There are around 200 breeds of squirrels ????️ found in the world. Millions of squirrels inhabit different continents.
What type of care and feed should be provided to a baby squirrel depends on age.
We can determine the age of a baby squirrel by considering its developmental stage.
In this article, we will share the information about how to identify the age of a baby squirrel, and baby squirrel age chart.
So let’s start!
How to Tell How Old A Baby Squirrel Is? 4 Things To Look For!
His physical development can determine the age of a baby squirrel. Up to the age of 06 weeks, a baby squirrel changes every day, and his age can be found by looking at the growth of his fur, eruption of teeth, and opening of eyes. All these events occur at a specific age of a baby squirrel.
A baby squirrel has the best chance to grow up healthy when taken care of by her mother. However, you may find an abandoned baby squirrel fallen and displaced from its nest.
If you want to adopt an orphan baby squirrel, knowing its age can help you learn about its basic care and nutrition.
The physical appearance of eyes, ears, fur, and teeth can give us sufficient information to determine the age of a baby squirrel. Here are the things to look for.
Eyes
Baby squirrels are born with their eyes completely closed like dogs’ pups and kittens of cats. It takes a while for the baby squirrels to open their eyes.
Baby squirrels can open their eyes as early as 3 weeks of age; however, usually, it takes five weeks to open their eyes completely.
Teeth
Observing the development of teeth is one of the authentic ways to tell how old a baby squirrel is.
A newborn baby squirrel doesn’t have teeth in its mouth. Lower incisors start erupting at 03 weeks of age while the upper incisors erupt around their 5th week of age.
Ears
Upright ears can’t be seen in baby squirrels. Like the eyes, ears are also closed. Ears start opening around the 4th week and are fully held upright against the head at the 5th week.
Fur
It is also a good indication to determine the age of a squirrel. Fur starts appearing on the body around 02 weeks of age in the form of patches. However, legs and tail have no hair at this age.
In the 4th week, the approximately whole body is covered with fur, and it also starts covering the tail. The tail didn’t have fully developed fur until the 12th week of age.
Baby Squirrel Age Chart
| Age | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Newborn baby squirrel | Pinkish color body without hairs up to the size of your thumb. Eyes and ears are closed, and fingers of the claws are not separated. |
| 2 weeks old squirrel | The body of the baby squirrel starts appearing gray due to hair growth. Eyes are still closed, and a slit may appear on them. Ear pinnae start appearing on head. |
| 4 weeks old squirrel | At the 4th-week baby, squirrel erupts lower incisors, and hairs become more visible, covering the whole body except the tail. White hairs start growing on the lower side of the body and on the legs. |
| 5 weeks old squirrel | Until the 5th week, the baby squirrel spends most of his time sleeping. The tail still remains to straighten, and the kitten starts crawling on four feet. Upper incisors appear. |
| 7 weeks old squirrel | The baby becomes more active and starts sitting in a typical squirrel sit up with a curled tail. The tail starts appearing covered with hairs. |
| 10 weeks old squirrel | Appears like a small squirrel with a lot of jumping activity. The tail becomes quite fluffy and bushy, with hairs and incisors becoming fully grown up. |
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions.
How big is a 4-week old squirrel?
A 4-week old baby squirrel is approximately 4 inches in length, excluding the tail. The body is covered with 1mm long hairs and eyes start opening, and ears become upright. Incisor teeth appear around the 4th and 5th week. Baby spends most of his time sleeping.
When can baby squirrels eat solid food?
The solid feed can be introduced to baby squirrels and milk feeding from the 6th week of age onward. However, the weaning process starts from the 8th week and completes on the 12th, when liquid feed is replaced with solid feed. From the 12th week, the diet of the baby squirrel consists of solid feed.
At what age do baby squirrels pee on their own?
Baby squirrels start peeing on their own at the age of 5 to 6 weeks. Before that, you have to stimulate him to urinate and defecate during feeding.
How long can baby squirrels live without their mother?
Baby squirrel needs nursing care until he is 08 weeks old. Eyes open at 5th week of age, and teeth erupt at 4th week. Before the 8th week, he needs a mother or someone like a mother to feed and nurse. However, an 8 to 10-week old baby squirrel can live on its own in the wild.
Do baby squirrels drink water?
Baby squirrels feed on a liquid diet like mother’s milk to meet their need for water. However, if you find an abandoned baby squirrel, it may be dehydrated, and you can use plain tap water between the feeding.
What food is poisonous to squirrels?
Any unhealthy moldy food can be poisonous to squirrels. Before offering them to your pet squirrels, always check for the molds and fungus growth on the corn or sunflower seeds. However, you should also avoid very sweet, starchy and salty food. Keep the poisons and insecticides away from animal proximities.
Final words
The physical development of the baby squirrel gives an accurate idea about his age. Until the 6th week of age, baby squirrels change every day, making it easy to determine their age.
Accurate age determination makes it clear that what type of care and diet should be provided. Baby squirrels can be released in the wild after 10 weeks of age as at this age, they can care for themselves on their own.
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