I found a baby squirrel now what?
baby squirrel call volume is very high at wildlife rehabilitation facilities across Ontario. Many of these baby squirrel can and should be reunited with their mother. They simply either fell out of the nest accidentally, a nest got blown down by the wind or an exploring baby squirrel got separated from mum.
Most calls we get are for either Red Squirrels to Eastern Grey Squirrels (who can be pretty much any colour or colour combination of the rainbow).
When you find a baby squirrel put on some gloves and look it over to ensure you don’t see injuries. Baby squirrels have a tendency to fall face first if the fall from the nest and depending on what they land on there is possibilities for various types of injuries to their nose, mouth and head.
Also look for punctures and other wounds. Many predators will try to go after baby squirrels and even other adult squirrels can harm babies during a territorial dispute.
If the baby squirrel is injured you need to contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility right away. After hours your local animal control agency should be able to provide assistance and facilitate transfer to a wildlife rehabilitation facility.
If the baby squirrel you find does not appear injured you next observation should be the age factor.
- Neonate: Eyes closed with no fur or some fur
- Infant: eyes closed/eyes open fully, furred smooth tail, limited ability to move around
- juvenile: eyes open, fully furred, tail starts getting a little bushy, able to move around unaided
- Teenager: Eyes open, fully furred, starts to carry tail over the back instead of dragging behind, can move around and climb
Ones you know what age category they are in it is helpful to asses overall health and well being. A truly orphaned baby squirrel will likely be dehydrated (look shrivelled up), cold or cool to the touch, be slow/sluggish to respond and might have excessive amount of fleas and lice on their body. Baby squirrels in this condition should be taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility as soon as possible.
If the baby squirrel you have found is alert and doesn’t have any of the above described issues we now must try and reunite the little one with mum using the following steps:
- Place babies in a box with a towel and a warm water bottle
- place the box outside as close to where you found them as possible during day time hours (squirrels sleep at night)
- Use your phone and/or a blue tooth speaker to play a baby squirrel distress call to let mum squirrel know where her babies are (use google/youtube)
- make sure you are not around to prevent mum from retrieving the babies
- Leave them out for several hours. Mum might not come right away
If mum doesn’t come to retrieve her offspring chances are good she has become unavailable for some reason. She could have been predated, hit by car, mauled by dog or cat etc. In those cases please contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility.
As I have mentioned call volume on baby squirrels is very high space is limited. You might have to make multiple calls to find a spot for the squirrel you have found.
Please don’t use kitten or puppy milk replacer, cows milk, goat milk, almond or cashew milk, human breast milk or human infant formula to feed the baby squirrel. None of those are suitable for a baby squirrel digestive system.
If you need to keep the baby squirrel overnight your best and safest bet is to get some paediatric electrolytes at the drug store. Squirrels are particularly fond of the apple flavoured kind in my experience. Use a 1 ml syringe and very slowly and carefully give small drop of this making sure they don’t aspirate the fluids.
Raising baby squirrels or any wildlife in your home without proper permits isn’t only illegal, but it also doesn’t help the animal in question. Wildlife is by definition wild and should be kept that way. Treating them like pets robs them of the ability and opportunity to live a normal life in the wild.
Keep in mind that although wildlife rehabilitation is strictly regulated by the government but not funded by said government. A monetary donation towards the care of the squirrel you are dropping of at a rehabilitation facility is not only much appreciated, but also much needed. Without donations wildlife rehabilitation facilities can’t function.