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How to Estimate a Baby Squirrel's Age

Squirrels are lively creatures, but not so much when they are just born. It takes about five weeks before the squirrel starts moving around at all. Fortunate orphaned squirrels are hand raised until they reach approximately 18 weeks. At this stage, they are fully grown and able to crack nuts in the wild. Estimating the age of a squirrel requires a couple tools for full accuracy. Knowing how old it is could help you if you are raising the squirrel.

Things You'll Need

Scale
Measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Hold the squirrel gently in the palm of your hand. If it is pink and hairless, has eyes that are closed with no slits and has a sealed flat head, it is younger than four days old. Place it gently on a scale. Squirrels that are less than four days old weigh approximately 15 grams.
- 2
  Place the squirrel gently stretched out on something soft. Measure its length with a tape measure. A squirrel that is between one and two weeks old is about 3.5 inches long. It is just starting to grow grayish fur. The eyes are developing slits and are beginning to move away from its head.
- 3
  Look into the squirrel's eyes. If they are showing signs of opening, the squirrel is between three and four weeks old. Its eyes are emerging and it has short, thick dark gray fur from head to tail.
- 4
  Observe the skin. If it is fully furry and the baby's eyes are starting to open, it is five weeks old. At this age, the squirrel with be moving around a bit, looking for food.
- 5
  Check the squirrel's posture. If it is standing and the tail is just starting to become fuller, the squirrel is six to seven weeks old. It will start to show signs of fright around objects and people.
- 6
  Notice its movement. At eight to 10 weeks, the squirrel will start climbing and jumping around. Its appearance is similar to a small adult squirrel. It should be able to crack nuts at about 10 weeks.

Animals & Science