So far, among other things, we've learned that Rocket is an Eastern Gray Squirrel,
commonly known as a Tree Squirrel.

   
We're into our second week now and he's been on his special squirrel formula for a week now.  He's about 3 weeks old and sleeps most of the time, only waking up to eat.  We've replaced the eye dropper with a 1cc syringe with a nipple on the end.  Along with the formula, we got a scale that measures grams so we can accurately calculate his feeding based on his body weight.  We're feeding him every three hours around the clock.  

   
The routine is......mix the powdered formula and heat it in the microwave,
wake him up, feed him, then stimulate him to go to pee and poop.  
Baby squirrels don't automatically do this and they have to be encouraged to do so.
If not they could die.  We've discovered that they're actually very fragile creatures,
requiring specialized treatment.  We have certainly gained a lot of respect for mother squirrels.

   
Then we wipe him with a damp cloth to get the sticky formula off of him and apply a little baby oil to his skin.  He started shedding his skin which caused us some alarm.  It looked just like our skin does when a sunburn starts to peel but the skin underneath looked fine.  We discovered that his skin was too dry, probably from the heating pad under his box.  The baby oil worked fine.  


He always falls right back to sleep.


  Introduction     Second Week     Eyes Open     7 Weeks Old    10 Weeks Old

The Release Cage     Free at Last     The Oak    The neighborhood

My Own Home     Six Months Old     Back to Nature     Viva Italia


Back to Entry Page & Web Ring Navigation        Back to CapmWoody Home Page