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The most important thing to remember if you find an orphaned baby squirrel is that time is very important!  The baby need proper help just as soon as possible.

If you discover a lone baby, be sure to look around for siblings.  A mature mother squirrel usually has a litter of  2 to 4 babies.

Things you can do right away to help the orphaned baby squirrel:

1.  Touch the squirrel to see if it is cold.  If it is cold, place it underneath your shirt, next to your skin, to keep it warm until you can get help.  A baby squirrel must be kept warm or it will die, as it has no way to generate its own heat.

2.  Check for puncture marks or cuts in the baby's skin.  Check the baby for blood in the ears and/or nostrils.  And check the baby for any swelling, especially around the head.

3.  Check for broken bones - a bone pushing through the skin, a leg that is hanging at an awkward angle, or a leg the squirrel is not using.

4.  Check for dehydration in the squirrel by turning it on its back and gently pinching up the stomach skin.  If the skin stays wrinkled, the squirrel is dehydrated.

I. If any of the above 4 items apply to the baby squirrel you found, the baby squirrel needs immediate professional attention.  Call your local wildlife rehabilitator, wildlife rescue, veterinarian, or emergency animal clinic.  Check the yellow pages in your phone book to locate one of the above if you don't already know how to contact them.  Until you can get the baby squirrel to someone for help, keep it warm, still and quiet.  Do not attempt to feed it!

II. If none of the above applies to the baby squirrel, place it in a warm safe area at the base of the nearest tree to where you found it and get out of sight and watch.  In most cases the baby's mother is nearby and, if she is able, will usually come and retrieve her babies if she does not feel threatened and if you move to a position out of her line of sight.  Keep checking the baby to make sure it doesn't get cold.  If at any time the baby feels cold to the touch, remove it from the base of the tree and follow the instructions in (I) above.  Never leave the baby squirrel outside overnight!

If all your efforts to locate a rehabber fail and you need some care instructions on things you can do, you may visit the following websites for help:

|Columbus Squirrel Rescue|        |The Squirrel Place|         |Squirrel Wildlife Rehabilitation|

Should you try to raise the baby squirrel yourself?    Do squirrels make good pets?

 For the answers to these and other squirrel questions please >>  Click Here 

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