Each year St. Francis Wildlife in Tallahassee, receives approximately 600 orphaned baby squirrels (grey squirrels, flying squirrels and fox squirrels). If you would like to become a squirrel foster parent, please contact our Squirrel Foster Volunteer Coordinator Barbara Barnett to sign up for one our training sessions on the correct diet and care of baby squirrels.Then, when we receive orphaned babies, we'll call upon you to help raise these babies in your home. When the animals are grown, they are always released back to the wild.

If you find a baby squirrel, first try to reunite him with his mother. If this does not work, continue reading . . .

"Pinky" baby squirrel photo by Eric Clark Fully-furred baby photo by Sandy Beck

Rescuing Orphaned Babies Warm chilled young by holding them in your hands. Examine for injuries: puncture wounds or scratches from cats and dogs, broken bones, or nerve damage. A veterinarian may need to administer special antibiotics or set broken bones.A dehyrated or cold baby is grayish pink with grayish gums and lips; it will ball up, be unresponsive, sluggish or lie still; it will look thin and feel cold to your touch.A healthy furred baby will have very pink gums, respond appropriately to its environment, feel warm, and look round and full.Never give food to a cold animal or dehydrated animal.Dehydration: Skin will "tent" or remain extended when pulled away from body.When baby is warm, feed warmed Pedialyte* very, very slowly for a couple of feedings until skin does not tent. NO FORMULA YET. *Do not substitute Gatorade for Pedialyte. Until you can get to a store that sells Pedialyte, use the following to rehydrate: mix 1 qt. water, 1 tsp salt, and 3 tsp sugar.Then, gradually, give formula (see "Formula" below) diluted with extra water. After a few feedings, when baby is normal, graduate to regular Esbilac formula. Do not mix the Pedialyte with Formula.

House babies in box with paper towels for bedding. Place box on heating pad on LOW setting. For fully-furred young, place heating pad under only 1/2 of the box so they can move to or away from the heat source. If box is too warm, placing a towel between the box and heat pad will help adjust heat.Feed babiesNever feed cow's milk. Feed powdered ESBILAC (puppy milk replacer).Buy: Esbilac Milk Replacer powder (available in pet supply stores) only.Formula: 2 parts water, 1 part Esbilac (e.g. 2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon Esbilac).Mix in a small jar what you think you will use in 1 day.* Warm only the amount they will eat at one feeding. Do not reheat.Refrigerate mixture and powder also.* Feed Esbilac/water formula with a 1 c.c. syringe. ** Important To prevent calcium deficiency: For each squirrel, each day: In a 1c.c. syringe, mix tiny bit of Osteoform powder with a tiny bit of water and feed. It is important to feed Osteoform solution separately rather than trying to mix with formula.

IMPORTANT: Feeding a baby squirrel either in an upright position (above) or lying on his belly (below) helps to keep him from aspirating (breathing in) the formula. Photo by Sandy Beck

Photo by Sandy Beck

Feeding Schedule Pinkies, eyes closed (see photo above): Feed every three - four hours, day and night. Fuzzy, eyes closed (velvety coat of new fur): Feed every four hours. Fully furred, eyes open: Feed four times a day: early morning, lunchtime, dinnertime and just before you go to bed.

VERY IMPORTANT
Feed all babies very slowly so they don't aspirate (breathe in formula). If baby aspirates, listen closely for congestion. It may need antibiotics. Call St. Francis if in doubt.Gently stroke genital area with a tissue to stimulate urination and defecation at each feeding. Stroking is not usually necessary after eyes are opened.Watch for
Diarrhea: Weaken formula. Call to report diarrhea that does not respond within eight hours. If babies come in with diarrhea, feed 25% Esbilac solution, rather than 50%.Dehydration: Skin will "tent" or remain extended when pulled away from body. Feed Pedialyte. NO FORMULA.Constipation: Give a few drops diluted apple juice.Injuries: Treat minor scratches with Betadine or Novolsan wash and triple antibiotic ointment or Novolsan ointment. Report puncture wounds or any other serious injuries to St. Francis Wildlife: They will need antibiotics.Keep Squirrels Clean.
Watch for and guard against staph infection. Change paper towels often, and ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS with an anti-bacterial soap (like Dial) after contact with any wild animal.Baby squirrels will sometimes nurse on each other. This can result in inflammation of the penis. Treat with antibiotic ointment. If this happens, you will have to separate them.

Photo by Jon Johnson

Weaning Squirrels will self wean. Put ESBILAC formula in a shallow lid to allow them to begin self-feeding. Add a shallow lid of water. Keep water available at all times while weaning. Begin introducing acorns, sunflower seeds, unsalted nuts, raw fruit and vegetables (cut grapes, apples, broccoli, sweet potatoes, etc.). You can also mix formula, then later water, with hi-protein baby cereal.

Transferring to an Outdoor Cage
When they are eating on their own and have grown a bushy tail, place them in an outdoor covered, wire cage. 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch mesh wire ("hardware cloth") will exclude snakes, raccoons, and other predators. It is also important to have a secure lock on the cage. Raccoons are very good at opening cage doors.Inside the cage, place a hiding box (small cardboard box) with bedding in it. Arrange branches for them to climb and chew on. Squirrels are rodents. Their teeth grow continuously throughout their life, so they must have hard food and wood to chew on. Add a cow's knuckle bone or other hard bone that won't splinter; this provides a source of calcium as well as something to grind teeth on. Also include branches from oak trees with acorns attached.

Keep wildlife wild!

* It is preferable not to raise orphaned mammals alone. Littermates that are left to themselves will focus on each other, rather than on their human foster parent. Their survival in the wild depends on interaction with their own species, proper socialization, and at least an indifferent view of humans.

Photo by Sandy Beck

To avoid taming, it is also important for you to limit human contact. Do not bring friends over to pet your baby animal! He'll assume all people are safe, and may run into trouble in the wild where not everyone finds squirrels cute.Also, don't allow contact between your pets and the babies in your charge. Even though your cat or dog may be gentle with baby squirrels, free-roaming pets pose a great danger in the wild. Twenty percent of all animals brought to St. Francis Wildlife are the victims of a cat or dog attack!It is our duty to return wildlife back to the wild with the necessary tools they'll need to survive.Release
Release only when self-feeding and off formula. They must be able to open or crack natural foods.Do not release in your yard if there are cats, dogs, or roads nearby. St. Francis has many suitable release sites where they will be safe.After they are totally self-feeding, open the cage door, but continue to keep food and water in it as long as they return to the cage.At first, their explorations in the surrounding trees will be very short; they will return to the cage frequently and to sleep at night. When they have created a natural nest, they will no longer return for the night.Grown squirrels will return to your yard daily if you provide a supply of unsalted peanuts and sunflower seeds or corn on a feeding tray or tree stump and a water supply. They will, however, become WILD and FREE. . . which is the sign that you have done a wonderful job!
Squirrel Facts
- They have at least two litters a year, two to four young per litter.
- Eyes open at about 36 days, and they leave the nest at about seven-eight weeks of age.
- Life expectancy is about one year, up to a maximum of ten years.
- Typical foods are nuts, seeds, fruit of hickory, beech, oak, sugar maple, walnut, dog
wood, wild grape, persimmon, pecan, and insects.
- Squirrels feed in the wild mainly between 8:00 -10:00 a.m. and 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- Body temperature is 99-102 degrees.Questions or Problems?
Please e-mail Barbara Barnett or call St. Francis Wildlife at 850-627-4151 if you have any questions or problems not covered here. Leave your name, number, and a brief message. We'll return your call as soon as possible.How You Can Help Squirrels and Other WildlifeBecause of natural predation and human interaction (habitat destruction, pollution, chemical pesticides, free-roaming domestic pets, automobiles and powerlines) many wild animals do not make it past their first year.Encourage your neighbors to:

keep their dogs on a leash; keep their cats indoors or, at least, to bell them; find alternatives to chemical pesticides; plant native trees and shrubs; leave snags (dead trees) standing; provide nest boxes; and call St. Francis Wildlife if they find any sick, injured or orphaned wild bird or animal.

Squirrel "tumors"During the summer and fall, St. Francis Wildlife receives a lot of calls about the "those hideous-looking tumors on squirrels." The lumps (Cutaneous warbles) are bot fly larvae developing under the squirrel's skin. Adult bot flies deposit their eggs near squirrel nests. The worm-like larva enters the squirrel's mouth, nose,or other opening and winds through the body to the skin. In three to seven weeks, the larva emerges from the skin and drops to the ground. Usually, the squirrel heals quickly. Bot flies do not infest humans in Florida.

Are neighborhood squirrels driving you nuts? Read Squirrels Can Teach Us How to Coexist Peacefully With Nature.

Photo: Phil Coale/AP - September 9, 2004

Amy Scheer feeds baby squirrels with an eye dropper at the St. Francis Wildlife Association headquarters in Havana, Fla. According to St. Francis officials, more than 300 baby squirrels have been turned in as a result of Hurricane Frances moving through the area destroying tree nests. St. Francis employees and volunteers will feed the squirrels until they can be released back into the wild.