I have a baby squirrel, little hep..... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

I have a baby squirrel, little hep.....

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
theoinodaemon
Sep 18, 2008 14:48:34 That was supposed to be little help, but I can't type.

My cat is a good jumper and climber, and particularly enjoys hunting squirrels and birds. A family of squirrels made their nest to close to the ground and he got them this morning. I heard the racket and managed to save the baby, but neither of the parents. I've done some google-fu and know about the formula and feeding, but still have some questions.

There are several families of squirrels in the yard what are the odds one of them will adopt the little guy? According the charts that I've seen he's about 4-5 weeks old.

The websites all said to give him puppy formula and soft fruit, any other suggestions?

Will he hang out with me if I take him out of the cage or will he split? I'm mainly worried about the cat here. I understand he's a wild animal and I'll release him as soon as he can take care of himself.

Any other surprises I gotta look out for?

If I take him in I can give him a decent home, I'm good with animals, I've just never done squirrels before. Almost all of my experiance comes from handling wild animals (snakes, snapping turtles, stuff like that), cats and dogs.
#2
wight_chocolate
Sep 18, 2008 15:01:39 Try this.
#3
zombie_babies
Sep 18, 2008 15:04:22 Well, the first thing to do is to get those buggers skinned. Then you separate them into quarters and also keep their back. Load them in a crock pot with veggies, potatoes, etc and cook for a few hours. The meat should fall right off the bones. Tasty! ;)

Seriously (although I was also serious above), though, I doubt the little fella would be "adopted". If you can keep him alive (and away from that cat!), he may or may not turn out to be a good pet. I've read that they can be trained, which makes sense since they are pretty smart, but from what I've actually seen of "pet" squirrels, I have my doubts about them in that capacity. An artist friend of my family had one (a rescue as well). He eventually let it just live outside in a tree right by his studio. Problem was, at certain times of year when he would try to go paint, his furry pal would attack him. Viciously. It is still a wild animal no matter how well it's trained or loved.

In any case, I wish you luck. Either with your benevolent mission of rehabilitation or with your dinner. :D
#4
theoinodaemon
Sep 18, 2008 15:19:30 Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go for rehab over dinner. I generally don't kill for food unless I have too...
#5
zombie_babies
Sep 18, 2008 15:28:23
Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go for rehab over dinner. I generally don't kill for food unless I have too...

Well good luck all the same. It is an admirable thing that you're doing. I hunt as much as I can but I've rehabilitated animals as well. The two things don't oppose each other. ;)

Question, though. You say you don't kill for food. Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If not, you just pay someone else to do it for ya'. :D
#6
Keenath
Sep 18, 2008 15:39:14
Problem was, at certain times of year when he would try to go paint, his furry pal would attack him. Viciously. It is still a wild animal no matter how well it's trained or loved.

More to the point, you've trained it to think of you as another squirrel, so when it's mating season and you wander over there, you're invading his territory. Have you ever watched squirrels squabbling over territory? They won't realize you're a hundred times bigger. It's like trying to take away a dog's bowl before he's through eating.
#7
zombie_babies
Sep 18, 2008 15:42:29
More to the point, you've trained it to think of you as another squirrel, so when it's mating season and you wander over there, you're invading his territory. Have you ever watched squirrels squabbling over territory? They won't realize you're a hundred times bigger. It's like trying to take away a dog's bowl before he's through eating.

Yeah, it was prety nuts. (Go ahead and laugh, you know you want to. I'll wait ... taps foot ... yawns ... done? Ok.) The bugger would jump out of the tree and scratch and bite while climbing him. Screw that noise. Eat 'em. They're tasty!
#8
Bloodsoul
Sep 18, 2008 15:57:48 If Neurotically Yours is anything to go by, pet squirrels are more trouble than their worth.
#9
ciaran
Sep 18, 2008 17:12:03 Contact an animal shelter in your area and ask if they'll take a squirell. Its polite to leave a donation.

I've brought a dozen or so baby birds into shelters. Leave it to someone with training to take care of the lil' bugger.
#10
werral
Sep 18, 2008 17:21:18
Contact an animal shelter in your area and ask if they'll take a squirell. Its polite to leave a donation.

I've brought a dozen or so baby birds into shelters. Leave it to someone with training to take care of the lil' bugger.

I saw this documentary in the 80's abouta squirrel raised by a cat. It had problems. As a kid we tried to raise some abandonded bird chicks, they all died.

So take it to an animal shelter.

In tribute make a character with a halfling war squirrel (if anyone wants to doa 4E update that's fine by me).
#11
ADHadh
Sep 19, 2008 15:22:44 Like they said, take it to professionals, animal shelter or veterinarian. Someone who gets paid for knowing how to take care of animals.
#12
maulorn
Sep 19, 2008 15:37:12 Most places are going to tell you to put it back where you found it...

My bro and his girl raised two squirrels...

Look forward to

A) Having to feed it every few hours...

B) Making it poop and pee every few hours

C) Having it go f'in crazy as it gets older and bite the crap out of you or other people...Now while it may seem comical as this squirrel leaps from you to someone else and they freak out as this squirrel runs around them biting them...it will eventually take a good bite out of you. A squirrel bite is nasty too...if you do not jerk your hand away then you can probably forgo getting stitches though at least you will have a nifty scare to remind you of the time you raised that "cute" little hell beast.

Seriously...put it back...

Let nature be nature...if your cat got it let it eat it.

It is not worth the trouble...plus in most area's the squirrel population needs to be toned down.

Squirrel = Tree Rat
#13
theoinodaemon
Sep 19, 2008 16:17:33
Well good luck all the same. It is an admirable thing that you're doing. I hunt as much as I can but I've rehabilitated animals as well. The two things don't oppose each other. ;)

Question, though. You say you don't kill for food. Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If not, you just pay someone else to do it for ya'. :D

Nah, I'm a meat eater and I've killed for food before (survival training), but generally speaking I don't enjoy the experiance. I'm happy keeping the local guys in business.

Things ended well for the squirrel, while doing research I ran across several pages that said it could take the mom several hours to get around to collecting the little guy (I guess her stories were on). Anyway, I left at the base of the tree and locked the (seriously ticked) cat in the house. After about three hours or so mom came and got it. I kept the cat in today to give the back yard a rest (he kills four or five animals a week), so hopefully the little fella's ok.

Thanks to everybody who responded, the local park actually has a squirrel rehab program (who knew?) and if mom didn't come back I was gonna take him to them.
#14
ciaran
Sep 20, 2008 15:18:06 Rehab? What, gambling and porn addiction?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 theoinodaemon Sep 18, 2008 14:48:34	That was supposed to be little help, but I can't type. My cat is a good jumper and climber, and particularly enjoys hunting squirrels and birds. A family of squirrels made their nest to close to the ground and he got them this morning. I heard the racket and managed to save the baby, but neither of the parents. I've done some google-fu and know about the formula and feeding, but still have some questions. There are several families of squirrels in the yard what are the odds one of them will adopt the little guy? According the charts that I've seen he's about 4-5 weeks old. The websites all said to give him puppy formula and soft fruit, any other suggestions? Will he hang out with me if I take him out of the cage or will he split? I'm mainly worried about the cat here. I understand he's a wild animal and I'll release him as soon as he can take care of himself. Any other surprises I gotta look out for? If I take him in I can give him a decent home, I'm good with animals, I've just never done squirrels before. Almost all of my experiance comes from handling wild animals (snakes, snapping turtles, stuff like that), cats and dogs.
#2 wight_chocolate Sep 18, 2008 15:01:39	Try this.
#3 zombie_babies Sep 18, 2008 15:04:22	Well, the first thing to do is to get those buggers skinned. Then you separate them into quarters and also keep their back. Load them in a crock pot with veggies, potatoes, etc and cook for a few hours. The meat should fall right off the bones. Tasty! ;) Seriously (although I was also serious above), though, I doubt the little fella would be "adopted". If you can keep him alive (and away from that cat!), he may or may not turn out to be a good pet. I've read that they can be trained, which makes sense since they are pretty smart, but from what I've actually seen of "pet" squirrels, I have my doubts about them in that capacity. An artist friend of my family had one (a rescue as well). He eventually let it just live outside in a tree right by his studio. Problem was, at certain times of year when he would try to go paint, his furry pal would attack him. Viciously. It is still a wild animal no matter how well it's trained or loved. In any case, I wish you luck. Either with your benevolent mission of rehabilitation or with your dinner. :D
#4 theoinodaemon Sep 18, 2008 15:19:30	Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go for rehab over dinner. I generally don't kill for food unless I have too...
#5 zombie_babies Sep 18, 2008 15:28:23	Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go for rehab over dinner. I generally don't kill for food unless I have too... Well good luck all the same. It is an admirable thing that you're doing. I hunt as much as I can but I've rehabilitated animals as well. The two things don't oppose each other. ;) Question, though. You say you don't kill for food. Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If not, you just pay someone else to do it for ya'. :D
#6 Keenath Sep 18, 2008 15:39:14	Problem was, at certain times of year when he would try to go paint, his furry pal would attack him. Viciously. It is still a wild animal no matter how well it's trained or loved. More to the point, you've trained it to think of you as another squirrel, so when it's mating season and you wander over there, you're invading his territory. Have you ever watched squirrels squabbling over territory? They won't realize you're a hundred times bigger. It's like trying to take away a dog's bowl before he's through eating.
#7 zombie_babies Sep 18, 2008 15:42:29	More to the point, you've trained it to think of you as another squirrel, so when it's mating season and you wander over there, you're invading his territory. Have you ever watched squirrels squabbling over territory? They won't realize you're a hundred times bigger. It's like trying to take away a dog's bowl before he's through eating. Yeah, it was prety nuts. (Go ahead and laugh, you know you want to. I'll wait ... taps foot ... yawns ... done? Ok.) The bugger would jump out of the tree and scratch and bite while climbing him. Screw that noise. Eat 'em. They're tasty!
#8 Bloodsoul Sep 18, 2008 15:57:48	If Neurotically Yours is anything to go by, pet squirrels are more trouble than their worth.
#9 ciaran Sep 18, 2008 17:12:03	Contact an animal shelter in your area and ask if they'll take a squirell. Its polite to leave a donation. I've brought a dozen or so baby birds into shelters. Leave it to someone with training to take care of the lil' bugger.
#10 werral Sep 18, 2008 17:21:18	Contact an animal shelter in your area and ask if they'll take a squirell. Its polite to leave a donation. I've brought a dozen or so baby birds into shelters. Leave it to someone with training to take care of the lil' bugger. I saw this documentary in the 80's abouta squirrel raised by a cat. It had problems. As a kid we tried to raise some abandonded bird chicks, they all died. So take it to an animal shelter. In tribute make a character with a halfling war squirrel (if anyone wants to doa 4E update that's fine by me).
#11 ADHadh Sep 19, 2008 15:22:44	Like they said, take it to professionals, animal shelter or veterinarian. Someone who gets paid for knowing how to take care of animals.
#12 maulorn Sep 19, 2008 15:37:12	Most places are going to tell you to put it back where you found it... My bro and his girl raised two squirrels... Look forward to A) Having to feed it every few hours... B) Making it poop and pee every few hours C) Having it go f'in crazy as it gets older and bite the crap out of you or other people...Now while it may seem comical as this squirrel leaps from you to someone else and they freak out as this squirrel runs around them biting them...it will eventually take a good bite out of you. A squirrel bite is nasty too...if you do not jerk your hand away then you can probably forgo getting stitches though at least you will have a nifty scare to remind you of the time you raised that "cute" little hell beast. Seriously...put it back... Let nature be nature...if your cat got it let it eat it. It is not worth the trouble...plus in most area's the squirrel population needs to be toned down. Squirrel = Tree Rat
#13 theoinodaemon Sep 19, 2008 16:17:33	Well good luck all the same. It is an admirable thing that you're doing. I hunt as much as I can but I've rehabilitated animals as well. The two things don't oppose each other. ;) Question, though. You say you don't kill for food. Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If not, you just pay someone else to do it for ya'. :D Nah, I'm a meat eater and I've killed for food before (survival training), but generally speaking I don't enjoy the experiance. I'm happy keeping the local guys in business. Things ended well for the squirrel, while doing research I ran across several pages that said it could take the mom several hours to get around to collecting the little guy (I guess her stories were on). Anyway, I left at the base of the tree and locked the (seriously ticked) cat in the house. After about three hours or so mom came and got it. I kept the cat in today to give the back yard a rest (he kills four or five animals a week), so hopefully the little fella's ok. Thanks to everybody who responded, the local park actually has a squirrel rehab program (who knew?) and if mom didn't come back I was gonna take him to them.
#14 ciaran Sep 20, 2008 15:18:06	Rehab? What, gambling and porn addiction?