How to Raise Baby Flying Squirrels

Raising baby flying squirrels requires a great deal of knowledge about the animal's needs.

If you find a litter of baby flying squirrels that appear to have been abandoned or lost their mother, it's a good idea to take them. Many lost or abandoned baby animals do not survive on their own in the wild. If you cannot get in touch with a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center and are able, take the squirrels home to raise them yourself. Be aware that baby flying squirrels require a great deal of special care, so make sure to prepare and educate yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Towels
• Heating pad
• Cardboard box
• Old sweatshirt
• Flannel shirt
• Powdered kitten's milk
• Plastic syringes
• Cotton pad
• Nuts
• Grains
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Bird cage
• Tree branches
• Cloth

Instructions

1. Lay a folded towel on a spot where you will be keeping the baby squirrels, with a heating pad positioned between the folds of the towel. Baby squirrels younger than five weeks require outside sources for heat because they do not produce their own body heat.

2. Place a cardboard box that is open at the top and bottom over the towels and heating pad. Lay an old sweatshirt or flannel shirt down inside the box, on top of the towel. This will be the bedding for the squirrels to nestle in.

3. Mix one part of powdered kitten's milk with four parts of warm water. For baby squirrels less than three weeks old, use a 1cc syringe; and for squirrels older than five weeks, use a 3cc syringe. Feed the baby squirrels every two to three hours.

4. Apply a warm, wet cotton pad to the squirrels' genitals after feeding. Massage them gently. This is necessary to stimulate the squirrels to eliminate body wastes.

5. Feed the squirrels nuts, fruits and vegetables when they are between four and five weeks old. Give them broccoli, squash, carrots, mushrooms, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds in the shell, apples and any crunchy fruits.

6. Transfer the flying squirrels to a bird cage as temporary housing when they reach approximately five or six weeks of age. Provide natural tree branches in the cage so that the animals can climb, and lay cloth down at the bottom for bedding material.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wake a baby flying squirrel before you feed it.

• You can determine the approximate age of a baby squirrel by looking for a few different factors. If it has no fur and has pink skin, it is around one to one and a half weeks old. If it has no fur but a dark pigmentation on its skin and the eyes are still closed, it is about two to two and a half weeks old. If the squirrel has peach fuzz with the eyes still closed and the ears pulled from the head, it is about three to three and a half weeks old. When the tail begins to develop hairs, the animal is about three and a half to four weeks old. If the eyes have just opened, the squirrel is about four and a half to five weeks old. When the tail spreads out with more fur, it is about five weeks old. If the squirrel looks like a smaller adult and becomes more active at night, it is about six weeks old. By the seventh week of age, the squirrel will appear the same as the sixth week, although it will be even more active.

• By the time baby squirrels are around six to seven weeks old, you should give them natural objects that will help them file down their teeth. Deer antlers, hooves and bones work well for this.

• Never feed cheap puppy milk replacers, such as those you can find at Wal-Mart, to a squirrel, as this will kill it. Also avoid cow's milk, evaporated milk and human infant milk formulas due to the high amount of lactose.

• Avoid overfeeding baby squirrels, as it can lead to aspiration and pneumonia.

• Do not lay hay down at the bottom of a squirrel's cage, as this can lead to mites.

References

• 2nd Chance: Raising Orphaned Flying Squirrels; Ron Hines, DVM, PhD.; 2009
• Arc For Wildlife: Care for Baby Flying Squirrels (Flyers)