About Squirrels

Live Science Squirrels: Diet, Habits & Other Facts

Wikipedia Eastern gray squirrel

Be aware in spring or mid-August (squirrels are born in litters twice a year):

Baby squirrels running after you and clinging to the leg of your pants are not rabid ! They are doing this out of sheer desperation because they have lost their mom and have been lacking care for days. Young squirrels are an exception in the animal kingdom – when they have lost contact with their mom and suffer hunger and thirst, they gather all their courage and purposefully seek help from humans. Many of these babies could also have been injured by a fall from a tree.

If you find a baby squirrel, contact a wildlife rehabber after scooping them up into a box, bag, or tucked down your shirt (I’ve done this more times than I can remember) then when you get home tuck them into a box cushioned with a soft t-shirt or something. No toweling because their nails can get caught in the terrycloth.

Be aware that if they’ve been without mom, they’ve been on the ground awhile and might have fleas. You can comb them out over a sink that has water and dish soap, which will kill the fleas, but don’t get the babies wet.

Every state has one or more wildlife rescues, which will have a list of rehabbers.

If babies approach a human, they’ve been on their own long enough to be starving. Thus a rehabber asap because they’ll have the proper formula and feeding syringes. Also experience so the little guys don’t aspirate. Don’t try to feed them yourself.

They need to stay warm, and kept in a quiet contained place like a bathroom. If you have a heating pad, put in halfway under the box, set on low. I say halfway because then they can move off the warmth if they get too hot. If no heating pad, you can fill an empty water bottle with really hot water, tuck it into a medium thick sock, and then put it on one end of their little nest box.

If you can’t get a rehabber quickly (most will be available at least the next day) or you’re too far from one, they can have Pedialyte to start, and then puppy formula like Esbilac depending on how long it will be before they can get to a rehabber. No cow’s milk!! The danger with feeding them is that if they get formula too quickly, they can aspirate it into their lungs and get pneumonia. So if you use a little pet nursing bottle, you cut as small a hole in the nipple as possible. If you tilt the bottle, the formula should only drip slowly. The babies will do the rest. If the formula comes out too quickly, they’ll aspirate.

At this age, they’re probably peeing on their own, so periodically you’ll have to change out their bedding so they don’t get wet (and cold).

Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, an excellent organization, offers this advice: What to do if you find a baby squirrel

Reasons why you shouldn’t try to rehab baby squirrels on your own, regardless of how cute they are.