Typical Day As a Squirrel Rehabber<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nKCS: <\/span> <\/strong>What does your typical day look like as a rehabber?<\/p>\n\n\n\nCindi:<\/span><\/strong> My day never ends when you are doing middle-of-the-night feedings. If I have “pinkies” (extremely young squirrels that haven’t grown hair yet), they need to be fed every 2-3 hours. My morning usually starts at 6-7 am, but it really hasn’t stopped from the night before. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen the babies are a little older, they only need to be fed every 4-5 hours, so then I have it made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right now, I have six babies, and to complete one feeding for all of them takes about an hour. Then you must clean all the syringes, nipples, and then make more formula. This is really a full-time job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/span>Are You Like Cinderella: Still Cleaning the Castle<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nJust cleaning the rehab room is a whole new game when you have babies. Not only do I have to clean the room, but I also have all the cages to clean. I must do a deep clean of the room every two days. The babies make a colossal mess and pee all over the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/span>What? You Have to Help Them Go to the Bathroom<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nKCS:<\/span><\/strong> For those who don’t know, rehabbers must assist the babies to go to the bathroom (AKA pee and poop). I asked Cindi how long she must help them along in that process? Young babies love to suck. Sometimes baby squirrels will suck on each other\u2019s ears or other parts of their bodies, and when that body part is another baby\u2019s penis, the penis can become red and swollen \u2013 sometimes, in extreme cases developing a scab and creating a situation where the sucked-on baby can no longer urinate. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCindi: <\/span><\/strong> The rule of thumb is when the babies open their eyes, they can usually go to the bathroom on their own. I typically continue to help them for 2-3 weeks after that. Just to make sure everything is flowing well, especially since they are starting to transition to solid foods. I don’t want them to get constipated. There is really a transition period to getting their bodies regular when they start eating solid foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou battle with some and must give warm baths to clean them off, and some you must work their bellies (massage the stomach) to help them poop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some formulas don’t agree with the babies’ stomachs. There can be a lot of bloating, and you don’t always know if there will be a problem. You just must feel it, and if there are digestive issues, you must switch up the formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KCS: <\/span><\/strong> So, you don’t have a strict regimen of what we do and how we do it. You wait to see if there are signs or symptoms of digestive problems and adjust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/path><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/span>Being A Squirrel Rehabber Requires A Huge Commitment<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nCindi:<\/strong> <\/mark> People don’t realize the commitment we make as squirrel rehabbers when we take in a squirrel. They don’t think about all the time invested, and it isn’t as easy as just feeding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI’ve had more than one baby where it takes one hour just to feed a couple of syringes of formula because you must give it one drop at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person who chooses to be a squirrel rehabber may not think about all that before they get into it. I didn’t even realize what I was in for until I was in the thick of it. Then when I was in the midst of it, I realized I knew what I was doing, and now I can’t say no.<\/p>\n\n\n