Instructions
Care for a Baby Squirrel
Attempt to find a licensed rehabilitator in your area before you decide to take on the job of caring for an orphaned squirrel. Your veterinarian may be able to help you find one.
Check that the squirrel isn't dehydrated or hypothermic (low body temperature). If it is cold to the touch, don't attempt to feed it until you've warmed him up. A heating pad or baggie filled with warm water placed under a towel will help get its body temperature up. Offer Pedialyte or Gatorade with an eyedropper or syringe after the squirrel begins to feel warm.
Determine the age of the baby squirrel. A baby less than 5 weeks old doesn't have teeth and may have little or no hair. The upper front teeth appear after 6 weeks, and it looks like a fully developed, tiny squirrel by the time it's 8 weeks old.
Keep the baby in a cage with some natural branches and greenery so it stays accustomed to the outdoors. Keep it warm and provide fresh water at all times. Feed it puppy milk replacement, available at the pet store, with an eyedropper or syringe. A baby under 5 weeks of age requires about 3 ccs every 4 hours, day and night. The milk should be 98 degrees F. After feeding, the genital area must be stimulated gently to encourage it to urinate and defecate; you can use a moistened cloth or cotton ball for this. Follow this routine until the baby is about 5 weeks old.
Start feeding the baby every 6 hours when he is over 5 weeks old and its eyes have opened. Begin offering fruits, raisins and dried cereal. By this time, the baby will start to wean himself from the milk and take care of his hygiene himself. Continue to keep fresh water available at all times and continue to keep him caged when you are not tending to him.
Increase the fruit and cereal and decrease the milk to twice daily. Start to give him peanuts and acorns in the shell so he can learn to open them himself and provide teething materials such as hardwood branches. Continue to keep him caged and provide fresh water.
Release the Squirrel
Move the squirrel's cage outside. Make it a box with a 3-inch hole to enter through, and provide it with natural materials to build its nest. He will learn how to make a safe place to sleep and hide in.
Learning to open nuts himself is a sign that the squirrel is ready to live on its own. It also needs to develop a natural fear of humans so it won't become a pest and can live on his own. For the next couple of weeks, keep it caged and don't touch it at all. This is very important for its rehabilitation and release into the wild.
Open the cage door and let the squirrel check out its surroundings. During this time, continue to provide shelled nuts and fresh water. Have as little contact with it as possible. Eventually, it will feel confident enough to head out into the world on his own and won't return to his cage.
How to Raise an Orphaned Squirrel
Before you decide a baby squirrel is an orphan, make sure the mother isn't in the area. She may be waiting for you to leave so she can rescue her baby. If you have determined that the baby squirrel needs assistance, you can nurture it and send it back into the wild.