If you missed the first part of the story about Mac (1.0), click here first. If you already heard the saga of Mac, then please continue reading...
This morning I started to get a bit worried about Mac. The Boy was able to coax him to eat a bit of watered down formula yesterday afternoon, but after that we weren't able to get to to eat at all. He was very sleepy and lethargic. I worried about him becoming dehydrated. I managed to get a few drops of water in his mouth this morning, but I knew that he needed to cared for by someone who knew what they were doing if he was to survive.
I called the people at the Wildlife Rescue Coalition and they encouraged me to bring Mac in. After trying in vain to get him to eat again, I took Mac from his solitary little nest in the aquarium (which The Boy had set up quite nicely) and took him to WRC.
I called the people at the Wildlife Rescue Coalition and they encouraged me to bring Mac in. After trying in vain to get him to eat again, I took Mac from his solitary little nest in the aquarium (which The Boy had set up quite nicely) and took him to WRC.
Once we arrived at WRC, they checked Mac out. He had a little scrape on one of his legs (probably caused by Roxy the cat) and a slight respiratory infection (probably caused by us trying to feed him with an eye dropper. They told me this was very common as it is very easy for the babies to aspirate some of the fluid.) Other than that, he is in great health and should be just fine.
Everyone at the facility was incredibly kind and helpful. They walked me around and let me continue to hold Mac until I was ready to say goodbye. They explained that he would be given antibiotics for the infection and would be fed a special baby squirrel formula every 3-4 hours, until he is ready for solid food in another month or so. In about two to three months he will be released into the wild and they patiently explained the procedure for that as well. They had many baby squirrels and had them separated by their ages. Mac will be placed with other little babies around his age (6-8 weeks, approximately) so that they can snuggle up together and, eventually, play together.
I got to observe one of the volunteers as she fed another little baby and I was impressed with her caring and gentleness.
It was hard to say goodbye to the little guy - I was already becoming attached to him. It's hard not to though, when he snuggled up in my hand and chirped softly at me as I tried to feed him. Watching him curl his little tail around his body when he slept and blink those big ol' eyes at me as he tried to figure out what was happening to him.
I know that he will be fine. I feel confident that those staff and volunteers at WRC will take excellent care of all those little orphaned babies.
Plus, I also feel pretty confident that The Boy will soon be working there on the weekends as a volunteer. It's just a feeling I have...
