Rescuers Are Shocked By Flying Squirrel Covered In Mystery Substance

"We couldnā€™t even make out what was going on."

When staff members at Cape Wildlife Center first received a photo of a flying squirrel who needed help, they had trouble understanding what exactly was going on. The poor squirrel appeared to be covered in a substance of some kind, but that was really all they could make out. They knew without a doubt that the little guy needed help, though, so they quickly agreed to take him in.

"We couldnā€™t even make out what was going on," Cape Wildlife Center wrote in a post on Facebook.

Once he arrived at the center, his story finally began to come together. It appeared that the flying squirrel had been living inside a wall when it was insulated with spray foam, and he unfortunately ended up covered in it. The foam had hardened into a thick shell all over him, particularly on his face, which had left him really struggling.

flying squirrel
Facebook/Cape Wildlife Center

ā€œBoth his front hands were also covered it in, and we could see, in a desperate attempt to remove it, he was trying to groom it off himself,ā€ Cape Wildlife Center wrote.

The veterinary team gave the squirrel anesthesia so they wouldnā€™t stress him out, then got to work removing the spray foam. They knew it wouldnā€™t be easy, but they were determined to help the flying squirrel in any way possible.

flying squirrel
Facebook/Cape Wildlife Center

ā€œLittle by little we used Q-tips soaked in nail polish remover to dissolve the foam and remove it from the fur and skin,ā€ Cape Wildlife Center wrote. ā€œAcetone is known to remove the spray foam when it is still wet, but we didnā€™t know if it would work on foam that was already hardened.ā€

flying squirrel
Facebook/Cape Wildlife Center

Remarkably, it only took about 20 minutes to get all of the foam off. He did lose a little fur around his head where the most foam had been, but everyone is confident that itā€™ll grow back in no time. When the squirrel woke up, he was definitely groggy but already seemed to be feeling so much better.

flying squirrel
Facebook/Cape Wildlife Center

The squirrel is now recovering at the center and doing great. Once heā€™s all healed, heā€™ll be released back into the wild, and will hopefully steer clear of sticky situations in the future.