What's that for?

 In browsing the amazon Wishlist for the Squirrel Garden Rescue & Rehab, you may be wondering, what's that for?  Some of the items seem random and strange.  I'm here to explain!

I have 2 continuous heat heating pads already, but the more the better.  Baby squirrels up to about 4 weeks cannot produce their own body heat.  I have a DIY incubator which requires one of these heating pads.  They will also need a heating pad under their cage up until age 4 weeks as well as being treated for shock when they first come in.

Sometimes injured animals will come into the Rescue and need emergency medications.  They may be by injection or pill, but all precautions need to be used including a locked medication box for pain meds and a sharps container for used needles, just like in a veterinary clinic.

There are various injuries a rehabilitation center will find upon admission.  There may be wounds that need bandaged or irrigated and treated.  Vet wrap sticks to itself, not to the fur.  There is a serious problem orphaned male squirrels are particularly susceptible to which is self-sucking.  When they are starving, they may mistake their genitals or a litter mate's genitals as a nipple and begin suckling.  This can cause painful injuries, scarring and if not broken of the habit, can be cause for euthanasia.  They may also come in with diarrhea, lacking probiotics, stomach bloat, stuffy nose, etc.

A thorough exam has to be done upon intake.  This includes checking for any injuries, illnesses and especially parasites.  Besides your standard fleas and ticks, baby squirrels are particularly targeted by flies.  They are unable to defend themselves or move around much, which make them the perfect host for flies to lay eggs and hatch maggots.  They can be in any wounds or orifices and can be deadly for a baby squirrel.  It is imperative they are closely inspected and any bugs removed and not spread to other patients.  Although Capstar is pricey, a 6 pack of pills will cover 24 doses of specially mixed formulas to be used internally and externally on squirrels.

Experienced squirrel rehabbers have worked out baby formulas down to a science.  There are a lot of choices out there for "squirrel formulas" but the experts prefer Fox Valley brand.  Even within the formulas, they have specific recipes for individual needs.  Squirrels grow and change so much from week to week and so do their needs.  You can always assume a squirrel is at least 5% dehydrated when entering a facility and depending on how long they were without food, could be quite a bit more than that.  Fox Valley makes different formulas for different ages and stages, hydration formulas and an Ultraboost powder that can be mixed in for better growth and development for undernourished squirrels.

Experts have also tested different feeding instruments and have decided the best for baby squirrels are the miracle nipples and Oring syringes.  If you have ever used a typical syringe, you will notice after a couple of uses it will begin to stick, making a free flow nearly impossible.  Baby squirrels are particularly susceptible to Aspiration Pneumonia and the normal syringes that you find a part of the problem.  If the syringe sticks and you use too much pressure, you can accidentally cause the baby to take too much formula at once and choke.  Aspiration pneumonia can kill a baby squirrel in a matter of hours.  It is best to avoid the illness altogether if possible!

You cannot feed a baby squirrel that is cold and neither can you feed them cold formula.  Experts have found it is too dangerous to heat formula in the microwave.  You will either end up with cold spots, hot spots or worse, it can cook the formula.  The food needs to be 99 degrees which is why a food thermometer is

 important and they have found it is best to heat the formula in stainless steel cups, heated in a small crock pot with water in it.  

To prevent the possibility of spreading illness, the cups should be changed between babies or litters.  The metal cups are also easier to disinfect. 

In the wild, squirrels have 2 main sources of calcium: tree bark and bones.  Squirrels are also one of the few mammals whose teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime and these sources also help keep their teeth cut.  As squirrels are weaned, they aren't receiving the vitamins and minerals from the formula and it is important to continue supplementing these.  One of the preventable diseases squirrels sometimes suffer from when in captivity is Metabolic Bone Disease.  We have already received a UVB light and they will need to spend 20 minutes a day with that lamp to ensure they have Vitamin D for calcium absorption and also that calcium needs supplemented as well.

As the squirrels begin their first foods, they will get Henry's healthy blocks, "cookies" as I called them for Piglet, but those are perishable, and I will wait until closer to opening to stock up on those.  They will need to be provided a variety of nuts and seeds as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.  The rodent blocks can be used as a vitamin and mineral supplement in that diet, but also are one of the ingredients in Boo Balls, which are also a healthy snack for your outside squirrel friends.

 We will need a small rake and dustpan for cleaning out the outdoor enclosure.

Various cleaning supplies are needed and since the rehab is a one room facility without closets, we will need a cabinet to safely store these cleaning supplies away from the patients and food prep areas.

Finally, gloves are needed particularly during initial exam to prevent the spread of zoonotic disease.  Street shoes are also not allowed in the facility to prevent anyone from carrying any pathogens in or out of the facility.  Last but not least, OSHA requires an eyewash station for the safety of the volunteers should they get something dangerous in their eye.

If you have read through all of this information, thank you so much for your attention!  I hope you have learned a few things as well as now understand why the products listed are on the Amazon wish list for the rehab!