Today, I was working on the vegetable garden when I saw a very tiny squirrel. He got pretty close to me and I talked to him softly. Well, I guess he liked the way I sounded because he ran right up and sat beside me, nibbling on leaves and bits of stuff. When my brother came down to help me with a piece of fence, he actually climbed on my brother’s boot.
By now, I was a bit concerned that he was an orphan, because he seemed hungry and was much too young to be on his own. I checked online and found information about taking care of orphaned squirrels. It seems you shouldn’t feed them right away in case they are dehydrated. I made electrolyte water - 1 quart warm water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 3 teaspoons of sugar - and put it in a guinea pig bottle. He drank some right away and then went back to nibbling on stuff.
I called my local wildlife rehab place and they said he was probably just a curious toddler and had a nest nearby that he toppled out of. They suggested that I put him by the base of a tree with leaves piled near it, as that is probably where he fell from. I didn’t see leaves, but there is a big tree near the garden, so I assumed he came from there. I coaxed him over and put cheerios and apple shavings there (another thing the rehab suggested.) Soon after that, there was an awful racket from up above. I guess his mama finally realized he was missing and she sounded furious. I think she was telling him he was grounded for a month. He ran up to get the rest of his lecture and I breathed a sigh of relief.
If you do have an orphaned baby, you should not try to raise it yourself because of wildlife laws. Your local wildlife rescue should take it. Mine was happy to take the little guy if his mama didn’t show up, but, thankfully, she did.
Can you believe I didn’t think to take any pictures of the little guy while he was inches away? This picture was taken by Kevin Johnson.
