Spring is in the air and it’s the season for baby Squirrels to be born. Squirrels normally mate in December and January, and the first litters are born in March and April. Often born in leaf nests, early spring storms and high winds can destroy these nests and scatter naked little bodies all over the ground.

It’s not unusual for a female squirrel to have up to 6 babies with 2 to 4 as an average. The babies are hairless for the first three weeks, and don’t open there eyes until 5 weeks. When they are stressed they can emit an ear piercing scream that enables their mother to locate them. The best action you can take when you find baby squirrels is to gather them into a box, provide a source of warmth like a rice or buckwheat bag heated in a microwave until it is warm to the touch. Cover them with some pieces of soft cloth, and tack the box to the tree you think they may have fallen from. The reason is that a mother squirrel always has a "back-up" nest or den and may have been in the process of retrieving her kids when you found them. Observe the box from a distance to see if the mother comes for them. If she hasn’t shown up in an hour, you are probably dealing with orphans.

To give immediate care to orphaned squirrels, you need to remember the pneumonic, "W.H.A.M." It stands for, Warm, Hydrate, Accommodate and Monitor.

Warm the baby squirrels completely before you do anything else. A cold baby squirrel is a lethargic squirrel. If you try to feed a lethargic squirrel there’s a better than 50 % chance that you will cause it to aspirate and drown. Use a warm rice bag or heating pad on its lowest setting and make sure the baby is pink, warm to the touch and active before proceeding to hydration.

Hydrating a baby squirrel is very simple. Many sites say to start out with Pedialyte electrolyte replacement solution. Personally, I think it is a bunch of hog wash because a mother squirrel would not go get an electrolyte solution when she got her babies relocated. I start them right out with formula. Again, most websites will tell you that the only safe formula to feed baby squirrels is an expensive puppy replacement formula. Again, I say hog wash. I went the expensive puppy formula route with my first squirrel after nearly killing her with an outlandish formula promoted by a, "so called," animal rehabilitator. Then, I found a simple, homemade formula that is outstanding, and I’ve used over the past several years to raise all my orphaned squirrels. Take one cup of whole milk and add 3 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Place it in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil while stirring continuously. When it foams up, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Add 200 mg. of vitamin E to the mixture, place in a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake vigorously.( Purchase 200mg. Vitamin E gel caps. Pierce one gelcap and squeeze the contents into the formula.) Feed the formula warm at 1 cc for every week old. (If they have no hair 1 to 2 ccs. If they have fuzzy hair, but their eyes are not open, 2 to 3 cc.) Feed every 3 hours while you are awake. Hold the baby in an upright position to feed. Uses an eyedropper, like the ones that come with infant fever drops, they usually hold about 1cc.

Allow the baby to suck the milk; do not force it into its mouth. If milk starts to come out of its nose, place it in a head down position and wipe its nose gently until it stops coughing.

The pneumonic "Accommodate," means that you need to provide a warm, dark and quiet place for the baby to rest between feedings. This means no nosey dogs, cats or kids handling and stimulating the baby. All baby squirrels do is eat and sleep between feeding until their eyes open at 5 weeks. A simple nursery can be made from a small plastic tub or cardboard box, pieces of soft cloth and a rice or buckwheat bag. Heat a rice bag, (which can easily be made by placing uncooked rice in a cloth bag and stitching it shut,) in a microwave until it is warm to the touch, (not hot.) Place the warm bag in the bottom of the container, put several layers of soft cloth on top of the bag, then place the squirrel(s) in and cover them with more soft cloth. This will provide a warm, dark environment for them to sleep between feedings. Re warm the rice bag at each feeding.

Monitor simply means to keep an eye on your squirrel babies to make sure that they are safe, warm and well fed. It’s at this time that you need to make a decision as to whether you are going to try to raise them to the point of release, or turn them over to a rehabilitation facility. If you have a single squirrel, the decision should be quite easy. Squirrels raised without siblings are at a tremendous disadvantage for release. They need siblings to learn how to socialize and be with other squirrels. Otherwise, they will bond and identify with their human keepers and have a very difficult time outside.

Squirrels do not do well in captivity after the age of 6 month. It’s very difficult for humans to provide enough stimulation to keep a squirrel from becoming depressed and cage bound. They need a lot of sunshine, fresh air and exercise plus an unusually large amount of calcium in their diet to stay healthy. Being perpetual gnawers, with sharp claws that never retract, an indoor squirrel can wreak havoc on furniture, curtains and often die of electrocution from chewing on an electric cord.

Raising and releasing squirrels can be tremendously rewarding, yet a very emotional experience. When they are young, they are just so darn cute and friendly, it’s almost impossible to not become emotionally attached!