Babies!!! But not what you think...:)

So, my wife and kids found some ridiculously cute abandoned baby squirrels today. Looks like the mom abandoned them or got killed or something bc she never came back. So we brought them in and started hydrating them. They're sooo cute!!! 4 baby squirrels and 29 baby chams. Hmmmm...busy summer!!!

Oh. My. Goodness!! Too cute!!! How did you come across them?? Their eyes aren't even open yet!!

Awwww Sooooo Freaking cute! Are you going to try and raise them yourself? or bring them to the wildlife station?

i don't think those are squirrels.... squirrels' tails get fur on them just like their body for a few weeks and then they start to get bushy as they age. The facial structure and the paws also do not look squirrely to me. I think they are a type of rat.....

maxttu said:

Oh. My. Goodness!! Too cute!!! How did you come across them?? Their eyes aren't even open yet!!

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my wife and kids were outside playing and one of them walked out of the bushes on the driveway. my wife saw one and then the rest were in the bushes. i think the mom has been gone for awhile so they left their nest.

KShook said:

Awwww Sooooo Freaking cute! Are you going to try and raise them yourself? or bring them to the wildlife station?

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we're going to raise them ourselves. we found a great forum w/ tons of good info for baby squirrels. we'll raise them and let them go in our back yard. it'll be fun for the kids AND fun for me and my wife. it's really neat bc this summer our kids will have experienced raising our newly hatched baby chams and now these baby squirrels. yeah, we're that family.

Kodo's:

Those are baby Squirrels..See pic posted of NB Babies i got from google

we're going to raise them ourselves. we found a great forum w/ tons of good info for baby squirrels. we'll raise them and let them go in our back yard. it'll be fun for the kids AND fun for me and my wife. it's really neat bc this summer our kids will have experienced raising our newly hatched baby chams and now these baby squirrels. yeah, we're that family. [/QUOTE]

That's awesome! My mom and I did that once when I was a kid, Unfortunately ours did not make it since a kitty found them on the ground and tossed them around a bit. But the time we did have him "A few Weeks" he was so cute and fun! Wish you best of luck with them!

KShook said:

Kodo's:

Those are baby Squirrels..See pic posted of NB Babies i got from google

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yup, that's them. their eyes aren't even open yet! we found 4 total and we're praying that's all of them. we were outside for quite awhile listening for any others that might be in the bushes. i'd feel horrible if we missed any.

Rottsko said:

yup, that's them. their eyes aren't even open yet! we found 4 total and we're praying that's all of them. we were outside for quite awhile listening for any others that might be in the bushes. i'd feel horrible if we missed any.

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Your doing a great thing! Lucky you found the ones you have before anything else did! 4 Pups is a lot for a little squirrel! Ouccch! LOL..

I work at a wildlife center. I have been raising baby squirrels for 3 years
They look nothing like the Eastern Gray, Red, or Eastern Fox. Southern Flying squirrels are out of the question here because they have the extra skin between their arms.
Those are not newborn baby squirrels either... they are born tiny and pink with no fur.
If you look at the pictures rottsko posted you can see a clearly defined end point of fur on the tails. Squirrels grow fur on their tails and as babies the tails look like the body for about 2 weeks at least before it gets bushy. (its really stinking cute when they first start to get bushy!)

KShook said:

Your doing a great thing! Lucky you found the ones you have before anything else did! 4 Pups is a lot for a little squirrel! Ouccch! LOL..

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thx shook! yeah, perfect timing.

KShook said:

we're going to raise them ourselves. we found a great forum w/ tons of good info for baby squirrels. we'll raise them and let them go in our back yard. it'll be fun for the kids AND fun for me and my wife. it's really neat bc this summer our kids will have experienced raising our newly hatched baby chams and now these baby squirrels. yeah, we're that family.

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That's awesome! My mom and I did that once when I was a kid, Unfortunately ours did not make it since a kitty found them on the ground and tossed them around a bit. But the time we did have him "A few Weeks" he was so cute and fun! Wish you best of luck with them![/QUOTE]

that's so sad. thx and i hope these 4 make it!

Kodos2150 said:

I work at a wildlife center. I have been raising baby squirrels for 3 years
They look nothing like the Eastern Gray, Red, or Eastern Fox. Southern Flying squirrels are out of the question here because they have the extra skin between their arms.
Those are not newborn baby squirrels either... they are born tiny and pink with no fur.
If you look at the pictures rottsko posted you can see a clearly defined end point of fur on the tails. Squirrels grow fur on their tails and as babies the tails look like the body for about 2 weeks at least before it gets bushy. (its really stinking cute when they first start to get bushy!)

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Ok. Now you've got my curiosity going! I have to follow this thread to find out what this mysterious creature is...

[/QUOTE]that's so sad. thx and i hope these 4 make it![/QUOTE]


Me to! I will have to keep track of this thread for updates on them!

Rottsko said:

my wife and kids were outside playing and one of them walked out of the bushes on the driveway. my wife saw one and then the rest were in the bushes. i think the mom has been gone for awhile so they left their nest.



we're going to raise them ourselves. we found a great forum w/ tons of good info for baby squirrels. we'll raise them and let them go in our back yard. it'll be fun for the kids AND fun for me and my wife. it's really neat bc this summer our kids will have experienced raising our newly hatched baby chams and now these baby squirrels. yeah, we're that family.

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did you find the nest in the bushes? squirrels NEVER build nests close to the ground. If you want to find a squirrel nest, look in the biggest, tallest oak tree you can find. They like to build in mature trees. I also hate to be the bringer of bad news but it is actually illegal to possess wildlife without the proper permits from your state government and depending on the species of animal (migratory birds for example) a federal permit. Most states offer a 24-48 hour grace period to keep the animal in your possession before you hand it over to a person/organization with the proper permits. It may not seem like a daunting task to raise baby squirrels but it actually can be. Without the proper formula and nutrition you can actually do more damage than good. Metabolic bone disease and diarrhea are two very common illnesses that we see come into the wildlife clinic i work at. we have to feed the baby squirrels every 4 hours (yes that means at 2am, 6am, and so on). Hand feeding squirrels can also bring about other problems such as imprinting. They can imprint on people and they will believe they are people unless they open their eyes and spend most of their time with other squirrels. They only time we handle the squirrels is to feed them. That is the only way we can keep their natural fear of humans.

Thanks kodos. You have brought some really good info here.

Would like to know what these are myself.

I am waiting also. But they are darn cute no matter what they are.

Could they possibly be Allegheny woodrats? The colors/number of young per litter seem to match.

They look very similar to these http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/5906186

Autonomoton said:

Could they possibly be Allegheny woodrats? The colors/number of young per litter seem to match.

They look very similar to these http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/5906186

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Hmmmm...might have a winner!

Kodos2150 said:

I work at a wildlife center. I have been raising baby squirrels for 3 years
They look nothing like the Eastern Gray, Red, or Eastern Fox. Southern Flying squirrels are out of the question here because they have the extra skin between their arms.
Those are not newborn baby squirrels either... they are born tiny and pink with no fur.
If you look at the pictures rottsko posted you can see a clearly defined end point of fur on the tails. Squirrels grow fur on their tails and as babies the tails look like the body for about 2 weeks at least before it gets bushy. (its really stinking cute when they first start to get bushy!)

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i have no idea what kind these are but i have tons of squirrels in my back yard. i've some seious trees and it's not fun in the fall.