What does this mean?

[SaraK]

When I found Anise, I aged her at about 3 weeks due to the amount of fur that she had and that her eyes were still firmly closed. But as I fed her, I noticed that she had both top and bottom teeth fully in. Yet she was tiny, had no fur on belly or legs, and her eyes were nowhere near ready to open. Does this mean she may have had existing health problems when I found her?

She was also the only baby found, despite the abundance of squirrels in my yard, and the fact that several of my cats were out at the time. If there had been others, they would have been brought to me by my cats. And no storms or wind in the days before I found her.

Could she have been an unhealthy baby abandoned by her mother or pushed out by healthier siblings?

[Abacat]

That is entirely possible, on both your questions.
Do you know if Anise was a gray squirrel or a red? If she were a red squirrel that would explain the tiny issue (grays are larger than reds) The balding also leads me to think perhaps she was a red, they sometimes get something referred to as balding syndrome. That in itself wouldn't have caused her death, but certainly could contribute to her problems. Her immune system could have been totally compromised, and she was just too small to fight. Sometimes we never know the exact cause of their death, please, do not drive yourself crazy thinking about this. As harsh as it sounds, we just have to accept it and go on ; be ready to help the next one. You are a very caring young lady, and I'm so glad you found us. :grouphug

[SaraK]

I think she may have been a fox squirrel. This little one looks exactly like her:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/2253846644_e668a17cd8.jpg?v=0

I'm not sure what types of squirrels are native to Southern Ontario. She weighed around 75g after rehydration and was about 3 1/2 inches long.

[Abacat]

I did a little research, unless you live on Pelee Island, Anise probably wasn't a fox squirrel...but those maps were from 1993, so maybe :dono ...I don't have fox squirrels here, so I wouldn't recognize one...SR&B2(squirrelsruleandbunniestoo) is pretty familiar with foxers, she's a rehabber here on the board (living in Ohio)...there are threads in the nursery, maybe you could look at those.

No matter, you did a wonderful thing trying to help her. Again, I'm sorry you had to experience that loss. :grouphug

[SaraK]

She may have been a grey, I think I saw one in my yard yesterday morning. He threw a walnut at my cat. :rolf My cat was like "WTF?!"*sniffs it*

Anise had a black spot on her nose, a large muzzle (it seemed too large for her face), blonde fur on her cheeks, mottled blonde/grey/brown everywhere else, silver/black fur on her tail. The fur on her body was still very short. Comparing her to other baby pictures on the forum, she looked a lot like Jackie's Penny or philomycus' Sundae, only she was about half the size of them and no fur on legs or belly.

Are there any manneurisms I should watch out for as warning signs in baby squirrels as signs of a possible disability/deformity? For example, Anise shook her head a lot, exactly as a human does, even when just lying down otherwise doing nothing. She also seemed to prefer to drag her back legs, even though she had full use of them.

[skye]

Hi there
Looking at your pic that baby squirrel was a grey. Southern Ontario Canada has the black & greys go further North the reds.

[Abacat]

All I can tell you is the more you can observe squirrels natural movements, you will know what is normal. Everyone interprets things differently, seeing with your own eyes is much better than someone trying to describe behavior. Does that make sense?

This site has alot of information, not all is "gospel" as I'm sure you've already figured out, everyone has an opinion, sometimes no right or wrong answers.

In case you're interested, here's a link to some of my babies raised...
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10366
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4984
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5188

:rotfl about the walnut...squirrels are amazing.