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Baby Squirrels - The Forgotten Victims of a Hurricane

11/30/2017

28 Comments

 




Late Summer is the beginning of hurricane season. It's also the time that late-season baby squirrels are born. Unfortunately, most of these babies are birthed in nests made of leaves. The high winds of hurricanes rip these nest to pieces displacing thousands of newly born squirrels all over the ground.

Most people in hurricane-devastated areas are so occupied with gathering up what is left of their own belongings that they totally miss the naked little bodies of these precious mammals laying among the rubble. Those that are found are often taken to local wildlife rehabilitation services that rapidly become inundated with hundred of tiny little hungry mouths to feed.

After Hurricane Irma hit Florida this year, one Northern Florida rehabilitation facility had over 500 baby squirrels dropped off at their facility. They were so overwhelmed with babies that they were begging for local residents to come and foster these infants. Unfortunately, most were given only basic instructions on how to feed them which left them to struggle with the many unanswered questions that come with trying raise and release a squirrel back to the wild.

Many people don't realize the role and impact a healthy squirrel population plays in keeping the overall ecology healthy. Squirrels are near the bottom of the food chain. A healthy population equals a healthy population all the way up the food chain. When this population is devastated by storms like Irma and Harvey when they ripped through Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, the whole population of wildlife suffers! It can take years for wildlife numbers to recover.

My wife and I have spent the last 10 years rehabbing squirrels and returning them to the wild. We also assist people who are raising squirrels by providing online advice, recipes and education about how to raise and release healthy squirrels. We answer every e-mail and question that comes to our e-mail address, and have helped thousands of individuals with their squirrel questions.

We have a dream of taking this service on the road. To have a mobile classroom that we could take into areas of Natural Disasters to aid in the rescue of orphaned squirrels by educating the people who are willing to foster these babies. To be able educate caregivers by "hands-on" demonstration in the care and feeding of babies and answer any and all questions about their care.

This is a monumental task and something that we simply cannot do on our own. What we need are sponsors who have the love and vision of wanting to help these forgotten victims of storms. At present I bring in only a little over $1200.00 between my Pension and Social Security and the little we make by selling our Squirrel Nutrition Products. My wife and I want to spend the rest of our lives helping people help orphaned squirrels!

We've set up a "Go Fund Me" account to raise money to provide for a Toy Hauler trailer set up as a mobile classroom and a truck big enough to haul it wherever we need to go to save baby squirrels.

The title of our Go-Fund-Me is "For the Love of a Squirrel." We are passionate about squirrels and hope that you will find it in your heart to share our passion. Please come visit us at our website, http://www.SquirrelNutrition.com.

If you have any questions or comments you can always reach me at SquirrelNutrition@Yahoo.com
28 Comments
Milagros Castaneda
11/30/2017 06:43:07 pm

I like to say God bless you,I discovered your website when I was looking for help for my little friend ,one of my two rescued squirrels male and female,I raised then since born ,then I released them to the wild but they till coming for their favorites nuts and fresh water,they lived practically in front of my deck ,they get infested by mange that I realised thanks to you ,the male was really bad infection ,but today he is healthy and happy again,they turn 1 year old last August ,so I expecting maybe her first pregnancy december to February if Im correct with my researches,I can see they still being together, in the same nest I dont know if that is common or is because I raised then together till they dont want to have anymore milk 😂they make a good bond.
Thank you so much for all your help and I of course will make a donation for this project .

Reply
William link
11/30/2017 07:41:14 pm

Thank-you, Milangros!

That's very kind of you!

I'm happy to hear your squirrels are doing well!

Bill

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Rosie
1/9/2018 09:05:46 pm

Hurricane Harvey is why we have our lil Rascal. Due to weather conditions we couldn't place him back out for nearly a week. My Sweetheart kept saying it was too quick to release him after a week but I thought otherwise. He quickly got him a good sized cage where Rascal had enough room. After that, he built a sizeable home for him to finish growing in. I'd love to help out somehow. I will be buying some recipe food very soon. I love feeding Rascal the best foods for him. Thanks so much and God bless you both ❤

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Maria Henne
2/18/2018 05:58:34 pm

Thank you for the photo , & your dedication to these little rascally angels - I Loved them too
You do good work

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Petra Diaz
3/29/2018 06:53:12 pm

Hi, I have some squirrels that made a nest in my window that has the hurricane shutter still on it. I've been feeding the raw peanuts and notice one squirrel has some big lumps on it's belly and things on it's front arms . Was wandering if you could tell me what it is. Maybe I could help it. Thank you

Reply
William link
3/29/2018 08:01:02 pm

Hi, Petra!

It would help if you could send me a picture. My e-mail address is SquirrelNutrition@Yahoo.com .

Thanks!

Bill

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Kelly
4/9/2018 06:00:01 pm

My question is about a release date for my squirrels. Since they gather food all summer for their winter how did they survive if I let them go in August September or October if they don’t have a stash of food?

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William link
4/13/2018 07:35:52 pm

Hi, Kelly!

You didn't say how old your squirrel(s) were? 16 to 20 weeks is an ideal window of time for release. That gives them plenty of time to prepare for Winter!

Bill

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sherri coral
4/26/2018 11:47:22 am

hello, i found a baby about 7 months ago, he was in a horse water bucket. i hand raised him and he imprinted on me, we have just started to have a problem with him, he has gotten aggressive. we can not go near him when he has food, if he smells food on our hands, he will attack and bite. we always make sure he has PLENTY of food all the time. we have him loose alot and also built him a 6x6x8 foot cage, with a fake tree in side. we also supply him with real limbs off our oak tree. Setting him free is not an option, he is not afraid of dogs or cats and i am afraid a dog would kill him.I have used all of your advice on raising him and handling him, but i don't see anything on this problem. i would appreciate any advice you have on my little one.It hurts my heart that he has gotten this way, i so enjoy him and i do love him. thank you

Reply
William link
4/26/2018 09:11:51 pm

Hi, Sherri!

Aggression in a male squirrel is a sign of sexual maturity. He should have been neutered before he reached sexual maturity. It is possible to do a soft release on him because the personality change includes wariness of everything and that includes family pets. He not the sweet little boy that he was last Fall. You need to get him moved outside and put food around his cage to attract wild squirrels so he can learn by observation. After a month, open the cage and let him come and go. He'll acclimate. I know it's hard! It's like sending your baby off to college, but, he'll do fine!

Bill

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sherri coral
4/27/2018 11:01:44 am

thank you bill for answering me. I know you are right about releasing him. i am scared to death my dog is going to kill him.Is it possible that if i have him neutered now, his personality will change?

William link
4/27/2018 02:24:29 pm

I've not had much experience with neutering. From what I've heard it may, or may not help. So, it's a crap shoot. My female squirrel has been neutered and we still have to give her space during mating season. So, my guess is, it probably doesn't change them much.

Bill

sherri coral
4/29/2018 08:57:17 am

Hello bill, I have moved my little one's cage outside under the oak tree this morning. I have already seen other squirrels on his cage, so i think is going to go good. I have a few questions for you , please. Can i still go out there and hang out with him and give him treats or should i just leave him be and just feed and water him. Also how long before i can open the cage and let him out? Once i do open the cage how long before he stops coming and going.

Reply
William link
4/29/2018 09:34:11 am

Hi. Sherri!

Yes, you can go hang-out with him, just don't handle him. I usually let them observe other squirrels for a minimum of three weeks before opening the cage. They usually come and go for several days before finding their own living arrangements.Bill

Reply
sherri coral
5/3/2018 06:31:20 am

Hi bill, I put my little one outside in his big cage{6x6x8} under the oak tree on sunday. I have been feeding him and other squirrels. There is about 9 of them coming around. One little one is staying there with him all day even napping on top of his cage. They seem to be playing around the cage, the new one hangs on the outside and mine hangs on the inside together. It seems to be going very well. Should I still wait the three weeks? Also when I do set him out, what are the chances he will still come around me? Can i continue to put out his favorite foods after he is loose? I know this is the right thing to do but I am so so worried about him. Thank you so much for all the help you are giving me, and you are right I am just as upset as when my kids left for collage

Reply
William link
5/3/2018 10:15:13 am

Hi, Sherri!
Success! The squirrel that is hanging around your boy is going to be his mentor! I've seen it over and over with my release squirrels! When you release him, they will pal around together and the wild one will teach your boy what he needs to know about being free.

As to whether he will hang around and stay friendly, don't get your hopes up too high. You have to understand what he is going to be faced with. There is a pecking order among male squirrels. You have a dominant male squirrel in your area and he pretty much dictates what goes on,(especially during the mating season.) Females in heat attract all males with chemical pheromones. These pheromones trigger increased testosterone production in all the males who are downwind of her. This increased testosterone production also produces increased aggression among the males. They all fight over the female. Most of the time, they end up with various battle wounds,most of which heal and make the squirrel a little wiser, but also more wary of everything as time goes on.

Eventually, you will not be able to tell your squirrel from all the other males in your area. If you had a female, it would be different. They usually stay semi-friendly with the people that raised them.

Having said all this there is one variable that can make a difference. And that is the personality of the squirrel. I've had females that leave the area as soon as we release them. While others, you couldn't get them to leave if you wanted to.

I've only had one male try to stick around after I released him. He would come and accept food from me everyday. Then, mating season started. He stuck it out for two weeks. Everyday he'd come by with a new injury. One of them was so significant that I confined him to the release cage for 4 days. The last time I saw him he came running down my squirrel runway to take the food I was holding. He was in such a hurry that he missed the food and latched on to my thumb causing me to drop what I was holding. He picked it up and gave me a look like he was saying goodbye and he ran off. I never saw him again after that. I know he never came back because he was one of my first black squirrels that I released.

Growing up and leaving home is a part of life. Your boy would be free if he were able to be raised by his mother. You are just doing what was meant to be!

Bill

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sherri coral
5/21/2018 06:18:28 am

Hello bill, well iopened his cage 7 days ago after leaving him out side for three weeks. he did great, he teamed up with a little girl and Im afraid he is the bully on the block, he ran off the males. He has 4-5 little females that hang around with him. The weather here has turned very much tropical the past few days, lots of rain. I noticed two night ago he started sleeping in his open cage again and today he is staying in his open cage, just hanging out playing with his toys and sleeping in his bed. Is he not ready to be on his own yet?

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William link
5/21/2018 07:14:00 am

Hi, Sherri!
Wow, if he's done all the things you've described above he's ready to be free. He's probably sleeping in his cage because he knows a good thing when he sees it! (LOL)

He sounds like the male version of our little girl, Cheyenne. She has dominated our backyard since we let her go two years ago. She sometimes comes back to our release cage when it is unoccupied during bad weather because it has a well insulated squirrel box that is protected from the weather and prevailing winds. She even considered it for a back-up location when she got pregnant last year. She checks in there everyday to see if I've left food. If I walk through the backyard and don't have anything in my pockets to give her she will crawl all over me checking every pocket to make sure I'm not lying to her.

One time I made the mistake of running from her when I didn't have a nut to give her. She caught up with me, climbed up my back and bit me on the back of my left shoulder as if to say," Don't you ever run away from me again!"

She is not vicious, it's just her personality to be one that lets you know that it's her way or the highway. My new neighbor always laughs when she sees me have to pay a "nut toll" just to be able to walk to my garage. She come up, climbs up my leg, takes the nut and looks at me like," You're free to go now!" It's hilarious and sometimes annoying, especially when I'm in a hurry. But, I wouldn't have her any other way!

My wife and I knew from the day we picked her up and drove home that she was going to be different. Even as a tiny 6 week old baby. She was well fed by her mother, not in any distress, but she would not shut up for the whole trip home, and didn't shut up until we fed her. That's why we named her Cheyenne, it means "Little Talker."

So, celebrate the fact that you have a unique male squirrel because it is rare that a young male squirrel is able to stick around. They are usually chased out by the dominant male in the neighborhood!

Lenore link
5/8/2018 04:46:19 pm

How can I send photos to you? I have been caring for a baby squirrel. I do believe now he has mange. I wondered if you could identify it for me. I believe that's what it is as he had a couple scabs when I found them and now it's all over his back and today.
Is it contagious to humans? Or other pets?

Reply
William link
5/8/2018 06:09:31 pm

Hi, Lenore!

You can send a picture to SquirrelNutritionAYahoo.com.
When you do, give me more details about how long you've had it and when this skin condition started.

With the pictures include one that shows the tail so I can age the squirrel.

Relax, as long as you are washing your hands after handling, you won't get mange mites. hey cannot live off of a warm host and pass skin to skin when squirrels sleep together.

So, get the picture(s) off to me and I'll try to sort it out.

Bill

Reply
sherri coral
5/23/2018 06:12:25 am

morning bill, today is day 4 my little guy has stayed in his cage, he comes out and plays around but then goes back in. this morning he decided he wanted me, so he spent about an hour on my shoulder, he seems so calm now. I am assuming breeding season is over maybe that is why he's staying so close now. We have a tropical storm moving in this weekend, should i be concerned about him. He seems to want to come back in the house, but i won't let him.When we first let him out two weeks ago, he didn't seem real intrested in us, but now he wants to be cuddled in my shirt lie when he was a baby.

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william link
7/13/2018 05:46:22 pm

Hi, Sherri!

I'm glad to hear that your boy has calmed down, and, yes, the bulk of late season mating takes place during June and early July. When the pheromone levels floating on the breeze drops dramatically, the boys calm down!

As to the Tropical Storm, for me it would depend on how severe I anticipated the winds to be. If you know that it is going to be a bad one, (like a hurricane,) and you had a protected cage in a safer area, and you could lure him in with food, I wouldn't have any qualms about confining him until the worst of the storm was over. I've done that numerous times with my release cage. In fact, we did it last week with 3 females we released. They were being harassed by a couple of immature males who were having fun chasing them all over the property. I intervened and chased off the males and got the girls in the release cage for a couple days so I could live-trap the males and move them to a reservoir park a couple miles away.

If you need more advice, write to me at SquirrelNutrition@yahoo.com. It's easier to reply than on this blog.

Bill

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Margaret Gaughan link
7/12/2018 10:39:41 pm

I made a pen pal for what taken out. I want the colloidal silver urgently as squirrel scratches herself constantly and hardly drinks anything and is entirely wild.
I would like the food square, about 4-inches, Veges that I ordered earlier this year, but I don't see it advertised . Am going to send a 2nd pay pal. Now , but don' know cost of this

Reply
William link
7/13/2018 05:54:07 pm

Hi, Margaret!

I got your two Colloidal Silver orders, but I'm having trouble understanding the rest of your post regarding Nut Squares. Our kits are for sale on our website http://SquirrelNutrition.com.

If you can't get to those pages write to me at SquirrelNutrition@Yahoo.com and tell me how many of each you want and I'll send you a PayPal Invoice for the difference taking into consideration what you have already paid in postage for the colloidal silver.

If you get it to me tonight, (Friday,) I can have your whole order in the mail in the morning~

Bill

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Betty Hilliard
8/20/2019 08:34:19 pm

Dear Bill, some time you sent me some squirrel food recipes - thank you. I just got around to watching your video about squirrels you have rehabbed and loved it. I raised a female squirrel many years ago that had fallen from or was thrown out of the nest as an infant (hairless). She was a hoot. She only tolerated me and my daughter to handle her - not my husband or two sons. She was finally released to the wild. My neighbor is a 'possum re-habber and he takes walk with the young ones tucked inside his jacket.
Thank you for all you do help squirrels. I have a walkway cafe where I spread bird feed and sunflower seeds. Besides the squirrels and birds who come twice a day, often there are bunnies, woodchucks, and occasionally a deer. I live in a city neighborhood that is quiet with lots of trees, underbrush, and a park nearby. A woodchuck (ground hog) has a burrow under my backyard shed.
Animals are so entertaining.

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Deborah Klippert
2/25/2020 02:01:59 pm

Hi William,
I have no problem waiting for the squirrel nesting home. Send it when you can 3 or 4 weeks is okay with me. Sincerely Deborah

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Sheree Scarbrough
9/14/2020 10:39:50 am

Hi Bill. We rescued a 5 week old male squirrel that was in really bad shape. Very dehydrated, covered with fleas and fly eggs. I think he’d been alone for several days. We cleaned him up and got him hydrated. He was a great eater and seemed to rally quickly but he aspirated some formula and quickly developed pneumonia. We first treated with antibiotics and he got better quickly for about four days then lapsed back into distress. I saw your recommendation to try colloidal silver. I’m trying that now but he’s really laboring his breathing and doesn’t want to eat. How often/much can I give him and when do I know if it’s working? He’s approximately 6 weeks (eyes open and teeth) but it also looks like he may have some physical issues with his rib age. May I send a photo?
Thank you so much.

Reply
Tracy Pfau link
5/16/2021 09:16:41 am

Hi,
I was wondering how often I should hydtrate for 2 95g baby ground squirrels. Also I have been caring for them 4 and 5 days respectfully. Neither has gone to the bathroom yet, and I have tickled each squirrels genitals trying to get them to release poop/pee. I also tried running warm water on the genital area of one of them. They are getting 20/50 squirrel milk every 3-4 hours and I just give them the water/sugar/salt solution in between or substitute once or twice a day. I have also given them diluted apple juice/water to try and help them go. I have serve all over the internet to see how often and when I should sub hydration for milk, but don’t see anything specific, so I thought I’d check with you. I’m worried about them not having gone to the bathroom yet! Thank you!

Reply



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    Author

    William Sells is a Registered Nurse turned Squirrel Rehabber and Nutritionist. His passion is raising healthy, disease free squirrels through feeding them the right way and the treatment of common squirrel diseases. He's always open to questions and comments regarding Squirrels and their care and feeding.

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