Hello from Rooties mom!

[catzmeoww]

Hi Everyone, I'm Cat, and Rootie is our sweet little boy.He has been with us since September, I believe he was about 5-6 weeks old. Rootie ran up to my husband, Tim and parked himself next to his shoe! When Tim took a couple of steps aside, Rootie ran right back to his shoe! Needless to say he still has us, and we are sooo in love!:jump We found TSB and got him the Esbilac and rat blox as recommended. I go on an almost daily search for "wild food" like pine cones and branches/twigs with buds. I think we are doing ok with his diet for the most part, although he has a wicked sweet tooth, and will steal candy whenever he can!! Mr. has the run of the house, and has made his nest atop the cabinets in the kitchen! He puts himself to bed each nite about 8:30 or so (freaking adorable) then comes into my room in the morning to wake Mom and Dad! He does have a small cage, but doesn't spend much time in it. My only issue with him is the chewing-just today he got a phone charger and some wires behind the tv---- Grrrrr!! I was in the room with him!!! But it only takes one bite and there it goes! I got some bitter cherry spray to try to discourage the inappropriate chewing,but he doesn't seem bothered by the taste.:nono Does anyone have suggestions!?!!?? I try to have things for him to chew, but he loves wall corners and furniture as well as plastic stuff, I can't cover the whole house with cloths/towels!! I don't want to have to cage him more than necessary! Thanks!

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Hi Welcome!!!
You may want to check out and switch to the Fox Valley formula, if he is still drinking it, the puppy milk changed it's formula a few years ago and now is not the best.
WE love pictures here, so :flash

Are you going to release him??
If so you will need to find a rehabber in your area so he can be with other little squirrels and learn throught them how to be a squirrel on the outside

[island rehabber]

:Welcome to TSB Cat, Rootie, and Rootie's dad! Glad you found us.
I will let the folks who share their homes with a squirrel tell you all their tricks and ways of keeping the little darlings from destroying the house. :D Me, I just rescue 'em, rehab 'em, and send 'em back to the trees.

Have you memorized our Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels yet?
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

Calcium is the NUMBER ONE issue for captive squirrels and an imbalance between calcium and phosphorous is deadly. Please make sure little Rootie is on the Healthy Diet, and stays on it forever. :nono no more KitKats and M&M's :rotfl.

Again, :Welcome to the best nuthouse on the internet. :D

[astra]

:Welcome to TSB Cat, Rootie, and Rootie's dad! Glad you found us.
I will let the folks who share their homes with a squirrel tell you all their tricks and ways of keeping the little darlings from destroying the house. :D Me, I just rescue 'em, rehab 'em, and send 'em back to the trees.

Have you memorized our Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels yet?
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

Calcium is the NUMBER ONE issue for captive squirrels and an imbalance between calcium and phosphorous is deadly. Please make sure little Rootie is on the Healthy Diet, and stays on it forever. :nono no more KitKats and M&M's :rotfl.

Again, :Welcome to the best nuthouse on the internet. :D
:goodpost yeah, what IR said.

:Welcome

Also, a free run of the house might not be the best idea... simply because it can be dangerous unless you squirrel-proofed your entire house...

(make sure ALL of your cords and electronics are SECURELY squirrel-proofed - too many tragedies happened with electrocuted squirrels, they are too fast for us and even being with them in the same room does not save them because it only takes one bite into a cord;

also, most house plants are poisonous - again, it will take only a tiny bite of it for something bad to happen;

make sure all of your toilet lids are always down.
Please get a ladder:http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30728

all lotions, cleaning agents, vitamins, meds etc etc etc should be securely hidden. Again, does not take a lot or long for a tiny squirrel to do harm to itself by ingesting something

make sure there is nothing in the house [since he has a full run of the house and sleeps in cabinets - how precious ;)) that he can accidentally ingest, or chew something potentially toxic, or get stuck somewhere, or fall behind a closet or some other piece of furniture and hurt himself,

keep all your windows and exits closed at all times - if he runs out (and he might because he is a squirrel ;)), he might not come back b/c he won't be able to find his way back and, being unprepared for the wild, will perish)

As IR said, people here have tons of experience with various large cages and can give great suggestions.

In the meantime, :worthless :poke

[astra]

sorry, one more thing: do you have other pets in the house?

If yes, please keep them completely separated:

1. first of, cats and dogs are predators, and their instincts are stronger and faster than anything else we might do.
Also, cat saliva is deadly, and since you are in an illegal state, there might not be immediate emergency vet available, and even then- injuries are often beyond vet's help

2. secondly, he needs to keep his fear of dogs and cats intact. When he is released, it will be his death sentence if he does not know to be afraid of cats and dogs.

[catzmeoww]

Hi Folks! Thanks for the welcome! So, yes we do have other pets-3 cats, a 14 pound iguana, a stinky 19 year old and a pigeon! The cats are very used to cohabitating with different critters, and mostly ignore him. Rootie has the run of the house only in the respect that he is not caged unless we are not home to watch him-- he is never unattended! (of course that doesn't mean he doesn't get into trouble)...! He doesn't sleep IN the cabinet--he sleeps on top!:rotfl He is my little buddy and we play together all day long! When Dad gets home tho, its the Daddy and me show! Dad!Dad!Dad! Rootie is not on the formula any more, and does not get chocolate, but he does like airheads. We make sure he gets he gets plenty of fresh fruits and veggies as well as his rat blox and "wild food". Also, I give him a fruit flavored bit of tums every so often for calcium supplement. His candy consumption is minimal and not intentional (he steals it right out of my hand- then we wrestle for it)! We are not going to release him 'cause he is our baby, and I'm not sure he is releasable at this point anyway. How can I squirrel proof the cords!??? We would be heartbroken if something happened to him.:dono Thanks so much for the input!

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome :wave123

[CritterMom]

The safest way to completely squirrel proof cords is to contain them within something squirrels cannot chew. I let my guy out in my room for play and am in the process of making all cords inaccessible in here. The massive pile of cords that run behind the bed for lamps, clocks, phone, etc.,., run through a piece of flexible plastic gutter extension - it is behind the bed and does not show. He loves playing under the bed and now I don't have to worry.

A squirrel RESISTANT solution is to buy clear silicone tubing (like aquarium tubing only larger). If you are comfortable doing that, you can cut the plug end off, run the cord through the tubing and attach a new plug at the end...or if you don't want to be cutting the ends off, cut the tubing longwise the entire length, pop it over the cord, and use clear tape wrapped around and around it to re-attach the two edges again. It is not squirrel PROOF - they can get in if they really want to, but it would take them quite a while and I have found that most critters don't like chewing that stuff for whatever reason.

[astra]

The safest way to completely squirrel proof cords is to contain them within something squirrels cannot chew. I let my guy out in my room for play and am in the process of making all cords inaccessible in here. The massive pile of cords that run behind the bed for lamps, clocks, phone, etc.,., run through a piece of flexible plastic gutter extension - it is behind the bed and does not show. He loves playing under the bed and now I don't have to worry.

A squirrel RESISTANT solution is to buy clear silicone tubing (like aquarium tubing only larger). If you are comfortable doing that, you can cut the plug end off, run the cord through the tubing and attach a new plug at the end...or if you don't want to be cutting the ends off, cut the tubing longwise the entire length, pop it over the cord, and use clear tape wrapped around and around it to re-attach the two edges again. It is not squirrel PROOF - they can get in if they really want to, but it would take them quite a while and I have found that most critters don't like chewing that stuff for whatever reason.
as always, CrM has great ideas.

Also, one member of ours got these:http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15493&page=52 scroll to post # 1024. I think, he got them at Petco.

Also, Office Depot or Staples might have cord protectors, but I don't know how "squirrel-proof" they are, but as CrM suggested, for double-security, you can wrap that stuff over and over and over and over.

Another member here - stepnstone - did something. I don't remember what but it was solid. You could send him a private message and I am sure, he will be happy to share it with you.

[astra]

We are not going to release him 'cause he is our baby, and I'm not sure he is releasable at this point anyway.
may I ask why you doubt he would be releasable?...

It's just that adult squirrels are very, very difficult to keep as pets, they don't make good pets.
There are rare exceptions to the rule who choose to stay indoors, and there are non-releasable squirrels (cannot be released for health reasons), but most of them end up wanting to be outside.

Just a few things to prepared for (that most of us are not aware of until it strikes ;)):

When a squirrel grows up and matures in 99% of the cases it becomes a one-person animal. That means that Rootie will acknowledge only you or your husband, and the rest of the family will either be met with open dislike and bites, or barely tolerated.

He may decide that he wants out - he may start wilding up, by becoming more restless, aggressive towards others etc etc etc.

Since you are in an illegal state, finding vet care if need be will be very difficult

As you can probably see ;), squirrel diet is rather expensive and demanding to keep.

And again, as you know by now ;), they need lots of attention and constant stimulation, otherwise, they can grow restless and depressed.

And yet, few of them do choose to stay indoors.

BUT since there is a chance that he will wild up and decide to be a wild squirrel, it's in his best interest to be kept completely separate from your cats. And so that he does not see you interact with them safely, because since you are his parents, he will take cues from you.

[catzmeoww]

Hi Astra! Thanks for the input! Rootie is already a two person guy--he just ignores people other than Mom and Dad (unless he needs to get from one place to another-- he will use you as a bridge point)!! As far as his diet, no big deal our iguana, Fluffy, eats alot of the same foods and doesn't mind sharing! And, as far as being releasable, I wasn't sure about the feasibility of it only because he is so bonded with us! We do interact with him constantly, and keep him stimulated, but can't really keep the cats away,as we live in a 1440 sf apartment and they are used to having the run of the place as well...mjs