Squirrel estrus

[bobby taylor]

Does anyone know how long squirrels breed? Sally has been out for 2 days and is still leading the train. She acknowledges me, but wont come all the way to me. She has a male very close to her and he is probably telling her not to come to me. I just want to know if anyone knows how long this ritual lasts.

[Duckman]

I believe it is 7-10 days of full heat on the females. Anyone else know?

[Nancy in New York]

I just found this:

What Is Estrus
Once or twice a year, a squirrel experiences an estrus period. While a human's menstrual cycle gives her several days a month during which she is ovulating and likelier to become pregnant, a squirrel's estrus cycle limits this to one or two days per year. Estrus is the result of her body preparing itself to receive a male and become impregnated -- her uterine tissues thicken and her vulva swells, and she will accept a male's advances rather than rebuffing him.

Window of Opportunity
The female's actual estrus period is short-lived, and may last only about eight hours to one day. In some species, like the red squirrel, she may mate with one or several males, and may mate with the same male several times within this single day. In other species, like the eastern gray squirrel, only one male gets the opportunity, as her vaginal opening seals itself off after copulating to prevent other suitors from mating with her.

[czarina]

That grey squirrel info was quite interesting.
More effective than a chastity belt.

[farrelli]

Is she outside? I though I read something about her escaping and you getting her back. Is she out again? Isn't she a NR?

[Duckman]

I just found this:

What Is Estrus
Once or twice a year, a squirrel experiences an estrus period. While a human's menstrual cycle gives her several days a month during which she is ovulating and likelier to become pregnant, a squirrel's estrus cycle limits this to one or two days per year. Estrus is the result of her body preparing itself to receive a male and become impregnated -- her uterine tissues thicken and her vulva swells, and she will accept a male's advances rather than rebuffing him.

Window of Opportunity
The female's actual estrus period is short-lived, and may last only about eight hours to one day. In some species, like the red squirrel, she may mate with one or several males, and may mate with the same male several times within this single day. In other species, like the eastern gray squirrel, only one male gets the opportunity, as her vaginal opening seals itself off after copulating to prevent other suitors from mating with her.

:thumbsup:grin3:bow

I learn something here everyday! Thanks Nancy!!

[bobby taylor]

Just for the record. She is being chased hard for the 3 rd day, so they are still after her for 3 days now. I almost just picked her up and brought her back in this morning. I gave her some water and she lay on the cool damn ground next to me and dug her a cool spot where she rested for about 2 min. and then off again. She has one hell of a following. If this keeps up I am going to rescue her as she is constantly crying when the pin her out on a limb. I really think she has had enough. She did not go up wild and I know this is physically draining her and I feel her pain(Big Bad Bill Clinton) loved to say.

[farrelli]

Again, wasn;t she an inside-only squirrel? Why is she out now?

[bobby taylor]

She felt the call of the wild. I love her so much and I believe I made the right decision until now, but with all the boyz afta her that may change. She has been in and out of season so much and had slipped out several times and recently started chewing holes in the screen. I felt that if she wanted to go so much I would give it a try. Good chance she will be back in the house before sunset...I just left her and she was on the ground beside a bush cooling off while 2 boyz over my shoulder looked on. The one male that claims her may be one of my releases. He will come right up to me.

[farrelli]

Wasn't there something about her that made her NR?

[bobby taylor]

I thought at one time she had 2 left feet.

[Nancy in New York]

I thought at one time she had 2 left feet.

I thought you told me two RIGHT feet? :thinking :poke :rolf
It's great to see you back Bobby, I've missed you!

[bobby taylor]

Sally has always been a perfect little girl. Chester is the one in question. He never grew any whiskers, but was normal in all other ways, especially teeth.... I released him in the middle of May. He got where he liked to bite and it really hurt and I am on an aspirin regimen and I bleed like a stuck hog.

[bobby taylor]

Hey Nancy girl, I miss you and think of you sooooo much. You will always be the greatest!!

[Nancy in New York]

Hey Nancy girl, I miss you and think of you sooooo much. You will always be the greatest!!

Oh Bobby, you will always have my heart! :Love_Icon
Please don't be such a stranger.

[bobby taylor]

Well today everything in the trees is calm and no running squirrels just several boyz at the feeder. I am going to express my opinion on what happened. I released Sally 4 days ago and everything was pretty calm until yesterday. I believe she was starting estrus the day I released her and it led up to yesterday, the big day. I think every boy in the neighborhood was here. They ran and ran and they fought and fought, all day. I saw Sally late yesterday afternoon and she had a cut on her head and got at the base of a bush and rested for about 15 min. She was laying on her side with her eyes partially closed worn out. After a long rest she took off again as if nothing was wrong. Now today its all over so it looks like they do all their love making in one day. It was pretty cool watching the show. I recognized 3 boys that were in on the chase. I think the alpha male was able to hold the others off. I guess its over for this time and now for the wait.

[bobby taylor]

I have Sally back in pen for now. I was on the back porch when she came to see me today. I hardly recognized her, she has lost so much weight and was extremely dehydrated. I put her back in her pen so she could just rest for a day or so. I hope I am doing the right thing by doing this. She keeps drinking water and it has been so hot outside I want her to at least get hydrated again. Also I feel sure she is pregnant. Has anyone had any experience of squirrels giving birth in their pen. I do not plan on letting this happen at this time. I just would like some feedback on what I have done.

[Nancy in New York]

I have Sally back in pen for now. I was on the back porch when she came to see me today. I hardly recognized her, she has lost so much weight and was extremely dehydrated. I put her back in her pen so she could just rest for a day or so. I hope I am doing the right thing by doing this. She keeps drinking water and it has been so hot outside I want her to at least get hydrated again. Also I feel sure she is pregnant. Has anyone had any experience of squirrels giving birth in their pen. I do not plan on letting this happen at this time. I just would like some feedback on what I have done.

I'm glad she is back inside Bobby, she needs some good rest and relaxation.
They HAVE given birth before in captivity. I will direct a couple of members here who have
actually gone through this. One was a wild car hit squirrel who was pregnant and gave birth
in the cage shortly after the rehabber took her in. Two of the babies passed, and the rehabber
took the third to feed and care for herself, as mama was too stressed and weak to care for her.
You did the right thing Bobby if she cooperates. IF she acts antsy and desperate to get back outside,
I would open the door. She will trust you if you give her the choice, she already does, and we don't want
to break that bond.

[bobby taylor]

Nancy,

She ate like she was starved and drank a lot of water. She has been in her bed sleeping for several hrs. In the past when she spent a day or so in the wild she would come back and sleep for several days. I have a gallon paint bucket that never has had paint in it on a table there on the porch. . I keep it on the porch with sunflower seeds in it that I feed the wilds. I got up pretty early as I have been doing since my surgery and went straight to porch. As I was sitting in my favorite porch chair something caught my eye. I was still about half asleep and didn't know what I was seeing at first. I kept looking at my seed bucket, eyes beginning to focus, and low and behold there was a squirrel tail sticking out. Yep, it was Sally Girl. I went over and checked her out and my heart sank when I saw how with drawn she looked. She ran around the porch and hid a few nuts before entering her pen. She spent a lot of time smelling her belongings. I had to make a quick decision so I closed the door and rolled the pen in my room where she was raised and she seems content. I am going to try to get her back to where she was before leaving then I will I will make another big decision.

[bobby taylor]

I feel as if I am writing to myself each time I post, but here it goes anyway and probably for my last post for now. I felt that Sally could not re-adjust to being a pet anymore, so I released her this morning. After recapturing her last week and feeding her some good food and rehydrating her I went along with her request and released her this morning bright and early. Once they get a taste of the wild and mate it is now their new life. I love her so much and she has been so much fun for the past 2 years. I have 2 little girls and my wife and Sally never ever showed any sign of aggression toward anyone even neighbors that would come over and that is something you don't see everyday with squirrels. She filled a huge void left from Ivy's death. I pray for her safety and health and hope she has lots of little ones as sweet as she is.

[CritterMom]

Aw, you took her in when she needed it and let her go when she was ready. She knows that her Dad has her back. :thumbsup

[HRT4SQRLS]

Bobby, I think what you did was exactly what was needed. I feel sometimes they just need a little help. That can come in the form of plentiful water, healthy food that they don't have to compete for and a time of rest. I brought one of my releases in a few weeks ago that needed some help. She was covered in bots. Without intervention, I don't think she would have survived. When she was better, I released her.

Sally needed a 'time out' from the perils of survival in the wild. You gave her that. You also gave her back her freedom.
Sounds perfect to me. :thumbsup

[Milo's Mom]

:bowdown

Awesome job Bobby. You gave her the safe haven she needed when she needed it and you gave her her freedom when she wanted it. :grouphug

[bobby taylor]

Bobby, I think what you did was exactly what was needed. I feel sometimes they just need a little help. That can come in the form of plentiful water, healthy food that they don't have to compete for and a time of rest. I brought one of my releases in a few weeks ago that needed some help. She was covered in bots. Without intervention, I don't think she would have survived. When she was better, I released her.

Sally needed a 'time out' from the perils of survival in the wild. You gave her that. You also gave her back her freedom.
Sounds perfect to me. :thumbsup

How do you treat the Bot Worm infection? Also is the Bot Worm sometimes called a Wolf Worm? I have seen a few of them on our local squirrels, but fortunately not as many this year.

[HRT4SQRLS]

How do you treat the Bot Worm infection? Also is the Bot Worm sometimes called a Wolf Worm? I have seen a few of them on our local squirrels, but fortunately not as many this year.
I have never heard bot flys referred to as Wolf Worm. I am not familiar with that term.
By treating BotFly infection I'm not sure if you are referring to BotFly infestation or an actual infection of the warble hole after the larvae leaves. If you are referring to having bot fly warbles, no treatment is necessary because they mature and leave by themselves and usually do not cause an infection. They can handle 'some' bot fly warbles but my girl had 14. She was lethargic and wobbly from dehydration. Each warble pore was weeping fluid and with our 90* temperatures, she needed support just like your Sally did. Here is a link to our BotFly battle. http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?46931-Never-in-my-life

If you are referring to an actual infection in the warble hole after the larvae leaves, the abscess needs to be drained and flushed with diluted Betadine. Antibiotics can be given. The best choices would be SMZ-TMP or Clavamox. None of Susie's caused an abscess but I did give her a short course of antibiotics.

That's interesting that you haven't seen as many this year because this year for us was the most Bot Flys I have ever seen in my life. It was ridiculous. Just curious, did you less rain this year or more. We had MUCH more rain than usual. I was wondering if there is a correlation based on the amount of rain.

[farrelli]

People read your posts Bobby. 219 views on your thread so far. It's just that everyone's really busy and many of our most active members are now raising several of their own.

I'm glad that you did what you thought was best for her. I'll worry about her. I hope you find a squirrel who you can keep forever.

Any chance you're interested in having a 3yr old that needs a new home? They're quite a ways from you in FL (6hrs, I think) but we have many FL members, so maybe transport could be arranged. I mean, we got one transported from Montreal to FL, so I'd think that interstate would be possible.

[farrelli]

Btw, I also think of Ivy from time to time. :( She was very special.

I hope that things are looking up for you of late, especially your Lyme.

[bobby taylor]

Thanks Farrelli,

I think I will pass on the 3 year old for now. We have house on mkt and looking to move further out in the country and if we can do that I will really increase my squirrels, but for now I am limited on space. Actually I was thinking about keeping Sally but the wife didn't want her having babies while house was on mkt. I pray someone will come along with deep pockets and take this off our hands. Good talking to you. I found out that the wolf worm is the maggot that the bot fly deposits in animals. I thought that there was a connection.

[bobby taylor]

I was sitting on the back porch about 6 am this morning and heard this strange noise behind me and low and behold it was Sally Girl looking around in her pen for a bite to eat. She must like home cooking better than the wild stuff...... I went in and fixed her a nice breakfast which she ate. She hung around to visit for a while and off she went. She has a small hole in the screen that she made to come in and out. I hope she will continue to visit as often as possible. I rolled her Ferret Nation pen to the back porch where she will always have a safe haven.

[Milo's Mom]

I was sitting on the back porch about 6 am this morning and heard this strange noise behind me and low and behold it was Sally Girl looking around in her pen for a bite to eat. She must like home cooking better than the wild stuff...... I went in and fixed her a nice breakfast which she ate. She hung around to visit for a while and off she went. She has a small hole in the screen that she made to come in and out. I hope she will continue to visit as often as possible. I rolled her Ferret Nation pen to the back porch where she will always have a safe haven.

Awww, so good to hear. Makes my heart smile when they come home for some yummies. :Love_Icon

[bobby taylor]

I had a long and bitter sweet visit from Sally this afternoon. She came to see me from the roof of our house where she jumped down to my out stretched hand. Such trust she still has in me to make such a large jump. We worked on those long jumps many times through the years she lived with us. We hung our together for a long time and I took her into she house where she did her exploring. After locating the nuts I let her out to go hide them and back she came to do it again. After doing that and enjoying our visit she led me to the tree where she had made her nest, not a great one, but pretty good for her first. She kept wanting to visit and hang out together in the yard. She just seemed so lonesome. While sitting on a big knot on the side of a big oak tree, it was like she was trying to tell me something. I knew exactly what it was, she wanted to come back, but her call was to have her babies and she knew this was the only way for that to happen. I was thinking the same exact thing. Sally, I love you so much, but It would not be right for you to stay and I understand and its ok for you to enjoy living in the wild, however she seemed so lonesome. She let me rub her, hold her and scratch her tummy where I could feel her little tits starting to grow. She crawled in every pocket of my shirt and pants looking for another treat. She always knew where something special for her was. It was a sad separation for me to leave her sitting on that knot. After I left I looked out the window and she was still chilling out in the cool afternoon air. I pray for a visit like that anytime she wants to come visit. I just love that girl so much.

[Milo's Mom]

I had a long and bitter sweet visit from Sally this afternoon. She came to see me from the roof of our house where she jumped down to my out stretched hand. Such trust she still has in me to make such a large jump. We worked on those long jumps many times through the years she lived with us. We hung our together for a long time and I took her into she house where she did her exploring. After locating the nuts I let her out to go hide them and back she came to do it again. After doing that and enjoying our visit she led me to the tree where she had made her nest, not a great one, but pretty good for her first. She kept wanting to visit and hang out together in the yard. She just seemed so lonesome. While sitting on a big knot on the side of a big oak tree, it was like she was trying to tell me something. I knew exactly what it was, she wanted to come back, but her call was to have her babies and she knew this was the only way for that to happen. I was thinking the same exact thing. Sally, I love you so much, but It would not be right for you to stay and I understand and its ok for you to enjoy living in the wild, however she seemed so lonesome. She let me rub her, hold her and scratch her tummy where I could feel her little tits starting to grow. She crawled in every pocket of my shirt and pants looking for another treat. She always knew where something special for her was. It was a sad separation for me to leave her sitting on that knot. After I left I looked out the window and she was still chilling out in the cool afternoon air. I pray for a visit like that anytime she wants to come visit. I just love that girl so much.


:grouphug:grouphug:grouphug:grouphug:grouphug:grou phug

[bobby taylor]

This will very well be my last thread on tsb. One thing I found out about mating squirrels, if its true, is that after they mate the male is done and the female is on her on from then on. Makes me feel sad for Sally Girl because she didn't grow up in the wild and has a lot on her now. She does come to visit daily and I love the visits, but I feel for her so much having to face it alone. When I feed her she immediately goes and buries it and I mean all of it. The only way I can get her to eat is break her food in small pieces too small to hide. By doing this hopefully she is getting protein in to her system. She is hiding her food for what ever the future holds in store and to have in emergencies. (She is certainly not a democrat). I did find out gestation is around 42 days so she has about 28 days to go. For future post visit Squirrel Nation, there I hope to keep an ongoing record of Sally pregnancy.

[farrelli]

Why don;t you like TSB anymore Bobby? I think you think that your threads don't get a lot of attention, and they probably don't, but we're all very busy. TONS of people end up here wanting help, many, many times more people than show up at SN, and it's hard to give attention to everything right now. I mean, it only makes sense to give what little time many of us have to a thread where a squirrel is in a life threatening situation rather than to another thread which is just an update. Personally, I can't even spare enough time to "read" the threads which are nothing but cute pictures and video, even though they where what attracted me to TSB in the fist place. There are just so many people needing help right now, and many people who normally are the mainstays of TSB are super busy with their own crew. SammysMom, who is still a mainstay here, used to only have Sammy, but now she's got like 15 babies under her care. It's hard to find the time. And I work 12-14 hours a day. It's just really hard. I hope that you stay at TSB though. I get over to SN from time to time, but it's very rare because there's just so many people needing help here.

Anyway, I hope that Sally is OK. Watch her closely. Maybe she's not pregnant and maybe it'll end up being best for her to come back inside. It's happened before. I also hope that all of this can play out before you end up moving.

[Milo's Mom]

Bobby if you go to SN I won't be able to see any of your updates! Sally is going to have babies in 28 days and I want to see pics and hear all about it! Please continue to post here.

I am on the board just about every day, sometimes I can't post on every thread, but I do read most of them.

I look forward to your updates and would really like to continue reading them. However, if you feel better just going to SN, I wish you and Sally the very best. :grouphug:grouphug:grouphug

[bobby taylor]

Its not you Milo's Mom, that's for sure. You are one of the best members of tsb. Its just in general. I have been on this board for years and I can see what goes on. Hell a baby jay bird or people trying sway others how to eat gets much more attention than my squirrels do. Too much favoritism has taken over tsb. I did build up a good friendship base with Susie and Ivy, but now I question some of their sincerity. There are so many good ones like you I feel bad writing this, but I think I see the writing on the wall and its obvious others see it as well because of the forming of other boards. I just want to share my squirrels with others who seem to appreciate and care. I love squirrels and talking to others about them, but when it comes a time that you are mostly talking to yourself I can do that without typing. The problems always start with the top of the totem pole....Thanks for being there for me especially to my good friends that pulled me through my sad and painful times. I could have not made it without some of you.

[farrelli]

Bobby, I would argue that a baby jaybird needing help SHOULD get more attention than your threads if you're no actively looking for help with something. Same thing for diet, because poor diet is the cause of probably most of the issues we end up seeing here. It's important to get people on the right track and keep them there. I love hearing about your charges, and I love helping you when you need it, but saving lives and ensuring health are more important than keeping up with more social threads. I wish I had time for everything, I'm sure most people do, but there's only so many hours in a day. :(

[bobby taylor]

Go get a life feralli.

[farrelli]

Wow Bobby! I didn't expect that. I think that I've never been anything but a friend to you - very supportive, answering your questions, giving you attention, and even spending a few hours looking for a vet for Ivy when she had problems, even going so far as offering to pay for it because you were low on cash. And this is what I get? I guess you're not the nice guy that people tend to imagine, but rather a bitter, needy old man who wants all eyes on him. Good riddance! Enjoy all the attention you get over at SN!

[bobby taylor]

Farelli, I bet you would not call me that to my face. I never needed your financial help, you offered it and I did not take it. If I were you I think I would be a little more careful on calling me names. That is a cheap shot and I don't take it lightly especially from someone like you. I hope The Squirrel Board is monitoring this and will step in and reprimand you in a proper way. I have made many good friends on TSB and I don't think they would support your temper and actions as you just displayed.

[missPixy]

Farelli, I bet you would not call me that to my face. I never needed your financial help, you offered it and I did not take it. If I were you I think I would be a little more careful on calling me names. That is a cheap shot and I don't take it lightly especially from someone like you. I hope The Squirrel Board is monitoring this and will step in and reprimand you in a proper way. I have made many good friends on TSB and I don't think they would support your temper and actions as you just displayed.

I want to give my opinion here. When I first joined TSB I too thought many members had been on forever and so were just naturally closer to each other~~ which isn't much of a surprise. Sometimes I'd post a "social" update about my flying squirrel Emma and there'd be views but no comments. At first this discouraged me, but I discovered that if I had a problem, people immediately responded.

I know I'm guilty of the same. I can swoon over the many many pix of adorable squirrels (and other animals!) on TSB, but often I won't comment~~ not lack of interest, just some things online don't necessarily elicit a verbal response other than maybe OMG! look how squishy/adorable/cute/etc.

Probably all of this is none of my business but I just stumbled on this topic and honestly was a bit surprised by the response to Farelli. It just seemed angry without actually stating the reason why.

Emoticons. I think if more emoticons are used in posts, they help defuse statements that don't have a facial expression or body language to help interpret the user's state of mind. :bliss