A Very Squirrely Situation Day 9

The reason I named this blog Squirrel Manual is because baby squirrels should come with one.

There are wonderful moments: Theodore's tiny teeth began to appear on Day 9.

And there are anxious moments. Here is a prime example of avoidable terror:

I noticed Theodore started gasping out of nowhere while I was feeding him. His mouth opened and shut and his little arms stretched out in front of him. Choking? Heart attack? It sure looked like it, until he inexplicably went back to normal and insisted on finishing his meal.

It happened the next time I fed him. Exactly the same. I tried feeding him slower. I tried feeding him less. I tried positioning him different ways. Each time the gasping would last about 3 to 5 seconds and then he would go back to eating as though nothing had happened.

With concerns of pneumonia, I scoured the online squirrel community and discovered what other rehabbers call "the feeding trance."

Turns out it means he's really enjoying his meal. So much so that he is trance-ing out on me.

Squirrel Rescuers
Don't panic if you notice your squirrel stop eating and start gasping during feedings. It is called the Feeding Trance and it is perfectly normal. They grow out of it eventually. You should only worry if you see milk come out their nose.

If you see a small amount of blood while milk feeding around 6 weeks, it is likely the teeth coming in. Teething squirrels like to nibble on everything. Give them plenty to chew on. Be sure to squeak and pull away if it pinches you (even if it doesn't much hurt), so as to convey pain and teach the squirrel to be gentle with these new teeth.

Day 7 and 8

 The first week blew by so quickly. I am comparing pictures and it is clear that Theodore has grown considerably. His tail fur was short on Day 1 and now it is fluffing out like a bottle brush. He is starting to swing it around when he plays with Polar Bear.

Polar Bear is gaining weight eating all the shredded pecans. Theodore still can't figure out how to chew and swallow solids.

All in all, our squirrel is acting more like a house cat. He drinks milk, but sometimes pushes the bottle away, as though he no longer likes it. He mostly sleeps and grooms with the Bear.

Day 5 Pecans

I read somewhere that pecans are a good nibble food for squirrels around 6 weeks.

What a mess.

One or both of these guys has crumbled all the pecans, taken down the water bottle and knocked over the litter box.

Polar Bear loves pecans. He loves nuts and seeds of any kind really, but I wanted to tempt him with a big pile of pecans to see if he acted any differently towards his new buddy.
Surprisingly, he left the pile untouched for at least half an hour. I don't know. Maybe I fed him too much that morning.

Anyhow, I read that squirrels have to practice eating for a week or more before they figure out how to swallow solid food. This must be the practicing. Good thing I bought a ton of pecans!

Theodore was a little more active on Day 2, despite the fact that I was still feeding him the wrong formula in the wrong type of bottle. I found that he liked being patted or burped like a human baby after feeding.

He took to his wooden tissue box nest right away, and would sleep either there or in my bathrobe pocket.

I started spot cleaning him that day too and looking for any sign of parasites in his thin fur. Didn't find anything.