If you own a pet squirrel, or stumble on a squirrel and realize that it is dying, you’d be right to be concerned. Watching this little animal die in front of your eyes can be a horrifying experience.
This article explores how to save a squirrel from dying.
Table of Contents
How to save a squirrel from dying:
The steps that you’d need to take in order to save a dying squirrel are specific to why the animal is dying. Below is how to save a squirrel dying in different circumstances
A squirrel dying of dehydration
A squirrel dying of dehydration in the wild is very uncommon, these animals are always on the lookout for food and water. However, dehydration can still happen.
A squirrel can only survive one to two days without water. If the animal’s nose and mouth are tacky then it is likely dehydrated
How to save a squirrel from dying of dehydration:
Dehydration can be remedied by offering the animal a lectade solution. Lectade is a powder that is usually mixed with water and offered by vets to treat dehydration in calves.
Mix this powder into some water and feed this to your squirrel, this will rehydrate the squirrel.
If you cannot find this product, then feed the squirrel the international rehydration solution, this solution is made up of one liter of water, half a tablespoon of sugar or glucose, and a teaspoon of salt.
A squirrel dying from an injury:
If a squirrel is injured, and is immobile, it will quickly be found and eaten by predators. Predators target weak and injured animals in the wild, it’s the easiest way to get a meal.
Squirrels can become injured if they fall from trees, fall from power lines, if they are hit by cars, or, if they are injured by predators.
How to save an injured squirrel:
You need to keep the squirrel in a box or container where it can’t be accessed by predators.
Before you try to pick the squirrel up, wear thick gloves to keep the animal from biting or scratching you, also, pick the squirrel up using a towel as a barrier.
You need to take these precautions because the animal still sees you as a predator and may try to bite and scratch you in self-defense when you try to pick it up.
Place the squirrel in a box lined with towels or old T-shirt’s to create a soft place for it to rest on.
Place half of the box under a heating pad set to a low temperature. Placing half the box under a heating pad will give the squirrel the option to move to the other half of the box if the heating pad gets too hot for it.
Do not offer food or water to the squirrel while it’s in the box, rather contact a wildlife rehabilitation center, that does not euthanize, and see if they can take the squirrel in.
The people at the wildlife rehabilitation center will assess the animal to see if it is severely injured and offer it treatment
A squirrel dying from an illness:
Squirrels can carry a disease for quite a long time without you noticing that it is sick. Doing this keeps predators at bay.
If you start to see signs of the animal being sick, you’d need to treat it as soon as possible.
Seeing signs of the squirrel being sick communicates that the animal has likely been sick for a long time and now can’t mask the sickness anymore.
How to save a squirrel that is ill:
Certain illnesses can be treated at home while others need to be treated at a vet.
If the squirrel is suffering from mbd (metabolic bone disease) or encephalomyocarditis, then it can be treated at home.
Metabolic bone disease can be treated by allowing the squirrel to have at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight a day. Alternatively, you can also install full-spectrum light bulbs in the squirrel’s cage as a source of light.
You can treat encephalomyocarditis by giving the squirrel a course of antibiotics.
If you think the squirrel is dying from something else, then you’d need to take the animal to a vet
A squirrel dying from poison:
Not many people are happy to see squirrels running around, some people will leave poison out for these little animals to eat.
A squirrel can also become poisoned if it eats poison meant for another animal.
How to save a poisoned squirrel:
When dogs or cats ingest poison, the recommended treatment for the animal is to force it to throw up by feeding it foods like chicken/beef broth and rice with lots of oil
Unfortunately, squirrels and other rodents, cannot throw up so this won’t work.
It is said that feeding squirrels clay, which attaches itself to harmful materials in the animal’s body, helps keep the animal’s body from absorbing the poison
Squirrel dying of old age:
Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to save a squirrel dying of old age. If your squirrel pet is around 12 years of age, it is likely going to die sometime soon.
The best thing to do is to make the animal comfortable in its last days and prepare yourself for the animal to die.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other squirrel related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Is It Illegal To Run Over A Squirrel?, Squirrel Not Moving But Breathing, Can A Squirrel Survive With A Broken Leg?, Squirrel Dragging Its Back Legs, Squirrel In Shock Symptoms