At the end of June 2011, they brought... squirrels to our office. More precisely, baby squirrels. These baby squirrels fell out of the hollow directly onto the heads of walking citizens.
Now let's figure it out. How could tiny squirrels who had just opened their eyes fall out of the hollow? And why did the careless mother immediately brazenly sit on a branch, not take the children, and not react to people’s comments? It's simple. The baby squirrels did not fall, but were thrown out by their mother. It is not uncommon (in old squirrels or if these are late broods, then perhaps for other reasons) that squirrels are born with underdeveloped internal organs. In captivity, such animals are vigorous and cheerful, jumping, eating, and then suddenly one fine morning they do not wake up. Nature has endowed such non-viable squirrels with an unpleasant specific smell. And the mother squirrel throws them out of the nest like something smelly. No animal parent will waste time and effort on obviously sick and weak offspring. The baby squirrels will definitely die. They will quickly be found and eaten by some predator, and maybe even your pet dog. I feel sorry for the squirrels. But in nature, up to 80% of young squirrels die every year because, for various reasons, they do not survive their first autumn or winter. Even with this figure, squirrels continue to be found in abundance in Bitsevsky Park. Squirrel is included in the natural food cycle. She herself is considered a “tree rat” - she eats everything. In addition to plant foods, the squirrel happily eats a variety of insects and destroys bird nests (it can eat eggs and chicks). If there are too many squirrels, they will noticeably reduce the number of small birds. That is, the squirrel is also a forest robber. In turn, squirrel is an excellent food for martens and birds of prey. She also intensively stores supplies for the winter, and other inhabitants of the forest use these reserves. Thus, the forest needs squirrels in any form (living or dead).
Let's return to the forest orphans. If you find a suspiciously weak, pitiful cub, then you have a choice. Or don’t interfere in the affairs of Nature and pass by. Or, you can, as a Good Deity, give the little animals a few weeks or months (and maybe years) of life. But, remember once and for all, GOOD DEEDS SHOULD BE DONE WITH YOUR OWN HANDS, AND NOT PUSH THEM ONTO OTHERS!
If you decide to help the animal, you take it home and take care of it. If he is not seriously injured, we quickly treat him and release him. If he is disabled for life, then we provide him with a happy life in our hospitable home. No need to take the poor fellow to the Zoo. There are a wagon and a cart of their own animals. And here you are with your squirrels. Zoo staff will be very happy to fill you with a bag of “once-loved-by-the-owners-and-quickly-bored-of-living-toys.” And there is no need to bring animals to the forestry. There are no nurseries or shelters in the forestry. All worries will fall on the shoulders of the park workers. Such an employee will not receive any outside help, bonuses or sick leave.
I hope that the people who brought us 5 baby squirrels will read this article. They brought the animals to the forestry, gave them away, sighed with relief, wrote down one more good deed and went home. It was all over for them. But it started for me. The hand did not rise to throw away the children (feed them to a predator, the hand did not rise either). I had to play the role of the Good Deity. I will say, looking ahead, despite all the difficulties, my family and I received a lot of pleasure and impressions from communicating with the baby squirrels. But this is all thanks to the fact that all the people living in my house are people who LOVE ANIMALS MORE THAN FURNITURE AND CARPETS. Dear reader, have you already wanted to have a squirrel at home? Wait, now I’ll tell you what you have to face.
The squirrels (and me) started to get lucky from the very beginning. My mother agreed to help feed the squirrels. At first, the baby squirrels only slept in a hat. They were fed 5 times a day with diluted cat milk. Animal children should not be fed cow's milk. Pet stores sell cat milk powder concentrate and small bottles with nipples. We feed, wash hats, give massages. Everything seems simple. My pets, accustomed to the fact that various strange creatures periodically appear in the house, reacted calmly to the baby squirrels. They only said: “Lord, they threw in some more and there’s no place to spit!”
The squirrels are still growing. They gave up milk. We switched to adult nutrition and became super active. I had to give the squirrels two rooms of the country house at their disposal.
And now a list of the outrages that squirrels can do in the house. 4 squirrels (1 did not survive) give the impression that there are at least 20 of them. Everything around you is rustling, holding together, jumping and swaying. Squirrels are everywhere: on the curtains, on the carpet, in the toolbox, in the bag of cereal, in the box of cotton wool, in the fireplace, under the blanket, in the closet with clothes, on your back, on your head, in your pocket, in your pant leg, and At the same time, someone is constantly running around on the floor. The squirrels quickly remodeled the house to their liking. We pulled the insulation out of the wall and insulated the box in which the soap was stored (the soap was naturally thrown away). They stole all the nuts and stuffed them into the cracks. They found candles and partially ate them (what they didn’t eat was taken away in an unknown direction). They chewed on a dried fish head. They ate the button on an electric razor. All the ropes and rags were collected and taken to a box already insulated with cotton wool. A cloth was pulled out of the eyeglass case to wipe the glasses. The rag made an excellent mattress. They took everything that was there out of the fireplace and laid it out beautifully on the floor. The firewood was dismantled into chips. All the floors were covered in seed skins. Tubes of cream were jumping on the shelves and climbing up the curtains with enviable consistency. Twice a day the squirrels had a quiet time. Oh, this magical QUIET HOUR! The children fell asleep where daytime sleep overtook them: on a shelf, on a lantern, on a bed, in a plate, in a nightstand, on a table, in a vase, etc. And here's another piece of luck: the squirrel is a diurnal animal and sleeps all night. Ours went to bed at 19:30, so in the evening the rooms were at people's disposal (“Hurray! The kids went to bed!”).
Just don’t think that I had a pigsty at home. It was even very clean, although I had to constantly sweep - clean, sweep - clean, and so on ad infinitum.
In mid-August, the squirrels moved to an enclosure on the territory of the Bitsevsky Forest administration. I thought my problems were over, but no, they had just begun. With the onset of cold nights, the baby squirrels began to freeze. All their energy was spent on heating. They did not grow and were chilly wrapped in baby's summer coats. One baby squirrel died. The situation is deadlocked. And then I’m lucky again - a very good person who works with animals takes my baby squirrels. I won’t tell you where this good man works, otherwise you’ll rush there with your foundlings. Now the squirrels live indoors, they have grown up and even acquired a gray winter coat. They will not be able to live in the forest. I don’t even know if it will be possible to move them back to the enclosure in the summer.
Here's the story. Draw your own conclusions.
P.S. One clear October morning, the strongest and most active little squirrel (already the third of five) did not wake up. An autopsy showed that he did not have a single normally developed organ.
At the time the newspaper went to press (January 2012), the two remaining baby squirrels (now squirrels) continue to live indoors and have not yet complained about their health.
Victoria Shlyakhovaya,
Chief Specialist of the Biodiversity Department,
monitoring and environmental education
Found a baby squirrel (fell out of the nest), what should you do with it? What to feed and drink? photo and got the best answer
Answer from Lucky[guru]
Answer from 2 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Found a baby squirrel (fell out of the nest), what should you do with it? What to feed and drink? photo
Answer from Yorkie Fretka[newbie]
So cute) Maybe I should contact the veterinarian for advice?!
Answer from Field o[newbie]
it doesn't really look like a baby squirrel
especially in 2nd photo
Answer from Alexander Shvarev[guru]
Lovely))) but I don’t even know what to feed.
Answer from 8ChS Petrenko[guru]
Pretty! I think milk should be given, but it’s better to go to a pet store and buy food. Sellers will advise. If you don’t want to keep it, look for caring owners. I would take it...
Answer from *Lonely*[guru]
I heard somewhere that if a cub of a forest animal is touched by a person, then the mother will not take it, because the cub will smell like a person, so maybe release it into the forest when it grows up and learn to get food for itself?
and also - they live in hollows in nature - maybe put some smaller box in his box, he will climb in there and sleep, and store nuts
Answer from Homyachok[guru]
Better take it to the zoo. If it grows with you, it’s unlikely that when it grows it will take root in the forest
Answer from Ferry Corsten[guru]
Despite popular belief, squirrels are omnivores: in addition to nuts, seeds, fruits, mushrooms and green vegetation, they also eat insects, eggs and even small birds, mammals and frogs. Very often this food replaces nuts for squirrels in tropical countries.
Answer from Yergey Naryshkin[guru]
If he doesn’t bite nuts, it means he’s small and force-feed kitten formula from a pipette. In general, you shouldn’t have taken him, he doesn’t seem to me to have fallen out of the nest, such people are already running around with their mothers, and she would have found something to feed him.
In appearance, he seems to be old enough to start shoveling himself.
Answer from NoName[master]
Lapulka) Seek advice from veterinarians or the zoo...
Answer from Nata Kulikova[guru]
he's already grown up, try milk from a pacifier, just not fatty, try crushing the nuts and giving them, otherwise he's unlikely to succeed whole
or better yet, go to the zoo. They'll give you good advice
Answer from Yoonya[guru]
What a manyu!! ! Keep it for yourself :))) Or to the zoo
Answer from Nina96[guru]
You can feed and water only GOAT milk or a SPECIAL MIXTURE for feeding kittens.
Give diluted milk, conveniently from a syringe (without a needle), for the time when you need to leave, you can hang up a drinking bowl for rodents after showing it to the baby (the diluted mixture can be stored for no more than 3-4 hours). You need to feed the baby 5-6 times a day, approximately 5 ml. After feeding, be sure to massage the tummy (in a clockwise circular motion). As soon as the baby squirrel learns to lap up milk from a saucer, you can offer crackers, seeds (white or black), unpeeled, unpeeled grains of oats and wheat. Offer the little squirrel various tree branches - apple tree, acacia, oak, willow, linden, pine and spruce...
It is impossible to feed vegetables and fruits while the baby squirrel drinks milk, the body is not adapted to
What to feed the baby squirrel?
One of the products that I use when feeding baby squirrels is Esbilac milk replacer for puppies. You can purchase it at most pet stores.
Esbilac can be sold in powder or liquid form. I prefer to buy Esbilac powder. Instead of buying Esbilac, do not buy its substitutes that may be offered to you in the store. At the same time, buy several syringes from the store (or pharmacy), but without needles.
You can pick up a gift for your loved one in the online store dom-podarka.ru.
Never, ever use bottles with nipples when feeding your baby squirrel! The baby squirrel could suffocate because of them!
Instead of bottles, you will need syringes with a capacity of 1 to 3 units for feeding very small squirrels, and syringes with a capacity of 5-10 units for feeding slightly older squirrels.
Instead of needles, you need to put small nipples on the syringes, which can be sold in pet stores.
If you cannot find such small papillae, then use a pipette, but in this case, be extremely careful and do not supply food to the baby squirrel too quickly, otherwise he may choke.
Mix 2 parts of liquid esbilac with 1 part of water (if you use esbilac in powder, then add 2 parts of water to 1 part of esbilac). You can also add just a little fruit sweetener for kids. Just a little bit! You can use a fruity banana sweetener - squirrels really like this taste.
You can also add some yogurt to the nutritional formula.
Stir the nutritional mixture into a clean jar and then store the mixture in the refrigerator.
Then, for each feeding, heat only the portion of the formula that you will use for that feeding.
When heating the mixture in the microwave, be careful not to let the mixture get too hot.
Then fill the syringe with the nutritional mixture and feed the baby squirrel very carefully.
When feeding, I place the grown squirrels on a flat surface and feed them in this position. If the baby squirrels are still too small, then you can feed them by holding them in your hand.
Be very careful and go slowly to prevent the baby squirrel from choking.
Sometimes a baby squirrel can suck the mixture so quickly that it begins to choke. In this case, you need to immediately stop feeding and hold the baby upside down so that excess fluid can flow back out. After this, you need to wipe the baby squirrel's nose and mouth and then continue feeding, only even more slowly.
A very small squirrel with fur that is still completely absent or has barely begun to grow needs regular feeding every 2-3 hours, since thin squirrels cannot eat enough at one meal.
Baby squirrels at two to three weeks of age should be fed regularly every 3-4 hours.
Three to five week old baby squirrels need to be fed every 4-5 hours.
At the age of five weeks, the baby squirrels should already be fully covered with fur and their eyes should already be opening. At this age, they can be fed every four hours during the day, but at night they can no longer be fed.
The amount of food a baby squirrel needs for each meal is not strictly defined. The baby squirrel can eat a little more or a little less.
Here is an approximate feeding schedule for baby squirrels depending on their age:
From one day to two weeks: 0.5-2 cc. see for each meal, 6-8 feedings per day.
2 to 4 weeks of age: 2-4 cc. see for each meal, 5 or 6 feedings during the day.
4 to 6 weeks of age: 4-6 (or even more) cc. see for each meal, 4 meals during the day, at night you can no longer feed.
From the age of six weeks, squirrels can eat more solid food (prem biscuit and small pieces of plant food) in addition to the nutritional formula that they need to be given in a volume of 6-12 cubic meters. see for each meal. Squirrels of this age need to be fed 2-3 times a day.
I always give the baby squirrels formula until then. Until they themselves give it up.
Also, baby squirrels are given goat milk with the following calculation:
Day 1 – 1:4 (goat milk:water)
Day 2 – 1:3 (goat milk:water)
Day 3 – 1:2 (goat milk:water)
If a baby squirrel is fed goat's milk, its feces will look like yellow toothpaste. If the feces become more liquid, start giving the baby squirrel the mixture as on the first day (1:4).
The baby squirrel must always be clean. After each feeding, wipe around the mouth with a damp cloth. Gently clean the genitals and anus several times a day (more often if necessary).
Vitamins must be added to the goat milk mixture. Very tiny baby squirrels are given one drop twice a day during the first week of feeding. Three-week-old squirrels are given one drop 3 times a day. When the baby squirrel opens his eyes, give him two drops of vitamins 3 times a day.
LIFESTYLE.
The squirrel is a typical forest inhabitant. Since the basis of its nutrition is the seeds of tree species, it prefers mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, which provide the best feeding conditions. He also loves mature dark coniferous plantations - cedar forests, spruce forests, fir trees; they are followed by larch forests, thickets of dwarf cedar and mixed pine forests. In the north, where mainly pine and larch woodlands grow, its population density is low. In Crimea and the Caucasus she mastered cultural landscapes: gardens and vineyards.
The lifestyle is predominantly arboreal. A squirrel is a living, active animal. She easily jumps from tree to tree (3-4 m in a straight line and 10-15 m in a downward curve), “steering” with her tail.
During the snowless period, as well as during the rut, it spends significant time on the ground, where it moves in leaps up to 1 m long. In winter, it moves mainly “on top.” When there is danger, it hides in trees, usually hiding in the crown.
Active during the day, spending 60% to 80% of the time searching for food. In the midst of winter, it leaves the nest only for feeding time, and in severe frosts and bad weather it hides in the nest, falling into a semi-drowsy state. Not territorial; individual areas are weakly expressed and overlap.
The common squirrel makes shelter only in trees. In deciduous forests, it usually lives in hollows, dragging there a soft litter of grass, tree lichens, and dry leaves. In conifers, it builds spherical nests from dry branches (gaina), which are lined from the inside with moss, leaves, grass, and wool. Nest diameter - 25-30 cm; it is located in the fork of branches or among dense branches at a height of 7-15 m. The squirrel also willingly occupies birdhouses.
REPRODUCTION
Squirrels are very prolific. In most of the range they produce 1-2 litters, in the southern regions - up to 3. The Yakut squirrel usually has only 1 brood per year. The breeding season, depending on the latitude of the area, food conditions and population density, begins in late January - early March and ends in July-August. During the rut, 3-6 males stay near the female and demonstrate aggression towards competitors - they purr loudly, hit branches with their paws, and run after each other. After mating with the winner, the female builds a brood nest (sometimes 2-3); it is neater and larger in size.
Pregnancy lasts 35-38 days, in a litter of 3 to 10 cubs; in the second litter less. Newborn squirrels are naked and blind, weighing about 8 g.
They develop hair on the 14th day, and begin to see clearly only on the 30-32nd day. From this moment they begin to leave the nest. They are fed with milk for up to 40-50 days. At the age of 8-10 weeks they leave the mother. Sexual maturity is reached at 9-12 months. Having raised the first litter, the female fattens up somewhat and mates again. The interval between broods is about 13 weeks. In October-November, the squirrel population consists of 2/3, and sometimes 75-80%, of young-of-the-year squirrels.
PS: And as it turns out, squirrels are friendly and seductive.
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