How Fast Do Baby Squirrels Breathe? And What It Tells You

A warm, healthy kit breathes steadily and quietly. What laboured, open-mouth or bubbling breathing means, and why it is a call rather than a home job.

By Zakaria November 2, 2026 3 min read Save to Pinterest

A furred baby squirrel held carefully in two hands — Photo: Alexas_Fotos, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay

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The number matters less than the character of the breathing. A warm, healthy kit breathes quietly, steadily, with its mouth closed and no visible effort. Anything laboured, open-mouthed or bubbling is a call to make, not a thing to treat.

The short answer

A healthy baby squirrel breathes faster than an adult, but the useful signal is quality rather than rate: quiet, steady, mouth closed, no visible effort. Laboured, open-mouthed, bubbling or clicking breathing indicates aspiration pneumonia or chest trauma and needs a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately. Slow, shallow breathing in a limp, cold kit is hypothermia — warm it gently before anything else and do not feed it. Aspiration from well-meaning hand-feeding is the commonest way found kits die.

Quality beats rate — quiet, steady, mouth closed, effortless
Open-mouth or bubbling = emergency, call a rehabilitator
Slow and shallow in a cold kit = hypothermia, warm it first
Never feed a cold kit, and never feed cow’s milk
Aspiration from hand-feeding is the usual cause of death

What normal looks like

	healthy kit
Rhythm	steady and regular
Sound	silent
Mouth	closed
Effort	none visible; no flaring, no heaving flanks
Body	warm to the touch, responsive, curls when handled

Counting breaths is less useful than it sounds, because a kit that has just been picked up is stressed and breathing faster than it would in the nest. Watch instead for how it breathes once it has settled under gentle warmth for a few minutes.

The warning signs, and what they mean

what you see	what it suggests
Open-mouth breathing	emergency — aspiration, pneumonia or chest trauma
Bubbling or clicking	fluid in the airway, usually inhaled formula
Fluid or bubbles at the nostrils	aspiration during feeding
Heaving flanks, visible effort	respiratory distress
Slow, shallow, limp, cold	hypothermia — the most urgent and most fixable
Rattly, wet-sounding	pneumonia developing

Aspiration is how most hand-fed kits die

Formula inhaled into the lungs causes pneumonia within hours to days, and it is usually fatal without veterinary antibiotics. It happens when a kit is fed too fast, held on its back like a human baby, or fed from a syringe that delivers faster than it can swallow. This is the single strongest reason not to feed a found kit yourself.

Cold comes before everything

A chilled kit cannot digest. Food given to a cold squirrel sits in the gut and ferments, and the animal dies of that rather than of starvation.

Warm it first, and do not feed it at all:

Indirect heat. A bottle of warm water wrapped in a cloth, placed under a towel the kit lies on — not against bare skin
A covered box, somewhere quiet and dark
No direct heat sources. Heat pads on high, hot water bottles against the body and hair dryers all burn
Give it time. Warming takes a while, and a kit that is limp and cold needs a rehabilitator regardless

Give the mother a chance first

If the kit is warm, uninjured and the nest tree is identifiable, the best outcome is usually the mother retrieving it.

Keep cats and dogs away from the area entirely
Open shallow box at the base of the tree, in shade
Gentle warmth underneath, as above
Withdraw and watch from well back for two to three hours
Do not feed, do not handle more than necessary, do not take it indoors while you wait

Mothers routinely carry kits back, clamped against the belly. Interrupting that is the most common avoidable mistake.

When to call, and who

Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator — your state or regional wildlife agency keeps the list — if any of these apply:

Breathing is laboured, open-mouthed, bubbling or clicking
The kit is cold, limp or unresponsive
There is blood, an obvious injury, or a wound
There are flies, fly eggs or maggots on it
The mother is known to be dead
Nobody has come after two to three hours
It has been fed anything by a person

In most jurisdictions keeping and raising a wild squirrel requires a licence. The call is free, the rehabilitator has the formula, the equipment and the antibiotics, and it is the route by which the animal has a realistic chance.

Common questions

How fast should a baby squirrel breathe?

Faster than an adult and much faster than a person, but the exact figure matters far less than the character of the breathing. A warm, healthy kit breathes steadily, quietly, with the mouth closed and no visible effort. What should prompt action is breathing that is laboured, open-mouthed, bubbling, clicking, or accompanied by fluid at the nose — and so should breathing that is very slow and shallow in a cold kit, which is a sign of hypothermia rather than a respiratory problem.

Why is my baby squirrel breathing with its mouth open?

Open-mouth breathing in a kit is an emergency sign. The usual causes are aspiration pneumonia — fluid inhaled during feeding, which is the commonest way well-meaning people kill a kit — and chest trauma from a fall. Neither is something to treat at home. Keep the animal warm and quiet and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately.

What does bubbling or clicking breathing mean?

Fluid in the airway, and in a hand-fed kit it usually means formula has gone into the lungs. It happens when a kit is fed too fast, held on its back, or fed with a syringe that delivers more than it can swallow. Aspiration pneumonia develops within hours to days and is frequently fatal without veterinary antibiotics, which is why feeding a found kit is the single thing bystanders should not do.

Is a cold baby squirrel in danger?

Yes, and it is the most urgent thing to fix. A chilled kit has slow, shallow breathing, is limp, and cannot digest food — feeding a cold kit causes the food to sit and ferment. Warm it gently first, with a covered bottle of warm water under a towel rather than direct heat, and do not offer anything by mouth. A kit that is cold to the touch needs a rehabilitator, not a feed.

Should I feed a baby squirrel I found?

No. Cow's milk and human infant formula cause fatal diarrhoea, feeding a cold kit is harmful, and feeding at the wrong angle or rate causes aspiration pneumonia. Raising a wild squirrel also requires a licence in most places. Warm the kit, keep it quiet and dark, and call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator — most areas have one, and the call is free.

How do I know if the mother will come back?

She usually will, if you give her the chance and keep cats and dogs away. Put the kit in an open box at the base of the tree, in shade, with gentle warmth underneath, and watch from a distance for two to three hours. Mothers retrieve kits routinely, carrying them clamped against the belly. If nobody comes, or the kit is cold, injured, bleeding or has flies on it, call a rehabilitator.

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