First Care
Do's and Dont's
Syringes
Do
Use a 1ml Syringe, preferably with a Catac 1 or first 2 sizes of Miracle Nipple attached.
Don't
Don't use anything else, dont use a syringe bigger than 2.5ml, or a bottle, teaspoon etc
Reason
A baby squirrels oesophagus is about the size of a cocktail stick, if you feed too fast you will aspirate and most likely cost the squirrel its life.
It would be comparative to feeding a newborn baby human with a bucket.
This is the most common mistake untrained people make.
Milk
Do
Use a good quality puppy formula. We recommend Royal Canin Babydog Milk. This is what we use and most squirrel rescues use across the UK. It can be easily bought online, and also alot of vets stock it.
Don't
Don't use anything else, dont use any home made recipes, Goats milk, Cows Milk, Lactol, Baby Formula, Rusks, wheatabix, cereals etc.
Dont add anything to the milk.
Reason
A baby squirrel needs a very high fat milk which goats, cows, human milk etc are not. Royal Canin Babydog Milk is widely used in the UK and has good, consistent results. If you are feeding a baby squirrel its only source of food, it deserves the right thing.
Medicine
Do
If you have a squirrel that needs medication then you need to get it to a squirrel friendly rescue as soon as possible.
Don't
Don't use ANY medication on a squirrel, squirrels need different dosages to other animals and some medication is highly poisonous. This includes flea treatment, antibiotics, pain relief etc.
Reason
Medication is very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing, it is better for the squirrel to wait a few hours and get the right medication from a rescue than to potentially make a life threatening mistake.