Rocky pauses to meditate during lunch

Oh yeah!  2 days ago -Rocky’s been with us for over 48 hours now – we spotted a tiny, tiny squirrel crawling through the woods as we wound down the driveway.   No fear on his part – he went all Jurrasic Park on us and charged us with open arms!  Lookin’ for mama and we were it.

Web searches, the day grew late, no store nearby…so we watered and caged Rocky, who instantly took to us as parents. We feared finding the worst come Saturday morning.

Rocky became an instant Giants fan. Vogelsong pitched a good game. Rocky looks good for day 3.

Well, Rocky was ready for whatever the day could deliver!  Called animal rescue and left a message, which still has not been replied to, so Ma and Pa Kettle were left to their own creative devices.  Luckily the county bumpkin market stocks Ensure, next best thing to puppy formula that we could find.  And by Sunday morning, I swear Rocky has put on another few ounces and is good to go.

Thanks to Julie on facebook who came in with her own expertise as animal rescue and is helping coach us through some new dimensions here. I’ll let our fb postings tell the rest of today’s story.  Maybe someone else will benefit from the unfolding wildlife rescue tips.

Off to a squirrel feeding!

  • Christy Hoppes WinesI raised two baby squirrels years ago. Bottle-fed them with kitten formula from the pet store. They were healthy & happy til they hit squirrel “puberty”, then then one died & the other stared biting & I released him. He lived in the woods behind my house for a few years, & would come to me.

    5 hours ago ·
  • Julie Miller Where are you located? I’m a wildlife rehabber and have contacts if you aren’t nearby

    5 hours ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathHeyJulie! Paradise – I called the number and left a message

    5 hours ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathChristy – oh, thanks! We looked online and it said vanilla Ensure which we were able to find at the country store. We didn’t expect him to live this long but he’s strong and growing! Maybe pet store tomorrow!

    5 hours ago ·
  • Marr Nealondid u try the valley wildlife rescue? or the malibu one?

    3 hours ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathMarr – Malibu? we’re w-a-a-y up in the northstate. Maybe we’ll get a call back tomorrow – Rocky is growing by the minute! He’s now swinging in the hammock w/ dh. Hopefully Bullwinkle won’t show up and want to squeeze in 😉

    2 hours ago · · 1 person
  • Julie Miller Butte County (Paradise) Phone: 530-877-2749
    Sue Bernard, Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
    Comment: 24 hr emergency number is xxx (recorded message
    with names and numbers of members on call)

    about an hour ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathHey Julie, thanks for your assist – I did look up online yesterday and found Sue’s number and called her and she said “once online, it stays forever!” and said she is no longer active and gave me the other number that I called and am waiting on a reply from. So! Can you tell me what you would feed the squirrel? He’s had 2 Ensure meals today and has really grown and looks much healthier than when we found him! Kitty formula as mentioned above? We took some snapshots so I’ll post a pic soon!

    about an hour ago ·
  • Julie MillerEsbilac puppy formula is the food of choice. Pics will help for sure! Eyes open or closed? Squirrels tend to aspirate the formula if fed with a bottle so it’s best if you can feed with a syringe and you can slip a pet nipple over the end of it. Do you have a pet or feed store nearby? If eyes are still closed you want a 1cc syringe.

    about an hour ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathJulie, eyes open and we’ve been carefully feeding with eyedropper so as not to aspirate. We read about Esbilac but alas Sunday, country bumpkin town, and no pet store open. Tomorrow we may have another shot. I’m off to post a pic.

    about an hour ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathJust posted 2 Rocky pics – let me know your assessment Julie!

    about an hour ago ·
  • Julie MillerEye dropper will work just fine. You can also offer cheerios, small pieces of banana and any nuts you may have on hand. It’s sort of at the borderline toddler age.

    about an hour ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathJulie, thanks! So, prognosis positive? I’ve got some shredded wheat, will that work til I can get some cheerios? I’ll see if he’s interested in nuts. He’s glad we eat veggie. It helps having your advice, thanks!

    53 minutes ago ·
  • Christy Hoppes WinesI forgot about the syringe! It’s been about 20 years. I was trying to remember what I fed them when they were older but I just can’t remember.

    39 minutes ago ·
  • Julie MillerShredded wheat will be fine. He looks pretty good to me. He’d like to tuck into some fleece as bedding. He should eat every 4 hours or so and luckily for you he’s old enough to potty on his own. 🙂

    36 minutes ago ·
  • Lani MuelrathJulie, yeah, we read up about the ‘massage’ for potty! dh has been doing faithful duty and Rocky seems to enjoy it more than your average squirrel! Thanks for the tips I’ll try the shredded wheat and if I can get him of Greg’s chest we’ll switch from terry towels to fleece.

    29 minutes ago ·
  • Julie MillerTheir nails get caught to easily in the terry towels so that’s why I recommend fleece.

    27 minutes ago ·
  • Lani Muelrath Actually i realize we had a sheet cuz we thought of that. Fleece sounds cozy!

Rocky reading over my shoulder with my latest pick from Dr. Neal Barnard. We plant eaters gotta stick together!

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