We have had our little Pinky since Aug 15,10

[pinkymom]

Someone found this little guy and brought him to me. He was the smallest I have ever seen. In fact, he was bright pink and still had the little black dot on his tummy where the cord had fallen off. His ears and eys were just bumps and he looked like a alien. It was hard to tell if he was a squirrel or a rat! He weighed less than 30 grams. He is now 75 grams and has a little fur. His eyes are still closed. He looks more adorable every day. I am feeding him with a 1cc syringe and long nipple. He is getting puppy milk replacement and thriving on it. This will be my 5th squirrel. First we had one. Named him Squeek. We got him pink too but he was a little older than this one. We raised him and he was eventually released in our yard (which was backed up by woods) and came back to visit for a while and then was gone.
The next was Peter, Paul, & Mary. They were a handful! As they got a little older we transferred them to a rehab person. She was very pleased to see how fat and happy they were. Eventually they were released too.

Now I have this one. Named him Pinky. We never had a Winter squirrel but I am guessing we will have to keep him in our home till the Winter is over.
I feed him 7am, 11:30am, 4:30pm, and 2:30am. He is taking between 3 and
4cc of milk. (The 2:30am feeding is a little rough but I worry about the long night without milk and probably would not sleep anyway. Ha, ha

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome :wave123
we love pics!

[pinkymom]

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[Ultra Peepi]

Hi:Welcome

[squirrelygirlie75]

Hi and welcome! We have similar stories, I found a 2 day old pinkie August 11. I too was bumfuzzled about what the heck she was, her feet were the dead give away though. We live in Texas so winter isn't as bad but I will not try to release until spring either. I worry that being a single, she will take longer to adapt. Tiddlywink's eyes aren't open yet but I can't wait to see them. I did notice her ears are more open today than yesterday, there is an actual hole now. Congrats on your progress thus far, hope everything stays great for Pinkie and you.

[lilidukes]

:Welcome PINKY :Welcome :thumbsup pictures

[island rehabber]

:Welcome I love all squirrels at any age, but I especially love PINKIES :Love_Icon!
It never ceases to amaze me how much fighting spirit and will to live can exist in just a tiny blob of pink squirrelness.....:). Great pix!

[SquirrelsinSingapore]

OMG..

Pinky is looking good... It looks so vulnerable, it is lovely.

To watch that growth of this little squirrel day by day, is gona be so beautiful...


Absolutely beautiful...

[pinkymom]

PINKY IS DOING GREAT. EVEN GETTING SPUNKY! TONITE WE HAD COMPANY...AND HE IS NOT USE TO VISITORS...WOW DID HE THROW A FIT!
I GUESS THAT INSTINCT IS KICKING IN!!! HE EVEN SCARED ME...HA, HA.
ANYWAY, THESE ARE LATEST PICTURES: HARD TO BELIEVE HOW HE HAS GROWN SINCE AUG 15TH. WE ARE GUESSING HE IS ABOUT 7 OR 8 WKS OLD. HE IS STILL DRINKING FORMULA AND SHOWS NO INTEREST IN DRINKING WATER. HE SNIFFS IT AND SNEEZES BUT NO LICKING OR TASTING.

[astra]

PINKY IS DOING GREAT. EVEN GETTING SPUNKY! TONITE WE HAD COMPANY...AND HE IS NOT USE TO VISITORS...WOW DID HE THROW A FIT!
I GUESS THAT INSTINCT IS KICKING IN!!! HE EVEN SCARED ME...HA, HA.
ANYWAY, THESE ARE LATEST PICTURES: HARD TO BELIEVE HOW HE HAS GROWN SINCE AUG 15TH. WE ARE GUESSING HE IS ABOUT 7 OR 8 WKS OLD. HE IS STILL DRINKING FORMULA AND SHOWS NO INTEREST IN DRINKING WATER. HE SNIFFS IT AND SNEEZES BUT NO LICKING OR TASTING.
they grow so-o-o fast!... Pinky doesn't look like a pinky at all - cute little furry thing. Lovely pictures!:thumbsup :thankyou

[Ronda]

Welcome! He is just beautiful! Great job with him,.. and great pics!

[Ultra Peepi]

:Welcome that's a very sweet boy there:)

[squirrelygirlie75]

What a handsome fella he is. I wish we were closer so maybe our babies could get to know each other. My Tiddlywinks is about the same, 8 weeks old today! Yes, I agree they grow up way to fast. I couldn't help but add a couple of pics.

[pinkymom]

Good Morning
He is soooooooooo cute! What are you feeding him? He looks so strong and healthy! We are enjoying Pinky's silly games every time we sit down to eat.
I know everything we read says put them in a quiet room but it's just my husband & I ...plus two dogs (Yorkies) and two inside cats (strays) Plus we feed two outside stray cats and tons of birds, squirrels, chipmonks and who knows what else! If he was not out in the kitchen by the window he would miss out on all that fun....and so would we. I have him in a large flight cage with lots of toys and goodies. We did have company the other night for my birthday and he was not happy about that. He growled and warned everyone they better stay away. I should have covered his cage before company came...next time I will. What do you keep your little fellow in?
Keep up the good work....and have lots of fun. I know we are.
Marie...(pinkymom)

[astra]

two dogs (Yorkies) and two inside cats (strays) Plus we feed two outside stray cats and tons of birds, squirrels, chipmonks and who knows what else! If he was not out in the kitchen by the window he would miss out on all that

if Pinky is to going to be released, he needs to be kept away from dogs, cats and shouldn't be getting any notions that predators might be ok to socialize... :shakehead sad outcomes after release might follow

[pinkymom]

I agree, they already know Pinky is not about to be friends with them. Also, we make sure they know the cage area is off limits. Thanks for your concern. I am the only one that can go near him. I don't want him to think other people are going to be friendly either. Even tho I raised four other squirrels, I never stop reading everything I can about the do's and don't about squirrel raising. You can never know too much or get too much advice. Thanks again. And I love the pictures I have been finding of the home built cages. Great ideas!!!

[pinkymom]

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123570PINKY'S NEW OUTSIDE CAGE

[virgo062]

:Welcome Pinky looks fantastic you have done a exceptional job:thumbsup
Nice cage too:thumbsup

[nnmaru1]

Pinky is a beaut :thumbsup

don't you love that innocent, squeaky-clean little face of indoor baby SQ :D



those cages are to die for indeed... custom-made? where did you buy these?

[pinkymom]

Thank you. We had the outdoor cage made, One of our friends is a carpenter. It was also his idea to put the door on the nest box so I can flip it closed with the hook and carry him in the house at nite and put box right into his inside cage and then pull it back open. So far he hasn't gotten wise to out trick....YET. HA, HA It makes bringing him in and out so much easier. In case you are wondering how we get him to go back in his nest box...we give him tissues and he pulls them into his cage and scampers up to his nest to add it to his bedding. Works most of the time.
Now we need a harder wood for his nest box. He chews and chews his house and we are going to have to rename him JAWS soon!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

[SquirrelsinSingapore]

Nice work, pinky's new home looks fantastic!

[pinkymom]

WELL MY BABY HAS GROWN UP. HE WON'T TAKE FORMULA ...I KNOW HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN OFF IT A LONG WHILE AGO BUT I ENJOYED FEEDING HIM. NOW HE WAKES UP IN THE MORNING AND DOESN'T EVEN WANT HIS FOOD. HE JUMPS ALL AROUND IN HIS CAGE UNTIL I GRAB HIM AND PUT HIM INTO HIS OUTSIDE CAGE. THN HE EATS. HE HAS 3 OTHER SQUIRRELS THAT COME VISIT HIM EVERY DAY....AT LEAST HE THINKS THEY ARE VISITING HIM....THEY JUST WANT HIS NUTS AND GOODIES FROM HIS CAGE. WE PUT GOODIES OUTSIDE THE CAGE SO HE CAN WATCH THEM AND EVEN PLAY A LITTLE THROUGH THE WIRE. IT WAS 15 DEGREES OUTSIDE THIS MORNING AND PINKY STILL WANTED TO GO IN HIS OUTSIDE CAGE. WE BRING HIM IN AT NIGHT TO HIS OTHER CAGE. YES, HE IS SPOILED. HA HA IT SURE IS GOING TO BE HARD WHEN WE FINALLY OPEN HIS OUTSIDE CAGE AND LET HIM COME AND GO. HOPE HE REMEMBERS HIS HUMAN MOMMY. OH WELL, I AM NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT IT TILL WINTER IS OVER. TILL THEN I WILL ENJOY HIS CRAZY TRICKS. HE IS SO CUTE. HAPPY NEW YEAR SQUIRREL FRIENDS.
PINKYMOM

[pinkymom]

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HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM PINKY SQUIRREL, PITA & PACO YORKIES, SWEETIE PIE, HOUDINI, TOMMY & MOMMY CATS.....& PINKYMOM!

[Skul]

If you can ever dig out from that snow you folks had, he's going to be ready
for the great outdoors.
Sounds like he's acclimated quite well.

[pinkymom]

AND WE ARE EXPECTING MORE SNOW TOMORROW! LUCKY FOR PINKY WE HAVE 2 DECKS...ONE IS COVERED SO HIS OUTSIDE CAGE IS ON THAT ONE. WE CAN SEE HE LOVES BEING OUTSIDE BUT HE HAS NEVER BEEN OUT IN THE COLD ALL NITE. I KNOW I AM AN OVER PROTECTIVE MOM..HA HA

[pinkymom]

Well we finally let Pinky go. He is 6 months old now and against my better judgement, I agreed to lettting my husband open the door to his outside cage. He came out slowly but once he realized he was free he took off and never looked back. Up on the roof and over to the trees, along the fence and into the woods in back of our house. For weeks now I have been keeping him outside all day and putting lots of nuts around his cage so he can get aquainted with the other 5 squirrels that come around every day. He looked forward to being outside and watching them. ( He thought they were coming to visit him.....we never told him they were just coming for his nuts. Anyway, he is free 2 days now and has not come back. I am sick over it. I hope he is ok. I know he wanted to be free by the way he paced up and down when he saw the others. I keep his cage door open and food inside it just in case he finds his way home. I am so worried he is lost and cold and hungry. I am so mad at myself for letting myself be talked into setting him free before I was ready. I thought he would come back to sleep in his nest box and eat. I miss him so....Hope he makes it.

[Tickle's Mom]

:grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[TimDolbear]

I totally understand. Sparky's been out now for 4+ weeks, and every day I worry this is the last time I will see him. Its so stressful! But God has his hand on these little guys. Its Amazing how their instincts kick in. Just watching them build a nest with leaves and sticks?!?! how? I didn't teach him? They just know. There is something so special about them.

When they wild up and go, they are "looking for love". I am willing to bet he will be back around, keep looking and calling out for him. :thumbsup

[Best Life]

Not to worry, pinkymom; the boy is healthy and strong and has a lot of oats to sew! You know how they can be... some linger before they go, and some can be gone for a good long time before they come back to say howdy. Sounds like you have a terrific location for release right there at your home, so basically knows the lay of the land. I have my first two 'overwinters' this year and it's going to be hard (for me) to let them go.

Hang in there! Just imagine all the FUN he is having!!