Help needed Honeoye Falls, NY near Rochester

[SammysMom]

Is anyone nearby who could help the squirrel who is hurt and in the nest box that we all watched on the live feed cam? This is terrible!!!
This nest box:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40035

[TubeDriver]

If any rehabber needs help with gas, food travel, treatment expenses, etc, I am willing to provide assistance for this case.

[SammysMom]

I am too! Do we know that this person will let someone help?

[Nancy in New York]

I will look now for someone. What happened to mama?

[farrelli]

To catch you up, I assume you know of the nest box with cam that had a momma and six babies. A couple days a go during a brief (and either incredibly badly timed or highly suspicious) camera outage, mom and babies disappeared in that two hour window. We were expecting her to move at some point because of space limitations. It's been empty since that time. Last night at 7:30 a squirrel entered the box and has been there ever since, save for three outings of only a few minutes each. (Though the last one may have been a little longer, I wasn't watching.) Something seems to be wrong with this squirrel because it just lays there with it's eyes open most of the time. During all this, a few people have let their imaginations run wild to the point I'm regretting sharing the link. People keep referring to this poor creature as mom or "Mia" even though we don't if it's a male or female. There was even one period where people were convinced it was missing a foot. In any event, this squirrel apparently could use some assistance if possible, so if someone could check in, especially when it leaves the box, that would be awesome. Thanks.

[California Squirrel Lover]

I hope there is someone in that area who can help :Love_Icon :Love_Icon

[TubeDriver]

To catch you up, I assume you know of the nest box with cam that had a momma and six babies. A couple days a go during a brief (and either incredibly badly timed or highly suspicious) camera outage, mom and babies disappeared in that two hour window. We were expecting her to move at some point because of space limitations. It's been empty since that time. Last night at 7:30 a squirrel entered the box and has been there ever since, save for three outings of only a few minutes each. (Though the last one may have been a little longer, I wasn't watching.) Something seems to be wrong with this squirrel because it just lays there with it's eyes open most of the time. During all this, a few people have let their imaginations run wild to the point I'm regretting sharing the link. People keep referring to this poor creature as mom or "Mia" even though we don't if it's a male or female. There was even one period where people were convinced it was missing a foot. In any event, this squirrel apparently could use some assistance if possible, so if someone could check in, especially when it leaves the box, that would be awesome. Thanks.


A couple of points of clarification. The mom is named Mia. Multiple people have noted that the squirrel currently in the box has some issues with mobility. The video is grainy and it is hard to clearly see but at one point it looked like she was missing a foot. Several people saw this, however when she moved it became clear that she was not missing a foot. She had been clenching her rear paw and it was hard to see. As noted in the previous post, the video went down for a few hours and during that time all 6 babies and Mia disappeared.

The squirrel currently in the box looks like Mia. I have been watching this live video for several weeks and while the image quality is poor, this squirrel does appear to be Mia. In any event, the squirrel currently in the box appears ill or incapitacitated. The squirrel has been in the box for over 24 hours. It left the box briefly once for a couple minutes and then later left again. The second time people thought she might have fallen and could be heard crying on the ground. She made it back into the box and has not left since. What is most disturbing is that this is happening in real time, in a known, specific location and no help has been forthcoming. I suppose we can continue to watch this sorry spectacle and hope everything turns out alright, But a sick mom and 6 missing babies is a hard pill to swallow.

[astra]

What is most disturbing is that this is happening in real time, in a specific location and no help has been forthcoming. I suppose we can continue to watch this sorry spectacle and hope everything turns out alright. But a sick mom and 6 missing babies is a hard pill to swallow.
agree, wish I were closer.
even if the guy neither cooperates in any way nor answers the phone, it is feasible to scout the area. I am sure, there are no tons of nest boxes in the neighbourhood, and it must be somewhere near his house

doesn't matter who the squirrel is. The squirrel is clearly in distress and needs help

[SammysMom]

I just want to say that if in fact Mia did move her babies out, it is VERY possible that this is another squirrel who is simply taking advantage of an empty box to try to stay safe after some sort of illness or accident. However, I do feel that either way, it would be best for someone to try to help this squirrel.:shakehead

[TessiesMom]

I am certainly no expert, but as I commented on another thread, if this squirrel is the mama, she might be suffering from a lack of calcium due to nursing such a large litter. If this is the case, it certainly couldn't hurt to make a source of calcium available near the nest box, along with plenty of fresh water (think of how much milk she has to produce to feed six babies of that age!).

[SammysMom]

But then where are the babies??!!:dono

[MollyBear361]

I watched when she left last and couldn't figure out if I could record it but she was screaming horrible cry for a few minutes after. It was awful. The nest I'm told is 20 feet up and not sure owner is receptive of help. But this squirrel is hurt bad. Mia or not Mia.
The owner of Web cam is completely unresponsive and in my opinion cold hearted and irresponsible. People begging for feed for him to help. He never once logs in and answers or explains his actions or lack of actions.
I would also donate for some help here.

[MollyBear361]

I watched when she left last and couldn't figure out if I could record it but she was screaming horrible cry for a few minutes after. It was awful. The nest I'm told is 20 feet up and not sure owner is receptive of help. But this squirrel is hurt bad. Mia or not Mia.
The owner of Web cam is completely unresponsive and in my opinion cold hearted and irresponsible. People begging for feed for him to help. He never once logs in and answers or explains his actions or lack of actions.
I would also donate for some help here.

[Garden71]

Just a thought...
Maybe the person or persons isn't a squirrel lover. The camera goes out for 2 hours and mom and babies are missing. Now mom is back hurt and the person running the camera feed isn't responding. :dono
I just don't get it....:shakehead

[California Squirrel Lover]

This whole thing has been disturbing me. I'm concerned for mama, babies, and whoever is possibly injured in the nestbox. I haven't looked at the nestbox since mama and babies disappeared, I don't want to see the hurt one, I can't. I wish I were closer, and I wish there were something I could do to help. Is there a way to find out if there is anyone near there who would help?

[solarx10]

The person running the camera did respond a few times, and said that approaching the box may only scare her further up the tree.

She left for a few hours this morning.

The cam missing the babies departing leaves so many questions.
If she did move the babies to a new nest, why isn't she in that nest now.

[farrelli]

Again, why are some people so sure it's mom? As far as I know, we can't be sure this is even a female. I watch all the time and still haven't seen a belly shot. Personally, I don't think it's mom because this one repeatedly flares its tail at night, which I never saw mom do. And I would have noticed it because I think it's kind of fascinating.

[solarx10]

Again, why are some people so sure it's mom? As far as I know, we can't be sure this is even a female. I watch all the time and still haven't seen a belly shot. Personally, I don't think it's mom because this one repeatedly flares its tail at night, which I never saw mom do. And I would have noticed it because I think it's kind of fascinating.

Good point. I only found the cam Sunday and didn't see too much of mom. I'm just taking everyone's word for it. That squirrel did lay on its back for a while, I could not tell if it was wounds or or just teats from nursing.

[astra]

why should it matter whether it is the mom or not?
If some people want to think it is - fine.
If it is not the mom - doesn't matter.

It's still a squirrel in some kind of distress, and the owner of the cam seems uncooperative <---that's the situation. The squirrel's precise identity is irrelevant

[SammysMom]

I have had the feeling from the beginning that this is another squirrel. Based on nothing though, so it does not mean I am correct. I just wanted help for whoever it is. It seems so sad to see the squirrel and not help it...:shakehead

[Garden71]

why should it matter whether it is the mom or not?
If some people want to think it is - fine.
If it is not the mom - doesn't matter.

It's still a squirrel in some kind of distress, and the owner of the cam seems uncooperative <---that's the situation. The squirrel's precise identity is irrelevant
:goodpost

[solarx10]

No, it doesn't matter if it's mom or not mom, or male or female. I don't think anyone is trying to imply that.

I love them all the same. For me, not knowing just adds the worry about her babies, and that they may still be alive and need help.

The owner did go out to check on her but it ran further up the tree.
Approaching the box would scare and stress her and potentially cause more harm, and that rest is best.

There is a feeding station nearby that he put there recently.
It is also leaving the box for longer periods of time now.

[Garden71]

I don't understand :thinking
There are two different threads this one is saying the owner of the link is unresponsive. Another thread is saying that the person is. :dono

[astra]

No, it doesn't matter if it's mom or not mom, or male or female. I don't think anyone is trying to imply that.

I love them all the same. For me, not knowing just adds the worry about her babies, and that they may still be alive and need help.

The owner did go out to check on her but it ran further up the tree.
Approaching the box would scare and stress her and potentially cause more harm, and that rest is best.

There is a feeding station nearby that he put there recently.
It is also leaving the box for longer periods of time now.

i don't know, and there are certain things I cannot prove, but...

to be honest, I highly doubt that the owner went to check on her.

First, he banned MollyBear on the cam.
Then, after I and some other ppl commented stressing the urgency of help the cam went out completely again. Sort of, to let everyone chill or something.

I also doubt that such a sick squirrel will get out of the nestbox and run up the tree.
Moreover, if he cared and listen to people (and especially, if he is a "rehabber" or something like some people mentioned) - he would know that before you can tinker with a nestbox, you should plug the hole so that the squirrel doesn't get out.
This has been done MANY, MANY times by various people here which proves it can be done. And usually, when people truly care they do it.

Again, all of the above are just my inferences and assumptions based on what I've got to witness myself.
I might be wrong.

BUt I have a feeling I am not that wrong.

Especially, if at first he was saying that he would not check the box b/c the squirrel would run up higher. And then, he says that he did try but the squirrel ran up higher.
AGain- that's what I heard and read. Might be wrong.

But it all sounds like a bunch of garbage.
He looks like he doesn't care much, and I doubt he went to check.

There are other inconsistencies in this;
first he says it's not on his property, then he says that if he checks on her the squirrel will run up higher. And it is 20 feet up there.
Then, even though it is not on his property he miraculously climbs 20 feet up (did he bring a ladder from he house to the place that is not on his property? :thinking) and the sick squirrel that had a hard time moving around all of a sudden gets out of the box and runs up higher....

highly inconsistent imho

PS also, I highly doubt that someone who didn't bother to put up a decent nest box with a necessary predator guard and without holes would go to the place that is not on his property, haul some kind of ladder to that place at that and then climb 20 feet up to check on an animal

[SammysMom]

:goodpost :goodpost :goodpost
i don't know, and there are certain things I cannot prove, but...

to be honest, I highly doubt that the owner went to check on her.

First, he banned MollyBear on the cam.
Then, after I and some other ppl commented stressing the urgency of help the cam went out completely again. Sort of, to let everyone chill or something.

I also doubt that such a sick squirrel will get out of the nestbox and run up the tree.
Moreover, if he cared and listen to people (and especially, if he is a "rehabber" or something like some people mentioned) - he would know that before you can tinker with a nestbox, you should plug the hole so that the squirrel doesn't get out.
This has been done MANY, MANY times by various people here which proves it can be done. And usually, when people truly care they do it.

Again, all of the above are just my inferences and assumptions based on what I've got to witness myself.
I might be wrong.

BUt I have a feeling I am not that wrong.

Especially, if at first he was saying that he would not check the box b/c the squirrel would run up higher. And then, he says that he did try but the squirrel ran up higher.
AGain- that's what I heard and read. Might be wrong.

But it all sounds like a bunch of garbage.
He looks like he doesn't care much, and I doubt he went to check.

There are other inconsistencies in this;
first he says it's not on his property, then he says that if he checks on her the squirrel will run up higher. And it is 20 feet up there.
Then, even though it is not on his property he miraculously climbs 20 feet up (did he bring a ladder from he house to the place that is not on his property? :thinking) and the sick squirrel that had a hard time moving around all of a sudden gets out of the box and runs up higher....

highly inconsistent imho

PS also, I highly doubt that someone who didn't bother to put up a decent nest box with a necessary predator guard and without holes would go to the place that is not on his property, haul some kind of ladder to that place at that and then climb 20 feet up to check on an animal

[astra]

sorry, something else I thought of:

when he says he "checked on her" what does he mean exactly?
Just how did he "check"?
Did he stick his hand in the hole? What purpose would this serve, besides the fact it is very, very unlikely.
Did he stick his nose in the hole? Why? What's there to see that cannot be seen on camera? And no one, rehabber or not, will ever stick their face in a nestbox hole.
The only way one can "check" on a squirrel is by taking the nestbox down and examining the squirrel for injuries and assessing the severity of injuries in a confined area.
Examining and assessing injuries - that's what "checking on the animal" means.
Did he take the nestbox down and examine the squirrel?

To take the nestbox down even an inexperienced person will realize to plug the hole first.
AND even if he tried to take the nestbox down (I would LOVE to bet that he didn't - could, probably, win something) and the squirrel poked its face, he could have easily blocked the hole before the squirrel got out (like it could to begin with).

So, whichever way one looks at it, it sounds more like a lie just to quiet people.

[TubeDriver]

Video just came back up. The squirrel (I think it is Mia) is resting. Her eyes are open a bit but she seems more restful than last night. The box owner states that peanuts nearby are being eaten.

[MollyBear361]

This whole thing just kills me.

[Nancy in New York]

This whole thing just kills me.
Did I just read that this guy banned you from the cam????????????:dono :dono :dono

[MollyBear361]

Every time I tried to write after I wrote a pretty strong message... With no profanity btw... Every time I tried to post after a pop up came up saying something along the lines of language not alloeed. But I never said any bad language? So I logged in under a different user and commented on that and someone else said they had the same problem and she had no bad language either. Suspicious to say the least.

[MollyBear361]

As I said, this guy is a naturalist. I interpret that in most cases that they don't interfere with nature. Funny he will babble on about the bird cam but never answers on feed on squirrel cam. Even just to say he believes in letting the squirrel heal or he's not going to check or he has... Pretty much nil. But babbles about birds. He's a bird guy I guess. Frustrating he has fb and twitter and high tech gadgets yet anyone who's appears to kknow him in the feed can't reach him to ask anything. And the his friends (who can't ever read him) ask for donations for him to get a new nest in the middle of an online uprising of people wanting squirrel to get help? About the time I said no money from me from an unresponsive cameraman, I got cut off.

[Garden71]

This guy is a :censored :frustratedx

[TubeDriver]

Well, the nest is empty.



I suppose we will never know what happened to Mia and her babies. We may never know if the injured squirrel that took up residence last week was Mia or another squirrel? I hope she is happy and healthy with her babies, I guess that is all that one can do.

[Garden71]

:sad

[CrazySquirrelLady]

i quit watching when they started going toward the hole. i didn't want to see one fall out. needs a predator guard on it.


poor squirrels.