It's Pepina!

[pepina]

Hello. We found Pepina at around 4-5 weeks. He was wandering in the street being stalked by a cat, then very (!) narrowly missed by a car and he let us scoop him right up. After finding out how to keep him hydrated and fed, we contacted all the rehabbers/facilities we could find but nobody was able to take on another squirrel. So we did our research and set out to rehab him ourselves. Due to the timing, we discovered that it would be unwise to release him before winter so we settled in to keep him for the long haul. Along the way, as we found it difficult to settle on a safe and feasible location for a soft release, we started to get attached to him against our best intentions. We were too guilty to even mention the word "pet" for a long time. But we talked about it and decided that as long as we can provide him a happy and healthy life then we won't feel bad about it. He is now around 14 weeks. He is mostly cage-free--one of us is around to play with/supervise him for hours every day. He even sleeps outside of the cage at night in one of two nests that he's settled into. We've made the apartment "squirrel-safe" for the most part and he has the run of the place when we're around. We bring in branches from the woods and make very tall arrangements with ropes that he can climb and play on. We regularly rearrange and replace them with new branches to keep it interesting and engaging. He's on a healthy diet based on Henry's. He gets plenty of exercise and a lot of benefits that he can't get in the wild (comfort/massages etc). Our only regret is that he doesn't have smaller/more agile playmates than us to keep him company but so far there's no shortage of ways to play with him! Sorry, that was meant to be an introduction but it turned into a confession/justification! So, hello. And thanks for all the resources on this board! :)

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[Gardentoes11]

Hello & welcome from Jasper Hans & me! Sounds like you're doing a great job with Pepina so far. Love the pic of him peeking out from behind the pillows!

[Chickenlegs]

Hi Pepina! Willi, Scooter, Peanut and Punkin are sure glad you're here and want to aee more pictures. :Welcome

[pepina]

Thanks! Here are some baby pictures from a couple months ago! :grin2

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/Pepina3.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/Pepina3.jpg.html)
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/Pepina1.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/Pepina1.jpg.html)
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/Pepina2.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/Pepina2.jpg.html)

[Gardentoes11]

Love the new pix, even though they are old pix time-wise! That red pocket pic is too cute! Does Pepina like broccoli? If that were my Jasper Hans in that broccoli photo, he'd be yelling, "What's up with the green stuff? Gimmee some blocks or some nuts!"

[DarkLies212]

The picture of him sleeping in your hands is perfect :Love_Icon


The last one I can just hear it now - "Broccolliiiii!!"

[TubeDriver]

:serene

[ssingh]

Pepina is adorable :serene

[pepina]

Thanks for the support and warm welcomes for Pepina!! Here's one more of him hugging as an adult :hug

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/IMG_3956-1.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/IMG_3956-1.jpg.html)

[DarkLies212]

Thanks for the support and warm welcomes for Pepina!! Here's one more of him hugging as an adult :hug

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/IMG_3956-1.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/IMG_3956-1.jpg.html)

265577

SOOOO CUTE!!

[TubeDriver]

Oh, that is so cute! I want a Pepina! :grin2



Thanks for the support and warm welcomes for Pepina!! Here's one more of him hugging as an adult :hug

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q55/mmmmajor/IMG_3956-1.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/mmmmajor/media/IMG_3956-1.jpg.html)

[Chickenlegs]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak! :klunk i love klunking over sweet little squirrelies!

[Nancy in New York]

Oh, that is so cute! I want a Pepina! :grin2

Me too!:w00t

[SammysMom]

Oh Pepina is awesome!!!:grouphug:Love_Icon:grouphug