That's what we were all wondering when Daniel carried the baby squirrel home, curled up in a little ball in the palm of his hand. He had taken the dogs (and Frankie) for a walk. Near the curve, Frankie spotted something in the woods. Daniel and the dogs went to investigate, but before Daniel even knew what it was, Charly had scooped the baby into his mouth. However, when Daniel yelled "NO", Charly let Daniel take it.
We went straight to the computer. Within seconds I found just what we needed..."Rescuing and Raising Orphaned Squirrels." Within an hour, Daniel was cupping the baby and feeding it a mixture of water, sugar, and salt through a syringe. (It made me so proud seeing how concerned, gentle and tender he was with that baby!)
He wanted to take it back to the dorm with him, but he already had a load to carry up this morning. I promised him I'd take good care of him and if he still wanted it, Tom would drop it off one morning on his way to work.
I stopped by the vet's office this morning and picked up some "formula" - kitten milk replacement. The website said to use puppy milk replacement, but our vet said she preferred kitten. One of the women working in the office came out to see Sammy (that's what Tom has named him), and showed me her 'baby' - a tiny squirrel half Sammy's size with just the beginning of fuzz on his body. It still resembled a peanut as much as a squirrel. She'd had him for three weeks, and he was eating and growing. I had high hopes for Sammy. Once at work, I carried him into my office and put his box down on the heating pad. I mixed up the food, but he barely ate. I tried again later with the same results.
Now Tom's concerned that when he moves around the box, he doesn't use his hind legs - just pulls himself with his arms. He's afraid it means his back is broken. I guess it's possible. Maybe from falling from the nest (although Daniel didn't see one near where he found it.) Maybe when Charly scooped him up, although we didn't see any marks or other signs of injury to him. Maybe he was born that way, and abandoned by his mother.
But until I talk to the vet, I'm remaining optimistic. Maybe it's just a developmental thing. I searched several sites and couldn't find anything definitive about leg development or walking/crawling stages, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed, feeding him every four hours (he ate a little bit more last time), talking baby talk, trying to keep him warm, and whatever else I can think of to help him along.
I hope Sammy's okay.
