Hand rearing a red squirrel litter

On Sunday the fifth of June, a captive female red squirrel was found dead in a nest box. The female was known to be lactating, and the litter were discovered in a nearby nest box. Dehydrated and weak, the four young animals were gathered together and removed to be hand reared. This is their story...

Leaf I've hand reared red squirrels before, but these were always brought to me by members of the public. The day would start with a telephone call, arrangements would be made to deliver the squirrels, and there would be plenty of time to get hold of, and set up, a suitable cage and nest-box. In short, there was time to prepare.

This time things were much more hectic. I had had a feeling that this particular adult female was dead, as she had not been observed out in the enclosure all day. However, without a ladder I couldn't systematically check the enclosure nest boxes. I managed to climb up and dangle precariously from the wall of the pen, just able to reach the box that was being used by her as a place to rear the young, but I couldn't get a good look down into the bottom of the box. In desperation, I was able to partially dislodge the box from the timbers to which it was attached, only to find that it was empty...

Young red squirrel at around 7 weeks of age

The second box I climbed up to was more firmly attached to the enclosure, but as I gently tapped on the bottom it, a succession of small squirrels leapt or tumbled from the entrance hole. They moved awkwardly, but nevertheless, by the time I had climbed down to the ground, three of the four had managed to get themselves out of reach. There was no sign of the adult female, although by that time the male had come out from one of the higher boxes and was aggressively scolding me.

It was getting dark and so I left to collect a set of ladders from Mynydd Llwydiarth but first I went to the Welsh Mountain Zoo a roundtrip of about 50 miles. At the Zoo I obtained a catching net, a budgie cage, numerous syringes and pipettes, and Welpi (puppy milk powder). Back at the enclosures, and to cut a long story short, the adult female was dead (the Post Mortem report is available for download), and, in a rather complicated manoeuvre in the pitch black, and with the aid of a small head torch, I left with a box containing four small red squirrels. It was almost midnight.

What age are they?

The first question was answered was what age are they? From experience, I knew that they were 6-7 weeks of age; they had small upper incisors, ear tufts of 5mm length and were able to climb (if a little wobbly).

Development of Young (Reproduced from FC Record 101 (1975) Dr A.M Tittensor)


At birth	Blind, toothless, ears closed, hairless. Tactile hairs and white nails present. Toes connected. Weight 10-15 gm.
During week 1	Ear lobes start to project. Lower incisors felt as soft lumps. Pigments appear on back at 5-6 days.
At week 1	Hair develops, and emerges at 8 days.
During week 2	Forefeet toes separate at 8-9 days, followed by hindfeet toes at 11-12 days. Body covered with thin down at 13 days.
At week 2	Lower gums swollen.
During week 3	Tail becomes furred at 16 days. Short and dense body hair at 19 days.
At week 3	Ears fringed with hair. Lower incisors erupt at 20-23 days.
During week 4	Tail becomes brush-shaped by 25 days. Eyelids with slits and lashes well formed.
At week 4	Eyes open at 28-32 days. Claws become fully coloured. Weight 50-60 gm.
During week 5	Ear apertures open, lobes have 3mm tufts at tips. Upper incisors felt as soft lumps by 34 days.
During week 6	Upper incisors erupt at 37-41 days.
During week 7	Begin eating solids at 45 days. Able to climb. Molar teeth felt as lumps below gums. Begin to explore.
During weeks 8-10	Weaning occurs as mother ceases t produce milk. Much exploration. Weight 80-130 gm.
At week 10	First set of ‘milk' teeth almost all present.
At 16 weeks	Has moulted into seasonal coat and some milk teeth have been shed. Weight 140-200 gm.

Leaf Typically, young squirrels should take no less than 4% of their body weight during each feed. As 1ml = 1g then it's relatively easy to get an idea of how much they should take. However, it is important to never force a healthy animal to take milk if it does not want it. Lethargic animals and clearly dehydrated individuals are a different matter all together and, if at all possible, they are best examined and treated by a vet. Our four orphans were obviously weak but they were active, if a little dehydrated.

The first step was to get some fluid into them. We used a small 5ml pipette and gave each animal around 1ml of fluid. With only Welpi puppy milk formula available, we used this powder (1 level teaspoon or 5ml) mixed with water (20ml). Retrospectively, it would have been much better to have given the animals a warmed saline solution (2 pints boiled water mixed with one level tablespoon of sugar and one level tablespoon of salt) for the first few feeds, but at the time we were unsure of what % strength to make it. (Later we found a couple of really useful sites e.g. Rescuing and raising orphaned squirrels and it was apparent just how important it is to use saline).

The animals were fed just after midnight and again at 7am, 12.00pm, 5pm, and 9pm. At the 5pm feed on the second day, the Welpi, was replaced with Cimicat which is low in lactose and a better formula for red squirrels. In an emergency, Cows milk can be used, but this must not be relied upon long-term. Once suitable powdered milk is obtained, it is very important that it alone is used from then on. It is also important that the same volume of powder and water is used for each mix. The final solution should always be warmed before the animals are fed, and pipettes should be cleaned well between each feed to reduce the risk of disease.

When feeding the four young squirrels, I was lucky enough to have my partner to help, and this made a huge difference. The animals were at an age where they didn't really like being held and so, after the animals were re-hydrated, we developed a strict system of feeding. We would take each animal out of the nest in turn, one of us would hold it and the other would offer the pipette of milk. A note would be made of how many ml was taken, and the animal then placed into a small card board box containing hay. Once all four had been placed in the box, we would then try and feed again, before returning each animal in turn to the main nest. Again, because the animals were so well developed, we felt it unnecessary to feed through the night. To help us identify animals we named each and noted the characteristics of each coat colour etc. The names chosen were Jac, Kieren and The Drinker for the males and Eleri for the female.

Jane and I housed the animals inside a hay filled cat igloo. The igloo was put inside the budgie cage to ensure that if any animals did leave the nest they would be prevented from wandering off. The cage was then placed in the porch of the house along with a heater which maintained the small room at a constant temperature, somewhere around 20 degrees. The animals were all put in together as they provide each other with company, stimulus and warmth.

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On the 10/6/05 at 5pm, it became apparent that Jac was not himself. He appeared slightly lethargic and although he fed, he was still of concern. The following feed, he vomited and the next morning we noticed more vomit on the top of the igloo. The next day he looked just as poorly and had slight diarrhoea. Weaned hand reared red squirrel which spent hours trying to cache peanuts in teh folds of the curtains

Weaned hand reared red squirrel which spent hours trying to cache peanuts in teh folds of the curtains

Having switched from milk formula to 2ml feeds of saline solution, we contacted a local vet and arranged to take the squirrels in for examination. Jac was diagnosed as having pneumonia and severe blood infection. Although he was given antibiotic, he died half an hour later.

Over the next three or four days, each of the remaining animals in turn developed the early symptoms shown by Jac. I immediately gave the sick animal an injection of 0.1 Marbocyl 200mg SA and a second injection 24 hours later. We also only gave sick animal's saline, and increased the frequency of feeds to 2-3 hours and through the night. A week later the animals were much improved and all three were eating solids. The two males looked in particularly good condition.

Over the next week, the remaining animals ate solid foods and, with the exception of the smaller female, we stopped providing milk. A mixture of walnut, almond, hazelnut and sunflower seeds Two young red squirrels feeding on sunflower seeds. Image from www.squirrelcottage.net was provided, and also water both in drinkers and in a small shallow bowl. It was delightful to see the animals feeding, and especially Kieren, who was extremely active. There can be no doubt that the antibiotic saved the three squirrels.

In early July, the three youngsters will be returned to Newborough forest and the reintroduction project.

Rearing the young red squirrels really was a sharp learning curve, particularly when each became ill. The internet provided a mass of useful information and some of the sites we referred to are listed below. It should be noted that the Anglesey animals were 6-7 weeks of age and younger animals would require more attention and far more feeds.

Remember methods of hand rearing grey squirrels will work for red squirrels

Providing fluid too quickly to a severely dehydrated squirrel can lead to severe shock, convulsions and death. Fluid should be given in small amounts and certainly no more than 0.5ml at one time. It is vital to re-hydrate slowly.
Beware of inhalation pneumonia whilst feeding (milk appearing out of the nose is a sign). If animals become lethargic, appear poorly, or show signs of diarrhoea then if possible take to a vet immediately or (if you know what you are doing and have antibiotic available) give them an injection of antibiotic - we used 0.1ml Marbocyl 200mg SA.
Keep the animals in a warm and draft free nest box, containing plenty of bedding, and place this inside a secure cage or box
If animals become ill, try to give them saline solution for a day or so.
Hand rearing techniques and methods used for grey squirrels which are documented on the internet will apply to reds.
Finally, if in doubt seek the advice of a vet and/or local wildlife centre RSPCA etc.

Useful links:

www.squirrels.info
Hand rearing, rehabilitation and treatment of injuries

www.stfranciswildlife.org
Rescuing and raising orphaned squirrels

www.squirrel-rehab.org
Hand rearing and details of what to do if you find young animals in the forest