Baby Squirrels Rescued: You Will Go Nuts Over These Photos

What could have ended in tragedy for three baby squirrels took a positive turn Tuesday afternoon as Collinsville resident Dan Phelan delivered the animals to Roaring Brook Nature Center.

The animals were a bit hungry and dehydrated but wildlife educator Katelyn Stryeski was optimistic.

“Squirrels are very hearty so they can often bounce back very well,” she said.

For the last few weeks the squirrels were visible from the second floor of the Phelan workplace, Litchfield Insurance Group in Torrington.  

Monday evening, one of them fell on to the pavement and someone had moved it under a bush, thinking it dead, Phelan said.

But come Tuesday, that was not the case.

“This morning it was breathing and moving around,” Phelan said.

Employees brought it inside and did some quick research before getting back to work, he said.

“We all quickly became squirrel experts,” he said.

They purchased a heating pad, covered it and placed the young squirrel into a shoebox. He was quickly dubbed Rampage after the brand on the box.

They also attempted to feed the pedialyte to the baby with a dropper but without much success.

Since the mother squirrel had not been seen in days and the two babies left in the nest were covered with fleas, a sign they had not been cared for recently, Phelan transported all of them to Roaring Brook Nature Center.

Stryeski warmed the animals up a little more, placed a heating pad in a cage and used a syringe to feed them with a puppy replacement formula. She took the animals home with her since they will need extra attention.

Generally when squirrels are cared for human feeds the animals fed at least four times daily but these will likely need extra initial attention, Stryeski said.

While the nature center does rehabilitate animals, director Jay Kaplan said they generally just take them from immediate surrounding towns in the Farmington Valley.

“We just can’t take them all,” he said.

He also said people should call the center at (860) 693-0263 before touching squirrels or any animals. In many situations, the mother may have been scared off but will return, he said.

Phelan said it was certainly an adventurous day and he plans to check on their progress.

“We had a very exciting day at the office,” he said.