Simon’s Story

Stuart’s Mom and Dad arrived home late on a Friday night and decided to do some house cleaning. Samantha went into the kitchen to move a box from the countertop to the fireplace hearth. As she bent down to set the box on the hearth she saw something lying on the fireplace and screamed! 

Dad to the rescue! Samantha thought it might be a dead mouse but Dwayne said, “It looks like a baby squirrel, and I think he just fell down the chimney!” Samantha took a closer look at it and thought with that kind of fall it surely must be dead. Just then the baby squirrel slowly opened and closed his eyes……

No more than 5 inches long, and very weak, this little fella was in big trouble. Sam and Dwayne placed him in a five gallon bucket with some soft cloth padding while they started an internet search, hoping they could learn enough quickly to ensure his survival.

From photos and descriptions Sam and Dwayne learned that the baby squirrel was between 4 and 5 weeks old and they started out feeding him puppy weaning formula using an oral syringe. They also contacted some other folks who have raised squirrels to check out the finer points of the process. 

Little “Simon” is thriving beautifully…running around and happy! Samantha takes him to work with her (same routine as baby Stuart) so she can give him his mid-day feedings. Dwayne took him to work recently and everyone loved him, especially his boss…whose shoulder Simon immediately peed on!

This week Simon is learning all about eating more solid foods but still needs his baby formula.  His favorite solid food right now is a wheat snack mix. Eating standing up with food in his paws is proving to be quite a challenge! Being a baby still, little Simon isn’t all that steady on his feet and falls over quite a bit. 

Recently Simon crawled out of his bucket, soon making his way into the bedroom with Stuart. Some pretty loud quacking let them know Simon was in the bedroom. Stuart is doing a fine job as a watch-duck for baby Simon. He’s such a good boy!!!  

The plan is to try not to get too deeply attached so that they can give Simon a soft release in about four months. At that time his cage will be placed outdoors with the door open so he can have easy access to food, water and a safe snuggly spot while he’s exploring the natural world.

Right now Samantha and Dwayne are dedicated parents to this sweet squirrel and it’s hard for them to think about letting him go. Check back here in a few weeks for an more of Simon’s adventures.

Hope you all enjoy Simon’s baby photos as much as we did!
The JinglePets Gang