Canin Puppy milk. We dilute it one part powder to 2.5 parts very warm water. The made-up formula can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The dry powder, once opened, should be kept in the fridge also. ​Baby squirrels are fed between 5% and 7% of their body weight every 4 hours, e.g. a 100g squirrel is fed between 5 and 7ml every 4 hours. The formula should be warm. Eyes-closed babies are fed round the clock, older babies can have 5 feeds a day, i.e. we can skip the night feed.​ It is very important to weigh the babies every day, so that the right amount of formula can be calculated.​​
THE METHOD
When the babies are fed, they are kept upright or on all fours, not on their back. The equipment for feeding is syringe (1ml syringe until the babies weight about 100g, then 3ml, but no larger) and teat (mothering or Miracle teat). The equipment is kept in sterilizing solution (Milton's or similar) between feeds. When feeding the babies, great care is taken that the formula does not go into the lungs, this can cause pneumonia and/or death. The carer, and not the squirrel, controls the flow of the formula - the baby is never allowed to hoover it up. We release the formula one drop at a time, and make sure the squirrel swallows thoroughly before the next drop (several swallows with very small babies, and about 3 swallows with babies 100g or more).The babies are toiletted after every feed. There are YouTube videos that show the process, and it is very gentle. The babies start to toilet by themselves at about 6 weeks.
THE ACCOMMODATION
Until the babies open their eyes at about 5 weeks, their accommodation is plastic pods, on a heat pad, with plenty of blankets. At about 5-6 weeks they can go to a bigger cage or tank, about 50cm by 100cm by 50cm. The heat is gradually reduced. At about 7 weeks enrichment is added: branches or ropes to climb on, things to chew, etc. At about10 weeks the young ones move into an adult-size aviary.
THE WEANING
Formula is an important source of calcium, and is continued as long as possible, at least until 9 weeks of age, possibly longer. But solid food is offered from about 5 or 6 weeks: Farley's rusks, pecan nuts, avocado. At this stage the babies can only shred the food, not chew and swallow it, so they still take 5 formula feeds a day. At about 7 weeks the cheek teeth break through, the babies can actually chew and swallow the food, so the formula feeds are gradually reduced - one less feed every couple of days. We continue to record the babies' weight very carefully: if they are still gaining weight daily, in spite of getting less formula, it means that they are getting enough from the solids. Adult foods are a variety of fruit and veg, such as grapes, blueberries, apple, avocado, butternut squash, sweet potato, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, baby sweetcorn, chicory, etc, and a variety of nut, such as hazels, pecans, almonds, walnuts. At first the nuts are out of shell, gradually nuts in shell are introduced. We allow around 8 nuts per squirrel per day.
REARING PROBLEMS
Grey squirrels do very well in rescue, but sometimes problems do occur.
1 - Reluctant feeding: the solution might be making sure the formula is not too hot or too cold, wrapping the baby securely in a little blanket, offering antibiotics if there are digestive issues.
2 - Bloat: thorough toiletting is the solution, sometimes Lactulose is given, 0.1ml per 100g of body weight. It usually works in about 8 hours.
3 - Diarrhoea: probiotics (Biolapis) is given first, then antibiotics as necessary, prescribed by vet.
4 - Lack of weight gain: the amount of food given should be adjusted, but not over 7% of body weight.
5 - Lethargy and weak muscle tone: as with any other animal, lethargy is a very bad sign, and a visit to the vet is the way forward.
RELEASE
Recent legislation does not allow us to release rehabilitated grey squirrels back into the wild, but, as a general principle, the process is as follows. Soft release is the only way to ensure the young squirrels survive in the wild. Just taking them to a park and letting them go, i.e. hard release, does not give them a chance. In the soft release process, the young squirrels live in a cage, at least one meter by one meter by two meters, on the site where they are eventually going to be released, for at least 2 weeks, getting used to the new place. Then a little trap door is opened for them to come and go as they please. Food is offered on top of the cage (not inside the cage any more, in case wild squirrels get in). Eventually the young ones settle in the wild and stop coming to sleep in the cage. Supplementary food is offered, however, via a feeder on a tree somewhere close, for at least the first year of their life. The age for release is about 20 weeks. Autumn babies reach that age in the dead of winter, so should be over-wintered in the release cages.
bottom of page