i rescued a squirrel

[bobby729]

last month i saw a squirrel get hit by a car and he was still alive so my wife and i put him in the truck and took him home i did not think he was going to make it he was bleeding out of his eyes and could not use his legs we kept him in a 20 gal tank and fed him honey nut cherrios and water well now he is back to normal and my wife wants to keep him he puts up with her but hates me any tips anybody

[jsmorphs2]

He belongs in the wild, thats where it will be the happiest. Congrats on saving his life, not a lot of people would even bat and eye at an injured squirrel. You can also call local wildlife centers to see if they could give it a home if you feel it won't do well in the wild.

[mainbutter]

Unless you raise them by hand from the they they are infants, squirrels do not acclimate very well to captivity. The same goes for just about all wild species, just think of the issues people have with WC ball pythons. Many people will say that you shouldn't ever keep squirrels as pets, I personally would disagree, they are ever bit as good pet material as sugar gliders. Better imo from my own experiences with rescues.

Release him when he's 100% healthy(sounds like he may be) in your back yard, put out squirrel treats him to eat, and you might have a yard "pet".

[Jay_Bunny]

I would put him back outside. He is a wild animal, not a pet. He belongs outside with the other squirrels. From what I've heard they don't make good pets anyway. You can give him food outside and he may stay close to your home, but I would give him the choice of being able to come and go as he pleases.

[Jay_Bunny]

Question. Did you get this squirrel any kind of professional medical help? I know that if I found a squirrel outside that was injured I would not hesitate to take it to a vet or wildlife rescue. Also, honey nut cherrios are not a good staple diet for a squirrel (any animal really) and for some reason I highly doubt that this squirrel recovered from such massive injuries from eating honey nut cherrios and water. He would at least have little use of his legs if they were not set properly. Of course the injury could have been in his back but then he would not be able to use his legs at all right now.

So I guess I'm just wondering if you did anything else for the squirrel.

[Wrongside]

Question. Did you get this squirrel any kind of professional medical help? I know that if I found a squirrel outside that was injured I would not hesitate to take it to a vet or wildlife rescue. Also, honey nut cherrios are not a good staple diet for a squirrel (any animal really) and for some reason I highly doubt that this squirrel recovered from such massive injuries from eating honey nut cherrios and water. He would at least have little use of his legs if they were not set properly. Of course the injury could have been in his back but then he would not be able to use his legs at all right now.

So I guess I'm just wondering if you did anything else for the squirrel.

Judging by his description of the injuries I would say the lil guy had a head injury not back or legs. It could have easily been a concussion, which can explain temporary involuntary motor function not not being able to use legs. And since it was a head injury the blood around the eyes could have been pressure or a cut. With that in mind it was 50/50 that the squirrel would live no matter what. He'll probably have lil headaches, I lol at that for some reason, but he probably will be fine

[bobby729]

he is fine now and back to 100% and we are going to let him go

[pitbulls4me]

Good that you are letting him go.... in most areas it is illegal to own, or even have in your possesion a wild animal such as a squirrel. Even though you were trying to help you could still get fined for it. When someone brought me baby squirrels they found in their attic, the rehabilitator that came and got them told me that I should ahve left them where they were and that I could get in big trouble for having them even though I wasnt even the one who found them....

[FIREball]

We had 2 babies dropped off at the fire station while we were out on a call, one died within hours but the other was hand raised.

After a few months it became aggressive and needed to be returned to the wild, definately cool animals with tons of personality...