Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My summer class called Reptiles & Rodents began June 4. On June 6th one of the teenagers they hire to walk kids around & basically be go-fers for teachers came into our classroom with a teensy baby not yet weaned Mexican ground squirrel. She said she'd found it on the paved road that winds around the entire college- where the speed limit is 25.
The teen said that at first she thought it was a lizard, as she got closer she saw it had fur, then she realized what it was. She picked it up- I'm still wondering how it got there. Did a kid find it, take it from it's nest then leave it in the road? Did mama squirrel make an attempt to move her babies & then dropped this one? We'll never know.

My teaching partner is very experienced with baby squirrels so she told the kid she'd take care of it. She put it in her shirt pocket then sent her own daughter to Pet's Mart for puppy formula & baby bottles.
This baby took to the bottle immediately & is doing just great right now.
I got it's picture from day one & you just have to see this.
It's TOO CUTE!

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PHRatz

WOW How Itty Bitty!!! Very adorable!!!

>>WOW How Itty Bitty!!! Very adorable!!!

It is.. ya know it's not easy to raise a rodent on a bottle.. they usually don't make it.
I called yesterday to find out how this baby is doing. Doing great except the daughter who went out to get the formula & supplies has done the most feeding of the baby so now the baby won't eat for anyone but her.
She's 18 years old so she's old enough to take the responsibility but I was just surprised to hear that the baby wants only her.
She said she went to spend the night at a friend's house on Sat. night, her mother called her in the middle of the night to come feed the baby & take it with her because Mom could not get the baby to eat.
Picky little BRAT LOL!
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PHRatz

How cute!

One of my co-workers had 3 orphaned squirrels that she bottle fed. Her teenaged daughter would take them on weekends. She called them the "life ruiners" because they took so much of her time. She has decided not to have kids for a very looooong time! LoL The squirrels eventually went to wildlife rehab once they were running all over the place, and then were released.

My stepmom also bottle fed a squirrel, but she decided to keep it. Once it hit puberty it attacked her and her hands swelled up so bad she couldn't drive. She had to be on IV antibiotics and everything. I told her not to keep it, but she wouldn't listen.
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~Rachel~

How lucky for the baby squirrel that the rehabber was right there! When I get a baby rat I like to keep it in a shirt pocket with me, on and off, for most of the day. The baby seems to feel more secure with someone.
Will they be able to release the squirrel? Since it bonded with the girl?
Robin.

My guess is that they won't be able to release the baby once it's weaned but I don't know yet what the plan will be for it.

Yesterday things didn't go so well for the baby, it was having trouble going to the bathroom but wasn't feeling badly yet.
I haven't heard what's happening this morning I only know that our vet would be seeing it. Our vet said on the phone that she has a better formula for it that she'd rather it be drinking so I'll find out today how it's going.
I hope nothing bad happened to the baby last night...

These people who have the baby right now bottle fed a tree squirrel once & then she became their pet, that squirrel lived for 8 years! I so hope this baby makes it, it's just too cute not to.
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PHRatz

It's unfortunate but it didn't live..
Once the baby got constipated I had a feeling this would happen.

That poor girl-the 18 year old who was feeding the baby took it really really hard. I felt more sorry for her than the baby.. almost.
Maybe she'll get another chance, we have 2 more weeks to go with the classes. Another one could be found.. if one is the mom said "next time- it's going to the vet immediately" then they'll worry about feeding it.
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PHRatz