Hello, new from Oregon

[veganhead1]

Hi,
I guess it's proper to introduce myself so here's a little about me: I live right on the Oregon/Washington line. Ive been married for 16 years, no kids, 1 rescued dog and a yard full of squirrels. I was actually looking for information on a squirrel in my yard when I ran across this forum. So, maybe you guys can help me with the information I was looking for?

I have an upperstory deck on my home where I feed about 10 squirrels. I moved here about a year ago and started feeding the squirrels (and birds) about 6 months ago. At first, I just left the food on the deck and they got it when they wanted. A few months ago I decided to try to befriend them and started sitting at the window by the upper deck and throwing food to them. At first they would stay in the trees and watch me throw the food on the deck and then when I left they would get it. Over time I was able to stay at the window and they would come out of the trees and onto the deck to get it. Now they will come right up to the window and even in the window sill to get it. The smallest squirrel, who I've named Timber) started coming up to the chair I have on the deck bythe window and taking food out of my hand. It is the most awesome thing to feel trusted enough for her to take food right out of my hand!! None of the others will come on the chair and take it out of my hand but they will come very close.

The information I was looking for when I found this forum is about Timber. Her tail is almost all the way gone with only a nub left. I don't know what caused it and I'm worried about it. There is meat on her tail that's exposed, just about 1/2 an inch but I'm worried she might get an infection or something. And, I don't know what can cause their tails to drop off. I'm assuming she got attacked by a predator? My camera is broken or I would post a picture, if you can do that on this forum?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to look around the forum, I can't wait to explore and learn more about these awesome little guys! Thanks for having me on the forum and I look forward to getting to know you all.

Peace,
Veganhead

[momma2boo]

Hi,
I guess it's proper to introduce myself so here's a little about me: I live right on the Oregon/Washington line. Ive been married for 16 years, no kids, 1 rescued dog and a yard full of squirrels. I was actually looking for information on a squirrel in my yard when I ran across this forum. So, maybe you guys can help me with the information I was looking for?

I have an upperstory deck on my home where I feed about 10 squirrels. I moved here about a year ago and started feeding the squirrels (and birds) about 6 months ago. At first, I just left the food on the deck and they got it when they wanted. A few months ago I decided to try to befriend them and started sitting at the window by the upper deck and throwing food to them. At first they would stay in the trees and watch me throw the food on the deck and then when I left they would get it. Over time I was able to stay at the window and they would come out of the trees and onto the deck to get it. Now they will come right up to the window and even in the window sill to get it. The smallest squirrel, who I've named Timber) started coming up to the chair I have on the deck bythe window and taking food out of my hand. It is the most awesome thing to feel trusted enough for her to take food right out of my hand!! None of the others will come on the chair and take it out of my hand but they will come very close.

The information I was looking for when I found this forum is about Timber. Her tail is almost all the way gone with only a nub left. I don't know what caused it and I'm worried about it. There is meat on her tail that's exposed, just about 1/2 an inch but I'm worried she might get an infection or something. And, I don't know what can cause their tails to drop off. I'm assuming she got attacked by a predator? My camera is broken or I would post a picture, if you can do that on this forum?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to look around the forum, I can't wait to explore and learn more about these awesome little guys! Thanks for having me on the forum and I look forward to getting to know you all.

Peace,
Veganhead

:Welcome Veganhead!

Glad you found us. TSB is the perfect place to be. There is a wealth of information here and the members are so very helpful.

I think it is great that Timber trusts you as she does. Without a picture it will be hard to diagnose if this is something serious or if this is normal after loosing her tail because of a predator attack. Many squirrels have lost parts to all of their tails and got along just fine afterward. I would keep an eye on it to be sure there is no infection present.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you feed your outside squirrellies? Maybe offering Timber something with good squirrel nutrition would help her to heal quicker. Please visit the nutrition section to see your options. There are HHBs and Boo Balls that can be offered to her. There is also a pyramid showing the good foods vs the not so good foods to feed your squirrels.

I am certain a rehabber will be along in no time to give you more information.

Thanks for caring enough to look for help.

[mugzeezma]

Degloving,or tail loss is fairly common with a long tailed prey animal ... better thanbeing caught outright but still traumatic. Frequently the bone and underlying tissues are exposed. They are then chewed off by the animal...fairly uneventful when you consider the alternative. Do you ha e any pix? What type of squirrel?

[2ndHandRanchRescue]

Welcome!!!! :Welcome
This is the place for all your squirrel questions - 10 on your deck!!! Wonderful! Yes we love photos please :D

[UDoWhat]

:wave123 Veganhead1, Welcome to TSB. Glad to have more squirrel loving people here. :Love_Icon So sorry about Timber's tail. This is a common injury to our little friends. It usually will heal without much interference or none even. Just watch Timber and let us know what is going on. :thankyou I have several squirrels in my backyard with very short tails. I am sure that it is the work of a predator. Usually hawk, fox, even raccoon. I battle with hawks and fox many times in the week. :thankyou for taking such good care of your squirrels.

Marty, Licensed Maryland Master Wildlife Rehabilitator.

[veganhead1]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

Mama2Boo:
I thought it was a predator but wanted to make sure. To answer your question, I've been feeding them salad scraps like: tomatoes, carrots, etc. And, when I chop greens I store the bits I cut off of them, greens like cabbage, kale, broccoli, collards, etc. Also, I share my sweet potatoes with them. I bought a bunch of nuts too. Peanuts in the shell and then others without the shell like hazlenuts, brazil nuts, almonds, macadamia, and cashews, all are raw from the bulk section in my supermarket. I also give them in the shell sunflower seeds. And I give them some of my dog's homemade cookies. The ingredients in his cookies are: organic whole wheat flour, milled flax, dash of cinnamon and either peanut butter, pureed pumpkin or applesauce and sometimes I put granola or oatmeal in the cookies too.

Am I doing good with the food? Thanks for the link to the nutrition thread and the recipes, I'll check it out as soon as I have time.

Mugzeema,
So it's called 'Degloving', now I know. And yes, It could have been a lot worse so I'm glad for that! I would pass out if I saw a cat, dog or whatever predator attacking a little squirrel. I would certainly give chase and try to save them.....and then I would pass out! As for pics, I will be getting another camera when I can and I'll post pics. As for what kind of squirrels the are, I have no idea. I don't know anything about squirrels but hopefully this forum will remedy that!

Secondhandrescue,
Thanks for the welcome. Yes, there are around 8-10 that come. There were a couple more but I haven't seen them in about a month now, I think they were a couple because they always came together. I worry about them all when they are not on the deck eating and I wish they would all come in and live with me!

UDoWhat,
It's sad to think this is common. The poor little guys are just out there trying to make a living and have to worry about big, hungry teeth coming out of nowhere at them, hate it. I will do as you say and watch it close. I saw it today and it looked like she had chewed more of the hair off and now the 'meat nub' is exposed about 1/2 an inch. Will hair grow back around it or will it remain exposed?

Again, thanks everyone for the welcome and for taking the time to give me information and advice. I really appreciate it. :) :)

[UDoWhat]

:wave123 The hair will usually grow back all around the the stump, once the stump has healed. It will take a month or so to heal and grow hair. It may not look rounded on the end anymore. Just look like it was cut straight across. Does the stump look infected or swollen?

Marty

[JakesLittlePrincess]

hello & :Welcome
Glad you found us!

[Rescue04]

sounds like the food you are feeding them is fine to me. lots of fresh stuff is good. not to much peanuts. they are like squirrel crack to them!! but a few is okay. glad this squirrel trust you so much to take food out of your hand. that is unusually for a wild animal to do so.

[momma2boo]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

Mama2Boo:
I thought it was a predator but wanted to make sure. To answer your question, I've been feeding them salad scraps like: tomatoes, carrots, etc. And, when I chop greens I store the bits I cut off of them, greens like cabbage, kale, broccoli, collards, etc. Also, I share my sweet potatoes with them. I bought a bunch of nuts too. Peanuts in the shell and then others without the shell like hazlenuts, brazil nuts, almonds, macadamia, and cashews, all are raw from the bulk section in my supermarket. I also give them in the shell sunflower seeds. And I give them some of my dog's homemade cookies. The ingredients in his cookies are: organic whole wheat flour, milled flax, dash of cinnamon and either peanut butter, pureed pumpkin or applesauce and sometimes I put granola or oatmeal in the cookies too.

Am I doing good with the food? Thanks for the link to the nutrition thread and the recipes, I'll check it out as soon as I have time.
:)

1) Please do not give raw peanuts.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28442
2) I've heard from several people to not feed sunflower seeds to squirrels, it makes them mean. :dono
3) I like the nice array of fresh veggies they are getting. You must have the healthiest (most spoiled) wild squirrels in the neighborhood. :thumbsup

Keep up informed as to how the little tail-less wonder is doing.

[Busysqrl]

:Welcome :Welcome :Welcome Vegan! Wow, sounds like your wilds live in the lap of luxury with all those veggies. Degloving does seem to happen quite a bit from what I've learned, although I've never seen it myself. All those good foods you feed will help. You could also provide a good clean source of water and spike it with echinacea. That's what I do if I think I have one who needs some immune booster. I have a metal dog bowl that I've made a holder for and screwed to the top of my fence that all my squirrels drink from. I change it every day so they know they can always go there for fresh water. Sometimes clean fresh water is hard to come by. It's the clean part that's hard. In the Northwest, plenty of water, but usually muddy, LOL! Good luck with your wilds and keep us posted. You must post pictures, we LOVE them!!!! :jump

[veganhead1]

:wave123 The hair will usually grow back all around the the stump, once the stump has healed. It will take a month or so to heal and grow hair. It may not look rounded on the end anymore. Just look like it was cut straight across. Does the stump look infected or swollen?

Marty

Hi Marty,
She comes everyday, sometimes twice. She sits and eats her fill and then leaves. So, I've been able to check her tail everyday. It is red but I assumed that's the color it should be?? It doesn't look swollen but I don't know what to compare it to?? I don't see any pus or anything that looks like it's infected. I did notice a tiny patch of hair has started to grow back. She is just as active as the others so I guess she feels ok. It's funny that she's the hurt one and she's the only one that will take food out of my hand? Go figure. I'll keep a close eye on it and if I notice anything I'll jump on the board and ask what I should do. Thank you very much, Timber thanks you too. :)

[veganhead1]

sounds like the food you are feeding them is fine to me. lots of fresh stuff is good. not to much peanuts. they are like squirrel crack to them!! but a few is okay. glad this squirrel trust you so much to take food out of your hand. that is unusually for a wild animal to do so.

Squirrel crack.......:rotfl

I've never had a wild (or as I like to call them-'Free") animals take food from me though I've never really tried before come to think of it. Like I mentioned to Marty above, it's weird that Timber is the hurt one and she it the only one that takes food from my hand. I was kinda hoping in the back of my thoughts that she would decide to come in and live with us, is that an even remote possibility? Does that happen sometimes? Would that even be in her best interest? I'm a pretty firm believer that free animals should remain free but in her case where she's hurt I thought I should try to care for her by inviting her in?

[veganhead1]

1) Please do not give raw peanuts.
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28442
2) I've heard from several people to not feed sunflower seeds to squirrels, it makes them mean. :dono
3) I like the nice array of fresh veggies they are getting. You must have the healthiest (most spoiled) wild squirrels in the neighborhood. :thumbsup

Keep up informed as to how the little tail-less wonder is doing.


Goodness, I had no idea. I can understand his ideology-the peanut not being a part of their 'evolutionary diet'. But, seems to me that since it's ok for them to eat beans which is a legume and a peanut is a legume, that it would be ok as long as you roast them to kill the enzyme or whatever is was that upset their tums. But, I will trust you guys because you are dedicated to these guys and have taken a lot of time to learn what's best for them. So, thanks.

Oh, and I will drop the sunflower seeds too. They love the peanuts and sunflower seeds soooo much. I hope they don't get mad at me! The other thing I forgot to mention that I give them is popcorn. I buy bulk, organic popcorn for my husband and before I salt it I put some up for them. I air pop it so there's no oil, that's ok?? They love it.

The reason they are getting the wide array of fresh veggies is because I'm a vegan and raw, frresh organic veggies are a total staple for me. When I'm cutting my veggies up I save all the scraps for them and I also share some of the best parts too, I'm not all greedy. :) They love the cookies I make my dog and they are pretty cheap to make so that's good. They seem to love the banana-mango cookies the best.

Thanks again for taking the time to educate me! I really appreciate it. :)

[veganhead1]

:Welcome :Welcome :Welcome Vegan! Wow, sounds like your wilds live in the lap of luxury with all those veggies. Degloving does seem to happen quite a bit from what I've learned, although I've never seen it myself. All those good foods you feed will help. You could also provide a good clean source of water and spike it with echinacea. That's what I do if I think I have one who needs some immune booster. I have a metal dog bowl that I've made a holder for and screwed to the top of my fence that all my squirrels drink from. I change it every day so they know they can always go there for fresh water. Sometimes clean fresh water is hard to come by. It's the clean part that's hard. In the Northwest, plenty of water, but usually muddy, LOL! Good luck with your wilds and keep us posted. You must post pictures, we LOVE them!!!! :jump

I have kept clean water out and will definately continue to do so. I also have birds that come so I have a bird bath on my deck along with a bird feeder and 2 water bowls for the squirrels. I have 4 bluejays and 2 ravens that will sit on the rail and, like the squirrels, will let me throw a nut, popcorn or whatever and jump down to get it. The smaller birds always fly away when I open the window but the bigger birds have watched the squirrels and I guess they decided that if the squirrels can trust me then they can too. When I look out the window onto my deck there's almost always someone out there getting water or food. It's adorable to see birds and squirrels on the deck at the same time. My husband jokes about our deck looking like the National Geographic channel. :D

Which form of echinacea should I put in the water? That's a great idea. I've never used echinacea. Is there powder I sprinkle in or what? How much should I use?

Nice to meet you, thanks for the warm welcome and the info.

[momma2boo]

Goodness, I had no idea. I can understand his ideology-the peanut not being a part of their 'evolutionary diet'. But, seems to me that since it's ok for them to eat beans which is a legume and a peanut is a legume, that it would be ok as long as you roast them to kill the enzyme or whatever is was that upset their tums. But, I will trust you guys because you are dedicated to these guys and have taken a lot of time to learn what's best for them. So, thanks.

Oh, and I will drop the sunflower seeds too. They love the peanuts and sunflower seeds soooo much. I hope they don't get mad at me! The other thing I forgot to mention that I give them is popcorn. I buy bulk, organic popcorn for my husband and before I salt it I put some up for them. I air pop it so there's no oil, that's ok?? They love it.

The reason they are getting the wide array of fresh veggies is because I'm a vegan and raw, frresh organic veggies are a total staple for me. When I'm cutting my veggies up I save all the scraps for them and I also share some of the best parts too, I'm not all greedy. :) They love the cookies I make my dog and they are pretty cheap to make so that's good. They seem to love the banana-mango cookies the best.

Thanks again for taking the time to educate me! I really appreciate it. :)

I was once vegan ... but I missed my cheese. I am now an organic vegetarian.

Peanuts are high is phosphorous which throw off the calcium/phoshorus ratio. Too much phosphorous will deplete the body of calcium and lack of enough calcium will cause MBD. The occasional roasted, unsalted peanut is fine but I emphasize occasional. I would much rather see you offer them hazelnuts, almonds, and seasame seeds.

I am super interested in how to make those cookies you speak of. Just wondering if you would be so kind as to share the recipe? Muchos Gracias.

[veganhead1]

I was once vegan ... but I missed my cheese. I am now an organic vegetarian.

Peanuts are high is phosphorous which throw off the calcium:phoshorus ratio. Too much phosphorous will deplete the body of calcium and lack of enough calcium will cause MBD. The occasional roasted, unsalted peanut is fine but I emphasize occasional. I would much rather see you offer them hazelnuts, almonds, and seasame seeds.

I am super interested in how to make those cookies you speak of. Just wondering if you would be so kind as to share the recipe? Muchos Gracias.

Since you guys have helped me so much with Timber I would be happy to share my recipe:

I will definately drop the peanuts and keep on with the other nuts. I top my salads with sesame seeds so I will offer them some tomorrow.

The recipe is easy and very versatile. As long as you follow what I call the 'base' then you can interchange what I call the 'oil replacer'.

Basic 'Good Dog/Squirrel Cookies' (I just added the squirrel part. :)

Dry Base Ingredients:
*2 cups organic, whole wheat or other organic flours: I use many different types of whole grain flours to mix it up and make sure he gets a variety. (barley, spelt, amaranth, rye, etc.)
*1/8 cup organic, milled flax seed (I buy Bob's Red Mill which is at my local co-op and my local Fred Myers in the cooler by the soymilk-I use flax for Omega-3, it's loaded with it and it has a nice nutty flavor-I put it in my morning smoothies)
*1/8 cup organic wheat germ (It's in the cooler section by the flax)
*1/4 cup organic oatmeal (I buy this at my co-op in bulk and it's only $1.29 a pound)-I don't always use oatmeal and it doesn't matter if you do or not, you just have to adjust the water
*1/2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*I also use 2 TB of a vitamin/mineral powder supplement called vegedog

Wet Base Ingredients:
1/2 cup of one of the following or 1/4 cup of two of the following:
organic applesauce
pureed pumpkin
organic almond butter
organic peanut butter (won't use this on the squirrels again!)
pureed banana, mango, etc (just give it a quick whiz in the food processor or blender and voila, fresh puree
pureed berries
pureed yam
pureed carrots, peas, green beans, I use a wide variety of veggies-too many to list but you get the idea

Optional add-ins:
dried berries, nuts, carob chips, granola, etc..I sometimes use my puffed brown rice cereal or my other organic cereals and just sprinkle some in for texture and extra yummy tasting nutrients (organic pumpkin seed bran crunch cereal-organic raisin bran cereal, etc). Depending on the wet ingredients I use, I will sometimes use chopped fresh or frozen veggies as an add-in. For example, when I make him just yam cookies I will add in some frozen spinach as my add-in.

I mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, add the wet and mix it good, depending on which type of wet base ingredients I use I sometimes don't even need to add water but if you do then add it very slowly because you won't need a whole lot, just enough to bring the mix together, I actually usually use organic soymilk instead of water just for an extra bit of vitamins, then I sprinkle in the add-ins if I use any at all which I usually do. Then I use a small ice-cream scoop and put them on an oiled baking sheet pan. Bake them, depending on the size of the scoop you use and your oven, appx. 25-35 minutes. Gil likes them chewy so I take them out and put them right into the freezer, they freeze very well. If you want them crunchy then turn the oven off and let them sit a bit. Of course, you can roll them out but who has time for that. The only time I roll them out is Christmas when I use cute cookie cutters and give them as gifts and I hang a couple on the tree and let him eat them when he wants. They are so healthy that I let him have them whenever he wants them. He's very healthy so I guess I'm doing ok with it.

I realize this is probably one of the hardest to follow and most messed up looking recipes ever but really it's easy and so versatile. And, it's very forgiving, you can always add a bit more flour if the batch is runny or a bit more water/soymilk if it's a bit too stiff when you are stirring. I will suggest mixing them only by hand because if you over mix them then you will activate the gluten in the flour, depending on which type of flour you use, and they will be too hard. I've been making these since I got him and now 8. He loves them, every dog I've ever ran ito that I gave one to like them, especially peanut butter or applesauce. I make a lot of pumpkin because it's very high in fiber and helps him to eliminate easily.

It's super cool you are veg. I was veg a long time before I went vegan. You should try 'Sheese' vegan cheese, it's so good. Cheese is so high in cholesterol that I don't even miss it anymore but I did at first too. You may like this video, it's very informative:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWi6dXCT7I
The guy is Dr. Neal Barnard from PCRM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWi6dXCT7I
If you have time to look around the pcrm site you can learn so much important facts on nutrition. People swear by this site. And the video really is worth watching. :) :)

[veganhead1]

Mama2Boo,

Note:
Since I can't find a button to edit the above post, I forgot to add that what I call the 'oil replacer' ingredients are just the wet ingredients. It's great to be able to make these without oil. I guess a few drops of flax oil wouldn't hurt but I don't use oil.

[Skul]

:wave123 V
We have a wild in the woods that lost a good part of her tail.
When the hair grew back from the damaged arae, it was white.
We named her PD. (short for prairie dog)
We do feed sunflower seeds, the black type, not the striped.
In the fall and winter, they give an added boost in fats and oil.
Birds love them too.
One other thing you might consider, is dehydrated chicken breast.
It's a dog treat found in pet shops.
A piece the size of a grape gives needed protein.
Yes, squirrels will eat meat. :eek:

[Busysqrl]

I have kept clean water out and will definately continue to do so. I also have birds that come so I have a bird bath on my deck along with a bird feeder and 2 water bowls for the squirrels. I have 4 bluejays and 2 ravens that will sit on the rail and, like the squirrels, will let me throw a nut, popcorn or whatever and jump down to get it. The smaller birds always fly away when I open the window but the bigger birds have watched the squirrels and I guess they decided that if the squirrels can trust me then they can too. When I look out the window onto my deck there's almost always someone out there getting water or food. It's adorable to see birds and squirrels on the deck at the same time. My husband jokes about our deck looking like the National Geographic channel. :D

Which form of echinacea should I put in the water? That's a great idea. I've never used echinacea. Is there powder I sprinkle in or what? How much should I use?

Nice to meet you, thanks for the warm welcome and the info.

My hubby jokes about the same thing, wild kingdom out there in our backyard. We've recently had a pair of mallard's decide our ground feeders were made just for them. They've been coming morning and night for about the last 6 weeks. I know ducks like water with their food, so I even put out a special bowl of water right by the feeder they like to use. I was tickled pink the first time I saw the female take a drink from it.

Anyway, back to the echinacea. I just buy mine at Fred Meyer in the health food section. It's liquid 'Naturally Preferred' brand, comes in a brown bottle. It says 'Premium Echinacea' on the front and it's raspberry flavored. I think I put 2 to 3 dropper fulls in each bowl of water. The bowls probably hold 16 oz of water or so. My squirrels didn't hestitate to drink it.

Good luck with your furballs :jump

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome :wave123

[veganhead1]

Anyway, back to the echinacea. I just buy mine at Fred Meyer in the health food section. It's liquid 'Naturally Preferred' brand, comes in a brown bottle. It says 'Premium Echinacea' on the front and it's raspberry flavored. I think I put 2 to 3 dropper fulls in each bowl of water. The bowls probably hold 16 oz of water or so. My squirrels didn't hestitate to drink it.

Good luck with your furballs :jump

They have the Wild Kingdom video collection at my library. I love watching it.

I have to go to fred myers today so I'll grab some echinacea, thanks!
Good luck with the mallards. :)

[veganhead1]

Anyway, back to the echinacea. I just buy mine at Fred Meyer in the health food section. It's liquid 'Naturally Preferred' brand, comes in a brown bottle. It says 'Premium Echinacea' on the front and it's raspberry flavored. I think I put 2 to 3 dropper fulls in each bowl of water. The bowls probably hold 16 oz of water or so. My squirrels didn't hestitate to drink it.

Good luck with your furballs :jump

They have the Wild Kingdom video collection at my library. I love watching it.

I have to go to fred myers today so I'll grab some echinacea, thanks!
Good luck with the mallards. :)

[Kelly Brady]

Welcome to TSB veganhead,

Happy to have a new squirrel lover on board.

I wanted to let you no that a few years ago one of our members used to go to a park near her home in New York (queens) and feed wild squirrels. She had one in particular that grew very old and followed her home to her yard. There was also another elderly female squirrel that lived in her yard.

As Winter approached she set up a nest box outside in a tree and this precious squirrel named Viv and the other named Lady had a hard time in the cold. The TSB member placed heated pads in the nest boxes every few hours, but the cold was too much for them at their age so....
They gladly came inside to live. The two gals Lady and Viv loved being in doors and were treated like princesses. They liked the kitchen the most but had pretty much the run of the house. It does happen that they decide living indoors is better. Especially as they age.
I just love that story and had to share:D
P.S. I have a couple in my neighborhood with missing tails as well.

[Fireweed]

Hey, Vegan(:highfive)head! Welcome to the board! :wave123

Timber should be fine but just keep watch for infection, like others have said.
I have a little guy with the same problem here but the nub healed and the hair grew back (although his tail now looks like it's got a crew-cut :D ). He can get around well, too, without most of his tail. Good veggies and fresh water will help any little injured squirrel heal, so happy to see you are feeding your Frees so well. :thumbsup

Hopefully you get your camera soon because I'm looking forward to seeing Timber and finding out what kind of squirrel she is. And do stick around and tell us more about your wee wild kingdom...we like stories. ....Ok, but I can't lie; we love pictures more. (They're Squeep Crack). :poke

[veganhead1]

Kelly Brady,
Thanks a lot for the story! I love that she followed her home from the park!! How very wonderful....and smart! I would totally treat Timber like a princess should she choose to come inside.

I do have something cool to report about Timber. Thanks to Busysqrl suggesting to me to put up several water sources, my husband built another water bath. Timber seems to have claimed it for her own. And, the day after he put up the other water bath Timber started building a nest in the tree right by our deck. It was cool to watch her at work. She can snap pretty big twigs off the tree! She was also carrying big pieces of moss. I'm going to put up solar lights tomorrow by the tree and on the deck so she can see after dark.

But, I imagine they are totally inactive at night?? Is that right??

Thanks for the story and the welcome Kelly Brady. :)

[veganhead1]

Fireweed,
Thanks for the welcome. I'm starting to understand that the tail loss is a common problem. Poor babies! I have been watching close for an infection and it still looks ok. More hair is growing back so hopefully it will not be long before it's completely healed.

I will keep up with the fresh veggies. Timber loves kale the most! She eats it everytime I give it to her. :)

[Kelly Brady]

Kelly Brady,
Thanks a lot for the story! I love that she followed her home from the park!! How very wonderful....and smart! I would totally treat Timber like a princess should she choose to come inside.

I do have something cool to report about Timber. Thanks to Busysqrl suggesting to me to put up several water sources, my husband built another water bath. Timber seems to have claimed it for her own. And, the day after he put up the other water bath Timber started building a nest in the tree right by our deck. It was cool to watch her at work. She can snap pretty big twigs off the tree! She was also carrying big pieces of moss. I'm going to put up solar lights tomorrow by the tree and on the deck so she can see after dark.

But, I imagine they are totally inactive at night?? Is that right??

Thanks for the story and the welcome Kelly Brady. :)


I am so happy that Timber is sticking close to home. They really are so smart and totally love to be spoiled rotten. I am watching my newly released fuzzers build nests for themselves and watching the process is amazing. I am so proud of them. I once read a book that said squirrels have two things that they live for. Building a great nest/drey and reproducing.:rotfl

I can tell you one thing for sure. Squirrels sleep like the living dead at night. Once they plop down in their nest box or tree nest or wherever they sleep it is actually hard to wake them up.. Some play until it is almost dark and sleep later in the morning, others crash early and wake up as soon as the sun peaks.

You are welcome about reporting the story. It can be found and read here on TSB under a member named Katherine and the title of the thread is Lady and Viv. Each day I would read each and every post with anticipation. I met and became friends with Katherine over this thread. Amazing story. At my house she is Aunt Katherine.:bowdown

Please keep us up to date on Timber. She sounds precious. Timbers story is a wonderfuj story too!!!:multi