You won't believe what Zach got for his b-day

zdk753 wrote: I came home from work last night to find out that my hubby gave Zach 3 baby squirrels for his b-day. Guess who is the one taking care of them? They are all girls. My kids named them Itchy, Jasmine, & Foxy. I'm figuring they are about 8-12 wks old. Right now I am feeding them formula mixed w/ pedialyte & puppy chow. Little do my kids know though that when they get old enough I plan to set them free. Here is a pic of all three together:

Here is one of Jasmine sleeping. I just thought it was cute:

And to think all I got him was the new King Kong movie.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: We had a squirrel when I was younger "Woody" Mom was the only one he had anything to do with. Some stupid girlfriend of my brother's set him free He was much too tame to make it in the real world. You might want to consider that.

I have to show Maddie these pictures. She will adore them.

luvbug00 replied: how did he get a squirrl??? I want one..although they are wild animals...

mckayleesmom replied: We had a tree next to our house that the city cut down one time....there were 3 baby squirrells in it and we took care of them for a while and then sent them to a squirrel rescue place that specializes in getting them ready to be released into the wild...something to think about.

C&K*s Mommie replied: they are cute though.

zdk753 replied:
Phillip's friend's dog killed the mother yesterday morning. Later on that day he said he heard some crying & when he looked the 3 babies were climbing down a tree. He said he looked up & saw a nest. That's the story anyways that I got.
Thank you Brianne & Aimee. I will look about a rescue place. I had wondered if me taking care of them might make them not be able to make it in the wild. Everything I am reading though so far has said that once they get older instincts will kick in & they will no longer be sweet & cuddly. If that's true I don't think it would be much of a life to be caged up.

Bee_Kay replied: When Ash turned 3, my DH cousin and his wife bought Ash 2 rabbits without asking us.
I was pretty irrate about it, but I smiled (it was her birthday afterall).

Within a week, one of them died. We had no idea how to take care of them (neither of us have ever owned rabbits) so we asked if they could take it back to where they bought it..... they wouldn't so we ended up giving it to my friends brother.

I felt really mean, but omg, they really should have asked first!

Bee_Kay replied: Oh yeah... LOL

The baby squirrels are SUPER CUTE!!!

EvesMom replied: I raised baby squirrels, cottontails, and birds.
Here is a recipe for Squirrel formula.
1 cup whole milk (they need the fat)
1 Tablespoon white Karo syrup
Vitamin E -- 200 I. U. (water-soluble)


Combine first two ingredients and scald the milk. ("To scald" means to heat at medium-high heat on stove, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until just before milk comes to the boiling point. The reason for scalding milk is to kill the enzymes that can be very upsetting to a squirrel's stomach. For this same reason, cheese should never be given because of the enzymes it contains.)

Let cool, put in fastidiously clean jar, and add 200 I.U. Vitamin E to formula. Since Vitamin E wants to float on top, shake container well several times to mix. Store in refrigerator and take out only a small amount to heat for each feeding. One of the gentlest ways of reheating is to boil a small amount of water in a Pyrex custard cup in a microwave oven or in a pan on top of the stove and set the small amount of milk formula (in a baby food Jar) in the hot water for a few seconds or so until it is at room temperature. Throw away any of this unused formula.

Use a full tablespoon of Karo for fox squirrels and a scant tablespoon (per cup) for gray squirrels. (If you have both, do the best you can!) Karo is necessary to keep them from becoming constipated. If you have a problem with diarrhea, cut back slightly on the amount of Karo. Cut out Karo gradually and completely with grays as they get older and start ingesting more formula (15 to 18 c.c.'s) and therefore more Karo.

For only one or two baby squirrels, cut the recipe in half. (Half of 1 Tablespoon is 1} teaspoons.) This should keep for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Do not add anything, such as baby cereals or breads to this formula because the calcium will be blocked and rickets will result. These babies need all the calcium they can get for as long as they will take it in formula form.

Honey should never be substituted for Karo Corn syrup because of its potential for botulism.

Another old formula good for short-term emergency basis is canned Pet or Carnation Evaporated milk mixed half-and-half with water. On a long-term basis, this is not satisfactory for babies because of the additive, carageenan, which can cause colon problems.

zdk753 replied: Thank you Eve'smom for that recipe. I'll get the stuff to make that tomm. I honestly though have no idea what kind of squirrels I have. I know it has to be either a fox or gray, but how to tell the diff. I haven't figured out yet. The only pics I have found so far just show the adults. Should I just give a scant tablespoon until I know for sure? Also where can you buy vitamin E? At any supermarket or health store?

zdk753 replied: Barb, that is exactly how I felt when I came home last night. Don't get me wrong they are adorable & I do like them, but I feel like Phillip should have discussed it w/ me before just doing it. Esp. since everyone knows I'm the one that ends up taking care of any animals we get. It's like w/ Patches. She was a gift for Dylan yet I'm the one that cleans the litter box, feeds her, gives her water, etc. Like I said I don't mind, but it would be nice to have just a little help if everyone is going to keep bringing in animals. I'm supposed to be getting a puppy in a couple of wks. No one seems to think about how tiring it is going to be to be having to take care of 3 squirrels, a cat, & a dog. Pretty soon I'm going to need a sign in my front yard that says Alayna's Sanctuary lol.

zdk753 replied: Here is another pic I have to share. It was feeding time. Excuse how bad I look. I was concentrating real hard on her to make sure she didn't start sucking too fast.

luvmykids replied: OMgosh, they are too cute! Too bad they aren't more easily domesticated, bless yuo for taking them in after they lost their mama!

EvesMom replied:
They are gray squirrels. The supermarket may have vitamin E, but a healthfood or vitamin shop will definately have it.

amynicole21 replied: Oh man, they are cute! I think I would have bonked DH on the head if he brought them home though

kit_kats_mom replied: when I volunteered at the wildlife rehab place, I raised some squirrles.

Fun animals. The LOVE grapes when they get a bit bigger

MommyToAshley replied: Aweee, how cute!

I agree with Amy about the bonk on the head though...LOL!