Bringing babies home

The babies have arrived. I brought the babies home last night to begin hand raising them. There are 2 boys and 3 girls in the litter and are all very healthy. Their weights range from 54 grams to 62 grams. I will be feeding them every two hours and helping them urinate after they eat. I will be their mom until they are about 8 weeks old and weaned off of formula. At 18 days old their eyes and ears are closed but they sure do have a voice! They let you know when they are hungry! I will keep weekly photos and weight updates as they grow up. Here are their pics...





Male #1 60 grams Male #2 62 grams




Female #1 60 grams Female #2 58 grams





Female #3 54 grams
Size comparison to a pen

Introduction

This blog is going to be all about squirrels. The Red River Zoo is home to Russian Red Tree Squirrels (Scirius vulgaris), the only zoo in the United States that breeds them. This year our pair had 5 babies. Three of the youngens will be going to the Philidelphia Zoo after they are weaned and eating solid food. This blog will give all the updates on how the babies are growing. They were born on April 2nd naked and about the size of my thumb. When they are 2 1/2 weeks old I will begin hand raising them. Squirrels can get stressed out very easily in captivity. By hand raising them, we reduce the stress that could occur with being in close contact with humans. They will be fed every two hours out of a syringe with a special formula. If any of you readers have specific questions for me as the babies grow, I would love to answer them. Can't wait to get to know all their different personalities and I hope you all will get to know them with me!



Below are pictures of the proud parents. Mom is on the top and Dad is on the bottom...




And here are the babies at just a couple days old...