All 365 Squirrel lovers HELP!!! We had a storm come through yesterday and it damaged a tree in my yard. Not too much but there were lots of broken branches.... I was in the tree pulling down some dead stuff and I think I inadvertently knocked this little guy out of his nest as I started hearing a loud squeal . I found him cowering by my fence and he looks very scared and helpless.. He's just a baby and right now he is cowering inside of a cardboard boc that I made up for him, with leaves and squirrel food..... I need your help... How do I make sure he finds his way back home and to mom so that he lives....? Will mom take him back? should I just put the box in the tree that I think he came out of? Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.
I feel so terrible because I think I knocked him out of the tree, and it was up pretty high. He's just a baby, fits right in my palm and clings on for dear life. He doesn't appear to be injured, he is able to walk. I think he's just scared and lost.
Amidst the Charlie discussion someone mentioned a wildlife help service of some kind? That is where I would go. We once found a little bird hit by a car on our road on a Sunday evening and we took him to the local animal shelter (after calling them first) and they took him in no questions asked.
I hope the little guy survives!!
Not sure if Mum will take him back, some animals wont if they cant recognised the smell any longer (ie, the baby smells of you and your home). Best thing is prolly what Lux says, get in touch with an animal shelter, and if they wont help, ask for advice how to look after it, or what to do next.
Best of luck to you both!
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping that mom wont reject him, I put him in the tree to see if mom will come back..... He's in a spot right now where the wind shouldn't bother him..... The good news is that he is definitely not injured as he was making an attempt to climb the tree, but got scared after a few hops...... I'm not sure when baby squirrels leave the nest to take care of themselves.... he seems to be a little older than an infant, He has teeth and claws but is definitely not an adult. I'll check on him tomorrow to see whats going on and reassess the situation from there. For now, he's in the tree where mom can find him if she come looking,
Thank you everyone for the suggestions.... I placed him on the tree where I found him, and he made his way to the squirrel feeder that I have on that tree. He made his way inside of the feeder and is seeking shelter on the food..... (the feeder has a hinged top to allow squirrels and chipmunks to open it to get the food) He's resting in there and hopefully he will either come out and make his way home or a buddy will find him..... Either way I will to my best to make sure he Survives and is healthy
Adrian it's so nice to hear of someone who may have a problem with a small animal to seek help. I'm wondering how many would have just killed it off.
Thank You for restoring my Faith in some of mankind.
Glenys, The thought of killing him off never even crossed my mind, I would tend to think that anyone that anyone thinking or doing so without at least some attempt to save the animal has some serious problems.
When I found out what the squealing was, and with the thought that I may have inadvertently caused him to fall from the tree, I was devastated and wanted to do nothing more than help him find his home. I'm glad that through this whole occurrence he does not appear to be injured, in fact he is quite vigorous and vocal at that.
Thank you for your comment, I believe that most people would have done the same or at the very least placed the animal somewhere safe. where he may be able to recover or find his mother..... At the very least I hope that he becomes strong enough to fend for himself and that when he does so, that he comes back for visits every once in a while. I will keep everyone here posted as to what happens with him.
Glad to hear he seems to be okay. And I agree, you need to know your stuff well when wanting to decide if an animal is suffering so much that it should be put to sleep.
As a teen my friend once found a paralyzed mouse turned to pulp by one of her cats when I ws ovr. It was pretty clear it would never recover. We put it on a saucer and after her first neighbour refused to "help", we went to the other neighbour who was a doctor. He go out a morphium shot. Until now I thought that was the right decision (I know her mother always killed the injured mice off with a stone), but this discussion makes me wonder whether this was indeed the right decision or whether we were just cting by what we had been taught without questioning it. :(
First off I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and support in helping me figure out what to do with this little guy...... As you all know, I placed him back in the tree and he found his way into the squirrel feeder thats attached to the tree. He spent the night in there fairly well protected from the cold and wind. I checked on him at 6:30 am and he was still in there but he had his head poked out. So I left him in there and made my way to work..... When I came home at 4 pm, I checked tree and the feeder for Sam, and he was no where to be found..... I believe he was strong enough to fend for himself and that he climbed out of the feeder and back up the tree..... Or mom or another squirrel went to the feeder to get food and was greeted by Little Sam and he was rescued that way... Either way I hope that Sam has a good long life and that he comes back for a visit every once in a while.... he"ll always have a friend here......
Once again, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and help with Little Sam.... I'll let you know if I see him again.....
Update on Sam.... I saw him (at least I think it was him) eating from a different feeder this morning. He was quite energetic and bouncy. I couln't get too close to him - i did get a blurry photo of him tho but it's not good since it was 7:30 in the morning and i really wasn't awake. that much.
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I hope the little guy survives!!
Best of luck to you both!
Please let us know how you get on! Thanks :-)
Thank You for restoring my Faith in some of mankind.
When I found out what the squealing was, and with the thought that I may have inadvertently caused him to fall from the tree, I was devastated and wanted to do nothing more than help him find his home. I'm glad that through this whole occurrence he does not appear to be injured, in fact he is quite vigorous and vocal at that.
Thank you for your comment, I believe that most people would have done the same or at the very least placed the animal somewhere safe. where he may be able to recover or find his mother..... At the very least I hope that he becomes strong enough to fend for himself and that when he does so, that he comes back for visits every once in a while. I will keep everyone here posted as to what happens with him.
As a teen my friend once found a paralyzed mouse turned to pulp by one of her cats when I ws ovr. It was pretty clear it would never recover. We put it on a saucer and after her first neighbour refused to "help", we went to the other neighbour who was a doctor. He go out a morphium shot. Until now I thought that was the right decision (I know her mother always killed the injured mice off with a stone), but this discussion makes me wonder whether this was indeed the right decision or whether we were just cting by what we had been taught without questioning it. :(
First off I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and support in helping me figure out what to do with this little guy...... As you all know, I placed him back in the tree and he found his way into the squirrel feeder thats attached to the tree. He spent the night in there fairly well protected from the cold and wind. I checked on him at 6:30 am and he was still in there but he had his head poked out. So I left him in there and made my way to work..... When I came home at 4 pm, I checked tree and the feeder for Sam, and he was no where to be found..... I believe he was strong enough to fend for himself and that he climbed out of the feeder and back up the tree..... Or mom or another squirrel went to the feeder to get food and was greeted by Little Sam and he was rescued that way... Either way I hope that Sam has a good long life and that he comes back for a visit every once in a while.... he"ll always have a friend here......
Once again, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and help with Little Sam.... I'll let you know if I see him again.....