LittleBird64
12-18-2012, 10:28 AM
I unfortunately, don't have the luxury of having a squirrel as a pet like most of you do. I wish I did because I've always thought they were simply adorable! But I do have a few squirrel friends at work who I interact with and my day just wouldn't be complete without seeing my little friends.
I'm a registered nurse and work at a desk job in a hospital. My office has a big picture window that looks out onto a little courtyard area full of ivy, shrubs, and trees. Back several months ago, I decided to hang a bird feeder outside my window because I always did like watching the birds. But the birds weren't the only ones who showed up. I now have four regular squirrels who live outside my window- The Peanuts Gang- and I feed them regularly. Charlie was the first one to show up and impress us with his acrobatics of hanging upside down to eat from the bird feeder. Then Sally was next. She's sort of the boss of the place. Schroeder came next and he doesn't seem all that friendly and I think he's an older squirrel. He's bigger than the others and just looks old, with a lot more gray around his face. Then came little Linus who turned out to a be a Lucy. She's the baby of the bunch. I don't know how to judge squirrels ages, but she was pretty young and much smaller than the others. She has since grown up and is almost the same size as Sally, but Lucy has a black nose and that's how I can tell them apart. Sally and Charlie are the most used to me and don't run away when they see me. In fact, Sally greets me every morning when I get to the office by standing up and looking at me through the window and looks as if she's smiling. LOL
I have been reading on here about what's best to feed them, but since these are wild squirrels, I'm hoping that they're also getting what they need from outside since I don't think I'm feeding them properly. I pretty much give them the Fruit & Nut blend by Katee, some fresh fruit like grapes, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew, and once a week I give Sally a Nilla Wafer as a treat if I have them. She loves her cookie. I've read about the calcium problem that squirrels can have and that worries me but as I said, I'm hoping that since these are wild squirrels, they're getting what they need. I did go ahead and put a Tums out there with the food yesterday and Sally ate it with no problem. But I'm not sure how to get the others to eat a Tums too since Sally will likely get to it first. How often do they need that supplement? Do wild squirrels even need it?
I just want to be sure that I'm not hurting them in any way by providing food to them. If they start to become dependent on it, then they might not eat normally as they would if I were not providing it to them, which is why I thought I'd ask these questions. They all appear extremely healthy right now. I've grown very attached to them and enjoy seeing them every day. It really makes my day at work to see their "smiling" faces when I come in every morning. I'll try to get up some pictures later on when I'm on my home computer.
Thanks :)
I'm a registered nurse and work at a desk job in a hospital. My office has a big picture window that looks out onto a little courtyard area full of ivy, shrubs, and trees. Back several months ago, I decided to hang a bird feeder outside my window because I always did like watching the birds. But the birds weren't the only ones who showed up. I now have four regular squirrels who live outside my window- The Peanuts Gang- and I feed them regularly. Charlie was the first one to show up and impress us with his acrobatics of hanging upside down to eat from the bird feeder. Then Sally was next. She's sort of the boss of the place. Schroeder came next and he doesn't seem all that friendly and I think he's an older squirrel. He's bigger than the others and just looks old, with a lot more gray around his face. Then came little Linus who turned out to a be a Lucy. She's the baby of the bunch. I don't know how to judge squirrels ages, but she was pretty young and much smaller than the others. She has since grown up and is almost the same size as Sally, but Lucy has a black nose and that's how I can tell them apart. Sally and Charlie are the most used to me and don't run away when they see me. In fact, Sally greets me every morning when I get to the office by standing up and looking at me through the window and looks as if she's smiling. LOL
I have been reading on here about what's best to feed them, but since these are wild squirrels, I'm hoping that they're also getting what they need from outside since I don't think I'm feeding them properly. I pretty much give them the Fruit & Nut blend by Katee, some fresh fruit like grapes, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew, and once a week I give Sally a Nilla Wafer as a treat if I have them. She loves her cookie. I've read about the calcium problem that squirrels can have and that worries me but as I said, I'm hoping that since these are wild squirrels, they're getting what they need. I did go ahead and put a Tums out there with the food yesterday and Sally ate it with no problem. But I'm not sure how to get the others to eat a Tums too since Sally will likely get to it first. How often do they need that supplement? Do wild squirrels even need it?
I just want to be sure that I'm not hurting them in any way by providing food to them. If they start to become dependent on it, then they might not eat normally as they would if I were not providing it to them, which is why I thought I'd ask these questions. They all appear extremely healthy right now. I've grown very attached to them and enjoy seeing them every day. It really makes my day at work to see their "smiling" faces when I come in every morning. I'll try to get up some pictures later on when I'm on my home computer.
Thanks :)