Friday, April 19, 2013

Squirrel Rescue: What To Do If You Find a Baby Squirrel


Yesterday Evening my neighbors dog got out. After returning it home I noticed something in the driveway. At first I thought it was a little puppy or maybe a rat. It wasn't moving. I told my step sister to come over. She looked closely and yelled "it's breathing, it's alive"! She picked it up and placed it on the grass. That is when we saw the tail and knew for sure that it was a squirrel.

I ran inside and quickly checked the Internet and asked my Facebook homesteading group "what should I do"? One lovely lady gave me the number of a local wildlife rehabilitation center. I called and they were closed for the day. I went on their website, wildliferescuecenter.org,and found some great information.

About an hour later it started getting dark. I checked to see if it was still there and sure enough it was. Me and my darling husband went talked to our neighbor about the situation and placed the baby in a small box that I had placed clean rags in. Make sure to use gloves just in case the animal is sick. I learned that rodents don't carry rabies but there are a million other things that they can have.

We brought it inside to keep in warm and safe overnight. I checked the surrounding area for any hurt or dead adult squirrels, but did not see any which gave me hope that its mama was still alive. During the night it cried for it's mama. I barely could sleep worried that it might die from dehydration.

This morning my mom said that she had seen an adult squirrel jumping from branch to branch looking for something in the tree near where I found the baby. I waited until it was light out and got the baby ready to hopefully be reunited with its mama. I filled a water bottle with hot water and placed it in an old sock. I placed it near the baby to help keep it warm.

I put the box under the tree and went back inside. After about 20 minutes I went to check and it was gone. There was no sign of struggle or blood or anything so I don't think it was attacked by a predator.. I believe that the mom found it and brought it back to its nest. I sure hope so.

How cute is that?
Farm Girl Friday Blog Fest
 This week I am linking up to the Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead

2 comments:

  1. I once found a baby squirrel took it in and put it in a box open over night, by the morning it died, I tried call n looking for help, but it was to late. I saw that when I found it, it had like two other dead ones next to it,sad but true

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that is so sad. From what I have read if you find other dead or injured squirrels near by most likely the nest was attacked. Luckily with this squirrel we had a successful reunion with its mother.

      Delete