treeman
07-01-2012, 12:18 PM
Hello everyone! Great to see some familiar names and some new ones too! :D My newest group came to our home in mid-May. Three boys that I guesstimate as being about 14 weeks-old. Names are Nice, Grumpy, and Squirt. We are in the pre-release stage and intend to put them in the 24/7 tree-cage any day now. (Being arborists, we have equipment that allows us to keep our babies way up in the top of a tree. They come in at night and during foul weather until release when they stay out permanently. We open small doors after a week or so and eventually we will leave just the nestbox & food/water station in the tree top.)
1) The Heat! We plan putting them out 24/7 but we are experiencing the same heat-wave that is affecting many of you. Should we wait or go ahead and allow them to acclimate to the heat? :dono They will be up in the air, in the shade, and have water. But at 100+ F, is it too dangerous?
2) Tail Issues. mjs Two of my boys have skimpy hair at the base of their tails. I'm wondering how normal that is or if it indicates anything in particular. Coincidentally, these two (Grumpy & Squirt) are the most afraid of people and spent the most time in the baby nestbox. It could just be that the hair got rubbed off from being cramped in the box? Now they are in a larger cage and have an adult nestbox so that should no longer be an issue if that's the cause.
3) Development/Social Issues. Squirt is terrified of people and is intimidated by his brothers. By his name you can tell he is the runt, but also he has not not "dropped" his testicles while the others have. He plays with his brothers but will also crouch in the corner like a pariah. I think it likely has more to do with the humans around. He has gotten better but he definitely is less outgoing than his brothers. Do squirrels like this have as good a chance as the others? What if he doesn't "drop"?
Here are some pics. 1st=Nice, 2nd=Grumpy and Nice's rear-end, 3rd=Grumpy, 4th=Grumpy's skimpy tail, 5th=Nice, 6th=Squirt in foreground and Grumpy in background
1) The Heat! We plan putting them out 24/7 but we are experiencing the same heat-wave that is affecting many of you. Should we wait or go ahead and allow them to acclimate to the heat? :dono They will be up in the air, in the shade, and have water. But at 100+ F, is it too dangerous?
2) Tail Issues. mjs Two of my boys have skimpy hair at the base of their tails. I'm wondering how normal that is or if it indicates anything in particular. Coincidentally, these two (Grumpy & Squirt) are the most afraid of people and spent the most time in the baby nestbox. It could just be that the hair got rubbed off from being cramped in the box? Now they are in a larger cage and have an adult nestbox so that should no longer be an issue if that's the cause.
3) Development/Social Issues. Squirt is terrified of people and is intimidated by his brothers. By his name you can tell he is the runt, but also he has not not "dropped" his testicles while the others have. He plays with his brothers but will also crouch in the corner like a pariah. I think it likely has more to do with the humans around. He has gotten better but he definitely is less outgoing than his brothers. Do squirrels like this have as good a chance as the others? What if he doesn't "drop"?
Here are some pics. 1st=Nice, 2nd=Grumpy and Nice's rear-end, 3rd=Grumpy, 4th=Grumpy's skimpy tail, 5th=Nice, 6th=Squirt in foreground and Grumpy in background