# Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus



## tarantulabarn (Apr 21, 2005)

The babies are ready to leave home now :2thumb:




























should have quite a good comprehensive care sheet done for these soon as well


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## RORCOV (Jul 19, 2005)

OMG... how adorable are they?


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## tarantulabarn (Apr 21, 2005)

I know, there great arent they, taken me nearly 2 years to get things right though though


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## RORCOV (Jul 19, 2005)

Well done Steve!... would be interested in having a read of your care sheet once done. I quite fancy adding some ground squirrels to the household


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## carlycharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

Congrats on the babies & well done for getting them to breed successfully :2thumb:


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## andyh75 (Nov 16, 2008)

Aww cuteness:2thumb:


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## em_40 (Sep 29, 2010)

adorable, such striking markings on them

Would also be interested in the care guide, how much space do they require? do they use height if it's given or not really?


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

tarantulabarn said:


> should have quite a good comprehensive care sheet done for these soon as well


Any further on completing the care sheet?
I have a 13lined squirrel I got a few days ago and have gotten some good advice on a squirrel forum but it seems they don't have much knowledge of the 13ined type.

He is young and very small but his eyes opened yesterday and I've be feeding him a milk re-placer for puppies mixed with heavy whipping cream.Spent the first day re hydrating him and just started the re placer last night.


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## carlycharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

whipping cream????? is that good for a rodent? surely the milk formula should me ample enough even that can cause tummy upset due to the lactol in it.


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

darb said:


> Any further on completing the care sheet?
> I have a 13lined squirrel I got a few days ago and have gotten some good advice on a squirrel forum but it seems they don't have much knowledge of the 13ined type.
> 
> He is young and very small but his eyes opened yesterday and I've be feeding him a milk re-placer for puppies mixed with heavy whipping cream.Spent the first day re hydrating him and just started the re placer last night.
> ...


Sorry but I have to ask why are you adding heavy whipping cream ?

If you are using the puppy milk replacer there should be no need to add anything else.

Please forgve me if I am missing somethng but whipping cream ?

Best wishes

Neil


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

kodakira said:


> Sorry but I have to ask why are you adding heavy whipping cream ?
> 
> If you are using the puppy milk replacer there should be no need to add anything else.
> 
> ...


Hello and thanks for replying.I don't have much experience and have started researching how to rehab this little fella so I'm open for advice.

I got the idea for the whipping cream from this site
Esbilac Tips for Wildlife

I don't add much of the cream but just a tad mixed with the formula.If you have experience with these guys and think its a bad Idea i will stop.He seems more perky now that I got him rehydrated and on the formula.I've only had him for about three days now and he already opened his eyes yesterday.He seems a bit small for open eyes but then again he has both front teeth.

Any advice would be a great help,thanks:2thumb:


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Hi

If it were me I would definately stop the whipped cream. I would just feed on the milk replacer. I cannot see any value from feeding the whipped cream infact all I can see is problems.

We keep 13 lined Squirrels but have not bred them. We have however hand reared various exotic rodents using just milk replacer until starting to wean them.

Can I point you in the direction of • View topic - Hand Rearing Gambian Pouched Rats - Pouchie there is a record of hand rearing Gambian Pouched Rats. I know not the same but still a rodent and will give you the basics.

Also pm the poster carlycharlie as he has hand reared Praire Dogs from a young age.

Hope this helps

Best Wishes

Neil


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

They are adorable :gasp::gasp::gasp:


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

I'll take your advice and stop with the cream.From the research I've done my little guy is around 2-3 weeks old.He is doing well and still learning the the syringe is food.
Sometimes he fights me when I try to feed him but other times he will grasp it and slurp it down.He gets real spunky when I try to get him positioned to feed and even gets mad sometimes when I hold him still.

I weighed him and he is about 18grams.I keep a sock full of rice I microwave after i feed him so he can snuggle up to it for his nap after he eats.He poops but I haven't noticed him pee when i stimulate him with a warm and moist q-tip.

I looked through the linked thread and it was a bit depressing that those babies didn't make it.

I checked for a local licensed rehabber but the closest is over 100 miles away and the rehab center is over 150 miles away.I don't have the ability to transport so I'll have to take my chances doing it myself.


here are a couple more pics of him the first day I got him before his eyes opened.

















I'll get around to taking updated pics soon


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## carlycharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

I had success using Royal Canin Baby Kat milk replacement.......for several exotic animals.

Many animals cant tolerate cows milk (lactose) easily so vets often recommend using goats milk with various things added like glucose powder & egg yolks.

It is possible to get lamb feeder mix which is made from sheep's milk & also suitable for goats - I will probably try this in future, although I am hoping not to have to as I only hand rear mammals as a last resort!! Too many sleepless nights :bash:

Re hydration is the important thing & I have even had to administer subcutaneous fluid injections with some critters.......but it sounds like you are past this stage & doing fine.

Where do you live? Are you in USA by any chance - the looking for a rehabber kind of indicates you might be.


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Hi Darb

Yes the link I gave you as a bit depressing but quite a number have been raised successfully now by different people including us. 
Don't be disheartened as it can be done, it's not easy though.

Is this an animal from the wild ie a rescue as I am also summising you are from the USA.

We wish you the best of luck.

Let us know how things go.

Best Wishes

Neil


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

carlycharlie said:


> Too many sleepless nights :bash:
> 
> Re hydration is the important thing & I have even had to administer subcutaneous fluid injections with some critters.......but it sounds like you are past this stage & doing fine.
> 
> Where do you live? Are you in USA by any chance - the looking for a rehabber kind of indicates you might be.


I'm from minnesota here in the US.
The only good advice I got from a US squirrel forum was a link to a specialized website for wildlife formula.It seems they are all rehabers so most of them told me to get him to a wildlife rehab or a licensed person right away.The problem is I live too far away from any to make that happen.I'm not working right now so I figured I should be able to do it.

I'm defiantly losing much sleep trying to keep this guy fed.


kodakira said:


> Hi Darb
> 
> Yes the link I gave you as a bit depressing but quite a number have been raised successfully now by different people including us.
> Don't be disheartened as it can be done, it's not easy though.
> ...


I got him on monday afternoon.My mom found him at a friends farm she works at.I guess my mom's friend's husband shot the mother a few days before and this guy must of climbed out of the hole after his mom never came back.She picked it up and gave it whipping cream and ended up dropping it off with me.

I did some quick research and figured out he was severely dehydrated.I made a water/sugar/and salt mix for him and busted out the heating pad.I ended up giving him a few drops(all he would take) of the mixture every 20 mins for about 13 hours.After doing the pinch test I could tell he was improving so I went and got some powdered milk replacer for puppies. 
For the past few days now I've been giving him that and he seems like a 100% different baby.
I was feeding him every hour but I've cut back to about every 2-21/2 hours now and he's more willing to eat and will eat more than a couple slurps.

He went from barely crawling to running and zipping around the box I got him in now today.My mom couldn't believe he made it through the first night when she called for a update the other day.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed he keeps improving.

I'm curious if anyone knows how much he should be eating?,Every thing I've found is for normal squirrels who seem 2-3x larger than these little ground squirrels.


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

They are so cute. Do these become hand tame with work?


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

Nix said:


> They are so cute. Do these become hand tame with work?


I read somewhere while I was searching for info about a guy who found a baby and raised it and then decided to keep it as a pet.He said he had a large cage he kept it in.He said it tended to bite often from either getting spooked being pick up or just aggressive playing.I think he even had a bunch of dirt in a section of the cage so it could burrow.

These guys hibernate from October to April from what I've read so I don't know how that would work living in captivity.

My little guy is doing good and putting on weight.
I'm having a problem finding syringes that have the o ring seal on the plunger, the only ones I've found where I live have the rubber plunger that seizes up after a day of use.I've found some on a site but I don't have a credit card to buy anything online.I'll have to just keep going through the ones I can get.

heres some more pics I took of him yesterday


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Maybe you could ask a local vet for some feeding syringes for a rescue..


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Hi 

The 13 Lined Ground Squirrels will stil try to hibernate in captivity.

In late September here in the Uk they would start to store food and start making a really compact nest. We would supply fresh food and water daily and a little would go once in a while. This was actually while they where in a warm house. 

We then moved them outside to an enclosure in the shed.

It appeared the hibernation / brumation was more light related ( day length etc ) than temp related. I know of others that keep them and have had the same experiences.

Best Wishes

Neil


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## darb (Jun 15, 2011)

*update*

I still got the little guy and have started giving him some greens to eat in between his formula feedings.:2thumb:
made a short video of him eating

YouTube - ‪Baby Stripped ground Squirrel‬‏


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