Squirrels, anyone?

[amity3520]

This forum can answer all my other questions, so why not this one?

My dad brought home a baby squirrel from work today...

he works at a shipping terminal, where they also get big trucks in and things, and this little guy has been hanging around for a couple days in the terminal, coming right up to people, sitting on their shoulders, and everything. He had a bloody nose when he was first found, and he sniffles every once in a while now, and I don't know if it is due to the bloody nose or if squirrels just sniffle? He was found yesterday, and I guess the guys in the terminal didn't want a squirrel around where it would likely get run over/kicked/abused, so my dad brought it home. It's already escaped from the dog crate, so we have him in a small cat crate, with a lot of rags which he burrows with, acorns, nuts, and water.

He looks to be about 8 weeks old, judging on pictures. He's eaten the acorns, doesn't seem very wobbly, climbs, burrows, and he's very energetic and friendly. We live in the woods and have a big barn and figured we would release him into the barn, but when is the right time for that? Should he still be in the relatively warm area of the basement? Is there anything he should be eating besides unsalted nuts and acorns?

I'm concerned about the sniffling, otherwise he seems okay. His poop is a pretty normal roundish consistency, no diarrhea.

Besides the sniffling, and whether that's normal or not, what can we provide him to make him more comfortable? I was thinking a small stuffed animal might be nice for him to cuddle with, as he loves just crawling inside my sweater and snuggling.

Anything I should know/do?

Thanks for all your help, advice, anything!! This forum rocks, and I'm hoping you can provide a little insight on squirrels too!

 

[poultrykeeper08]

What kind of squirrel is it ? I have gray squirrels and they dont sniffle .
Any idea what the bloody nose was casued by ?

i feed mine pellets , apples.lettuce (not iceburg) corn,seeds and small pieces of bread

 

[miss_jayne]

pm citalk2much. she is a squirrel rehab specialist. she knows them inside and out.

 

[bcf45]

we had 3 when i was a kid we fed them raw peanuts the kind still in the shell. walmart has them

 

[amity3520]

We think we're just going to bring him to the local wildlife rehabilitation center tomorrow. He's old enough where we COULD do it on our own... but they would do it better. I want nothing more than for him to be able to be released in the wild, and while he's here it's much too tempting to take him out and play with him. He was really handtame already, so hopefully that won't hurt him too much. Also, they'll be able to check on the sniffling thing and there's debates about whether he should be weaned or not by now and we don't have a cage big enough or appropriate enough for him and the list goes on and on.

Though I love him already, I want him to be able to be a squirrel, so I think it's the right decision.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
that's what citalk2much would tell you. let the pros take care of it. plus there are laws.

you are a smart cookie!