Am I too skinny?

[AniMom]

Since I may be worrying unnecessarily about Cloud's growth, I thought I'd post a few pics and get some feedback on how normal she looks for about four months old. Note that the fur on her sides is quite short in some places because she had scratched much of it raw and, after treatment, it has just grown back to a velvety length.

Please take a look at the attached pics and let me know what you think.

Thanks

[island rehabber]

OMG what a beautiful squirrel! Her weight looks fine to me.

[SammysMom]

I think she is adorable! :grouphug

[AniMom]

Thanks for the reassurances! We'll still continue giving her the formula she wants for now but at least I'll stop obsessing about her growth. It was touch and go with her for so long that I think I'm overly anxious.

Oh, thanks also for the compliments ... my husband (her doting "Mom" and the only person she's bonded with) was very relieved to discover he's not the only one who thinks his platinum blond baby is beautiful. Of course, with her pale colouring, we're also worrying about her survival once released. The encouraging thing is that a white squirrel in a nearby nature park was seen enjoying himself for many many years. At least in our snowy climate, the pale squirrels get a winter advantage!

[Milo's Mom]

Just as IR said OMG, that squirrel is beautiful! WOW! Platinum Blonde is right. She's stunning!

I think her weight looks good, but you know they do say that pics always add 10 pounds. :rofl4 j/k, I really do think she looks good.

Do you have a scale and could you weigh her?

[AniMom]

Well, we do have an ancient kitchen scale (I'm not sure how accurate it is) but HOW do you weigh a squirrel that won't stay still? Just bathing her (which finally cured that nasty itch) was a marathon of patience. About the only way to get her calm is in my husband's hands and I don't know how to deduct THEIR weight accurately. :)

I suppose we could try to box her but would that quiet her enough to get a good reading? If we do get one, about what should a 4 month old weigh?

Thanks so much for the feedback.

[CritterMom]

OMG your husband is in love with a blonde bombshell and it's okay!

She is spectacular! I demand more photos immediately - for the board of course. What was her skin issue about?

[Milo's Mom]

OMG your husband is in love with a blonde bombshell and it's okay!

She is spectacular! I demand more photos immediately - for the board of course. What was her skin issue about?

:rofl4 :rofl4

CritterMom, I LOVE your posts!

[AniMom]

Well, my husband IS promising to let her go next summer ... if he refuses, I may have to rethink the competition! ;O) On the other hand, I've got to cut him some slack because he's pretty tolerant of the fact that our handsome Husky mix, whose colouring makes him look like a doggie version of a tuxedo-wearing James Bond, is convinced I belong just to him.

When Ray found her (well, the dog did but when she squealed and my husband yelled "drop it", he gave up custody), she was filthy and near death and paralyzed in her hind quarters. Given her shaky state, we didn't dare try to clean her up much ... just gave her a damp wipe to take off the worst. I did see a couple of mites crawling on her from time to time but she didn't seem infested. There was also the issue of soiling herself until she was able to stand properly again, so she was one stinky little squirrel for several weeks! Once she stabilized and actually started trying to groom herself, we gave her a much-needed Dawn bath but it was perhaps a bit abbreviated due to total panic ... hers and ours! From then on, though, she groomed regularly but a couple of weeks ago either dry skin or bites from stray mites must have started to irritate her and over a couple of days she scratched her sides raw. We surface bathed her again (sterilized the cage again too) and then applied the oil from vitamin E capsules to her sore skin (we had used that before with a pet rat with good results) and it healed it up nicely without drying or scarring and the fur started coming in soft and thick shortly afterwards. We're hoping now that whatever started the scratching is done with forever.

I'll try to take some better pics of her (go for beauty shots instead of body profile) soon and let you all see how she's getting along. Thanks so much for all the help you've all given us on this board ... it makes a HUGE difference to novices like us.

[rusty's mom]

I have a blond too Commet, never had one or seen one in this area and I've been doing this a lot of years are they more common in your neck of the woods? You can at least hold yours mine will be released tomorrow and he is totally ready can't love on him no way those blond are so angelic looking but this one is a strict don't touch if you want fingers. Your Cloud is so beautiful.

[AniMom]

I've only ever seen one other very light squirrel ... the one I mentioned being frequently spotted in a nearby nature park back when my children were in school (they're grown and parents now). We have a lot of squirrels around here as it's quite generously treed for a suburb and our street, a circle, has a small wooded park in the center (where Cloud was found) but most of them are gray squirrels, with a generous sprinkling of the more northern black squirrels. Since they mate together, perhaps the combination sometimes produces this light mutation? I know there is one town in Ontario that is known for its "white" squirrel population but in most places it seems to be more a random mutation than a genetic tendency. Of course, these poor "blonds" are at an environmental disadvantage of high visibility that must depress the tendency to pass on the gene of light fur.

Cloud may look angelic (she got her name by reminding me of the soft gray clouds in watercolour paintings) and she is very gentle with my husband, will sometimes even cuddle, but she is very wild with everyone else, including me. We're trying to keep it that way so she will adapt better to her release to the wild ... but I've gotten both a nasty bite and a deep scratch from getting too close to her when he wasn't around to care for her.

I hope your blond has a good release and a wonderful future in the wild! His independent nature should help him achieve both. Cloud sends him her best wishes! :Love_Icon

[sage4dylan]

Wow she is gorgeous! I have never seen one myself but my hubby has around here. I would just love to find one I could watch in the wild! keep posting pics!

[iwonka]

Well, we do have an ancient kitchen scale (I'm not sure how accurate it is) but HOW do you weigh a squirrel that won't stay still?

I have an electronic kitchen scale.. Can I come? :D

I want to see this beauty :grouphug

[CritterMom]

Should you have any more mite issues, get some Revolution from your dog's vet and put one or two drops on the skin between her shoulders...it works like magic and is a lot less traumatic than trying to bathe an uncooperative squirrel.

She really is beautiful. And I was serious about the pics.

[AniMom]

Thanks for the mite tip ... although I can get NO cooperation from any vets here for the care of "wildlife"!!! Is Revolution the same basic stuff as you can get in pet shops (drops between the shoulders) ... I have used that once on our last dog when he was too old and ill to take the annual Sentinel pills and got attacked by fleas.

I'll ask my husband to try to take some more pretty pics of his baby ... it's hard for me to do as she tends to hide away when anyone else approaches her!

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Beautiful!!!
I am on Cloud NINE

[kastillo]

Put her favorite treat on the scale and see if she's sit on it and eat. I just crumble a little shelled walnut on the scale, not enough to change the reading, just enough to keep em occupied sniffing around and picking up crumbs to get a quick reading.

[Skul]

Thanks for the mite tip ... although I can get NO cooperation from any vets here for the care of "wildlife"!!! Is Revolution the same basic stuff as you can get in pet shops (drops between the shoulders) ... I have used that once on our last dog when he was too old and ill to take the annual Sentinel pills and got attacked by fleas.

I'll ask my husband to try to take some more pretty pics of his baby ... it's hard for me to do as she tends to hide away when anyone else approaches her!
Yes, it's the same stuff. One drop will usually do the trick.

[CritterMom]

Not normally sold at pet shops - it needs a prescription. I would ask for your DOG. There are some places that sell it on the internet too - the real deal, not a knock off. Here is one: http://www.joespetmeds.com/flea-control/revolution-cats-dogs.htm

[mdyoung216]

Not normally sold at pet shops - it needs a prescription. I would ask for your DOG. There are some places that sell it on the internet too - the real deal, not a knock off. Here is one: http://www.joespetmeds.com/flea-control/revolution-cats-dogs.htm

I bought from this site:

http://pet-rx-meds.com/browse1.htm

[FuzzyButt]

she is utterly adorable!