As Debbie was watering our garden a few weeks past, she noticed a barely audible squeaking sound. She wasn’t sure what it was she was hearing. As she scanned the ground in front of her, she came across a pink little critter laying near the base of one of our trees. Cognizant of the fact that some animals abandon their babies once touched by a human, we were cautious not to disturb it at first. However, it was one of those triple digit days and this baby critter was likely not going to survive in this heat.
After searching the tree and general vicinity for evidence of a nest or parent, we decided that we needed to get into rescue mode. We scooped up this little critter and proceeded to figure out what she was. Knowing our environment pretty well, we ventured a guess that it was a baby squirrel. Sure enough, the internet confirmed it and thus began our journey in squirrel rehabilitation. But first, what to name our new friend. After finding out the this little critter was a girl, Debbie and I both had the same name pop into our heads – Daisy.
Over the course of the following days we learned all that we could about what, when, and how much to feed her. As it turns out a mixture of goats milk, yogurt, and heavy cream does the trick. Although it was once acceptable, puppy formula is out.
As it became more apparent that she was going to survive and we’d be caring her for at least three months, we decided to get some formula and other essentials.
So far it’s been rewarding to care for her. Feeding her every 3-4 hours at the moment is reminding us both a bit of what it was like with babies around the house.
We’re in week 4 at the moment, so we’ve got a ways to go. We’ve already seen her transform from a pink little newborn to a fuzzy squirrel-looking baby. More to come as the adventure continues…
