An unfortunate result of taking down the tree in our backyard was the displacement of a squirrel nest. The tree trimmers picked up the nest and heard two babies in it, so they gave it to Randy, who asked me if I wanted to take care of them.
Sure! I called every wildlife rehabilitator in the surrounding 3 counties but only got hold of one guy, Dave. According to Dave (and everything I read online), I should feed them Pedialyte. I don't keep Pedialyte at hand. So off to Walmart for Pedialyte and gloves. When I got home I realized I'd gotten Pediasure, which is not the same thing at all. So off to Walgreens for Pedialyte. Sadly, one squirrel didn't make it; he was so still when we got him that we weren't even sure he was alive - he was just barely breathing and not responsive at all. I warmed him up and tried to feed him but he passed within the hour. The other little guy, with closed eyes, thin fuzz, and a skinny tail, hung in there.
I fed him, put him in a basket lined with a hand towel, and sat the basket on the heating pad, turned to low and covered with another hand towel to diffuse the heat. When the tree trimmers finally left for the day, I put the basket at the foot of the tree (per Dave and online info) in case Mama came back. But they got done so late that it was getting dark. Everyone said don't leave him out in the dark, so I brought him back in. Time to start the 2-3 hour feeding schedule.
I fed him at 7 pm, 9 pm, midnight, 2 am, 4 am, and 7 am. He didn't like getting woke up! When I turned on the bathroom light, he'd squeeze his eyes tighter shut and burrow his head down. But if I'm up, so is he! I didn't have an animal-feeding nozzle, so all I could do was fill the syringe with Pedialyte, then put a drop on his mouth and see if he would swallow or let it run down his face. He wouldn't open his mouth, probably because I didn't have the a proper feeding nozzle. I couldn't put the syringe end in his mouth because of the risk of aspiration. I couldn't put him on his back to feed him for the same reason. I had to hold him semi-upright and try to get him to swallow. He wasn't impressed with Pedialyte, but sometimes during the 5-10 minutes of feeding, he would swallow a few times. I could only get fruit-flavored Pedialyte, which works fine but left a pink stain, like he was bleeding! Fortunately, he wasn't.
Squirrels are really just rats with furry tails. At this stage, they even have rat tails! And those tiny claws are like Velcro - they stick to everything. I tried holding him with paper towels and washcloths, but the claws stuck to it when he squirmed, which gave him leverage to wiggle out of my hands, so eventually I found that holding him in my bare hands worked best.
It turns out that squirrels don't care that much if you handle their babies. They don't like it, of course, but it won't make them abandon their young. Good thing, because besides the feeding, afterwards - every single time - I had to wipe his little genitals with a damp paper towel to get him to pee and/or poop. I don't know if he peed (it can be clear), but he pooped really well. And smiled about it.
Baby was pretty active after he woke up, and would squirm and wiggle, which made it tricky to get any liquid in him. In between drops of Pedialyte, he wanted to climb around, looking more like a bat than a squirrel.
By 4 am he'd gotten used to taking a few swallows of the pink liquid I put on his mouth. I think if I'd had a proper nozzle, he would have drank quite well. As it was, though, I knew he wasn't getting enough. He was getting dehydrated but he was still lively and seemed to be holding his own. I just needed him to live through the night. In the morning I would try to reunite him with his Mama and if that didn't work, Dave would take him (Dave is already caring for 20 baby squirrels).
This morning around 7 am I fed Baby one more time, put a bottle of warm water in his box to keep him warm, and set him outside at the foot of the tree. I waited in the carport next door, watching that little cardboard box across the sea of tree branches. It looked so tiny, and I was worried that crows, cats, or something else might snack on Baby.
After almost an hour with no sign of Mama, I was ready to bring him in and take him to the wildlife rehabilitator. Then I remembered one of the online stories mentioned using a recording of squirrel baby cries. So I found a recording loop on my phone, turned the phone to airplane mode so a call or text wouldn't startle Mama, and set it on the deck. Within 2 minutes Mama showed up! But she was on the deck, not at the foot of the tree. She really wanted to find him - she was searching all over the deck and almost came through the back door of our car port. I stepped out to turn her from that and when she scooted off, I took the opportunity to move my phone into the box with Baby. Then I walked back over to the little white fence in the neighbor's yard and watched. Again, within 2 minutes Mama came back, and this time she looked in the box. She picked up Baby, took a moment to get him snuggled securely against herself, then hopped on the deck and ran away. I couldn't get back in time to see where they went, but that doesn't matter. I took my phone and the box away. A few minutes later Mama showed up again, looking for her other baby. Sadly, he wasn't there. She looked around carefully, then went back to care for her surviving boy.
I called Dave to let him know I would not be bringing him squirrel #21. He was pleased and wanted me to feel good about my results; he said only one in 6 baby squirrels survive in the wild so my 50/50 ratio was a very good result. And being with Mom is, of course, the best outcome. He said that Mama will devote all her care on her one baby, so he will probably make it. I already miss him!
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