Found a Baby Squirrel

Derek8404

Plank Owner
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
7,597
Location
Yuma, AZ
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
was walking my dog yesterday and saw a baby squirrel laying in the middle of the asphalt path. There are trees over it so I figure he fell out of his nest and I moved him off the trail to a tree. I can back later that evening to check on him and he was gone so I figure mama must have gotten him

Well today I’m walking my dog again and then find him near the tree I set him by yesterday and still alive. I did some reading and found that I should try and find the nest, which I’m pretty sure I did find, and then place him in a box or container as high up in tree as I could the mom should come get him. So I took a small plastic container and made him a little nest in it and used some wire to secure him to the tree right next to what I’m pretty sure is his nest.

I’ll check on him later tonight or tomorrow and see how the little guy is doing. I hope he makes it, I hate to see animals, especially helpless young ones hurt. Not really sure what else I can do at this point....

604258AC-83D9-4DE4-A9AC-3A3FF3D92EB8.jpeg 39FB10F1-8A36-4F32-9FBD-C8D83A2E3883.jpeg 1157AAB5-2AB1-4A91-8D85-D39266236401.jpeg
 
You robbed your dog of a crunchy treat

I was literally trying to hold her back with one hand while I dealt with him. She did get a quick bite in on him when I set him down but I don’t think it was too hard.
 
Last edited:
Very cool. I had a pet chipmunk, technically a 13 lined ground squirrel, as a kid that was completely tame for me. I could rub his belly, he'd fall asleep on his back in my hand, the whole bit. Anybody else that tried that basically stuck their finger into a meat grinder. Little bastard was vicious. Got tired of dealing with him after a while & released him back into the wild. My cat caught him in the orchard, bookin' for the wheat field & I had to go rescue my cat.
 
Last edited:
I've rehabbed a couple of the little guys, one in particular lived in captivity for around 7 years before being taken to a rescue. They typically will pick ONE person to be close with and like Carl said, they will shred anyone else. That small will need to be fed with a small syringe with Simillac, I don't recall how much and what the feeding times were, its been a few years. You'd also need to stimulate it to get it to use the bathroom. Looks like hes creeping up on 3 weeks old or so, that's about the same size as the first one I rehabbed.

@kcult I raised one a couple years ago from a nest a dog destroyed. Cool little critter and very friendly up until he reached about 5 weeks old. He went from wanting to cuddle with people to being scared of everything and would absolutely freak out when you tried to hold him. This happened all in what seemed like the span of a day, it was like someone hit a light switch. We released him when he was about 6 weeks or so old.
 
I've rehabbed a couple of the little guys, one in particular lived in captivity for around 7 years before being taken to a rescue. They typically will pick ONE person to be close with and like Carl said, they will shred anyone else. That small will need to be fed with a small syringe with Simillac, I don't recall how much and what the feeding times were, its been a few years. You'd also need to stimulate it to get it to use the bathroom. Looks like hes creeping up on 3 weeks old or so, that's about the same size as the first one I rehabbed.

@kcult I raised one a couple years ago from a nest a dog destroyed. Cool little critter and very friendly up until he reached about 5 weeks old. He went from wanting to cuddle with people to being scared of everything and would absolutely freak out when you tried to hold him. This happened all in what seemed like the span of a day, it was like someone hit a light switch. We released him when he was about 6 weeks or so old.

This one isn't that friendly now. I think it just goes into some sort of coma, once you get your hands on it.

We will most likely be releasing him/her in the backyard once it's big enough to evade the neighborhood cats.
 
Last edited:
I briefly had a pet squirrel when I was a kid. It walked up to a neighbor and the neighbor brought it to me. My parents bought some squirrel feed that we would throw on a wood pile for him. Not sure where he went during the day while I was at school, but he would show up within 10 mins of me going out to the back deck. I eventually put together a small chicken wire cage for him with no latch that he could sleep in at night. My dad threw an old t-shirt in there and the squirrel would bundle up in it. He would fall asleep in my hand and would climb around me to check all my pants pockets (cargo pants were in back in). I had a good time with it.

Pretty sure another neighbor's cat eventually got him. It would walk up to my family and fall asleep in our hands. I'm guessing that wasn't a beneficial survival trait.
 
I found a baby squirrel once about 20 years ago. It must have been a late litter I had been hunting that area and I am fairly sure I killed his mom. I took him home and found a pet store that had a multi species baby formula and I hand raised him switching him over to acorns and other nuts as he got older. I stopped holding him once he was on nuts I did want him tame. Took him to a state park the following spring and let him loose.
 
Been seeing a lot of smaller squirrels running across the road in the last week or so.
 
They make great pets... until they rip your face off.

My Grandma had one, until it sunk its teeth into the web (that part between the index finger and thumb) of my Granddad's hand.
 
Back
Top Bottom