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The photos on this page will show the results when a baby squirrel is fed an improper diet by the individuals that find them. There are many formulas out there that claim to be good for wildlife. We decided that pictures would show what we have been trying to say for years but no one will listen.

NOTE: The improper diets mentioned on this page were not fed to these babies by licensed rehabbers for the purposes of proving a point in these photos. The improper diets were fed to these babies by the individuals that originally found them.

This is a good reason to get the babies to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as you find them. Feeding them just anything will do them harm and possibly cause their death. Rehabilitator's cannot make up for the damage that has been done from these improper diets. All we can do is get them on the proper diet and try to keep the damage done to a minimum.

The babies on the top row and on the bottom left were received by one of the Squirrel Connections on March 30, 2000. They are approximately 7 weeks old and were fed nothing but cow's milk by the individuals that found them for the last 3 weeks. You can see in all of the pictures, but especially the one on the bottom left (look at the knee and inside the left front leg), that the hair is very sparse and is not thick and fully covering the skin like it should be. They are also very under weight at 90 and 115 grams. The baby on the bottom right is the same age as the others and has been fed a proper diet. Note that his fur is dense and thick like it should be as compared to the sparse hair on the others.

Left Photo: Baby squirrel on the left was 3 weeks of age and weighed 72 grams and was fed the proper diet by the individuals that found him. The squirrel on the right was fed an improper diet by the individuals that found him, which started with evaporated milk and then changed to Tiny Tiger, and was 6 weeks of age and weighed only 62 grams. Because the one on the right was fed an improper diet he had terrible diarrhea and was also aspirated from improperly feeding him. Right Photo: The squirrel on the left is 3 weeks of age and weighed 64 grams. The squirrel on the right was 5 weeks of age and weighed only 50 grams and had been fed an improper formula called Mother's Helper by the individuals that found her. The bones in the back legs were deformed and she had to be euthanized.

Left Photo: All of the squirrels in this photo are 3 weeks of age. The babies on the left side of the photo were fed with the boiled milk formula by the individuals that found them initally and weigh 15 to 22 grams. The squirrels on the right side of the photo were fed a proper diet and weigh 60 to 65 grams. Right Photo: The squirrel in this photo is one of the 3 weeks old babies that was fed the boiled milk formula by the individuals that found him. His rectum is protruding and you can count every single bone in his body. There has been little hair growth either. Basically this baby has been starved to death nutritionally and the body is eating and digesting itself internally just trying to stay alive and cannot grow normally. This is the result of what an improper diet does.

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