© squirrelrehabilitation.com, 2011 The Basics Reuniting If you have determined that the baby is healthy, unharmed. and relatively safe in its current location, you should attempt to reunite it with its mother.  If the baby either accidentally crawled out or was pushed out of its nest, most mothers will retrieve their young.  However, it might take a while because she might be out foraging. To attempt to reunite the baby with its mother, do the following: 1.  Place the baby in a small box or other container,      uncovered and lined with soft cloth, such as a t-shirt,      and place the box back in the location where the baby      was found, but make certain the box is shaded from the sun.           It is not true that a mother will not retrieve      her young if she smells human scent on them. 2.  If the weather is cool or cold, try to provide the baby with      a safe heat source (see “Heat Sources” link below). 3.  Position yourself as far away from the box as you can, preferably out of sight (such as behind a window), but      close enough that you can see the box and retrieve it quickly should a danger present itself (cat or other predator). 4.  Watch and wait.  I have waited as many as five hours for a mother to come retrieve her babies, but she eventually      did. 5.  You may check on the baby periodically (every half hour or so) to make certain it is all right and/or to replenish its heat      source. 6.  Do not leave the baby out overnight or out in inclement weather.  If after several hours the mother has not returned,      and it’s getting dark, you can attempt to reunite the following day. 7.  If it is obvious that the mother is not going to retrieve her baby, and you simply can’t find a rehabilitator or insist on      trying to take care of the baby yourself, bring the baby indoors, place it on a heat source (after reading the link below),      and go to the link “Infant/Found Babies” link above and read everything in it.