I found a squirrel. What do I do?
Babies fall from nests all the time. Most can go back to their mother if you act quickly.
Is it really orphaned?
Baby squirrels fall out of trees while learning to climb, playing, or when wind or tree trimming takes the nest. A healthy, warm baby will almost always be retrieved by its mother, even if you have touched it. Check for these before anything else:
- Visibly injured or bleeding badly (a bloody nose alone is common and not serious)
- Cold to the touch (a baby should feel warm)
- Very thin or wrinkled, which means it has been without its mother for a long time
- Flies, fly eggs, or maggots anywhere on it
- A dead adult squirrel nearby that you are sure is the mother
Any yes: the baby can’t be reunited. Keep it warm, dark, and quiet and call or text us now.
All no: try the reunite below. It works far more often than people expect.
How to reunite
- Start as early in the day as you can; squirrels are active in the morning. Look around for siblings.
- Put the baby in a small open box lined with something soft (fleece, an old t-shirt, or the original nest). Add a sealed hot-water bottle or instant hand warmers under the lining so it stays warm.
- Put the box as close to where you found the baby as you can, as high off the ground as you can manage. Strap it to the tree with a bungee cord or rope.
- Play the sound of a baby squirrel in distress from a phone or speaker in the box, sound facing away from the baby. This one-hour recording is what we use. It tells the mother exactly where to look.
- Leave. The mother won’t come if people, dogs, or chainsaws are nearby. Watch from indoors.
She usually comes within a few hours. Mother squirrels keep several nests, so a destroyed nest is not a problem for her; she’ll carry the babies to another one.
If she hasn’t come by dark, bring the baby inside, keep it warm, and call or text us. Never leave a baby out overnight.
What not to do
- Don’t feed it or give it water. Formula fed wrong ends up in the lungs, and the baby dies. Bubbles from the nose mean this has already happened.
- Don’t wrap it in loose cloth its claws can catch in.
- Don’t keep it. Raising a squirrel takes weeks of round-the-clock feeding on a precise diet, and it’s illegal in California without a permit. If you want to be part of raising the one you found, ask us about joining the Infant Care Team.
Then call us
Whatever you found, call or text (510) 421-9897 before you drive anywhere. We'll confirm what you have, tell you whether to bring it to us or somewhere closer, and make sure someone is there to meet you.
