adopted 4 babies yesterday!

[hunter29180]

Great Balls Of Squirrels! Its hard to believe its been almost a month since we adopted these cuddly babies! the 28th will be 1 month on the dot! they are doing great and eating up a storm. so far they have has veggie puffs and carrot yogart treats from the pet section at wally world. we got some rodent block and they have been some what munching on it some. they like the yogart and the puffs much better.

as for real fruits and veggies, they have had Gala apples, red delisious, cucumber, tomatoe, and baby carrots. the LOVE the Gala apples, hated the red delicious, cuke and tomotoe somewhat and the baby carrots disappear in a hour or so..they hide the carrots and pull them out to much during the day time.

they are all using the branches very well now and hang upside down, climb upside down, jump from one branch to another ans 2 of them will even jump from the floor to the upper branches!

any ways here are new pictures in their new cage! its over 4 time the size of the one they were in and it took them almost 2 weeks to get used to it! a noise will still send them scrambling to their nest box!

the first picture shows all 4..one in the nest box,one on the feed cup(Alvin),one on the door (thats the dominate female) and one bottom by the water bottle,

second picture is of Alvin on the feed cup demanding to be given a treat.

and the 3rd is of the one who was at the bottom by the water bottle of first picture!

[Country101]

They have got to be a blast.

If you get a chance, hang a limb by some chain so it swings when they climb on it. Give them the real tree experience there. They'd have fun trying to get thier balance on that.

How old will they be when they start eating whole nuts?

[ozo]

When they get older, and you teach them to read,
they may not appreciate the humor of the "Slice-O-Matic"
box for their nest......
they may think you have an agenda......

[Country101]

[hunter29180]

Originally Posted by ozo

When they get older, and you teach them to read,
they may not appreciate the humor of the "Slice-O-Matic"
box for their nest......
they may think you have an agenda......

THAT CAUGHT ME BY SUPRISE!! CHOKED ON MY COFFEE! oh! that was so good!

[hunter29180]

Originally Posted by Country101

They have got to be a blast.

If you get a chance, hang a limb by some chain so it swings when they climb on it. Give them the real tree experience there. They'd have fun trying to get thier balance on that.

How old will they be when they start eating whole nuts?

they are a blast and sometimes a drag. they tied us down and its like having kids again..all your plans have to revolve around them. We had both been looking forward to the Dalton get together and they stopped that.. we have had to cancell other plans as well. but that was our most looked forward to plan we had. A Mini Vacation so to speak! OH well, next year is comming..but it seems so far away....

the wood on a chain is planned for soon. we will offer them Almonds next and as first nut for them, if they like them the next will be dry raw peanuts in the shell then on to pecans, acorns, and pine cones!

as near as we can figure they are about 7-8 weeks old now. we are guaging this from this site...http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special...rrelmanual.pdf

the pictures have been a great help!
also it gives advise for food and when to offer it. these have been the youngest ones we have rescued to date!

[Country101]

They are small enough to take with you. As long as they dont get car sick like my cat......

Dont let these little guys grow up like some others I have seen. You will start them down the straight and narrow and think all is good, but you turn your back for a minute and look at the progression.......

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[hunter29180]

will have new pictures and update posted by tomorrow!!

[hunter29180]

we had the grandkids over this weekend! been a while since we have seen them and the first time they have been able to see the squirrels! fun was had by all! the squirrels were shy..and it too a while for 3 of them to come out and play. Orrin (age 7) and Laura (age 4) were very excited to see the squirrels and feed them some fruits, veggies and nuts! lots of pictures to follow as there are a few too many for just 1 post, maybe 3 to get them all.
we had steak, greenbeans, just baked rolls,steak,frenchfries,chicken tenders and corn on the cob. the kids decided the squirrels would like corn on the cob for dinner also! so after we shucked the corn, I took some corn off the cob for them to hand fee the squirrels....the were very appreciative of it, os Laura put the whole cob in their dish! as the pictures show they likes it so much 3 of them drug it into their nest box! (they must have learned to read because they destroyed the "slice-o-matic" nest box they had in the last set of pictures.as you can see they have a new blue igloo type nest box now!)

well on to the pictures now!

[hunter29180]

and more!

[hunter29180]

a few more! I'm kinda like a new mommy gushing over her new baby...but I am very gratefull the Lord allowed me to be a small part of these babies life!

[hunter29180]

OK just 2 more pictures! one of these shows just how big they hag grown! remember when we adopted them they were only about 3 in long including their tail! now they are all over 12 in long to the tip of their tails!

[todd51]

Great pictures, thanks for sharing your experience. I am anxiously following.

[ozo]

Very enjoyable to follow along ....
Thanks for sharing.

[BlackEagle]

Nice pictures. Enjoying the ongoing story; thanks for sharing.

[BETH]

boy have they gotten big how long u gonna hang on to them?

[KenV]

Originally Posted by hunter29180

As I get Older, I have come to understand why our Founding Fathers chose our countrys motto to be "IN GOD WE TRUST", ..

Ummmm, I'm not trying to contradict you, but "In God We Trust" was NOT chosen by the Founding Fathers. It did not become the offical motto until 1956. The unoffiical motto before that was "E Pluribus Unum".

The first known reference to the phrase was in the poem which became our national anthem. The 4th stanza contains the phrase "In God is Our Trust".

Just thought I'd set the record straight.

And BTW, those squirrels are CUTE! What a great service you are a providing. They are going to be a major mess to clean up after as they grow up, but hopefully they will stick around after they are returned to the wild and provide years of enjoyment. Thank you so much for sharing.

[hunter29180]

Beth..wife is worried about releasing them at this time of year as they will not have shelter or time to build a winter food supply. so I am bowing to her wisdom and we plan to release them come spring!

[denny 714]

That was a Great thing you and the wife did !!!.....

[hunter29180]

new update! they are all self weaned now. 2nd day in a row that all 4 have refused the formula. they are on a commerical mix of wild squirrel feed, hamster/rat feed, dry raw peanuts in the shell and fresh veggies/fruit! we go in in the morning and let them out for about 30-45 min and in the evening 45-60 min. they use wife and I like a pair of trees, jumping from the top of the cage to one of us then to the other one, scampering over boxes and on my desk. (wife said I have to clear off desk and shelf above this week end so the squirrels will have more room and not be in danger from my leathercraft tools and chemical stuff) they also climb up and down both our legs and sometimes chase each other around our bodies and from one of us to the other and back again. I have started wearing a light jacket to protect my neck and arms as they were playing so hard their claws were drawing blood from all the pinpricks and scratches on them. of course they soon made my jacket part of the game also (since i left it open in the front) by running under the jacket and around to the other side under my arm and then "jumping out" at one of the other squirrels as they come running by! one "hides" under wifes hair and does the same on her!

they hate to go back into their cage now and it sometimes takes me a hour to get all 4 back in. course they think its a game to see how many can "escape" when I try to get one inside the cage! when wife can help in the evening it takes less time but all 4 still act like its a game.

so the decision is still up to the wife. turn them loose or keep over the winter. we have had 2 wild squirrels hanging about in a tree outside the window where the babies are kept. their cage has one end facing the window and of course they see the babies when they are out and playing in the room. we have started to put some feed in the squirrel feeded outside as its getting down into the 40's overnight now. wife keepsmbringing it up and I keep telling her we will do what she wants to do in this matter.

[gvw3]

It's going to be hard to let them go.

[hunter29180]

this has been a worrying weekend..the squirells chewed a hole in their crate..this was friday night..took me a hour to fix it. then sun morning they had chewed 2 more holes in it..wouldnt be so bad but we rent and we cant take the chance they would damage the room or house. SO..we set the crate out sunday morning..within 15 minutes all 4 were out of sight in the woods.. we left crate, just in case they came back.....along about 8 pm I checked and 2 were back..they were not recptive to being brought in so had to leave them out..I really worried as I could see they were cold...

Monday morning went out and put food in and extra peanuts...also added several old t-shirts for them to bundle up in. went and got some duck tape and cardboard to block off most of the air holes..to keep wind from blowing through and help keep them warmer...checked around 9 pm and again at least 2 were back..they had made use of the extra t-shirts and looked to be warmer and in a better mood..we decided to leave them out..

this morning went and added food and changed water..they were already out and about..we decided we would maintain the crate for them till they no longer come back..and maintain feed all through the winter for them.

i didnt realize how attached to them I had become..we did not spend a lot of time handleing them as we didnt want them to bond strongly to us..a hr in the morning and again a hr in the evening..they are not afraid of wife and I but neither can we just walk up and handle them..strangers they hide from so guess that part of the plan worked...still worry about them as the storm (sandy) had brought some wind and cold air to us. mid to high 30's at night.
high 50's to mid 60's daytime. wind chill monday night was 29....

SIGH! feels like whem our real kids left home...wonder and worry..but this is worse as I find my self scanning the trees and woods for them as I walk the dogs..so close but not to be found...


unless we find one or two just keep comming back this will be the end on this thread..The good Lord allowed these babies to enrich our live for such a short time..but guess he was telling us it was time to let them finish becoming real squirrels..


thank you all for your comments and support...say a little prayer for them to make it through the winter. and please join us in thanking the Lord for his Blessings in allowing us to have a part of his creatures life.

[Rockyja]

You have a lot of enjoyable memories coming your way. God bless you.

[ozo]

Wow.....You and Beth shared them for a while...
and no words can fill your void....
It was so enjoyable to follow along, and now
I too miss them and pray they are warm and safe.
Thank you.

[fuzebox40]

It's been a joy to follow along hunter. Thanks for spending the time to share it with us. Your lives are richer having had such an opportunity and accepting the responsibility. The things that money can't buy.