I may be jetting off to South Africa in just over a month, but the babies at Wildlife Aid still need caring for in the meantime!
I was thrilled to see the mice were doing very well, normally at this very young age they are so hard to hand rear, but these guys were eagerly clambering over one another. I offered them the tiny pipette and they quickly started feeding, I was having no trouble with these babies! They continues suckling until their little bellies were full, I then had to toilet them. Trying to hold these tiny babies still while dabbing them with slightly damp toilet roll is not easy, but eventually it worked.
Next up it was the monsterous squirrels, they were still friendly at this age, but were just on the edge of turning wild. With most animals you have to reduce human contact over time so they become wild again, but squirrels have the strange habit of turning wild literally overnight. One morning you could go in and have them happily crawling up your arm and down you back. But the next morning you will attempt to put your hand in and you will end up with a very painful bite and one very aggressive squirrel!
I quickly got to work with their morning feed, trying to grab one of these little babies while they are all trying to escape is rather difficult! Eventually I managed it and one by one began feeding them. Even though they were extremely eager to feed they didn't take much. They were obviously happily feeding themselves now, but still enjoyed 'mummies feed'. Its difficult not to get attached to these adorable babies, but knowing I helped get them back to the wild is a fantastic feeling.
