firefly038
07-08-2012, 07:05 PM
Hi all! I am so glad I found this board (via Chirpie Chipmunkz) and hope it's okay that I joined as I read there are others raising chipmunks here and I have questions. :-) In the meantime, here's Midgie, our rescued Eastern Chipmunk!
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/firefly038/Midgie-Hand.jpg
We've had Midgie for about a month now having rescued her from the clutches of two neighbor cats who had caught her and were playing with her before, well, you know...that inevitable thing that cats do. She was moving pretty slow which I'm sure was from shock though she did have a small puncture wound on her head. Once I'd been able to chase & keep the cats away -- she had slowly crawled up the tree trunk off our patio in the meantime -- she came down and started making a bed in some compacted leaves in the middle of the yard. :shakehead Knowing she couldn't stay out in the open (it was starting to get dusk and one of the cats was certain to come back), I scooped her up, put her in a makeshift box, and started looking for all kinds of rehab information. I tried calling 2 wildlife rescues with no return calls and everyone I did get ahold of pointed me in other directions. I called a friend in Oregon who raised three baby squirrels (successfully released) so between her and other info online I've been able to help Midgie out. Initially, I thought she was around 5-6 weeks old per a rehab site I found online. She's very small, sweet as can be, a little nibbly but nothing horrible. I followed the instructions on that site and discovered she wouldn't eat the formula they suggested (Ebsilac) and was already eating nuts & other regular fruits & veggies. Now I'm thinking she was around 7-8 weeks or older. My original plan was to release her when she was around 10-12 weeks. One night when she was walking around I noticed she had something wrong with her shoulder. From her tail going up, her spine starts as if straight, then curves off to the right. Here's a pic so you can see:
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/firefly038/Midgie-Back.jpg
I don't believe this is an injury from the cats from that evening as she's always been able to walk & scurry though she's stumbly and sometimes when she jumps she'll miss and fall rather than catch herself. So I'm thinking it's a birth defect of some sort, likely why the cats were able to catch her? Otherwise, she seems completely healthy. :-) She's eating like a champ and is growing & active, exhibiting her natural storage tendencies and such. By the end of this next week she'll have a much larger cage setup to climb & play in. She's very social and loves being around the family...though my husband still startles her because she only sees him at night, but she warms up really quick and he really likes her, which is a HUGE bonus! LOL! We do have three cats, one of which is very fascinated with her so I'm especially cautious with her. And, we also have a bearded dragon...which means Midgie has access to wonderful mealworms! Yummo! LOL! :-)
That's about it! I'm always looking for more information because I want to do right by her!
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/firefly038/Midgie-Hand.jpg
We've had Midgie for about a month now having rescued her from the clutches of two neighbor cats who had caught her and were playing with her before, well, you know...that inevitable thing that cats do. She was moving pretty slow which I'm sure was from shock though she did have a small puncture wound on her head. Once I'd been able to chase & keep the cats away -- she had slowly crawled up the tree trunk off our patio in the meantime -- she came down and started making a bed in some compacted leaves in the middle of the yard. :shakehead Knowing she couldn't stay out in the open (it was starting to get dusk and one of the cats was certain to come back), I scooped her up, put her in a makeshift box, and started looking for all kinds of rehab information. I tried calling 2 wildlife rescues with no return calls and everyone I did get ahold of pointed me in other directions. I called a friend in Oregon who raised three baby squirrels (successfully released) so between her and other info online I've been able to help Midgie out. Initially, I thought she was around 5-6 weeks old per a rehab site I found online. She's very small, sweet as can be, a little nibbly but nothing horrible. I followed the instructions on that site and discovered she wouldn't eat the formula they suggested (Ebsilac) and was already eating nuts & other regular fruits & veggies. Now I'm thinking she was around 7-8 weeks or older. My original plan was to release her when she was around 10-12 weeks. One night when she was walking around I noticed she had something wrong with her shoulder. From her tail going up, her spine starts as if straight, then curves off to the right. Here's a pic so you can see:
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/firefly038/Midgie-Back.jpg
I don't believe this is an injury from the cats from that evening as she's always been able to walk & scurry though she's stumbly and sometimes when she jumps she'll miss and fall rather than catch herself. So I'm thinking it's a birth defect of some sort, likely why the cats were able to catch her? Otherwise, she seems completely healthy. :-) She's eating like a champ and is growing & active, exhibiting her natural storage tendencies and such. By the end of this next week she'll have a much larger cage setup to climb & play in. She's very social and loves being around the family...though my husband still startles her because she only sees him at night, but she warms up really quick and he really likes her, which is a HUGE bonus! LOL! We do have three cats, one of which is very fascinated with her so I'm especially cautious with her. And, we also have a bearded dragon...which means Midgie has access to wonderful mealworms! Yummo! LOL! :-)
That's about it! I'm always looking for more information because I want to do right by her!